- 1). Put all the ingredients contained in your wine kit into your fermenting bucket, using a long-handled plastic spoon to mix them. The kit will usually contain grape juice, yeast and a few packets of additives. However, this varies by kit, so make sure to read the instructions on your specific wine-making kit.
- 2). Close the lid on your fermenting bucket and leave it for four to five days. Place it in an area with a temperature of 65 to 75 degrees F; check the temperature with a thermometer.
- 3). Check the gravity of your wine after four days, using the hydrometer. It should be at the specific gravity recommended by your wine kit, normally around 1.090. If it is, you can move on to the next step. If it is not yet at the correct gravity, check it each day until it is.
- 4). Transfer your wine into a carboy, using a siphoning tube. A carboy is a large plastic or glass container commonly used for fermenting wine and can be obtained at a specialist wine maker's shop or online. Stopper the top of the carboy using the airlock and bung. Put the carboy back in the area you have been using for fermenting.
- 5). Check your wine with the hydrometer daily until it is at a specific gravity of 1.020. This will take about 10 days. When it reaches the right specific gravity, rack your wine by siphoning it from one carboy to the other, with the siphoning hose. Racking your wine will remove the sediment. About 1 cup of sediment will be lost, so you must replace it with the same amount of water that has been boiled and cooled.
- 6). Leave your wine for 10 days, then repeat the racking process.
- 7). Transfer your wine into empty wine bottles using the siphoning hose. Seal each bottle with a cork.
- 8). Let your wine age for at least two to three months. The longer you age it, the more the flavor will improve.
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