I recently shared a first steps to wine making blog post, Wine Making 101. The purpose of the article was to show how easy it is to get started in home brewing, but did not include the last half of the process when it comes to finishing your product. I chose to break up blog into two sections to not overwhelm with terms related to vinification and brewing. the goal is to make the fermentation process simple and approachable!
Now that your wine has started to ferment it's time to discuss the latter half of the process; racking, settling, bottling, and storing.
Normally at about 14 days, you will need to start to rack your wine. This is the process of moving wine from one vessel to another, which means you will need a second 5 or 6 gallon storage container. You can use anything large enough though! Options include a second food grade quality plastic bucket or a carboy like you get from the grocery store when you purchase 5 gallons of filtered water. Racking wine is necessary because you do not want the wine to sit on excessive amounts of sediment over extended periods of time. Racking is meant to aid in the clarification of the wine and inhibit the production of unwanted off-flavors.
If you chose to go with this food grade 6 gallon bucket with spigot - https://amzn.to/3nvO2yl then your racking will be relatively simple. Sanitize the new vessel (https://amzn.to/3vlDch6) and open the spigot to allow the wine to flow freely into the second bucket or carboy. Other equipment needed includes a - https://amzn.to/3u6AZGd - and a hydrometer - https://amzn.to/3gKSVT2. I will continue to highly recommend the spigot bucket because when it comes to bottling there is no easier way to go about it!
After reaching the end of your fermentation process, usually around the 50 day mark, it is time to bottle. My personal preference is to recycle and use bottles from friends or family. If you are really in a pinch you can also go sit at a recycle center and steal them away from patrons dropping off. Your choice. The same sanitization methods applies to your bottles, so let them soak in a sanitizer solution for a minimum of one minute after washing. When recycling bottles you will need to scrape labels off, give them a good soak in hot water and then use this tool https://amzn.to/331rJrc. If you're looking for simple though you can always buy a case of wine bottles - https://amzn.to/2Pzij2R - I would recommend a minimum of 24 for bottling 5 to 6 gallons. Corks are obviously also needed, industry standard is generally a size nine, and these are a great option https://amzn.to/331HRZu.
Once you have filled your bottles with the finished wine it's time to cork! If you have the room for storage I HIGHLY recommend purchasing a floor corker (https://amzn.to/3gUtvCF). If that's not an option though a double lever corker will do the trick (https://amzn.to/3vrl99u). Store your wine upright for the first 5 days and then rotate to storage on their side. Ta-da! Bottle-aging is now what you will be doing as you let the bottles sit in a cool space for the next 6 months to finish or you may find yourself sampling a bottle every month or so. Enjoy!
My hope is that I have taken much of the guess work out of wine making for you! Happy brewing!
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