Back in early October, my parents bought my birthday presents for me: a starter kit of wine-making equipment as well as a wine kit to make a French-style Chardonnay by Mosti Mondiale in their Vinifera Noble line. The varietal is the Bourg Royal Blanc.
I carefully re-watched the DVD that covers the process from FineVineWines.com so I could make sure to get all the details down pat, and I re-read the instructions from the kit to see if there were any nuances that shouldn't be overlooked (there were a few contradictions, but I think I figured them out). I finally got my confidence up and decided it was time to clean and sanitize my equipment.
I decided to use the tub since I figured I'd surely be making a mess (and I definitely know I would've been discouraged from continuing if something as silly as spilling 6 gallons of water happened--that would've been a big oopty-oop). Before I cleaned or sanitized anything, I started by figuring out if my bucket and spigot were leak-resistant (thanks to Carl for the advice, as always), loaded the 6 gallons of water into the bucket, and voila! No leaks (yes, I know you can see water under the spigot in the picture, but trust me, it wasn't leaking...anymore...)! I was ready to clean.
I used the B-Brite Cleanser that came in my starter kit, and it absolutely made everything very slippery, just as the guy in the video said it would. It seems to be a pretty mild cleanser though, no chlorine or anything, and it didn't dry out my hands at all like I was expecting it to.
A delicate balancing act after cleansing...very surprised my clumsy self didn't break the thermometer or hydrometer. Yay me!
I used the metabisulphite powder to sanitize my equipment, but I did not use the full 2 oz to 1 gallon like it says. Since it's actually the fumes from the solution that sanitize the equipment (and the guy in the video only used about 1/3 of his solution), I used 1/2 oz in 32 oz of warm water, dumped it into the bucket, and set all my equipment I was going to use inside. I covered the bucket with its lid and waited about 15 minutes for everything to get good and sanitized...and oh boy what a lovely aroma was waiting for me under that lid after said 15 minutes. Enchanting sulfur bouquet. It brought back some olfactory memories from an old apartment with bad plumbing, but luckily I could just pour it right down the drain.
To be honest, with so much concern about cleansing and sanitizing, I was a little surprised that the instructions didn't say to use gloves or anything. With the nastiness that some people have on their hands these days, touching any part of what was cleansed and then sanitized would be shot to hell with one bump of a finger or hand. But who am I to question... It did clean the bucket pretty well though, just look at the yucky leftover cleaner water (I saved it just in case I forgot to clean something..it's still good! It's still good!). Definitely don't want any of that in my wine!
I was almost ready for start dumping everything in the bucket. I read over my instructions again and saw that I needed to rehydrate my yeast and put my bentonite into warm water while I put everything together. I heated up some water in my electronic water boiler (thanks, Mom!), tested the temperature with my thermometer and waited for it to cool down to 109 degrees Fahrenheit, then I put the yeast in and set my timer for 15 minutes.
Then it was time for the must! Technically speaking, the grape juice is called 'must' until the yeast is added, then it is legally called 'wine.' I gathered up all my cleansed and sanitized equipment I moved everything else downstairs where I planned on keeping the wine while it fermented in its bucket (it's too cold outside right not to keep in my garage). I then pulled out the juice bag from the box. A very unappetizing bag to say the least, lol. And don't worry, that dark stuff at the bottom of the bag is just sediment. Also unappetizing, but necessary. :)
It opened up with ease using my handy dandy church key and I poured it into the bucket (while also checking for leaks...whew...none to be seen!). It smelled absolutely wonderful while I was pouring it out of the bag--so fruity and concentrated..grapy goodness. I poured in additional water to the 23 L line, then added the bentonite and rehydrated yeast.
I meant to take some pictures of the yeast and bentonite before I poured them into the bucket...buuutttt...yeah, I got too excited and forgot, so here's the aftermath!
After a quick stir, I took a hydrometer reading and its specific gravity was 1.090, which means it'll end up around the 12% alcohol mark.
And behold, the finished product thus far! Yes, it's cloudy...no, it probably doesn't taste very good right now...but it's a work in progress. Give me about 3 months and it'll be my super awesome first attempt at making my own wine. :) A first step in much greater things to come! (Maybe!)
On a side note...a little hard to see, but someone decided to snoop in the box, as is her way. Don't worry, though, I had already taken the must out, so no kitty-contamination. :)
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