List of Wine Supplies?

[LAgreeneyes]

I have searched throughout the forum and I may be missing something but can someone point me in the right direction to a list of supplies/ingredients that a person needs to have on hand at all times for wine making?

This is what I currently have on hand. What am I missing?

Copy of The Home Winemaking Bookd by Michiel Pesgens (from this site)

12 gallon glass carboys with air locks
(3) 5 gallon glass carboys with air locks
(1) 6 gallon glass carboy
Empty wine bottles
Corks

Bungs
Air Locks
Strainger Bags
Hydrometer
Hydrometer Jar

Campden Tabs
Acid Blend
Potassium Sorbate
Tannin
Pectic Enzyme (liquid)
Yeast Nutrient
Wine Conditioner
EC-1118 yeast
K1-V1116 yeast
71B-1122 yeast

 

[Rocky]

LA-GE, you have a fairly complete list there. Good job.

You did not list it but I expect that you must have some way to move the wine from fermenter to carboy and carboy to carboy such as an auto siphon or a pump with appropriate tubing. Some type of filter system would help. You have a number of stoppers and airlocks but do you have the holed #3 stoppers which fit a 1500 or 750 ml bottle? I find they come in handy when needing to capture and protect a small amount of wine during racking. I have also found that a graduated cylinder, flasks and beakers are useful for measuring, mixing and dissolving additives. Some other items that you have not listed but I suspect you have:

- a stirring spoon
- thermometer
- wine thief
- a log book or computer to record wine batches and actions
- spray bottle for k-meta sanitizing solution
- a means to sanitize bottles before filling
- a corker

 

[BernardSmith]

That is a pretty good list but I would add (in no particular order) something to clean/sanitize your equipment (I wouldn't use chlorine or dish detergent) , a 6 gallon bucket, a siphon and plastic tubing (for racking), yeast energizer (to be added with the nutrient) and (perhaps) some oak chips. I would also suggest that you have some way to measure the acidity of your wines (if you are adding acid blend, then you want to have some idea what the pH was and what it is after you add the acid). I don't make wines from grapes so I am less interested in the TA (also a measure of acidity) but if you do you might want to have the testing equipment for measuring that value. You might also want to look for some kind of nylon bag to contain the mass of fruit (makes racking easier) and something to store your wine in after it has aged (bottles? corks? a corking tool to help insert the corks?) . Not sure if everyone on this forum would agree with me but I would also include a measuring cylinder (if you intend to back-sweeten your wines using a bench test method then you need to be able to measure specific volumes of wine. You will need, I think, something to measure dry weight (a gram scale?) and I think you might find a wide mouth funnel and measuring spoons useful. Depending on how you store your wine you might also want some kind of tool to help remove excess CO2. A vacuum pump that can draw and hold a vacuum of about 24 inches is one tool, but if you have a drill you can attach a "whip" to force the CO2 out - or you can simply allow the wine to age quietly and degas gracefully by itself.
That said, most of these things are not requirements: all you really need to make wine is yeast, fruit and something to hold them in, but each item on your list and on my list would seem to give you more control over the final product. So , in my opinion you don't need everything "today"... but as you get more involved you might find some real use for all or most of these things

I am not sure that I would include a wine conditioner. From my general reading these may include stabilizing chemicals (sorbates ) that are weakened by their age.

 

[LAgreeneyes]

LA-GE, you have a fairly complete list there. Good job.

You did not list it but I expect that you must have some way to move the wine from fermenter to carboy and carboy to carboy such as an auto siphon or a pump with appropriate tubing. Some type of filter system would help. You have a number of stoppers and airlocks but do you have the holed #3 stoppers which fit a 1500 or 750 ml bottle? I find they come in handy when needing to capture and protect a small amount of wine during racking. I have also found that a graduated cylinder, flasks and beakers are useful for measuring, mixing and dissolving additives. Some other items that you have not listed but I suspect you have:

- a stirring spoon
- thermometer
- wine thief
- a log book or computer to record wine batches and actions
- spray bottle for k-meta sanitizing solution
- a means to sanitize bottles before filling
- a corker

No, I don't have it and I'm glad that you mentioned it. You don't even want to know how I move it. Let's just say that I have a sticky floor when I'm done. (hiding in the corner now)

I will copy and paste your list and add to my list and head to the wine supply store.

Thank you for taking the time to read my list and listing what I need.

Much appreciate! This will help me tremendously!!!

 

[LAgreeneyes]

That is a pretty good list but I would add (in no particular order) something to clean/sanitize your equipment (I wouldn't use chlorine or dish detergent) , a 6 gallon bucket, a siphon and plastic tubing (for racking), yeast energizer (to be added with the nutrient) and (perhaps) some oak chips. I would also suggest that you have some way to measure the acidity of your wines (if you are adding acid blend, then you want to have some idea what the pH was and what it is after you add the acid). I don't make wines from grapes so I am less interested in the TA (also a measure of acidity) but if you do you might want to have the testing equipment for measuring that value. You might also want to look for some kind of nylon bag to contain the mass of fruit (makes racking easier) and something to store your wine in after it has aged (bottles? corks? a corking tool to help insert the corks?) . Not sure if everyone on this forum would agree with me but I would also include a measuring cylinder (if you intend to back-sweeten your wines using a bench test method then you need to be able to measure specific volumes of wine. You will need, I think, something to measure dry weight (a gram scale?) and I think you might find a wide mouth funnel and measuring spoons useful. Depending on how you store your wine you might also want some kind of tool to help remove excess CO2. A vacuum pump that can draw and hold a vacuum of about 24 inches is one tool, but if you have a drill you can attach a "whip" to force the CO2 out - or you can simply allow the wine to age quietly and degas gracefully by itself.
That said, most of these things are not requirements: all you really need to make wine is yeast, fruit and something to hold them in, but each item on your list and on my list would seem to give you more control over the final product. So , in my opinion you don't need everything "today"... but as you get more involved you might find some real use for all or most of these things

I am not sure that I would include a wine conditioner. From my general reading these may include stabilizing chemicals (sorbates ) that are weakened by their age.

Gotcha on the cleaning equipment.

I was just reading about the testing equipment. I will also print out your post and put in my records.

Thank you very much!

 

[DoctorCAD]

You'd be surprised how useful a set of funnels becomes at times.

 

[LoveTheWine]

A couple of 1 gallon carboys are great too.
I buy apple juice that comes in the big glass containers when they are on sale then re-use those.
These usually require a bigger rubber bung.

 

[LAgreeneyes]

You'd be surprised how useful a set of funnels becomes at times.

Good Point. I did pick up about 4 of them last week . Small, Medium, Large and EXTRA Large.

 

[LAgreeneyes]

A couple of 1 gallon carboys are great too.
I buy apple juice that comes in the big glass containers when they are on sale then re-use those.
These usually require a bigger rubber bung.

WOW! I didn't know that the bungs could fit on the apple juice glass containers. Thank you for mentioning that!!!

 

[BernardSmith]

If you already have bungs then you can ignore this but you might also look into getting universal bungs. They are designed with a tapered body so they fit into a wide range of bottles with different sized diameters. Some of these bungs are said to create a really good seal even when the neck of the carboy is wet or if the bung is wet. Others need the neck to be very dry for the seal to be strong.

 

[jamesngalveston]

a bottle filler, and a autosyphon racking cane.

 

[LAgreeneyes]

If you already have bungs then you can ignore this but you might also look into getting universal bungs. They are designed with a tapered body so they fit into a wide range of bottles with different sized diameters. Some of these bungs are said to create a really good seal even when the neck of the carboy is wet or if the bung is wet. Others need the neck to be very dry for the seal to be strong.

You know I"m glad that you mentioned that because I had originally bought some bungs for my 5 gallon carboy. I tried to fit them on the 1 gallon but they didn't fit. And I wondered why didn't they have a universal bung to fit all.

So where can I find the one that you are talking about. I would like to look into purchasing a few of them.

 

[Rocky]

Here is a link to the universal stoppers. They also work on 1500 ml and 750 ml wine bottles by turning them upside down and pushing them on the bottle.

http://finevinewines.com/XPListDet1.asp?MM_PartNumber=5151

EDIT: I just tried this link and it took me to a listing for "Bentonite" at FineVineWines. I checked it before I posted it and the link worked. In any case, if you are interested in the universal stoppers, go to www.FineVineWines.com, choose their "Online Catalog" and under "Equipment" in the left column, choose "Stoppers." Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[BernardSmith]

Here is a like to the universal stoppers. They also work on 1500 ml and 750 ml wine bottles by turning them upside down and pushing them on the bottle.

http://finevinewines.com/XPListDet1.asp?MM_PartNumber=5151

Wow! You learn something every day! I had no idea that you could invert that stopper and use it to cap a 1500 ml wine bottle. I often have excess wine that I use to top up a carboy and I have been using balloons and other cobbled devices to seal the bottles. Thanks Rocky!

 

[salcoco]

I don't believe anybody mentioned a Ph meter. it would also help in measuring acid levels.

 

[LAgreeneyes]

Here is a link to the universal stoppers. They also work on 1500 ml and 750 ml wine bottles by turning them upside down and pushing them on the bottle.

http://finevinewines.com/XPListDet1.asp?MM_PartNumber=5151

EDIT: I just tried this link and it took me to a listing for "Bentonite" at FineVineWines. I checked it before I posted it and the link worked. In any case, if you are interested in the universal stoppers, go to www.FineVineWines.com, choose their "Online Catalog" and under "Equipment" in the left column, choose "Stoppers." Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thank you for posting the link.

 

[BernardSmith]

You can also simply type in the part number (5151) in the search block on the site and it calls up the stopper.

 

[LoveTheWine]

Funny, I have some of these universal stoppers and had no idea you could flip them over to accommodate small openings.

 

[SBWs]

I cut and pasted my list of equipment and chemicals I use from off my blog.


Equipment I Use:

• 2, 5 and 6 gallon Plastic pails
• Carboys (all sizes can never have enough)
• Triple Scale Hydrometer (Must Have)
• Stoppers & Air Locks (can never have to many)
• 3/8″ siphon tubing
• Funnels (different sizes)
• Auto-Siphon
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Spray Bottle
• pH Meter (worth every penny)
• Acid Test Kit
• Oak Stick
• Floor Corker (double lever hand corker as backup)
• 1/2 gallon jugs for cleaner and sanitizer
• bottle wand
• scale
• drill mounted mixer degasser
• aeration/oxygenation test kit (nice to have)
• Vacuum pump
• Vinbrite Wine Filter Kit
• And of course Steam Juicer
  

Chemicals I have on hand:

• Potassium Metabisulphite (must have)
• Acid Blend (must have)
• Yeast Nutreint (must have)
• Yeast Energizer (Good to have)
• Potassium Sorbate (must have)
• Pectic Enzyme (must have)
• Wine Tannin (Good to have)
• Potassium Bicarbonate (lower acid post fermentation)
• Tartaric Acid (Good to have)
• Citric Acid (can use on some fruits)
• Ascorbic Acid (helps stop browning in fruit)
• Sparkolloid Powder (fining agent)
• Bentonite (fining agent)
• Polyclar 10 (fining agent)
• Super-Kleer K.C. (fining agent)
• Calcium Carbonate (lower acid in must)
• Sodium Hydroxide Solution or NOaH (Acid and SO2 testing)
• Phenolphthalein Indicator (color) Solution (Acid testing)
• Methylene Blue Methyl Red Indicator Solution (SO2 Testing)
• Phosphoric Acid 25% (SO2 Testing)
• Potassium Acid Phthalate N/10 Solution (used to check NOaH Solution)
• Hydrogen Peroxide Solution (SO2 Testing)
• pH 4.01 Buffer Solution (pH meter)
• pH 7.01 Buffer Solution (pH meter)
• Electrode Cleaning Solution (pH meter)
• Milwaukee pH Meter Electode Storage Solution (pH meter)
• Powdered egg whites (for fining blackberry wine)
• Glycerine (for smoothing berry wines)
• Star San (mix in spray bottle for contact sanitizing)
• Easy Clean (for cleaning equipment)
• Oak cubes and chips
  

Every so often I find another something I can use and while you don't need all of this stuff, it can come in handy at times.

 

[jamesngalveston]

omg...if green eyes sees that, she will be shopping for a year.