What do you really need to start making wine?

Written by DJ Spiess

Wednesday, 22 April 2009

If you're looking to start making your own wine, here's the minimum list of equipment you will need.

Equipment for making wine from a wine kit

Making wine from a wine kit is very easy.

Just like making beer, the no-rinse sanitizer is required. A no-rinse sanitizer makes sanitizing your equipment very easy. Simply mix water with a measured amount of sanitizer according to the directions. Then sanitize everything which will have contact with the must (the grape juice).

The must in the wine kit is already chemically adjusted for pH and sugars. Your only steps are to rehydrate (add water) and inoculate (toss yeast in) the must. The large spoon is for mixing the must when you rehydrate it. You'll need a secondary fermenter when you rack the wine during the racking and clarification step.

There is very little equipment needed for making wine from a kit

You will also need a sanitized spoon later after the fermentation to "degass" your wine. This is a fancy term which means "stir the heck out of it until there is no more CO2/bubbles in the wine". You might want to invest in a Fermtech Whip Degasser, Winexpert Wine Wand, or some mixer which you can attach to a electric drill. This will make your degassing much easier. It's not listed because you can use a large spoon and lots of stirring.

Again like beer, I suggest getting a bottling bucket when you bottle. You can siphon directly into your bottles, but a bottling bucket makes life easier.

Here's the minimum equipment you'll need for a wine kit

Sanitizer
Fermenter
Secondary Fermenter/Carboy
Large spoon
Corks and Corker
Wine bottles
A hose to siphon beer, racking cane or an auto-siphon

Equipment for making wine from grapes

Making wine from grapes takes a bit more equipment. You will need to destem the grapes, crush the grapes, and then eventually press the grapes. When I started making wine from grapes, I used the equipment from my local homebrew store where I purchased the grapes. They had wine making equipment available for rent. The homebrew store even tested the must acids and sugars for me, so all I needed was a trashcan fermenter for the grapes. There are some wine making/homebrew clubs which pool resources together for grape crushes too. Do some research to find out if your grape supplier also can provide use of equipment.

If you don't have access to equipment, you can still make wine. In this case you will need to destem and crush the grapes by hand. This will work for a small amount of grapes, but your patience will be tested if you are planning to make large amounts of wine. You will also need a wine press. If you can't find one to rent, look on craigslist for a used press.

A large fermenter is needed if you are making red wine. I use a large food grade trashcan dedicated to making wine.

Check with your LHBS or wine making club to see if you can rent equipment

The potassium metabisulfite is used to kill wild yeast and bacteria. You can also use campden tablets. The potassium sorbate is used later to stabilize the wine. Pectic enzyme is used to help break down the grapes and extract more juice.

Once you've crushed your grapes, the process is similar to wine kits.

Here's the minimum equipment you'll need for a wine from grapes

Sanitizer
Fermenter
Large foodgrade trashcan (red wine)
Large Spoon
Corks and Corker
Wine bottles
A hose to siphon beer, racking cane or an auto-siphon
Potassium Metabisulfite
Potassium Sorbate
Pectic Enzyme

Possibly

hydrometer
acid testing kit
wine press
destemmer/crusher

Did I miss anything?

There might be something I'm missing. I think these lists represent the minimum equipment you will need to make wine. What do you think? Is there anything I missed or is there anything I added which you do not need?

Who is behind fermentarium?

My name is D.J. Spiess I've been homebrewing for many years and I hope I can help you enjoy this hobby as much as I do. If you enjoyed this article, please leave a comment, share it, digg it, or stumble it using the icons to the right or the top of the page.
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