Cleaning and Sanitizing

Day 1

Clean & sanitize ALL equipment that will come into contact with juice & wine immediately prior to starting your wine.

• Primary fermenter (e.g. pail)
• Airlock and bung
• Long-handled stirring spoon
• Hydrometer and test cylinder
• Thermometer
• Wine thief

Primary Fermentation

Day 2 (approx.)

• Fermentation should start within 24–36 hours; you should see foaming/bubbling at the surface of the must (now becoming wine).
• It is CRUCIAL that you check to ensure fermentation is started.
• Refer to troubleshooting section if fermentation does not begin.
• It’s important to maintain surrounding area within the range 20°–25°C (68°–77°F).
• As fermentation picks up and becomes vigorous, you will see a lot of foaming. Optionally, stirring the fermenting wine twice daily using a sanitized long-handle spoon promotes a good fermentation.
• Do NOT be tempted to open lid more often than necessary; the CO2 produced from fermentation is protecting your wine from spoilage effects.
• Monitor fermentation progress by measuring and recording the SG once daily.
• Once primary fermentation has reached the SG indicated in the kit, your wine is ready to move to the next step.
• In SINGLE-stage fermentations, the AF is complete and you will need to rack the wine from the primary fermenter (e.g. pail) to a carboy, and proceed to degassing, stabilizing and clearing the wine.
• In DOUBLE-stage fermentations, i.e. in kits with grape skins, the AF is NOT yet complete. You will need to rack the wine from the primary fermenter (e.g. pail) to a secondary fermenter (i.e. carboy) to let AF complete to the SG indicated in the kit.

Stabilization
Day 14 (approx.)

Single-stage & Double-stage fermentations:

• Once your wine has been thoroughly degassed please proceed with stabilizing your wine.
• Dissolve the required amount of sulphite (Package #2A) and Potassium Sorbate (Package #2B) in a small amount of wine and add to the carboy. Once dissolved solution is added to the wine mix gently for 30 seconds.

Clarification

• Top up the carboy with a similar stylewine, if required, to within 2 inches of the airlock. Place the bung/airlock on the carboy.
• Ideally place the carboy in a dark, cool area with °T in the range of 13–18°C (55–65°F). Please note that different temperatures are required for fermentation versus clearing.
• Log all operations and any observations.
• Clean primary fermenter & racking equipment and store away.
• Let the wine clarify for the length of time as per kit instructions.

The wine should completely clear before moving onto filtering. Wine can be tested by shining a bright flashlight through the carboy in a dark room. If you see suspended material, the wine is not clear.

Bottling

Assemble the required number of CLEAN bottles, e.g. 30 bottles for a 23-L batch.

• Sanitize each bottle using the sulphiter and a 5% sulphite solution (2 ½ TBSP per 1L water).
• After sanitizing each bottle with 5% sulphite solution allow to drip dry for 5 minutes on bottle tree.
• Pressure rinse each bottle with cool, clean water, and fill with wine immediately (Caution: Some may recommend to skip this step but the wine may smell of sulphite once bottled.)
• Have corks and corker ready.
• Remember to use corks that have been properly stored!
• Using your preferred bottling equipment, bottle the wine; fill to within ½ inch of the bottom of the cork.

Cork each bottle immediately, minimizing any exposure to air and the environment.

Bottles & Closures

Glass bottles:

• Only use clean or washed/sanitized bottles.

Closures:

• Do NOT soak corks; there is no need, especially with a good corker.
• Ensure corks are stored in an air tight container and not exposed to the open air.
• Pressure wash all bottles with warm water; tap pressure is fine.