Winemaking for Beginners: Equipment & Basic Principles

Making wine yourself – getting started

Homemade wine is easier than many people think. The basic principle: sugar is fermented by yeast into alcohol and CO₂.

The most important equipment

Demijohn (10–15 liters) – a glass carboy with a narrow neck, easy to clean, flavor-neutral. Plastic buckets work too, but are more prone to scratches (which harbor germs).

Airlock – sits in the lid/stopper, lets CO₂ escape, prevents oxygen from getting in. Costs about €1, absolutely essential.

Stopper with a hole – fits the neck of the demijohn, for the airlock.

Precision scale & thermometer – for accurate sugar and temperature measurement.

Hydrometer – measures the sugar content (Oechsle), so you know how much alcohol will result.

Siphon tube for bottling – for transferring (racking) without stirring up the sediment.

Hygiene is everything

The most common mistake in winemaking: insufficient hygiene. Disinfect all equipment with a sodium metabisulfite solution (Campden) – 2 g per 1 liter of water, let it act briefly, rinse.

The process in brief

1. Press or crush fruit/grapes
2. Measure the must with a hydrometer and add sugar if needed
3. Sulfite (Campden tablet) – inhibits wild yeasts and bacteria
4. Add pure-culture wine yeast
5. Ferment (1–4 weeks) in the demijohn with an airlock
6. Rack – separate the wine from the sediment
7. Secondary fermentation and clarification (months)
8. Bottle and age

Tip: Start with apple wine (must) or elderberry wine – both are forgiving and very aromatic. Elderberries are not suitable raw (LWG Bavaria) and are boiled first.

Safety when making wine

• Fermentation gas: Fermentation produces carbon dioxide. According to the SVLFG it is colourless, odourless, heavier than air and collects near the floor; high concentrations lead to unconsciousness and death. Ventilate fermentation rooms and cellars well. According to the SVLFG, the old candle test is not acceptable – only a CO₂ meter is reliable.
• Sulphites: According to the BfR, sulphites can cause intolerance reactions in sensitive people, especially asthmatics. If you give home-made wine away, say that it has been sulphited.
• Bottle pressure: Only bottle wine once fermentation has finished. Residual sugar can re-ferment in the bottle – normal wine bottles and swing-top bottles cannot withstand that pressure.
• Alcohol: According to the BIÖG, avoid alcohol completely during pregnancy.

Sources

• Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (SVLFG): Weinbau – Gefahrstoffe: Gärgase, as of Oct 2018, accessed 5 Oct 2026
• German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR): Stark überhöhte Gehalte an Schwefeldioxid in Wein, as of 13 Nov 2003, accessed 5 Oct 2026
• Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG): Für die Gesundheit Ihres Kindes: Kein Alkohol in der Schwangerschaft, as of 5 Sep 2025, accessed 5 Oct 2026
• Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture (LWG): Infoschrift Schwarzer Holunder, accessed 5 Oct 2026

The sources support individual statements in this article. The organisations named have neither reviewed nor endorsed it.