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Winemaking Equipment & Ingredients List

For most beginners, the hardest thing about making wine is simply figuring out, in advance, what equipment is going to be needed. This list should set most of these fears to rest.

Equipment

You will need the following:

1. Siphon Hose and Racking Tube
2. Hydrometer (Saccharometer) and Test Jar
3. Acid Testing Kit
4. Optional: Sulfite Test Kit
5. Crusher or Stemmer/Crusher (de-stemmer needed for red wine)
6. Cap Punchdown Tool (needed for red wine only)
7. Press
8. Corker
9. Thermometer
10. Pressing Bag (optional)
11. Funnel
12. Bottle Filler
13. Small Bucket

For every 75 lbs. of grapes:

1. FOR RED WINE - Primary fermentation: 10 Gallons of capacity in a food-grade bucket and Lid  
2. FOR WHITE WINE - Primary fermentation: 6 Gallons of Capacity in a sealed fermentor glass or PET carboy (water bottle), demijohn or stainless wine tank, with a fermentation lock and drilled rubber stopper fitted to the opening.
3. FOR BOTH RED & WHITE WINE - Secondary fermentation - 5 gallon of capacity in a glass or PET carboy (water bottle), demijohn or stainless wine tank, with a fermentation lock and drilled rubber stopper fitted to the opening.
4. Extra glass jugs, each with a fermentation lock and #6 drilled rubber stopper. These could be gallon size or smaller.
5. Twenty-five wine corks.
6. Two cases wine bottles.

Ingredients

1. Grapes - approximately 16 lbs per gallon of wine.
2. Wine Yeast - 1 gram per gallon of must or juice.
3. Yeast Nutrients - 1-2 grams per gallon of juice.  Typically Fermaid K, but DAP may also be needed.
4. Tartaric Acid as needed to raise the acidity, or
5. Potassium Bicarbonate to lower the acidity.
6. Sulfite as needed.
7. Optional: Masceration enzymes to increase press yield
8. Optional: Sacraficial tannins to improve mouthfeel
9. Optional: Opti-Red™ (red wine) or Glutastar™(white wine) Yeast Derivatives for softer, fuller mouthfeel
10. Optional: ML Starter for some wines.
11. Optional: Fining Agent, such as Sparkolloid.

Harvest & Wine Math

We have developed a worksheet for your harvest math.  It will help you estimate volumes in the field and winery to estimate your needs for fermentors, totes, press size, and bulk storage capacity.

Read it now.

Read more about making red wine or making white wine.