The one thing you don’t want to change in the instructions is the mixing and stirring wine in the kits. To make a properly balanced wine, you need to stir the full 23L volume vigorously, prior to pitching the yeast. This is crucial: the concentrates are so viscous that they don’t mix easily with the added water.
Why Stirring Wine is Important
Indeed, unless the must is well stirred, it will stratify, with the top layer being very dilute, (below specific gravity of 1.050), and the bottom layer extremely concentrated (sometimes above specific gravity 1.100). Not only would this throw off any attempt at a specific gravity reading, but the top stratum will ferment rapidly until the yeast is exhausted, while the bottom layer will not ferment successfully at all. This will leave a weak-tasting wine, low in alcohol, and high in residual sugar – not a desirable result.
