What happens if equipment isn properly cleaned?
90% of all winemaking failures can be traced to a lapse in cleaning or sanitation. (Cleaning is removing visible dirt and residue from your equipment. Sanitising is treating that equipment with a chemical that will eliminate, or prevent the growth of, spoilage organisms). Everything that comes in contact with your wine must be clean, and properly sanitised, from the thermometer to the carboy, from the siphon hose to the bung and airlock. One single lapse could cause a failure of your batch. Q: Can I cut corners or simplify a process to save time? A: Wine kit instructions may seem to be long and complicated, and the urge is to simplify them, or to standardize steps between different kits. This is always a mistake, for several reasons. First, the kit instructions are based both on sound winemaking techniques, and empirical trials. Development of the specific steps employed in the instructions came about through both learned theoretical winemaking practices and through repeated wine labor
