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What Went Wrong – Top 10 Wine Making Mistakes #1

March 19th, 2009 by robin in wine making, wine making tips

This is going to be the first in a series of blog articles focusing on wine making problems. One of the best ways to ensure great wine making results is to understand the most common errors people make.

Mistake #1: Inadequate Equipment

Winemaking equipment, such as fermentation pails, carboys and spoons often seems similar to items that may be around the home. However, in many cases, proper wine making equipment and utensils are made of special materials, and this can influence your finished product.

Re-using plastic pails from other sources, like buckets that previously held food products, is always a mistake. The food odors will have sunk into the plastic, and will taint the wine. Also, plastic items not intended for food purposes, such as brand-new garbage pails must never be used for wine making. The pigments, UV protectants and plasticizers (chemicals used to keep the plastic from becoming brittle) will leach into the wine, and could affect your health.

Saving a few dollars by using suspect equipment is not worth it. It is better to invest in good equipment to help ensure the quality of your wine.

Tomorrow Wine Making Mistake #2 – Cleaning and Sanitizing….