Winemaking Supplies
It is important to know what are the supplies needed in wine making.
Some of these items were already found in your home and some can be
purchase in kitchen stores, wine supplier and thrift shops.
A large pot that is non reactive is needed for the sterilization
of your wine bottle and cork. This is a stainless steel, glass or
enamel-covered metal cookware. Strainer is also needed so that
the cooked
wild plants can be strained. Also make sure that your strainer is non
reactive and is large enough to fit the opening of the bucket. After
straining the liquid, a cheesecloth will be use to restrain the
liquid to
remove finer particles. Cheesecloth is a loose woven cloth that is
designed to strain curds from whey of cheese making.
While straining, you will need a large plastic bucket to catch
the strained liquids. Its best if the bucket has a lid to cover the
container. Then plastic tubing will be needed to siphon the wine
to another
container. Plastic tubing can be purchase in a local hardware store or
in a wine making supplier.
Suction device is used to siphon the wine from one container to
the other. This should be inserted in the free end and will help the
liquid move through the tubing. Large, clear jars will be use during the
clearing process of the wine. These are jars like oversised mason and
some empties. Sometimes, a carboy is also ideal because this jar
is specifically designed for the wine’s clearing process. This is a
glass jug with a narrow opening that is shaped similar to a water bottle
used in most office water coolers.
Pantyhose will be used during the fermentation process of the
wine. This will serve as a barrier for insects and other contaminants
and will also help carbon dioxide escape from the fermenting wine.
However if you are using carboy during fermentation, you can also invest
in an airlock that is specifically designed for fermentation process of
your wine making. This is a glass or plastic arrangement of tubes that
fits to the rubber cork with a hole in the middle. The cork will fit in
the carboy’s opening and prevents unwanted contaminants from getting
into the wine but at the same time allow the escape of fermentation
gases.
Balloons were also used by some wine makers during fermentation.
The balloon allows carbon dioxide to escape and also preventing
“critters” from contaminating the wine. The gases will inflate the
balloon that’s why the balloon must be deflated periodically. However
balloons can only work on cider jars that has narrow openings or on a
carboy.
In mixing and stirring the ingredients of the wine, a long
non-reactive spoon will be use. Glass spoons may be available and it
also works well in wine mixing however a stainless steel spoon is the
best. Stainless steel spoon is durable, inexpensive and non-reactive.
Before a wine bottle is use it should be cleaned first with the use of a
long bottle brush. This will be effective in removing the debris
inside the bottle and some residues left at the bottom. After cleaning,
wine bottles should be sterilised together with the cork in a large pot
before refilling. Red wine will be put in a green glass bottle and white
wine will be in the clear bottles. Green glass bottles will help
prevent the changes in color, flavor and clarity of the wine due to
oxidation. Once sterilisation process is done, a tong or canning
lifter will be used to remove the sterilised corks and bottles from
the boiling water.
Corks will be used to cover the bottle. Using a bottle corker,
the cork will be push into the sterilised bottle. A cork will be soften
during the sterilization process and it will slide easily into the
bottle’s
mouth. Screwdriver will then be used in pushing the cork down
because the round butt of the screwdriver will push the cork down just
before it is flush with the top of the neck of the wine bottle.
Then a heat shrink cap will be place over the bottle’s mouth after it’s
been corked. The bottle will be inverted and the end of the cap will be
dip into the boiling water. Then the heat shrink cap will reduce in
size forming the neck of the bottle.
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