Wine Base Hydrometer Method:

• Prepare sulfite solution - Dissolve 2 oz. packet of sulfite in 1 gallon of warm water. Rinse with sulfite everything which comes in contact with must or wine. DO NOT rinse with water after using sulfite. Save sulfite solution. It is reusable for 3 - 4 months.
• Mix ingredients - Empty wine base and sugar called for in recipe into primary. (NOTE: 1 lb. Sugar = 2 - ¼ cups)
• Using warm tap water, add ½ the amount of water called for. You can use this water to rinse out remainder of wine base from its container. Stir to dissolve sugar thoroughly in primary.
• Using cold tap water, add remaining ½ of water called for. Add in the additive packet or additives called for in recipe. Crush any tablets with back of spoon before adding. Stir thoroughly. DO NOT ADD YEAST AT THIS TIME.
• Establish starting specific gravity - Following hydrometer instruction sheet, check and adjust the specific gravity (sugar level) of mixture.
• Cover primary with plastic sheet and secure with elastic band or string. Keep primary covered throughout its use.
• Add yeast - Wait 24 hours, then add yeast to must following instructions on yeast packet. To encourage yeast start at round 70 -75º .
• Check progress of fermentation - After fermentation starts (foam and bubbles rising to top). A. Check and continue to check specific gravity at least once daily (be careful not to allow S.G. to drop below 1.040 - usually 2 - 5 days). B. 1 day after fermentation starts stir daily to replenish oxygen. NOTE: The specific gravity can drop rapidly if slightly warmer than room temperature, especially with dark red wines. If this is the case: A) Check S.G. right after fermentation starts B) DO NOT STIR C) and MOVE to cooler place.
• At 1.040 Siphon to secondary - When S.G. reaches 1.040 (usually 2 - 5 days) siphon wine into glass secondary jug. Use sulfite to sterilize siphon, jug, etc. Be careful not to suck up sediment from the bottom of the primary. Attach fermentation lock and fill ½ full with sulfite solution. If wine foams up through the lock wait until it stops. Then, if level of wine is below neck, top up with sugar/water solution (mix 2 oz. sugar with 8 oz. water, boil, cool to room temperature before adding). Clean up lock and replace with fresh sulfite. NOTE: If some wine is left over in primary (usual for 5 gallon batches) this can be used instead for top up. Keep this extra wine in bottle that holds the same amount you have left over. Attach an air lock to the bottle.
• After 3 weeks siphon again - After 3 weeks siphon wine carefully off sediment into primary. Clean up the jug and rinse with sulfite. Then siphon wine back into jug. Or siphon directly from glass secondary to another sulfite glass jug. If required, top up with water which has been boiled and then cooled to bring wine up into neck of jug. Or, use the extra top up wine if you have saved it.
• Let the wine stand for 2 -3 months. During this time the wine should clear and stabilize and be ready to bottle. (Hydrometer reads at 1.000 or lower for over 2 weeks, no longer bubbling and cloudiness settle to bottom). If wine has not cleared, siphon into another jug and let stand another month. To speed slow clearing wine use a fining agent (such as bentonite or sparolloid). A brilliant, clear wine will result.
• Bottle wine following the bottling instruction sheet. After an appropriate aging time, sit back, raise your glass and toast yourself to the enjoyment ahead.