Making Wine with the Stonehelm 30 bottle Wine Equipment Starter Pack | So you need to know how to make good quality wine. Well its not as hard as it sounds! All you will need to make 30 bottle batches of great wine is the Stonehelm equipment starter pack for wine and a good quality wine kit. |  | What does the pack contain? | | In short, everything that you'll need to make 23 litres (30 bottles) of wine. Once you've made the wine you will probably want to bottle it. This can be done with the Stonehelm bottling kit, and standard wine bottles (new or old). | | Enclosed Fermenter | The Enclosed Fermenter. The main fermenter is used in the second stage of the wine fermentation. This is a good, tested design that will last for many batches of wine. The 4 inch cap allows your whole arm access to the fermenter, and the sloping top means that the fermenter can be drain completely when turns upside down (an advantage over older 'flat topped' designs). The container is sealed with a bung and airlock. | | Bung & Airlock | The Bung & Airlock. The rubber bung fits into a purpose made whole drilled into the lid. The airlock is then half filled with water placed into the bung. This allows the internal pressure to equalize with the exterior atmosphere. Read about how an airlock works. | | Bucket Style Fermenter | The Wide Topped Fermenter with lid is a perfect solution for the primary fermentation. The lid can both rest on top, or snap on for an air tight seal. When using the bucket for primary fermentation just resting the lid on is enough, this allows the gas formed in the process to escape without pressure build up. The fermenter is made of a food grade, chemical resistant, plastic that will not taint the wine. The fact it is a bucket means it is very easy to clean as once you take the lid off you can access all parts completely. | | | The Stonehelm Syphon Pack for 25 litre bucket is an excellent solution to moving your wine from container to container. Not bailing with jugs, thus avoiding spillages when pouring, just a steady controlled flow. The syphon can be used not only to move the wine from your bucket to enclosed fermenter and from there to bottles, but also to separate the wine from sediment (dead yeast cells). | | VWP Sterilizer | VWP is a powerful cleaner sterilizer that lifts grime and kills germs. It can make glassware and china sparkle and remove stains from plastic and cutlery. In the brewing hobby we use it to sanitize (kill bacteria) all the items that our beer or wine will touch. This means that nasty infections can be avoided and we can achieve a great result time after time. | Is it hard to do? | | Not at all. Not only do all wine kits come with complete instructions, and also, if required, Stonehelm can offer comprehensive telephone advice, but this method is also fairly simple to follow as you can see from the next few lines. | Day 1: Open your equipment starter kit and check it over getting a feel for it all. Now, take a look at your wine kit. The good kits contain one large bag of grape juice concentrate, and several little ones containing yeast, oak, finings etc. First wash the bucket, then sanitize it by making up a solution of VWP and soak the equipment. Rinse well then pour the contents of the large juice bag into the bucket, add water to the final volume. Check the temperature is not too hot then add the yeast, and depending on the kit; nutrient, bentonite, oak, and/or elderflowers. Leave in normal room temperature for about 7 days (check wine kit instructions for details). Day 7: Syphon the wine into the secondary fermenter, leave as much sediment behind as possible. (This process is known as racking .) Day 20: The fermentation should now be complete! Now you can add the stabilizer, to prevent further fermentation and help protect against bacterias and oxidation. Degas the wine by vigours stirring, this removes the carbon dioxide that has dissolved into the wine during fermentation. Now add the finings, these help the wine to clear. Day 28: The wine should now be bright and clear. It is now ready to drink but all wine will improve a great deal with a little ageing, and depending on the wine some are best after 2-3 years. Now that the wine is finished it can be bottled(best option) or stored in a bag in a box wine dispenser. Bottling can be easily achieved with the stonehelm bottling kit.
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