How Long Does a Wine Kit Take? Every Stage by Day

A Winexpert wine kit is ready to bottle in four to eight weeks, depending on the range, and ideally rests about another month in the bottle before drinking. From the day the kit is started to the first glass, most kits take two to three months.

How long does each Winexpert range take?

Winexpert sets the number of weeks by range and prints it on the front of every kit box.

Range	Weeks to bottle	Bottles from one kit
On the House	about 4	about 29
Island Mist	about 4	about 29
Classic	about 4	about 29
Reserve	about 6	about 29
Private Reserve	6 to 8	about 29
Limited Edition	6 to 8	about 29
Revelation	about 8	about 15

What happens on each day of a wine kit?

Winexpert's instructions for its 4 to 8 week kits, which cover Classic, Reserve, and the Private Reserve whites and Pinot Noir, follow the same stages for every kit. Only the clearing time changes with the range.

Stage	4-week kit	6-week kit	8-week kit
Primary fermentation starts	Day 1	Day 1	Day 1
Stabilizing and degassing	Day 14	Day 14	Day 14
Clearing agents added	Day 15	Day 15	Day 15
Polishing rack (moved off the sediment)	Day 26	Day 40	Day 54
Bottling	Day 28	Day 42	Day 56

On day 1, the juice, water and yeast go into the fermenter and fermentation begins. By day 14 fermentation should be finished, so the wine is moved off its sediment, stabilized and stirred to release the gas from fermentation. Clearing agents go in on day 15, and the wine then sits undisturbed until it is clear enough to bottle.

Island Mist kits and the Private Reserve reds made with grape skins come with their own instruction sheets, so their days differ a little from this table.

What can make a wine kit take longer?

Two checks in Winexpert's instructions can add time, starting with a hydrometer reading on day 14 that has to fall below a set number before the wine is stabilized. If it has not, the instructions say to check again in 48 hours. The second comes before bottling: the wine has to be perfectly clear, and if it is still hazy, the instructions allow another 7 to 14 days.

Winexpert also asks for a warm spot, 20°C to 25°C, for the whole process.

How long should homemade wine rest in the bottle?

Island Wine Experts recommends about a month: one to two months to make the wine, depending on the kit, and ideally another month in the bottle before drinking.

After corking, Winexpert's instructions say to stand the bottles upright for three to five days so the corks can expand, then lay them on their sides and store them between 11°C and 18°C. Wine can be kept longer, and the instructions include an extra step for wine that will age more than three months.

How do you work out when to start a wine kit?

Count back from the day you want to open the first bottle. Take off about a month for resting in the bottle, then take off the kit's weeks to bottle, and that is the latest start date.

Say the wine is wanted for a family dinner on March 20 (a made-up date).
A month of rest in the bottle means bottling by about February 20.
A six-week Reserve kit bottles on day 42, so it needs to start by about January 10.

If the dinner date cannot move, start a week or two earlier to cover a slow fermentation or a wine that needs extra clearing time.

Does it take less time to have the shop make the wine?

The calendar is about the same, since on-site wine making also takes one to two months depending on the kit, but the shop does the work: Island Wine Experts makes the wine in its shop at 238 University Ave for $81.50 plus HST per kit. Just for the final stage: bring your bottles in for bottling.

Island Wine Experts carries Winexpert kits from four-week Island Mist and Classic to eight-week Revelation, with each kit's weeks listed on its page. Browse the wine kits and order online for pickup at 238 University Ave, Charlottetown, or choose "Make it here" on any kit to have the shop make it.