If you are just starting out, wine concentrates or wine kits offer an easy way for you to get started with your first batch of wine. Kits come with simple, easy-to-follow instruction that eliminate all of the guesswork.  Making wine is as simple as following a recipe and wine kits provide you with all of the ingredients you need, pre-measured and ready to use out right of the box.

You’ve been to the local brew store or shopped online for wine kits and you have noticed that kit prices vary greatly in price.  What’s up with that? The fact is just like commercial wines, prices can be wildly different. That fact remains true with their base ingredient; the grape juice.   The tendency might be to skimp on the quality of the juice to save a few bucks. I have found the better the juice, the better the wine. When spread over 25 to 30 bottles a kit can produce, the added cost per bottle is pretty low.  My general advice is the better the juice, the better the wine. Purchase premium juice and you’ll have greater satisfaction in the finished product. In the end, your total costs will be $4 to $5 dollars a bottle.

WHAT ARE MY CHOICES IN KITS?

You’ve got a wide number of choices when it comes to wines that can be made from kits. The choice includes many varietals to include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Zinfandel, Chianti, Rieslings, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Sangiovese and many, many more.  

The juice concentrates for these varietals come from all points of the world.  You may decide that you want a Chardonnay but it could be that could be from California, Washington State, France, Australia, Argentina or other points.  And as discussed above, the quality of the juice varies even within the same region.

The other factor with kits has to do with the amount of juice concentrate.  The difference has to do with the amount of water needed to bring the concentrate up to whatever sized kit you are making.  For example, If you are making a 6-gallon batch, some concentrates may include 5 liters of juice while another kit may include 19 liters of juice.  While juice is concentrated to take into account the amount of water to be added, generally speaking the less water you have to add, the better the juice quality.  In my experience, a 19L juice kit makes a better wine than a kit that contains 5L of juice.

The good news is that wine kits can be purchased year round.  If you are making wine and starting with fresh grapes or fruits, your window of time to start is limited by the time of year. Wine kits can produce some very good wines and you have the flexibility to start batches at any time of the year.

HOW TO MAKE WINES USING CONCENTRATES

I’ll review the basic steps here to give you an idea of the process, but be aware that your kit will include detailed steps.  Overall, it’s pretty easy to make wine from juice concentrates.

The kit manufacturer has processed the juice and its ready to be turned into wine.  Once of the most important things you will do is to make sure that your equipment is clean and sanitized.  If you introduce bacteria into your wine making process, you are going to provide them with a great environment in which to grow and spoil your wine.

In a clean fermentation vessel, pour in the juice concentrate and add water to bring the volume to its intended level.  Add the wine yeast and any other ingredients you are instructed to add. At this stage, your kit may include wine skins or oak intended to add flavor and body to your wine.

Within 24 hours or so, the yeast will begin reproducing and consuming the sugar from the juice, turning it into alcohol.  This process is called ‘primary fermentation’ and during this time, CO2 gas is produced which settles over the top of the juice protecting it from oxygen.

After 5-7 days (varies) much of the juice has been turned into wine.  Yeast have died and have settled to the bottom of the vessel. This sediment is referred to as the ‘lees’.  At this point, you will measure the amount of alcohol using a hydrometer and proceed to siphon/pump (rack) the wine off the lees into a fresh vessel, typically a glass carboy.  

During the next 14-20 days (varies) the wine undergoes ‘secondary fermentation’ whereby the yeast complete their job and die.  There is less CO2 produced and the wine is at risk of being impacted by oxygen. The way this is addressed is by placing the wine in a sealed carboy with an airlock that allows gases out but does not allow oxygen in.

At the end of this step, the wine is again racked off of the dead yeast (lees) into a fresh carboy leaving the sediment behind.  Flavors in your wine will begin to blend to create a great tasting wine. There will be time when cleaning agents may be added. Your wine sits and ages until its ready to be bottled into clean and sanitized bottles.  After a period of time your wine will be ready to be consumed. The longer you wait, typically the better the wine as flavors continue to evolve. Reference other discussions at this site as to the impacts of bulk aging before bottling.

WHAT EQUIPMENT IS NEEDED TO MAKE WINE?

One of the good things about wine making is that it doesn’t have to break the bank to purchase the equipment you need to make wine.  An easy approach is to purchase a wine making kit which has all of the basic components you need. Whether you buy these items separately or purchase them together, the basic components to make a 6-gallon kit is as follows:

• –6.5 Gallon Fermenter with Drilled Gasketed Lid
• – 6 Gallon Glass Carboy
• – Drilled Rubber Stopper
• – Air Lock
• – Bottle Brush
• –Triple Scale Hydrometer
• – Cleaner, such as PBW
• – Sanitizer, such as star-san
• – Auto Siphon with tubing
• – Bottle Filler
• – Plastic Shut Off Clamp

Additionally, at bottling time you will need wine bottles, corks and a corker to insert the cork into the bottle.

Note that the above list is for a 6-gallon kits.  If your plan is to make 1-gallon 3-gallon batches, you can purchase smaller fermenters and carboys.

Don’t think it difficult to make wine, it’s not.  Jump in and get started!