Wine Making Supplies / Wine Making Equipment
The supplies needed by the home wine maker to make wine are not too extensive and not very expensive. Supplies needed fall into two categories:
- The basic wine making equipment that you will use every time you make wine
- The wine making supplies that you will need for each batch of wine that you make (e.g., grapes or grape juice etc.)
The Basic Equipment for Making Wine
Following is the equipment that you will need every time you make wine:
- A small crusher if wine is to be made from grapes. These often can be rented. Home wine makers who are making wine from juice or concentrate will not need a crusher.
- A small wine press if wine is to be made from grapes. As with the crusher, these can often be rented and are note needed if grape juice or concentrate is being used.
- A primary fermentation container. This is typically a plastic 7 to 8 gallon pail typically with a lid and some type of air lock that allows carbon dioxide to escape but keeps out air. A wood barrel can be substituted here, but this adds somewhat to the complexity of making wine.
- Various wine storage vessels. Depending on the quantity of wine to be made, the home wine maker may need one or more 6 gallon glass carboys with stoppers and air locks. Again, wooden barrels may be used.
- Plastic tubing for siphoning wine from one container to another (racking).
- A saccharometer (a type of hydrometer) which is used for determining the amount of sugar in the grape juice/wine.
- A thermometer to measure the temperature of fermentation.
- A bottle filler
- A carboy and bottle washer
- Bottle brush
- A lever corker
For the more advance wine maker, oak barrels may be used for aging wine, but that can run into quite an expense.
Supplies for Making Wine
Following is a list of the consumable supplies that you will need each time you make a batch of wine:
- Grapes, frozen must, grape juice, or grape concentrate
- Yeast
- Some type of sanitizer or campden tablets to be used to sanitize the equipment and bottles. Campden tablets may also be used to add sulfur dioxide to the wine to kill unwanted bacteria.
- Stabilizing agents
- Fining or clarifying agents
- oak chips to impart oak flavor
- Wine bottles
- Corks
- Foil capsules for the top of the wine bottle
- Wine labels
Many wine making supply companies provide all of the equipment needed in a kit. These kits may often include grape juice or concentrate as well as a wine making book or instructions.
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