Experience the joy of winemaking with the Winexpert Classic Smooth Red Wine Kit. This kit is perfect for those who appreciate the approachable, uncomplicated, and delectably smooth taste of Red wine. With a focus on fruity flavors and a smooth texture due to its higher residual sugar content, this wine is neither tannic nor acidic. Ideal for both novice and experienced wine enthusiasts, the Winexpert Classic Smooth Red Wine Kit offers a highly drinkable wine style that is sure to impress.
- Alcohol: 11.5%
- Body: Medium
- Oak: None
- Sweetness: Off-dry
OTHER PRODUCTS YOU MIGHT NEED
If your Classic Smooth Red Wine Kit is your first, equipment kits are a very easy and cost effective way to obtain what you need to get started. Wine kits provide ingredients and instructions but do not provide equipment. The Vintner's Best Deluxe Wine Equipment Kit pictured here has everything you need to make a six gallon batch of wine. This kit is the top of the line and there are other equipment kits you can choose from for your kit.
Equipment Kit includes
- 7.9 Gallon Fermenting Bucket
- Lid with Grommet
- 6 Gallon Glass Carboy
- Bottle Filler
- Double Level Corker
- Triple Scale Hydrometer
- Easy Clean Cleanser
- Auto Siphon w/ siphon hose
- Carboy Bung w/ Airlock
- Corks 30 count
- Plastic Mix Stir that attaches to drill
A 7.9 Gallon Fermenter with a grommeted lid is the right vessel to use for your Smooth Red Wine Kit because you need extra headspace to account for active fermentation. It is good to replace buckets from time because plastic harbors bacteria. Here's a link to our fermenter equipment.
HosesMany people reuse their hoses for far too long. Replacing your hoses often is highly recommended with winemaking. Even if you have good sanitation practices, hoses are particularly difficult to keep clean. You do not want to risk a bacterial contamination in your Smooth Red Wine Kit over something that costs very little to replace.
Auto-siphons are a great luxury item to have in your winemaking equipment. Once you have one you will never go without one again. Don't forget to use a heavy duty sanitizer to clean it since you don't want to replace it often as hoses. A good sanitizer for that job is Five Star San. Like hoses, Siphons are also difficult to keep clean so it is advisable to replace them.
Corking can be a big job especially if you make a lot of wine. Also bigger corkers give you the option to use longer and denser corks which are beneficial if you want to age your Smooth Red longer. The Italian Floor Corker pictured here is easy to use and makes corking fun.
AirlocksAirlocks are another inexpensive product that should be periodically replaced. Though it might be easy to assume bacteria is not a concern with airlocks because they do not actually touch your wine, this is not the case. A small increase in temperature could cause your wine to swell and back up into the airlock. It happens often. You don't want to risk losing your Smooth Red over a potentially unsanitary and cheap piece of plastic.
Your Smooth Red Kit is designed to fit a 6 gallon carboy pictured here. Though glass carboys are one of the safest sanitary options for secondary fermentation and bulk aging your wine, they are fragile and break from time to time. If you use glass carboys, a carboy handle or carrier is very advisable. They should not be moved when full without carrying equipment.
Your Smooth Red will need to sit in a carboy during secondary fermentation and like airlocks, bungs and stoppers should also be periodically replaced, especially if you make a lot of wine. Stoppers are available drilled for use with airlocks or solid for bulk aging after your wine has fully gassed out. The size 6.5 stopper pictured is made for a 6 or 5 gallon carboy. If you have many different sized vessels, universal bungs might be a more economical option.
Hydrometers can last a lifetime, if they don't break. If you have suffered the disappointment of breaking your favorite hydrometer you can view them here.
Winemakers always need more corks. Be sure to read the corker requirements of different corks before you make your selection because some cork sizes do not work with all corkers. If you want to age your Smooth Red denser corks are preferable.
You may be using the back of your stirring spoon to Degas your wine but a mix stir is the best way to remove unwanted gasses.
DID YOU KNOW
You can age an off dry Riesling for up to 20 years!
