THE PROCESS: STARTING THE BATCH

STARTING THE BATCH


Open the can, pail or bladder pack in your kit. Taste the contents - they should be clean, sweet and fruity. Pour the contents into a primary fermenter and add the first group of ingredients (water, sugar if required, any wine acids, grape tannins and nutrients). The recipe will be very specific. For the late-harvest style wine, hold back 150 ml of the concentrate, to be re-introduced later. Put it in a baby-food jar, seal it and stick it in the freezer. Once you have mixed the concentrate and the first group of ingredients, stir them well with your spoon and sprinkle on the yeast.

THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE OPTIONAL:
You may now want to take a specific gravity reading, even though the recipe will usually provide it. It's just nice to know that you're on track, especially this early in. The Pinot should have an SG reading of about 1.090, the Claret should be at about 1.080 and the late-harvest white will measure just below the Claret(by holding back some of the concentrate, you've made the must less dense and this will be reflected in the reading).

If you've never used a hydrometer, you'll find it a snap. You simply place it in the newly-made must, and once it has stopped bobbing, read the value on the "specific gravity" scale where the surface of the liquid crosses the hydrometer. Specific gravity is the density of the liquid compared to water, which has an SG of 1.000. One of the other scales on the device is useful in measuring your finished wine's alcohol content.

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