Additive Pack Description
#1 BENTONITE
The #1 add pack serves two purposes.
It contains Bentonite which is a natural product derived from clay. This product is actually a fining agent and the purpose of adding this in the primary is to help pull spent yeast cells, proteins and other particles down to the bottom of your primary fermenter. This will help improve the clarification in the later stages.
It also contains a food for the yeast. This gives the yeast a quicker start and a more vigorous fermentation. At this stage if the yeast is lacking in nutrients it could cause the fermentation not to start or to stop prematurely.
YEAST (LevosparkTM)
The yeast is what will cause the wine to ferment. Yeast is a living micro-organism. There are many types of yeast, which have been cultured for specific purposes. It is important, for example to use wine yeast when making wine and beer yeast when making beer. Every yeast pack has an expiration date printed on the sachet. It is important to make sure that your yeast has not passed the expiration date. You can add the yeast following the method on the instruction sheet, but to get a faster start to the fermentation, it is a good idea to follow the directions on the back of the sachet. Remember that yeast also needs oxygen to survive, so when introducing the yeast into your must it is important to stir vigorously.
#2 METABISULPHITE & ASCORBIC ACID
This pack also serves more than one purpose.
Metabisulphite acts in several ways; first, it helps fight against bacteria that may be present in the wine. Second, it is an anti-oxidant and third it is a preservative and is a very important component in the shelf life of your wine. Metabisulphite is an essential ingredient in the wine making process. It is not only used in homemade wines but it is also found in all commercial wines, often in higher levels. At Advintage, we keep the level of sulphite to a minimum in order to have as natural a product as is possible. This is one of the reasons we do not promote the use of Sorbate in our wine kits. In order to add Sorbate we would have to increase the level of Sulphite, and this is a practice that we do not support.
Ascorbic acid is an anti-oxidant. An anti-oxidant is used to help fight against oxidization.
Oxidization is a natural occurrence in aged wines. How fast a wine oxidizes depends on many factors, and the addition of this component is just one-way to fight against this process. Ascorbic acid is a natural product that is actually Vitamin C.
#5 KIESELSOL (Flokul30TM)
Kieselsol is gelatine derived from natural sources, which is the first component in our two-stage clarification process. Kieselsol moves around in your wine and attaches itself to the suspended particles. The reason we must leave this product for at least 15 minutes is to give it the time it needs to attach itself to all the suspended particles. By not waiting the recommended 15 minutes, there will be many particles left in suspension that it has not adhered itself to and will in that case not clarify properly.
#6 CHITOSAN (ChitekTM)
Chitosan is a natural product and is the second component of our two-stage clarification process. After the Kiesesol has been left to do its job, the Chitosan comes in and pulls all the particles that the Kiesesol has adhered to down to the bottom.
NOTE: there have been varying studies done on the potential allergies to this ingredient, and the results are not conclusive. If you have an allergy to shellfish, DO NOT use this clarifier. The two stage clarifiers can be replaced with isinglass.
#4 SORBATE
For more details about the addition of Sorbate into Advintage wine kits please see the technical page on Sorbate. The addition of the #4 Sorbate pack is ONLY to be used if you are adding a sweetener to your wine. (With the exception of our Bellissima fruit wine kits which must have the Sorbate pack added.)
#1 BENTONITE
The #1 add pack serves two purposes.
It contains Bentonite which is a natural product derived from clay. This product is actually a fining agent and the purpose of adding this in the primary is to help pull spent yeast cells, proteins and other particles down to the bottom of your primary fermenter. This will help improve the clarification in the later stages.
It also contains a food for the yeast. This gives the yeast a quicker start and a more vigorous fermentation. At this stage if the yeast is lacking in nutrients it could cause the fermentation not to start or to stop prematurely.
YEAST (LevosparkTM)
The yeast is what will cause the wine to ferment. Yeast is a living micro-organism. There are many types of yeast, which have been cultured for specific purposes. It is important, for example to use wine yeast when making wine and beer yeast when making beer. Every yeast pack has an expiration date printed on the sachet. It is important to make sure that your yeast has not passed the expiration date. You can add the yeast following the method on the instruction sheet, but to get a faster start to the fermentation, it is a good idea to follow the directions on the back of the sachet. Remember that yeast also needs oxygen to survive, so when introducing the yeast into your must it is important to stir vigorously.
#2 METABISULPHITE & ASCORBIC ACID
This pack also serves more than one purpose.
Metabisulphite acts in several ways; first, it helps fight against bacteria that may be present in the wine. Second, it is an anti-oxidant and third it is a preservative and is a very important component in the shelf life of your wine. Metabisulphite is an essential ingredient in the wine making process. It is not only used in homemade wines but it is also found in all commercial wines, often in higher levels. At Advintage, we keep the level of sulphite to a minimum in order to have as natural a product as is possible. This is one of the reasons we do not promote the use of Sorbate in our wine kits. In order to add Sorbate we would have to increase the level of Sulphite, and this is a practice that we do not support.
Ascorbic acid is an anti-oxidant. An anti-oxidant is used to help fight against oxidization.
Oxidization is a natural occurrence in aged wines. How fast a wine oxidizes depends on many factors, and the addition of this component is just one-way to fight against this process. Ascorbic acid is a natural product that is actually Vitamin C.
#5 KIESELSOL (Flokul30TM)
Kieselsol is gelatine derived from natural sources, which is the first component in our two-stage clarification process. Kieselsol moves around in your wine and attaches itself to the suspended particles. The reason we must leave this product for at least 15 minutes is to give it the time it needs to attach itself to all the suspended particles. By not waiting the recommended 15 minutes, there will be many particles left in suspension that it has not adhered itself to and will in that case not clarify properly.
#6 CHITOSAN (ChitekTM)
Chitosan is a natural product and is the second component of our two-stage clarification process. After the Kiesesol has been left to do its job, the Chitosan comes in and pulls all the particles that the Kiesesol has adhered to down to the bottom.
NOTE: there have been varying studies done on the potential allergies to this ingredient, and the results are not conclusive. If you have an allergy to shellfish, DO NOT use this clarifier. The two stage clarifiers can be replaced with isinglass.
#4 SORBATE
For more details about the addition of Sorbate into Advintage wine kits please see the technical page on Sorbate. The addition of the #4 Sorbate pack is ONLY to be used if you are adding a sweetener to your wine. (With the exception of our Bellissima fruit wine kits which must have the Sorbate pack added.)