New HomeBrewWest Smart Wine Starter Kit 30 Bottle

Includes:
 33 Liter Quality Translucent PP Primary Fermenter With Lid, Grommet and Bubbler Airlock,
 Better Bottle Fermenter & Bung 22.7 Litre Secondary fermenter Complete With Bubbler Airlock
 Syphon, telescopic de-luxe model
 Syphon Tube Clip (Controls Flow)
 23 Litre Degasser
 Hydrometer
 Trial Jar
  Large Liquid Crystal Thermometer (Self Adhesive) by 2
 100 gram VWP Cleanser/Sterilizer
 Plastic Stirring Spoon

The HomeBrewWest Smart Wine Starter Kit will produce 30 bottles of higher quality wine than other starter kits. It contains quality equipment you NEED, and doesn't contain components you probably do not need, hence its very low cost.

So, whats so different?

Firstly it comes with a 33 liter translucent (no colouring agents in the plastic) polypropylene primary fermenter. Normal 25 liter primary fermenters can overflow through the airlock, creating a mess and posing a significant infection risk.

Even more importantly, it has a Better Bottle Fermenter for secondary fermentation. Serious wine makers use either these, or a glass carboy because the head space is so much less that the more common 25 liter fermenters. This means less air and a better quality wine. However, you cant get a stirring rod into these because of the thin neck, so the kit contains a 23 Liter Degasser which works in combination with an electric drill. Once you have used one of these to degass your wine, you will never go back. Its now so easy to degass wine without introducing excess air. So a better quality wine. And, since the Better Bottle is completely transparent, you can leave your hydrometer in the Better Bottle. No need to open the fermenter (letting air in) and take a sample. So . . ..

The kit also contains 2 large Liquid Crystal Thermometers that are attached to the outside of your fermenters so that you can monitor temperature without having to open the fermenters (letting air in), sterilize thermometers etc. There are many LC thermometers out there, we have selected these because they work; they are easy to read and accurate.

A simple Siphon Tube Clip can be placed about half way along the syphon tube so that flow can be controlled during bottling.

The VWP is more than just a sterilizer, it is also very effective at cleaning soiled containers (just soak them overnight).

Now for the missing bits:
- no corks,
- no corking machine,
- no bottle brush,
- no bottle labels or shrink capsules,
- no wine filter.

We didn't include these because many people simply reuse screw cap wine bottles for wines that are to be consumed within a few weeks. Here's a tip: a dishwasher is incredibly effective at cleaning used wine bottles, we have never used a bottle brush . . . life is too short! You can also use plastic water bottles if you dont intend to age your wine.

However, if you intend to make top quality wines and age them properly, then you can find corkers, corks, shrink wraps etc. in the equipment section at unbeatable prices.

The only extra equipment you need is a brewbelt heater (keeps the temperature up in cold conditions). We have the perfect brewbelt for less that the UK RRP (see below).

You will also need a wine ingredients kit from the Wine Ingredient Kits section. As a beginners kit, we love the Cantina range because they produce a reasonable quality wine in just 5 days, particularly the Pinot Grigio which is very drinkable! For those of you that can wait a few weeks or more, the Advintage wines from Canada are the probably the best kits availaible here / UK. 

TIP: Forget bottle brushes, use a dishwasher to wash your bottles. Then simply soak in VWP and rinse.