Basic Wine Making Equipment You Need

If you want to start making wine from home, there are plenty of starter kits out there to get you going. Or, you could buy your own equipment separately. Of course, before you do this, you need to know what pieces you need. Miss an essential bit of wine making equipment and you could find yourself in a pickle half way through a batch.

Even if you’re buying a starter kit, it still pays to know what each different bit of equipment does. Here, we’ll go over the essential pieces of wine making equipment you’ll need to get started, as well as some other helpful tools to get the best out of your wine.

Everything you Need for Fermenting, Testing, and Bottling

We can divide wine making equipment up into a few basic areas. Firstly, there’s the essential equipment you’ll need for fermenting wine. Secondly, there’s testing equipment to ensure you get the best taste out of your mix. And finally, there’s bottling and cleaning products.

1. When brewing wine, you’ll need two fermenters or carboys. After several days of fermentation, you’ll be moving your wine from the first container into the second.
2. To do this, you’ll want a siphon hose and racking crane. The hose will make transfer between containers and bottles a whole lot easier, whilst the racking crane will help you get a siphon started.
3. During fermentation in the second container, gases need to be able to escape. A rubber stopper and airlock will allow gases to leave the container, whilst keeping bugs, bacteria and air out.
4. Next up is a variety of equipment to help you test your wine during fermentation. A wine thief is a simple bit of kit that lets you take samples of wine from your containers ready for testing. Of course, if your container has a spigot this isn’t necessary.
5. Speaking of tests, an acid test kit can help you make sure your wine is neither too high or low in acid. An imbalance will affect the taste.
6. Alongside this, you’ll want a wine hydrometer. This allows you to test the ‘Specific Gravity’ of a sample. Though it sounds complicated, it’s an essential tool that helps you know how your fermentation is going.
7. With one batch done, you’ll want to store your wine and prepare your equipment for another round. Sanitising equipment will keep your kit clean between fermentations and prevent your wine being contaminated.
8. Finally, you’ll want bottles to keep your wine stored. It’s unlikely your home-made mix will fit in one bottle. Consider shopping with a glass bottles wholesale store.

The Bottle Jar Store: Give Your Home Brews a Professional Look

At The Bottle Jar Store we sell all kinds of bottles to micro-breweries and home-brewers across the country. With bottles on offer in all shapes and sizes, we can help you find the perfect way to store your wine. Our bottles will help you take pride in your home-made products, and offer all kinds of potential for labelling and branding. Be sure to give our full range a browse, and order with us next time you’re brewing.