If, for whatever reason, you want to learn how to make your own wine, – could be that you drink or you are just the inquisitive type – the fastest way for you to grasp the principles will be to avail of wine making kits.
You can make wine making kits at home
It is entirely possible to put together wine making kits using things that may be found in your kitchen and basement. Then all you need to purchase is the wine mix itself.
The important item in wine making kits is the fermenting bottle
The first thing you will need in your wine making kits is a plastic or glass jar which can hold about 5 to 6 gallons. In the lingo of wine-makers, these vessels are variously called fermenting jars, carboys, demijohns or betterbottles. The older types of carboys were made of glass. Today, however, you can also have them in plastic.
You have to select plastic carboys well. There are types of plastic which will absorb the color of the wine mix. Other than getting discolored, some jars made of plastic can interact with the liquid mix during fermentation and deposit substances in the wine which may alter its flavor and/or make it a health hazard to drink.
Your wine making kits need something to plug up the jar
Additionally, the fermenting container needs to be sealed off from contamination from the outside. The cap which comes with the bottle may not be appropriate for this. That is because, besides closing the jar, the cap should also furnish an exhaust for the gaseous side-products of fermentation.
Your best option will be to form a plug out of cork or rubber. The circumference of the plus should just be wide enough to fit comfortably but tightly in the mouth of the jar. After you have shaped the plug correctly, you need to punch a hole through its center. The diameter of the hole should be just big enough to allow for the passage of gas.
You have to cover the mouth of the jar with a balloon which has been tied securely to the sides of the spout. The balloon should be punctured with little holes through which the gas coming out of the center of the plug can pass through. The balloon will be your air lock of sorts.
Your wine making kits should include a hose
You will also need a racking hose in your wine making kits. These are used to siphon out the clear wine into new containers after fermentation is done. Rubber will be your best option for these hoses because some plastic hoses may, as already mentioned, react chemically with the wine. You can purchase hoses by the yard at hardware stores.
You need more cork stoppers in wine making kits.
Immediately after the wine has been siphoned into its new vessel, the vessel has to be stopped with cork. You won’t need a hole in the cork for this. That is because its only purpose is to seal off the liquid.
Your wine making kits have to have some tape for completely sealing in the vapors of the wine. Although new wine may be drunk immediately, its flavor will not have mellowed yet. The best wines have been aged for years. Although you don’t need to wait that long, it will be good to let your new wine stand for some months.
More information on Wine Making Kits, Wine Making and Home Brewing can be found at http://beerwinemakingkits.com/.