Want to know how to make your own wine in the comfort of your own home? Since the Roman era, lots of people have been doing it, but without the right equipment, it’s not an easy thing to do. Here’s a few ideas and tips as to which winemaking accessories and equipment you should probably think about investing in is you want to make some fantastic homemade wine for a price that will surprise you !
First off, you need to look at how expensive the equipment is and see if it fits within your budget. There are dozens of websites online who specialize in selling home winemaking equipment. The vast majority of them will offer deals where all the basic equipment is included in a “Starter Kit”. A Starter kit could be the best thing to purchase at the beginning, especially if you are new to the home winemaking hobby. It shouldn’t break the budget, as these kits tend to cost $100 or less. Most of the components to the kit can be reused constantly, so you’re not required to buy a new kit every time. With all the money you’ll soon be saving from making your own wine, the kit will pay for itself in a very short time!
What’s in the Starter Kit?
The largest piece of equipment will be a large bucket of at least 25 litres which will act as your fermentation vessel. You will also need a secondary container, which is usually a clear glass container that will be about 20-30 litres. This is known as a carboy. You can get away with plastic, but glass is better.
There will also be several rubber stoppers that will be required to be used on the fermentation vessels included with this Starter kit. An airlock will also be included with the kit. This device prevents external air and bacteria from getting into the fermentation containers while allowing excess carbon dioxide to be released. The more expensive starter kits will include a few different sized brushes that will be needed to clean the carboy and the bottles that you’ll fill with your finished wine. Assuming corks are included with the kit, you’ll also need some sort of device to put the corks in the bottles. It should be easy to use, as you’ll be getting a lot of use out it soon!
The difference between a great homemade wine and sour vinegar will come down to cleanliness and sterility of all your equipment. You should make sure that a suitable sterilizing agent and cleaning chemical. This is a step you want to get right the first time, as you can’t get a second chance! There will also be a device called a “racking tube”, which allows you to transfer wine from one container to another as part of the whole process.
One last accessory that will be included is a hydrometer. This essential accessory measures the amount of dissolved sugar in the mixture before you add the yeast to it. By doing this, the potential amount of alcohol in the final wine can be estimated. It also allows you to know when all the sugar in the mixture has been consumed by the yeast, so you’ll know if fermentation has stopped because of the lack of sugar, or if the yeast has died early.
These are a few of the essential but more common winemaking equipment you’ll find in the majority of homemade wine Starter kits. You’ll probably need to purchase the ingredient kit separately, as the type of wine you make is your personal choice. You could probably get a good deal on an ingredient kit from a wine kit vendor if you buy the starter kit from them as well. No matter what kind of wine you want to produce, if you have the correct winemaking equipment, you’ll be spending many productive hours perfecting your new hobby of home winemaking and making your very own special wine vintage!
Doug has been writing articles online for nearly 3 years now. Although he specializes in financial topic such as commodities and equities, you can check out his latest website, TheWineSpot.org, which gives all the latest news, reviews and helpful articles about all topics wine related, such as wine and calories, wine accessories, red wine, white wine, and all types of wines from all over the world!
