So you have decided to start making wine at home, or your at least still thinking about it. A little lost on where you should start? Well look no further. Im going to run down some of the basic equipment that you will need to start off. There is alot more to wine making than just the equipment, but a good set of basic equipment is required.
When you are first deciding to make wine at home, there are a few basic wine making supplies that you are going to need to have. For the set up of your wine making operation, you will need a 7.9 gallon primary fermentor, one that has a drilled gasket lid. This will be used to grow the yeast and as well to allow lots of oxygen to your wine.
You are also going to need a drilled stopper, which is also known as a bung, and this is needed to fit the carboy, along with the airlock, to allow the oxygen to stay out of your fermentation and keep the carbon to be released from the carboy.
Other Wine Making Supplies
The hydrometer is another of the most important wine making supplies, and it is this item which is what makes sure that you have the proper amount of sugar in your wine, by measuring the specific gravity levels.
When you are making wine at home this level is usually anywhere from 1.05 to 1.10 S.G. The size of the tube in the fermentor is quite small, thus the need for the wine thief and test jar in your collection of wine making supplies. The wine thief is the item that is going to be used to sample some of the wine to insert into the test jar, which is then used to measure the S.G. with the hydrometer.
The hydrometer also informs you when you need to continue on to your next task in the wine making process. A siphon tube is another important piece of wine making equipment, and is used to deliver your wine from one fermentor to the next, while keeping out as many unwanted particles as possible from your wine by attaching it to the 5ft siphon tubing in between the two tubs.
The bottle filler is used as simply in the way that its name states, which is to fill the wine bottles. This item in your group of wine making supplies is used by draining the wine from the fermanter into each bottle, allowing you to stop and start the flow of wine as needed.
There are loads of other supplies that you can purchase as well, however these are the general basics and really all you require in order to make a quality batch of wine. Still lost? Dont worry, I was a mess when I first tried making wine. If you really dont understand the process of wine making at all, then you owe it to yourself to invest in a good book. A large and easy to read book for wine making beginners, with lots of pictures will save your life and make your wine a whole lot better tasting.
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