Wine Making Kit Instructions For:

• Wine Base - unlabeled large bag consisting of grape juice concentrate
• May contain oak granulars, elderberries, elderflowers, bottle of Flavour Essence, Sweet Reserve Bag (use all items that are included)
• Yeast Pack
• Packet #2 Bentonite — helps yeast activity and clears wine by removing proteins
• Packet #3 Potassium Metabisulphite — used to prevent oxidation and improve shelf life
• Packet #4 Potassium Sorbate — used as an anti-microbial agent to prevent re-fermentation
• Fining Agents — Kieselsol and Chitosan (2 packages) — removes proteins, which results in a clear stable wine.

If you do not have any equipment to start making your own wine, you can buy all the needed equipment at once. If you want to save your time and money this Starter Kit will be ideal for you. You will need:

Primary Fermentor:A food grade plastic container calibrated to 23 L/6 US gal. With optional holes on the lid set for #6.5 Rubber Stoppers. See our Fermentation Equipment

Carboy: A glass or plastic carboy to hold 23 L/6 US gal and will fit a fermentation lock and stopper(#6.5 for glass carboys and #10 for plastic).

Racking Tube & Tubing: Approximately 6 ft. long flexible, food grade tubing with a rigid plastic siphon rod. Check our Equipment for Tranfering

Fermentation Lock & Stopper: Fits into the carboy, and is half-filled with water or sterilizing solution. Allows CO, to escape and prevents oxygen and spoilage organisms from entering the wine.

Hydrometer & Test Jar: Used to check specific gravity of your wine at different stages of the fermentation process.

Wine Bottles & Wine Corks : 30 x 750 ml./26 oz. See all bottling options

Wine Corker to seal the bottles with the wine corks

Solid Bung: Fits into the carboy. Prevents oxygen and spoilage organisms from entering the wine. Use once wine is fully degassed.

Sodium Metabisulphite and/or aseptox for sanitizing anything the wine touches.

Remember to sterilize your containers and equipment with a sterilizing solution before proceeding. See "Hints for Success" Item #1. Most municipal water supplies are chlorinated, which can interfere with yeast, leading to incomplete fermentation. It is strongly recommended that tap water be drawn off the day before use and allowed to sit overnight at room temperature to allow chlorine to dissipate. Alternatively, you may use still bottled water (reverse osmosis water is preferred). It is also strongly recommended that you let your wine kit sit at room temperature the day before use.

We strongly recommend not topping up at any stage or step to ensure a properly balanced wine.

• Add 4 L (16 cups) of warm water into the sterilized fermenter.
• Open and sprinkle package #2 (Bentonite clay) into water, Stir the mixturefor 30 seconds.
• Remove yellow cap of juice bladder and empty into fermenter. Rinse the juicebladder with warm water until all concentrate is dissolved from bladder.
• Optional, if your kit contains a “flavour enhancer”: apples, elderberries,elderowers, oak chips or raisins, etc. Add it to the mixture at this time.
• Fill the Fermentation bucket with warm water and bring the mixture up to the 23L (6 Gal) mark. Mix thoroughly for 1 minute. Note: The ideal temperature of the mixture should be 20-25°C (68-77°F).
• Take the Specific Gravity (SG) reading using a hydrometer and record it on this instruction sheet. (Recommended Starting SG of 1.075 -1.095)
• Open and sprinkle Yeast Package onto the mixture. Do not mix.
• Cover the fermenter and add the Airlock (½ filled with water) with a bung(stopper) and place the filled fermenter in an area at 20-25°C (68-77°F) room temperature. In 7 days move on to the next step.

• Take the Specific Gravity (SG) with the hydrometer, if the SG is below 0.995 proceed, if not, some extra time for fermentation is required; check daily until target SG is reached.
• Rest fermenter on a sturdy table with approximately 1m (3 ft) from the floor
• Place sterilized 23L (6 Gal) carboy on the floor below the fermenter
• Place siphon tube carefully into fermenter and siphon off the wine, leaving the sediment behind in the fermenter
• Open and sprinkle package #3 (Potassium Metibisulphite) and package #4 (Potassium Sorbate) into the wine.
• Mix the wine vigorously for approximately 2 minutes using a sterilized spoon to remove captured bubbles in the wine. Re-apply the airlock with bung on the carboy for 6 days. Move to a cooler location, 16°C (60° F) -4°C (39°F).

• Siphon wine into a sterilized carboy, leaving sediment behind.
• Pour the Kieselsol (smaller liquid package) into the wine and stir vigorously for 30 sec
• Wait 1 hour, then pour the Chitosan (Larger liquid package) into the 23L (6Gal) Carboy with wine.
• Put the carboy of finished wine on a sturdy table. The carboy will require no further moving before bottling
• Re-apply the airlock and bung and leave undisturbed for 6 days.

Wine should be clear and ready to bottle. If the wine has not clarified yet, leave for a few more days. It is recommended that you filter the wine prior to bottling. If aging your wine for longer than 6 months, add 1/2 tsp. of Potassium Metabisulfite dissolved in wine

• Optional: Filter the wine and follow your filter instructions.
• Siphon the clear wine into sterilized wine bottles, leaving approximately 3 cm (1”) space for the cork
• Using the corking machine, seal the bottles with corks.
• Store the corked bottles of wine upright for 2 days, then store the bottles on their side in a location with a steady temperature between 16°C (60°F) – 4°C
• (39°F). Note: Aging 6+ months? Add an addition ¼ teaspoon of Potassium Metibisulphite to the batch before bottling.