In October 2016 our Chapter began making wine from a kit...

Here were the first steps... opening the kit, understanding its contents, and combining the juice with other ingredients to get the wine started.

The kit
The kit

Here's what the kit looked like when it arrived.

Instructions
Instructions

Step-by-step instructions are included.

Kit packets
Kit packets

In addition to "the juice," the kit contained three different oaks and a yeast packet.

Adding juice
Adding juice
Adding water
Adding water
Extracting mixture
Extracting mixture

We extracted some of the mixture to test the "brix," or sugar content.

Testing
Testing

Testing the brix.

Adding oak
Adding oak
Ahh...
Ahh...

Nice oak-y smell!

Adding oak 2
Adding oak 2
More oak
More oak
Three total
Three total

Three different oaks were added

Stirring it all up
Stirring it all up
The yeast
The yeast

The final step was adding in the yeast.

Phase 1 complete
Phase 1 complete

After adding yeast, we put the cover on the container. Done with Phase 1.

Equipment
Equipment

This is a tub full of wine-making equipment.

Fermenter to carboy
Fermenter to carboy

Oct 25: Transfer from the open fermenter to carboy

Testing
Testing

Nov 8: Testing the brix again

Adding...
Adding...

Nov 8: Adding fining and reserve concentrates

Continue on to the next step: bottling the wine. -->