Now it's time to start putting some of the ingredients together. We won't use all of them right now, but we will soon!

1. Open the box that contains your wine kit. Be careful to not puncture the plastic bag that contains the grape concentrate.
2. Carefully record, in your cellar notes, the Lot Number inscribed on top of the bag’s cap. This gives you a record of the type of kit and manufacture date. This information will be required should you have any questions or comments or have a kit that fails.
3. Place the fermenter in a location that will keep the bucket from moving or ask someone to hold the bucket.
4. If your kit contains a package marked Bentonite pour contents into 250ml of cold water and allow it to sit for 30 minutes before adding to the must. DO NOT STIR!
5. Carefully remove the cap (A bag de-capper makes opening the bag a breeze.) from the large juice bag and e mpty the contents of the bag in at least a 7.9 U.S. gallon open fermentor. Make sure the fermentor has been cleaned and sanitized.
6. If using a 23 liter (6 U.S. gallon) wine kit like an Original All Juice, All Juice Master’s Edition or Meglioli, proceed to the next step; otherwise, rinse out the juice bag with warm water (~80 degrees) and add to bucket. Then, fill your primary fermentor to the 6 U.S. gallon mark and stir vigorously to mix the concentrate and water. (This mixing is extremely important! If you do not mix the concentrate and water well, the hydrometer reading may not be correct!)
7. Make sure the temperature of the must is in the desired range of 70-76° Fahrenheit.
8. In a separate small vessel, put 2 ounces of warm water (104-109° Fahrenheit) and sprinkle yeast on top. DO NOT STIR! Allow to sit for 15 minutes.
9. If 30 minutes has passes since you put the bentonite in the cold water, mix the bentonite by stirring vigorously until all of the bentonite is dissolved. If it has not been 30 minutes, wait until the 30 minutes has passed before stirring. Add the bentonite mixture to the must and stir to disperse the bentonite in the must.
10. Check the specific gravity. It should read between 1.055 and 1.120, depending on the kit. The instructions included with your kit will indicate the correct range.
11. Once the yeast has been in the warm water for 15 minutes, stir the mixture to suspend the yeast and pour it into the must.
12. Cover the primary fermenter and place in an area with a temperature of 65 – 75°F. Fermentation should start within 24 – 48 hours. If you have a floating thermometer, place it in the must. Now you have 2 choices as to what to do with the lid. You can either lay the lid on top or snap the lid down. Then, either cover the hole with a towel or put the airlock in the grommetted hole. The only advantage of snapping the lid in place is so you can see the bubbling action in the airlock. Oxygen is not a concern at this time.
13. To facilitate racking, place the fermenter on a table or workbench that is at least 2 feet off the ground. Racking wine from a high position to a lower position gives you the ability to use gravity to your advantage.

Fermentation temperature is important. The yeasts will only do their job in a temperature window of 65-75° with the optimal temperature for most wine kits being 73 °F . If the temperature of the must is below this range, the fermenting period may take more time or, more importantly, fermentation may not start at all. If the temperature of the must is above this range, the yeast may get too hot and die before they complete their work. Either scenario is not good; so make sure you put the must in an area where the temperature will stay within the specified range.

So far, all of the mixing and fermenting has occurred in the plastic fermenting bucket. Now, as we head into secondary fermentation, we'll be using the carboy and our racking equipment.