The New Wine Kits:
Fun, Simple and Delicious!
A whole new world awaits beginning winemakers, seasoned winemakers, and oenophiles of all sorts! Thanks to a new generation of wine kits, home winemakers can easily produce exceptional, high quality wines with minimal time, effort and expertise.
Several key factors unique to the new kits make this possible. First, unlike older concentrates and kits, the new products are post-vintner. This means that a professional winemaker has already analyzed the juice and concentrate, balancing it for acid, pH and sugar. In turn, home winemakers enjoy the ease and convenience of complete, ready-to-ferment products.
Second, recent advancements such as flash pasteurization and aseptic packaging enable kit suppliers to proudce a shelf-stable product which will both survive the chain of distribution and yet activate easily when opened.
With wine increasingly becoming an everyday drink - a development spurred in part by recent studies reporting health benefits associated with moderate consumption of alcohol - now is the perfect time to uncork the ease and excellence of today's home winemaking kits!
And for the best results, use kits from the world's largest and finest wine kit producer:
RJ Spagnols !
An Overview of the Winemaking Process:
1) Preparation: Here you'll choose your kit, and assemble the small amount of equipment necessary. then sanitize all materials, open the kit, review the instructions, and get started! As with all hobbies, while the sky's the limit on fancy brew toys, but a basic and easy to use home winemaking setup should cost in the neighborhood of $100, and include the following items:
| One 7-8 gallon food-grade plastic fermentation bucket with airtight lid, drilled for airlock |
| Airlock (a small plastic water valve which permits C02 gas produced by fermentation to escape, while protecting the young wine from air-borne contamination |
| 5 or 6 gallon glass Carboy and drilled rubber stopper to fit |
| Siphon equipment, including siphon starter, tubing, bottle filler |
| Corks and a Corker |
| Bottles |
| Spoon or Paddle |
| And, of course, the Wine Kit of your Choice. We hope it's from RJ Spagnols |
2) Fermentation: Quick and Easy! You'll empty the ingredients into your fermentation bucket, then add water, yeast (included in the kit), and any additive pack called for in the kit instructions. Place a lid on the bucket, attach the airlock, and you're on the way!
3) Transfer: Intermittently over the next month or so, the directions will call for actions to be taken. For example, you'll move the wine from the fermentation bucket to a glass vessel (called a carboy), and add various additive packs supplied with the kit.
4) De-gassing: When the wine is almost ready to bottle, you'll stir it repeatedly over the course of a day to release as much carbon dioxide as possible from suspension in the wine. This is a simple-yet-important element in the aging process.
5) Bottling: The big day! You'll clean, fill and cork bottles, and that's that. Then it's time to apply custom labels and any other bottle adornments that tickle your fancy. In a couple of weeks or so, your wine will be ready for drinking!
Need Help? Need a retailer or Mail-Order referral? E-Mail Crosby & Baker, and we'll be happy to assist you!
The RJ Spagnols Family of Wine Kits:
En Primeur 18 Liter Kits
Vino del Vida 9 liter kits
Grand Cru 10 Liter Kits
Cru
Select 15 & 16 liter kits
Cellar Classic 15 liter kits
Orchard
Breezin' 6 Liter Fruit Wine Kits