How to Make Wine at Home - Use Our Home Wine Making Guide

Curious about making your own wine? Whether you’re looking for a relaxing hobby, a creative weekend project, or just want to impress your mates with a bottle you made yourself, home winemaking is incredibly rewarding.

This guide is for absolute beginners and covers two routes: the beginner-friendly approach using wine kits, and the traditional route with fresh grapes. We'll walk you through equipment, common problems (and fixes), post-ferment steps like degassing and fining, and a short FAQ section so the jargon doesn’t scare you.

The Easiest Way: Making Wine with a Kit

If you’re curious about winemaking but nervous about the process, a wine kit is the easiest way to get successful results. Kits include concentrated grape must, yeast, and often simple instructions. This allows you to focus on technique rather than sourcing and balancing raw ingredients.

With a kit, you can expect:

Consistent results - ingredients are measured and balanced.
Faster learning curve - gives you more time to focus on technique (sanitising, racking, bottling).
Great value - kits often make 20–25 L or up to 100 L for larger kits.

A basic winemaking kit contains:

Concentrated grape juice (with skins for reds)
Packaged wine yeast (or instructions for which yeast to add)
Some kits also include fining agents and stabilisers

In addition to this, you’ll also need a fermenter (bucket or carboy/demijohn), airlock, hydrometer, siphon, sanitiser (e.g. OXYPER), bottles & corks. (See Carboys & Demijohns and Cleaning & Sanitising.)

Optional: Bentonite or fining kit for clarity, and a degassing paddle or drill attachment.

Buy beginner-friendly winemaking kits for a hassle-free experience

The Step-by-step Process

Quick Start Checklist:

Most winemaking kits include simple instructions, and usually include the following steps:

Sanitise all equipment thoroughly with a food-safe sanatiser like Oxyper. Two winemakers can use the same grapes and same yeast. If one sanitises carefully and the other doesn't, the outcome will be dramatically different. Sanitised equipment ensures clean, stable, tasty wine. Unsanitised equipment = high risk of spoilage, unpredictable results.
Prepare the must. Follow the instructions for diluting the juice concentrate to the correct volume/strength. Usually you’ll mix with water and warm slightly to help dissolve additives.
Add Campden tablets (optional if included in kit). Campden tablets are made of sodium metabisulfite. If you want to be safe, add the recommended amount to kill wild yeast/bacteria, then wait 24 hours before pitching your yeast. You can also use Campden to sanitise equipment.
Pitch the yeast. Rehydrate or proof the yeast per instructions, then stir gently into the must.
Let it ferment in a covered fermenter with an airlock. Keep in a dark cool spot, at the temperature indicated in the kit instructions (about 18–24°C for most kits).
Monitor fermentation. Within 24–72 hours you’ll see activity. Take hydrometer readings after 7–10 days to track progress.
Rack & stabilise. When fermentation finishes (stable hydrometer readings), rack the wine off gross lees into a clean vessel. Add stabiliser and small dose of preservative if your kit instructs.
Clarify & bottle. Use bentonite or a fining agent if needed, let the wine clear, then bottle and age per kit instructions.

Kits are calibrated for reliable results and come with clear directions - ideal for first-timers. Pair a kit with a basic starter pack (fermenter, airlock, hydrometer) and you’ll be making drinkable wine in weeks.

And there you have it - a simple way to start your winemaking journey!

Buy a Basic Starter Kit Bundle with Everything You Need to Get Started

Making Wine with Fresh Grapes: The Traditional Way

If you love the idea of making wine from ripe grapes and having complete control over style, this is for you. The traditional centuries-old approach to winemaking gives you full control of style and vintage character.

procedure below modernises and condenses your original recipe into a clearer, beginner-friendly sequence.

Typical ingredients for 100L (White or Red)

Note: the instructions below are condensed from a traditional 100L recipe. Make sure to scale down proportionally for smaller batches (e.g. 20L).

Campden tablets (to sanitise grapes and control wild-yeast) - Add 5 tablets per 100L when crushing the grapes.
Quality yeast nutrient 25 g - Helps a healthy, complete fermentation.
Pectinase 50 g - breaks down pectin for better juice yield and clarity
Solfitanico (potassium metabisulfite) - 3–4 tablets per 100L for white, 1–3 for red depending on style to act as a preservative.
Bentonite (optional fining) - you can add it during racking period to promote clarity.
Water (if diluting) - add sugar only if necessary to reach desired starting gravity.

Step-by-step (White Wine)

Quick checklist:

Clean & sterilise all equipment - You can use a no-rinse product like OXYPER. This step dramatically reduces the risk of off-flavours or spoiled wine.
Crush grapes, add immediately add crushed Campden tablets dissolved in a little juice to remove bacteria.
Dissolve the pectinase and yeast nutrient - Add small amounts in juice and mix thoroughly.
Press and transfer juice to the fermenter, fit an airlock, wait 24 hours.
Add yeast (rehydrate per packet instructions) after 24 hours after sulphite addition.
Allow to ferment - Use hydrometer to confirm fermentation is complete.
Add another dose of steriliser once fermentation ends (as per product directions) - You can use 2 Solfotannico tablets per 100 litres (or if you are using Campden tablets add 40 tablets).
Wait 7–14 days for settling, then rack to clean vessel, topping up to minimise oxygen contact.
Degas, fine and bottle when clear and stable.

Step-by-step (Red Wine)

Quick checklist:

1-4. Same prep as white wine (sanitise, Campden, pectinase, nutrient).

5. Ferment with the skins until the colour and taste is right - During this time the grapes will flow to the surface, push them down and mix them back into the must up to 2 to 5 times daily.

6. Drain and press when colour/tannin are right - Transfer free-run & pressings to fermenter.

7. Complete fermentation, stabilise, wait, then rack and age.

Equipment Checklist (for Kits and Traditional Method)

Fermenter (bucket or carboy/demijohn): holds must while yeast converts sugar to alcohol.
Airlock: lets CO₂ escape while keeping oxygen and contaminants out.
Hydrometer: measures specific gravity to track fermentation & final ABV.
Siphon and racking cane: transfer wine without disturbing sediment.
Sanitiser: removes wild yeast and bacteria - essential.
Press (for grapes): extracts juice from skins/pulp.
Fining agents (Bentonite/Isinglass): clear wine by settling suspended particles.
Degassing tool/paddle: removes dissolved CO₂ that causes “fizzy” off-flavours.

Post-fermentation essentials: Degassing, Fining and Bottling

Degassing

After fermentation is complete, the dissolved CO₂ can give a spritzy or yeasty mouthfeel. You need to degas by stirring vigorously with a sanitised paddle or using a degassing tool until bubbling subsides.

Fining / Clarifying

If the wine is cloudy, use Bentonite (for proteins) or Isinglass/gelatin (for reds) per product instructions. Always follow dosages and allow time for lees to settle before racking.

Stabilising

Before bottling, add stabilisers to prevent re-fermentation and protect from oxidation. The most common stabilisers are sodium metabisulphite (Campden) and potassium metabisulfite (Solfitanico).

Bottling and Ageing

Fill bottles carefully to avoid splashing; leave minimal headspace. Cork or cap, then age. Young table wines often benefit from a few months; stronger reds may improve over a year or more.

Common Issues and Simple Fixes

Stuck fermentation (fermentation stops early)

Cause: Low yeast nutrient, temperature drop, high alcohol stress.

Fix: Warm to recommended temp, aerate (gently), add rehydrated tolerant yeast + nutrient (refer to “stuck fermentation fix”).

Cloudy wine after racking

Cause: Particles still suspended.

Fix: cold stabilise (chill), then fine with Bentonite and re-rack after settling.

Off-flavours (e.g. wet cardboard, vinegar smell)

Cause: Oxidation, bacterial contamination.

Fix: Assess severity. Minor oxidation may be masked by ageing; severe bacterial infection may require disposal. Prevent with good sanitation and correct sulphite use.

Sour or vinegary flavours

Cause: Acetobacter (exposure to oxygen).

Fix: Stop further oxidation (top up vessels), check free SO₂ levels, decide whether the batch is salvageable.

Quick Overview: Which Route Should you Pick?

Making wine at home is a satisfying hobby that combines science, craft and patience. If you want predictable results, minimum fuss, and everything in one box - choose a wine kit. Great for beginner wine making and gifting. (See our Wine Making Kits.) And don’t forget to pair it with the best wine making starter kit we have to offer.

If you enjoy hands-on work, seasonal produce and experimenting with varietals - try fresh grapes, and stock up on Campden tablets, pectinase and yeast nutrient. It may require more skill, but it can be very rewarding.

Cheers!