If you are a wine-drinker – or just somebody curious – who has been thinking of making your own wine for some reason or another, the best way for you to arrive at a practical understanding of that age-old process is to purchase wine making kits.
You can make wine making kits at home
If you really want to start from square one in order to get the feel of the procedure, you might consider assembling your own wine making kits at home.
A fermenting bottle or jar is a must for home wine making kits
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.
Not all plastic jars will be good for home wine making kits because some types of plastic will react with the fermenting liquid, spoiling its quality, aroma and taste, as well as, possibly giving it undesirable residues. So, if you absolutely want to look for your own carboy among the bottles you have at home; choose one which is made of glass.
Home wine making kits need to have a stopper of some sort
Then you will need to have something to plug up the carboy with. The original cap of the bottle may not serve the purpose because the plug or stopper should protect the fermenting liquid from external pollutants as well as allow for the exit of the gaseous by-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.
Wine making kits require some kind of racking hose
Your home wine making kits need a racking hose. This is used after the fermentation is done to siphon out the clear wine into a clean container. You are probably better off with a rubber hose, a brand new one, which you can get at a hardware store by the yard. Be sure to clean the hose thoroughly before attempting to use it.
Your home wine making kit should have additional cork plugs
After the wine has been transferred to a clean container, you have to plug it tight with another piece of cork. This time, you do not punch holes into the cork. No further fermentation will take place in the liquid.
The wine in the new jar should be left to stand in order to improve its flavor. It will be good to have masking tape in your home wine making kits. Use the tape to secure the cork and to further seal the wine in the bottle.