|
Wine Making
Items
It will take
more than some grapes and few empty bottles
to make your own wine, but most of the
wine making items are readily
available.
Many of the kits
being sold in the market today contain
everything needed to brew small batches of
wine, except the grapes and in addition to
the wine making items in the kit, complete
instructions and various recipes are
included.
One of the main
pieces of equipment that will be needed is a
wine press, if planning to use grapes for
the wine. Wine has been made from virtually
every type of fruit as well as many
vegetables, and the method of extracting the
juice may vary, but most of the wine making
items can be used regardless of the fruit
being used. Some older images of people
stomping grapes in wood barrels may indicate
this is part of the process, but more modern
pieces of equipment extracts more of the
juice and is more sanitary.
Containers will
also be needed for use during the
fermentation process, one at least with four
gallon capacity made of food grade material
such as plastic, as well as secondary
fermentation bottles, usually one-gallon and
made of glass. Another important part of the
wine making items is a rubber cork with an
airlock to fit the secondary fermentation
jugs.
Optional
Equipment
Measuring the
acid in the grape squeezing can be done with
litmus strips, but a more accurate content
can be determined with an acid titration
kit. A hydrometer is necessary for measuring
the natural sugar to determine how much
needs to be added. Other wine making items
that will be needed include wine bottles for
the finished product, corks and a hand
corker. Clear plastic tubing is needed for
transferring the wine into bottles and a
nylon bag is required for filtering the
fermented wine before it is bottled.
Those not using
a wine making kit can find most of the other
wine making items in a winemaking supply
store. Wine yeast, nutrient for the yeast as
well as pectin enzyme and grape tannin will
be needed during most processes.
Despite the large list of wine
making items that is needed, remember
that most of the equipment and some of the
items can be used repeatedly. Ingredients will
have to be replenished as needed, but the
equipment, once cleaned and sanitized can be
used numerous times as well as for making a
variety of wines.
|