| Home wine making kits are a very exciting thing. If | | | | harmful bacteria which can take up residence on |
| you love wine, the idea of making your very own | | | | improperly cleaned equipment and spoil a batch of |
| probably has you eagerly anticipating getting started | | | | wine - and for the home vintner, there are not too |
| on your first batch - and as anyone who has ever | | | | many things which are less welcome of a sight than |
| made their own homemade wine before can tell you, | | | | a colony of mold floating on top of your wine. It is |
| it is an amazing thing to pour that first glass of your | | | | not a terribly common occurrence, but it should serve |
| own vintage. However, there are some very | | | | as a reminder of the importance of making sure that |
| important things which you need to know about | | | | all of your wine equipment are cleaned and sanitized |
| homemade wine before you get started. As excited | | | | before you begin. |
| as you may be to begin, you will be glad you took | | | | It is easy to keep your equipment in safe and |
| the time to learn the basics of sanitation before you | | | | sanitary condition. All you need to do is to give it a |
| start making wine. | | | | good wash and thorough rinse and follow this up with |
| Sanitation is incredibly important to the wine making | | | | a sanitizer; preferably one of the oxygen based |
| process. Think of it like cooking - you would not | | | | products available from shops which sell wine making |
| want to bake a cake using dirty dishes and you | | | | and home brewing kits. A mild bleach solution can also |
| cannot make drinkable wine without ensuring that | | | | be used to sanitize wine making kits, but it is |
| your wine equipment is clean and sanitary. There is | | | | especially important to rinse well since bleach is not a |
| always some mess involved with making wine and it | | | | flavor you want in your wine. |
| is important to make sure that you thoroughly clean | | | | Some simple regular maintenance is all that is |
| all of your supplies before and after making a batch | | | | necessary to keep residue and other debris out of |
| of wine to remove residues, dust or any other kind | | | | your carboys, vats, tubes, siphons and other wine |
| of debris. Not to alarm you, but an unsanitary wine | | | | making supplies. It is not a lot of work, honestly - |
| making setup can even result in wine which is unsafe | | | | and when you consider how rewarding having made |
| to drink. | | | | a great batch of homemade wine is, it is truly a labor |
| While the process of making wine relies on | | | | of love. Wine making kits allow you to do some |
| microorganisms (yeast, to be specific), you certainly | | | | amazing things and as long as you remember to keep |
| do not want anything in wine making kits which you | | | | your equipment clean, you will be able to create |
| have not added to the mix yourself. There are | | | | great wines, batch after batch. |
