Easy Wine Making from a Kit.

I just completed making 10 gallons of a Pinot Noir first fermentation from a "kit." Previously I had made 5 gallons of a Merlot also from a 'kit.' They are called kits but really they're just a big bag of concentrated grape juice along with packets of yeast, sanitizer, preservatives and fining agents.

The biggest problem I had turned out not to be a problem at all. The instructions that come with the kit specify that you have to obtain an SG (specific gravity) of 1.020 before you can start the 'secondary' fermentation. Using a refractometer, I found I wasn't able to obtain that low a specific gravity--at least not as measured by my inexpensive refractometer. The primary fermentation got stuck at around 1.025-1.030 and I wasn't able to lower it even with the various tips offered online: add B6 vitamin, add nutrients like urea and ammonium salts, and/or add some more yeast.

Even though my refractometer did not give me sufficiently low readings, I found an online calculator of ABV (Alcohol By Volume in percentage units) and plugging in the values of starting and ending SG, I discovered that I had obtained an ABV of 14 %. Of course, I should have known I had good stuff because of the buzz I was getting from my wines.

Aside from the refractometer, the only other equipment I splurged on was a stainless steel tank with spigot (the best way to rack) and a specialized lid that allowed placement right on top of the must at any volume of must. From my numerous gadget collections, I also had a digital non-contact thermometer that came in handy and a pH meter. Oh, and I also purchased a degassing tool (it's nothing more than a rod with what looks like a weed wacker line looping at one end and an opposite end that you insert into a household drill).

• Buy the kit for starters. You can mess around with your own juices later. If you use your own fruits, you are advised to kill any wild yeasts that might be present. Here, Campden tablets are both convenient and cheap. One tablet per gallon of must is first dissolved in water and then stirred into the must.
• Follow directions but do not fret over cleanliness or SG.
• We must remember that to this day, people still stomp on grapes with their bare feet and it's off to the fermentation tank without further ado. Furthermore, the yeast will start producing alcohol immediately and we all know that alcohol is a great disinfectant. Yeast also produce carbon dioxide and what that means is that eventually there will be little room for oxygen (what oxygen there was will be consumed by the yeast themselves and no oxygen means that nasty bacteria will not be able to thrive. Yeast will continue to thrive for two reasons: they start to ferment without oxygen (anaerobic fermentation and they are more tolerant of alcohol.).
• Instead of obsessing over the final SG number, what I found to be more telling and verified by the above-mentioned calculator is how much the SG has dropped after 3 to 7 days in the fermentation tank. In my Merlot fermentation, I had gone from 1.080 to 1.020 and in my Pinot Noir fermentation, I went from 1.090 to 1.025.
• The kit directions start off with a suspension of bentonite clay in warm water. This will aid in giving you a nice clear wine because protein particles stick to the bentonite and drop to the bottom. I found that the Merlot kit needed no further 'fining.' The kit has additional packets of substances that will aid in getting the wine even clearer but a little cloudiness doesn't bother me so I doubt I will use them for my Pinot which is in its secondary fermentation.
• The syrupy juice is then added along with water. For my Merlot I thought I would be smart and use distilled water but one site I went to thought this wasn't a good idea as yeast could use the dissolved minerals in spring water. Nevertheless, I was able to get a good-tasting Merlot with distilled water.
• The yeast comes next and packet directions should be followed to the letter but do not let the yeast sit in the preparation water for more than 15 minutes. Stir the yeast into the must but be sure that the yeast suspension and the must are within 9 degrees F of each other--preferably both at around 75 degrees F. The higher the eventual must temperature, the faster the yeast will go to work but try for under 80 degrees F. It should be noted that when yeast go to work, they produce heat and the temp of a 75 degree must could exceed the optimal upper limit of 80. I used a small fan aimed at the tank to play it safe. (probably a needless obsession on my part).
• The kit directions specify placing a cover with airlock onto the must but yeast--initially--need oxygen to get to work. Many wineries do not bother with covers--at least during primary. I decided to seek middle ground. I placed plastic wrap over the tank and left a 3" square opening that I covered with gauze. One site mentioned that a cover was a good idea because it would maintain a high carbon dioxide concentration need the surface of must and in so doing, ward off microbial contaminants; however, I've seen the commercial tanks used in primary fermentations and the liquid in the huge tanks is exposed to the air with ample air circulation. In fact, here is an article on the importance of oxygen during the first 2-3 days. The yeast need O2 in order to build their cell structures. It's so important that I'm thinking I'll buy myself a stainless steel diffuser like the kind you might use in a fish tank (see article) to use during the first few days (I'll try it on a one gallon run first)
• It depends on temperature, but usually at the end of a day, the must will start foaming. If left alone, this foam will dry out. It is advisable to "punch the cap" at this time by stirring the top layer. This allows additional oxygen to infuse into the must. I did this numerous times throughout primary (even when the foam had not dried out) but, in the future, if I can still see bubbles coming to the surface, I think I'll just leave it alone. This, only to minimize contaminants.
• At the end of 3 to 7 days, the must will stop foaming. If you measured SG at this point you will likely discover, as I have, that the SG (as measured by poorer quality refractometer--hydrometers may provide more accuracy at lower SG levels) has reached its lowest point. I've seen estimates that in the primary fermentation the yeast produce 80% of the alcohol and that you get the rest during secondary fermentation. I broke my hydrometer and haven't replaced it, so I can't verify this but at one point I had an airlock during secondary and I don't even remember seeing bubbles. I suspect that you can obtain a much higher ABV during primary if the conditions are right--higher temp and great starting must in terms of sugar content & nutrients)
• Now comes the time for the first racking where the top layer is siphoned off to a sanitized container to continue on to a secondary fermentation (with airlock). In some setups, that secondary fermentation will take place in that second container. However with my stainless steel tank with the spigot, I open the spigot and pour the wine into temporary "carboys" (five gallon spring water containers). I then clean and sanitize the stainless steel tank before putting back the wine from the carboys.
• With my setup, I lower the sanitized lid onto the tank and pump up the pneumatic seal that prevents oxygen from reaching the must thus preventing aerobic bacteria from spoiling the must. In carboy fermentations, it is advisable to bring up the level of must to within 1 or 2 inches of the airlock by adding pre-sterilized and must-temperature water.
• Experts will tell you that the reason to lower the SG to zero or better is that this ensures that your wine will be dry (free of any sweetness). But the bottom line is that if it tastes good and gives you a good buzz, why fuss with a good thing? Because I try to eliminate as much sugar from my diet as possible, I keep the lid on for another three weeks or more to attempt greater dryness but I seriously doubt that I'll have that much to go to get 100% of all sugar consumed and turned into alcohol.
• There can be additional racking done before bottling but this just gets you a clearer wine. If the clarity of your wine isn't that important, why go through the trouble of racking? Note that using a tank or carboy with a spigot adds another racking as you bottle. That spigot rides slightly higher than the bottom of the vessel permitting dead yeast & debris (the lees) to stay behind in that space below the spigot.
• When ready to bottle the wine and after having done the sanitize must, preserve must, and clarify must as outlined in the kit procedure, you need to degas the wine. This is done in a 30-60 minute time frame (if you're in a hurry; if not, you can just let the must degas by itself as it sits in secondary fermentation. Placing the degass tool in an electric drill and inserting it into the must, you alternate spinning the drill in one direction (clockwise) for 30 seconds and then switching directions (counter-clockwise) for the next 30 seconds; and so on, back and forth. During this step, you will see bubbles coming to the surface as a light foam that soon disappears after stopping the degassing.
• You can now bottle and cork the wine. I found that inserting a dry cork with a corker (I used the Portuguese corker) was very hard unless I first wet the cork using wine or a dilute solution of potassium metabisulfite (10% or less). The latter would be preferred especially if aging the wine for years but I see no difficulty with a little wine on the cork; after all, it sits in wine throughout the ageing period.

Here are some notes on sanitizing and preserving:

• Find yourself a suitable cleaner online. I used a "green" non-toxic preparation that I happened to have around along with a lot of hot water for rinsing. You want to remove all traces of must.
• Buy potassium metabisulfite powder (concentrations used are 10% (100 g/liter of water) and 25% (250 gm/liter of water). The higher concentration is used to sanitize equipment while the weaker one is used for everything else.
• Before starting work, I sanitize every surface that comes in contact with the wine.  I am obsessed with this because I've just spent $80 on grape concentrate and do not want to lose it to spoilage but whether the risk from not thoroughly sanitizing is real or not, I have yet to determine. But because it's not that big a deal, I'll continue to sanitize.
• See this piece Keep-it-Clean for a good summary of products used.

A note on sulphur dioxide gas:

This is a toxic gas given off by potassium or sodium metabisulphite. Free levels of the gas in the wine are essential to prevent spoilage and specialized tests are needed to determine if you have adequate amounts of it. When determining the amount of potassium metabisulphite to use, a pH determination needs to be made because you need less of it the more acidic the wine. There are easy formulas to use to obtain ballpark free SO2 levels based on the pH of the wine. These together with potassium sorbate should prevent your wine from spoiling while it ages. Determining free SO2 levels and adding the right amount is easily the most difficult thing to do right in winemaking. If you use a kit, the manufacturer has estimated the amounts that you will need for their product and has provided you with packets containing the right amounts. DO NOT BREATHE the powder and smell it in solution only by using the chemist's technique of gently fanning the air above the liquid towards your nose with your hand. The only reason for doing this is to see if that solution you made up two months ago is still potent.