Equipment needed:
• 25 litre fermenting container or bucket with lid and airlock.
• Secondary 25 litre fermenting container for transferring.
• Siphon with anti-sediment end.
• Mixing spoon / paddle.
• Hydrometer.
• Thermometer.
• Steriliser.
• Bottles & corks or storage containers.

This wine kit includes all the ingredients (other than water and 4 kilos of sugar) to make 23 litres (30x75cl bottles) of wine. Read fully before starting.
KIT CONTENTS:
Jerry can of juice, sachet of grape juice (add at end of fermentation), yeast / nutrient, stabiliser, fining (two part), bentonite (white / rose only) tannin (red only), oak chips, citric acid.
Stage One

  1. Clean and sterilise all the equipment which comes into contact with the wine. It will also help if your fermenting container is marked in advance at 23 litres (most will already have this on it).
  2. Take the plastic jerry can and pour into the fermenter.
  3. Fill the jerry can with water and shake well, and then add this to the container. Add 4 kilos of sugar and 5 litres of hot water and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
  4. Now top up to 23 litres (this will be 15 litres if you don't have a measurement on your container) with water so the final temperature is 20-25°C. Stir really well to make sure it is well mixed.
  5. Take a hydrometer reading, and make a note of this somewhere safe. The starting specific gravity (SG) should be around 1075. Now add the sachets of Oak Chips and Citric Acid. Take a second hydrometer reading and if it differs from the first, you will need to repeat the stirring until you get two readings the same.
  6. If the temperature of the liquid is too warm, leave to cool. Now add the Yeast by sprinkling it over the juice and stir well. For red wine add Tannin sachet. For white and rose add the Bentonite sachet. Cover the container and fit the airlock (half filled with clean water).
  7. Leave the container in a warm place. The room temperature should be between 20-25°C. This is important and it is better to have a steady but cooler temperature than fluctuating temperatures. If you are struggling to reach this temperature, there are several forms of heating equipment available like heat trays and immersion heaters which you can use. See our video on temperature equipment for more information.
    Stage Two
  8. After about 5-7 days, fermentation will be finished and the SG will be around 1000 or less. If in doubt, leave it for a few more days. The best way to make sure is by doing a hydrometer reading on two consecutive days, and if the SG is the same then the fermentation is complete. The wine can be tasted and it should be dry. Bubbles should also have finished coming up though the airlock.
  9. Add the Stabiliser (sorbate/sulphite) sachet to a cup of warm water, mix well and add to the container. Stir well to remove all the carbon dioxide gases that build up during fermentation. If your container is too full remove a little of the wine and place in a jug while you are doing this. The wine needs to be really well beaten to remove all these gases. This can take several minutes and might need repeating many times. A degassing stick is ideal for this. Once you are happy add Finings A (kieselsol - the smaller of the two liquid sachets) and stir for 30 seconds. Leave to stand for 24 hours and then add Finings B (chitosan - the larger of the two liquid sachets) and gently stir for 15
    seconds. Add the sachet of Grape Juice and gently stir in.
  10. Leave the container at a height where you will be able to siphon it without having to move it again.
  11. Leave the wine to clear for 3-5 days (unless you are in a desperate rush, leave for the 5 days). Siphon the wine off the sediment (being really careful not to disturb this) into either another container (if you want to filter or sweeten the wine), or into glass bottles. All these containers should be sterilised before you use them. Even if you are going straight into bottles, we would always recommend transferring into another container first before bottling to make it easier.
  12. Storage: The wine will benefit from being stored for as long as you can bear to leave it (minimum 4 weeks please, although we understand if it’s less) before drinking. If you are bottling, the wine should be corked and left upright for 2-3 days. You can then apply shrink tops and labels and the wine should be stored on its side to keep the corks moist.
    Some Useful Tips
  13. Always use a good quality cleaner / steriliser (like ours), and rinse well after use with clean water. Avoid bleach. No rinse sterilisers are also great.
  14. Temperature is really important so you must keep an eye on this. The warmer the room, the quicker the fermentation will be. However the quicker the fermentation the more flavours and bouquet you will loose, so in this case slow is good. If using brew belts or heat trays we would recommend that they are used with a time clock and only come on at the really cold time of day or night. Temperatures over 29°C will cause the yeast to die. Similarly, temperatures of under 18°C will cause problems and the yeast will not work.
  15. When siphoning the wine, make sure you have a rigid tube attached to prevent the sediment being drawn up.
  16. As soon as the stabilisers and finings have been added and have worked then get the wine into suitable storage containers/bottles, or glass demijohns. This will prevent infections.
  17. The removal of the carbon dioxide in the wine at the end of fermentation is really important as failure to do this will mean it is harder to clear the wine, and the finished wine will also develop a tingly taste on the tongue which does the taste no favours. A degassing stick is a really good investment as this works on the end of a drill. It does all the hard work for you!
  18. Sometimes the finings will cause particles to stick to the side of the container so it pays during the clearing process to give it a sharp twist. If the wine is not clear then just leave it until it is. It will clear quicker if it’s in a cool place.
  19. We would always recommend that you taste the wine prior to bottling (you deserve this perk after all the hard work). Wine can be sweetened by adding sugar or grape juice to your desired taste. Once sweetened it can never be made drier so if in doubt don’t do it. Sweetening can be done at any time at all.
  20. If you are planning to store the wine for more than 6-8 weeks, always use corks in your wine bottles. If you plan to drink the wine fairly quickly (less than 6 weeks) then screw top wine bottles are fine. Just make sure they have a good seal.
  21. Videos are available on the Love Brewing website (www.lovebrewing.co.uk), walking you through the process of making wine at home. However, always refer to these instructions if in doubt, as the videos were made some time ago and some aspects of the process may have changed since the videos were recorded.
  22. Oak chips are for helping the wine mature. They will add only the smallest amount of oak flavour.