Wine Making Supplies – Secondary Fermentation

Equipment for the Second Stage of Home Wine Making Kits

Oct 19, 2009

Wine Making Kit Fermentation Lock & Rubber Stopper, Thomas A. Gray

Making wine with wine kits is a fun hobby. Make up to 30 bottles of wine for only a few dollars each. Here is a list of equipment needed for secondary fermentation.

Although a home wine making kit has all the ingredients for making wine (except for water), some other wine making supplies are needed for fermenting, finishing, and bottling the wine. Proper sanitation, and a little care and attention, allows the homeowner to produce a good to excellent wine for home use and gifts.

Basic Wine Making Supplies: Kit Contents

Kits do not usually contain many materials or ingredients necessary for this step. However, once the required fermentation is complete, it will be necessary to add a sterilant such as sodium metabisulfate to kill any remaining yeast cells, prevent oxidation, and improve the shelf life of the finished wines (kit wines do not normally age well and are intended to be consumed within one to three years).

Secondary Fermentation & Degassing

The secondary fermentation or "conditioning" process is actually the completion of fermentation in a second container, a carboy. The process uses up most of the remaining yeast and finishes the conversion of sugar into alcohol (specific gravity < 0.995, more or less depending on the kit). At the end of this process, a chemical is added to kill any remaining live yeast cells and halt further fermentation.

Since the fermentation will have left dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) in the wine, the carboy is shaken or the wine stirred over the course of several day to remove any dissolved gas.

Basic Wine Making Supplies for Secondary Fermentation/Degassing

Carboy – The main piece of equipment is a carboy (a large bottle) made of glass or food-grade plastic. It has a narrow neck to hold a rubber stopper with a fermentation lock.
Rubber Stopper – a single hole rubber stopper fits into the carboy (the fermentation lock fits into the hole)
Fermentation Lock – A sort of one-way valve half-filled with water or sterilant, the lock allows carbon dioxide to escape and prevents oxygen and microorganisms from entering the carboy
Carboy Handle – an optional but useful accessory that makes it easier to lift and move the full carboys
Stirring Spoon – the narrow end of the spoon will slip into the carboy for degassing
Heating Belt – may also be used at this stage to help maintain the wine at room temperature (20-25 C, 68 – 77 F).
Racking tube (siphon tube) with clamp – A rigid siphon rod about 2' long with about 6' of flexible tubing for transferring wine from one vessel to another (such as from the primary fermentor to the carboy) The clamp stops the flow instantly, reducing spilling, wastage and mess.

The secondary fermentation is the longest stage in a typical four-week wine kit. Following degassing, the wine is ready for stabilizing, clarification, and bottling.

Wine Making Supplies - Primary Fermentation – Equipment for the first stage of a home wine making kit.
Wine Making Supplies - Stabilizing, Clarifying and Bottling – What is required for the final steps of a wine making kit
Recycled Wine Bottles – How to get those stubborn labels off wine bottles so they can be reused.

The copyright of the article Wine Making Supplies – Secondary Fermentation in Hobbies is owned by Thomas Alan Gray. Permission to republish Wine Making Supplies – Secondary Fermentation in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.