Wine a Little...You'll Feel Better

On-Site Process

There are a variety of wines to choose from, White. Red. Sweet. Dry. Please click on the "Wine Selections" tab for the different wine kits available.

The first step is to mix your wine kit.  We will start with adding a packet of bentonite to a small amount of warm water in an 8 gallon pail.  Bentonite will aid in the clearing of your wine and is a catalyst for the yeast that will be added. Grape juice is added next with filtered water if needed up to 6 gallons.  If your kit comes with oak or grape skins, these are added at this time, as well.  Yeast will top off the mixture.  The pail is covered and sealed with an airlock.  Your wine will remain at this stage for two weeks.

Two weeks into the wine making process, the specific gravity of your wine is checked.  If it’s on target at 0.998 or lower, the wine will be transferred into a glass carboy.  The sulphites and sorbate will be added to stop further fermentation.  If your kit comes with a finishing pack it will be added.  The wine is then stirred a couple times before the clarifier is added.  It is stirred 2 to 3 more times to help with degassing.  Your wine will remain at this stage for the remainder of the processing time, two to six weeks, according to the type of wine.

After two to six weeks, your wine will be very clear and all the sediment will be settled at the bottom of the carboy.  The wine is then racked a second time into a plastic carboy (for easy storage), leaving the sediment behind.  It will remain in this carboy until which time you choose to come in to bottle.  The aging process has now begun.

Your wine is ready to bottle!  What next?  After your bottles are sanitized, they’ll be filled on the bottler.  Corking is next.  Topped off with a shrink top in the color of your choice, the bottle is ready for the label.  We have a variety of pre-printed labels that are included in your on premise fee.  You can also choose to make a custom label.