Wine Making
- Wine Additives
- Wine Finings
A range of additives which can be used to improve the overall flavour of home made wine.
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French Oak Chips
£1.99More information
A finely ground untoasted oak. Add 25g of this to 20 litres of must at the start of fermentation, or add the granules to the finished wine, and agitate gently. After 4-5 days remove the oak with a sieve.
Pack Size 30g -
Glycerine - 114ml
£3.50More information
Produced naturally in wines as a by-product of the fermentation, additional glycerine can be added to impart smoothness and to reduce harshness. It is often used in making liqueurs.
114ml bottle -
Malolactic Culture - 25g
£5.99More information
This culture produces a controlled malolactic fermentation which converts any harsh malic acid present into the softer lactic acid thereby reducing acidity and improving the stability of the wine.
This 25g pack is sufficient to treat 50 litres of wine. -
Oak Chips French Heavy Toast - 100g
£2.75More information
Add to the must or the finished wine.
Use at the rate of 5-30 grams / 10 litres of wine with a contact time a few days to 3 months. -
Oak Chips French Medium Toast - 100g
£2.75More information
Add to the must or the finished wine.
Use at the rate of 5-30 grams / 10 litres of wine with a contact time a few days to 3 months. -
Potassium Metabisulphite
£2.95More information
When dissolved in water this releases sulphur dioxide which has many important properties in wine and beer making:-
It has antiseptic qualities which will stun, if not kill, the bacteria and wild yeasts in or on fruit.
It has antioxidant qualities which help prevent the effects of oxidation in beer, cider or wine.
It destroys the enzyme that causes enzymatic browning in juice, similar to what happens to an apple if it is sliced and exposed to the air.
Without sulphite in some form much wine would be brown or amber in colour, smell oxidized (or have a sherry-like aroma), and would probably be ruined by bacterial spoilage.
Beer makers will also appreciate that sulphite also removes chlorine from water and therefore reduces the chance of beer being tainted with TCP flavours.
We recommend Potassium Metabisulphite both for adding to wine and as a steriliser but Sodium Metabisulphite as a steriliser only as it does impart a significant aroma and flavour to the wine especially in the short term.
200g Pack size -
Potassium Sorbate - 50g
£1.90More information
An effective stabiliser which can be added to a wine to prevent re-fermenation. It is important that this is used in conjunction with sulphite, either in solution or as campden tablet, as otherwise lactobacilli can produce an inapropriate geranium aroma and flavour in the wine.
Use at the rate of 1-2 g per 5 litres of wine.
Pack size 50g -
Precipitated Chalk
£1.00More information
Calcium Carbonate is also used to reduce the acidity of wines. The addition of 7gram to one gallon (4.5 litres) of wine will reduce the acidity by approximately 1.5 gram per litre. The reaction will give off carbon dioxide which may cause foaming, and it will also throw a sediment.
Pack size 50g -
Sorbitol Liquid Sweetener
£3.95More information
This is a hexose monosaccharide (a sugar) which is not fermented by wine yeasts and so can be used to sweeten a wine after fermentation has stopped. By using this rather than sucrose the chances of refermentation in a wine are reduced. (Please don't confuse sorbitol with sorbic acid which is a yeast inhibitor. The names are similar but these are quite different products)
250ml -
Wine (Grape) Tannin - Powder 50g tub
£1.30More information
Tannin is the substance that provides bite, firmness and character to a wine. It needs to be present at the right level to achieve the correct balance. Wine tannin, a reddish-brown powder, is extracted from grape skins and should be added to musts prepared from ingredients that are naturally low in tannins. Whilst red fruits such as blackberries, elderberries and grapes should all contain adequate levels, wines made from vegetables, grains, flowers and white fruit, with the exception of apples, usually benefit from the addition of tannin. The correct level helps to clear the wine by preciptating out any proteins present and will also improve the wine's keeping qualities.
50g tub
