Extended Instructions for Making Wines from Kits

My biggest complain with wine kits is that they are too rushed. In this era of immediate gratification, the consumer wants (I guess) his or her wine now! Forget the fact that wine takes time to make, to clarify, to degass itself, to age, and to develop bouquet once it is bottled. Having said that, there is a way to extend the process even for kits and make a much better wine than the 28-day regimens the kit manufacturers have devised.

I posted these instructions in my WineBlog (see the entry for December 18th, 2003). Their purpose is to extend a 28-day kit over a reasonable period to make an even better wine. The instructions below were originally devised by Ed Goist on the rec.crafts.winemaking use group on March 31st, 2000. While I have modified Ed's original to better fit my own belief system for making wines, I must give Ed the credit for the bulk of what follows. If you want to read his original posting, visit the link at the end of this entry.

These instructions are for kits that make 6 U.S. gallons (23 liters) of wine.

• Rehydrate your must to the full 6 U.S. gallons in a 6-gallon carboy, stirring well. If your tap water is good, use it. Otherwise use bottled spring water. Distilled water contains no trace minerals, which yeast need, and should be avoided.
• Many styles of full-bodied red wine kits benefit from the addition of grape tannin to the must before fermentation. Therefore, one may wish to add 1 to 1-1/2 level teaspoons of grape tannin as follows: Before rehydrating the must, thoroughly dissolve selected amount of grape tannin in about 1 quart of boiling water. Once dissolved, add the tannin solution to the must as part of its rehydration.
• Use a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of the must. A starting s.g. of 1.088 is perfect if you have a finished dry wine of similar type and style to top up with. If you intend to top up with water, raise the s.g. to 1.095 by adding 1 pound 4 ounces of sugar to 6 U.S. gallons of must.
• Next, withdraw 1 U.S. gallon of the must to a sealed glass jug and refrigerate it as a reserve for later addition to the main batch.
• If your kit has oak powder, add it now as instructed. If not and an oak fermentation is desired, add 1.4 ounce (39 grams) of untoasted Oak-Mor American White Oak Powder or 1.5 ounce (43 grams) of toasted to the carboy. The 5 gallons will get the oak. The reserved gallon will not until added back later.
• Now, properly rehydrate the enclosed yeast. For detailed instructions on how to rehydrate your yeast, please go to the first link following this entry (3 Easy Steps...) when you are finished here. Also, please note the additional link at the bottom of that page (second link below).
• Add 1/3 cup of must to your yeast slurry to make it easier to pour and pour the mixture into the carboy. Do not attach your airlock for the first 48 hours of fermentation. Yeast need oxygen to propagate and you want them to do that. Instead, cover the mouth of the carboy with a sanitized piece of muslin secured with a rubber band.
• Place your carboy in an area where the temperature remains at about 70 degrees F. (20 degrees C.).

• On the second day of fermentation, lightly stir the must to keep the yeast in suspension.
• At the end of the second day (after 48 hours), attach the airlock.

• Stir the must once a day on days 3 and 4. Stir on day 5 as well if the fermentation is not obviously vigorous.
• Always reattach the airlock after stirring.

• Watch for the vigorous fermentation to subside (this will be on about day 7 or 8, but possibly 9 or 10).
• When the vigorous fermentation has subsided, slowly add the reserve 1 U.S. gallon of juice back to the main batch. If the juice is still cold from refrigeration, add 1 pint every 15 minutes and then stir the must for 15-20 seconds. If the reserve is at room temperature, add 1 quart every 15 minutes and again stir.
• Reattach the airlock and keep the must at around 70 degrees F. (20C) for the next three weeks.

• Using a sanitized hydrometer, check the specific gravity of the must. Note the specific gravity and reattach the airlock.
• The specific gravity of the must should be under 0.995 for most kits (and under 1.000 for some kits for big reds).

• If making a white wine, prepare your bentonite as follows:
  • Place 1 quart of boiling water in a blender and turn the blender on to medium.
  • Slowly add 1 level tablespoon of bentonite to the blender.
  • The final slurry should have the consistency of pea soup. If required, add a small amount of additional water to make the slurry the proper consistency.
  • Once the proper consistency is achieved, blend the bentonite on high for 2 minutes.
• Cover the bentonite slurry and set aside.

• Using a sanitized hydrometer, again check the specific gravity of the must. Note the specific gravity. If the value has not dropped since Day 28, move on to stabilization.
• If the specific gravity has dropped since Day 28, reattach the airlock and allow further fermentation. Check the gravity on a daily basis until it remains unchanged for 2 consecutive days.
• Stabilization and Fining:
  • Add the contents of the bag marked stabilizer or potassium metabisulfite to an empty, sanitized, 6-gallon carboy. If the latter, add 3 teaspoons of potassium sorbate along with the potassium metabisulfite.
  • Rack the wine from its original carboy into the new carboy, leaving the lees behind.
  • Degass the wine by stirring it vigorously for 3 minutes. Wait 15 minutes and stir it again, vigorously, for 3 minutes.
  • If making a white wine, add the bentonite slurry which you prepared on Day 29. If possible, mix the slurry in your blender for about 2 minutes on high just before adding.
  • If making a red wine, add the packet marked Kieselsol from a Wine Art Claro K-C red wine finings package (may not be included).
  • Stir vigorously for 4 minutes.
  • Top up with a similar, dry wine and reattach your airlock.

• Using a wine thief, withdraw about 200ml of wine and set aside.
• If making a white wine, add the packet marked Finings which came in your kit to the carboy. Alternatively, you can add the packet marked Clarifier which comes in a packet of Wine Art Claro K-C white wine finings.
• If making a red wine, add the packet marked Clarifier from a Wine Art Claro K-C red wine finings package to the carboy.
• Stir vigorously for 4 minutes. Wait 15 minutes and again stir vigorously for 4 minutes.
• Top-up with the 200ml of wine withdrawn earlier. Reattach airlock.
• Place wine in a very cool location. Alternatively, the carboy can be stoppered with a cork and placed in a refrigerator.

• Carefully rack the wine into a sanitized carboy. Avoid splashing.
• If making a red wine or a Chardonnay and you did not add oak powder earlier (on Day 1), you may add some now using either of the following two alternatives:
  • Add Medium toast, French Allier white oak chips (from World Cooperage). "Heat sanitize" 4 oz (115g) of chips for 30 minutes by placing them on a piece of aluminum foil in an oven preheated to 250 degrees F. Allow the chips to cool and add to wine.
  • Add medium toast French StaVin (http://www.stavin.com/homewinemaker.htm) oak cubes at a rate of 3.5 oz (100g) per 6-gallon carboy. No preparation of the cubes is necessary. Simply add to carboy.
• Top-up carboy to the very top with a similar, dry wine. If wine was refrigerated, allow about 2.5 inches of ullage below the bung for expansion of the wine as it warms up.
• Place wine in a cool dark place. Over the next 35 days, check to be sure that your airlock remains filled with fluid to the indicated level.

• Rack wine off of its light lees into a sanitized carboy.
• If using the oak chips, discard the used chips.
• If using the Sta-Vin cubes, rinse and return them to the fresh carboy.
• Top-up the carboy with a similar, dry wine.
• Check fluid level in airlock and reattach to carboy.
• Place wine in a cool dark place. Over the next 60 days, check to be sure that your airlock remains filled with fluid to the indicated level.

• Your wine should now be crystal clear.
• Degass the wine as follows:
  • Stir it vigorously with a sanitized plastic or wooden dowel. You must cause the wine to cavitate (stir vigorously enough that an air cavity forms behind the dowel as it moves). Foam will be released,
  • Be careful at first to not create so much foam that it rises out of the carboy and overflows.
  • Stir for 2-3 minutes, then let the wine rest 10-15 minutes under airlock.
  • Repeat until foam stops rising.
• Check your wine for residual CO2 as follows:
  • Use a wine thief to place about 200ml of wine in a 375ml clear wine bottle.
  • Cover the mouth of the bottle with your thumb and shake vigorously.
  • If the wine foams substantially, further degassing is warranted.
• Rack the wine into a sanitized carboy into which 1/4 tsp of potassium metabisulfite has been added.
• If using the Sta-Vin cubes, and further oak character is desired, the cubes can be rinsed and returned to the fresh carboy.
• If the wine needs further degassing (as determined above), stir vigorously for 4 minutes. Wait 15 minutes and stir vigorously for 4 more minutes.
• If the wine does not seem to need further degassing, stir lightly.
• Taste test the wine.
• Top-up with wine in 375ml degassing test bottle and additional dry wine if necessary.
• Check fluid level in airlock and reattach to carboy.

• Reds which are still in contact with the StaVin cubes and which are going to be filtered can be racked into a sanitized carboy. Top-up with a dry wine. Cubes should be discarded.
• Taste test the wine.
• If wine tastes balanced, is free of defects, and free of excess CO2, bottle at leisure or filter for bottling on Day 180.

• Taste test the wine.
• Bottle wines filtered on Day 170.

• 3 East Steps for Rehydrating Yeast and Inoculating Must, Lalvin's very practical page
• Clayton Cone's Fermentation Hints, another goodie from Lalvin
• Extended Instructions..., Ed's original posting at rec.crafts.winemaking