Winemaking
Craft winemaking is making wine at home from a kit: juice and concentrate, already balanced, with everything you need to ferment it. You supply the patience.
A batch makes about thirty bottles. Most people find the first one is the hardest, and only because it is unfamiliar.
How it works
1. Start the ferment. Empty the kit into a fermenter, add the yeast, and leave it somewhere with a steady temperature. This takes about an hour of actual work.
2. Let it work. Fermentation runs for one to two weeks. There is nothing to do during this but check the temperature and resist the urge to interfere.
3. Clear it. Once fermentation finishes, the wine is stabilised and cleared. This is where patience pays: rushing it is the most common reason a first batch disappoints.
4. Bottle it. Siphon, cork, label. An afternoon’s work, and easier with two people.
Most kits are drinkable at four to eight weeks depending on the style, and better at six months. Reds generally reward waiting more than whites do.
What you need
A kit, a fermenter, a siphon, bottles and corks, and somewhere that stays between 18 and 24 degrees. A first-time equipment kit covers everything but the wine itself, and most of it lasts for years.
You do not need a cellar. A spare corner that does not swing between hot and cold is enough.
Where to start
Not sure which kit?
Answer three questions about what you like to drink and how long you are willing to wait, and we will point you at the kits worth starting with.
Find a store near you
RJS kits are sold through craft winemaking retailers across Canada. They will help you pick a kit, and many will walk you through your first batch or do the work for you on site.
Learn more
Craft & Cork has recipes, pairings and winemaking guides from the RJS team, including troubleshooting for when a batch does not go to plan.