What Equipment Do You Really Need? (Budget vs Pro Setups)

The internet will happily convince you to spend £500 before your first batch. The truth is, you can make very good wine with around £40 of kit. This guide walks through what's genuinely essential, what's worth buying when you're more committed, and what's professional-grade luxury.

The Absolute Essentials (≈£30–50)

These are non-negotiables. Without these you cannot safely make wine.

Fermentation vessel

A food-grade plastic bucket (10–15L with a lid and grommet) or a glass/PET carboy. For a first batch, a 5L glass demijohn or 10L bucket is ideal. Avoid anything that previously held non-food chemicals.

Airlock and bung

A three-piece or S-shaped airlock lets CO₂ escape while preventing oxygen and wild bacteria from entering. Costs less than £1 each — buy a handful.

Hydrometer and trial jar

Non-negotiable for tracking fermentation and calculating ABV. A basic wine hydrometer (0.990–1.170 scale) costs £3–5. Always measure; don't guess.

Auto-siphon and tubing

A spring-loaded auto-siphon with 1–1.5m of food-grade tubing lets you rack wine cleanly without sucking on a tube. Essential from batch one.

Long-handled spoon

Stainless steel or food-grade plastic. For stirring in sugar and nutrients. Sanitise before every use.

Potassium metabisulphite (KMS)

The foundation of your sanitisation routine and SO₂ management. Buy a 500g bag — it lasts years.

Bottles and corks/caps

You need something to put the wine in. 750mL wine bottles (recycle or buy new), and a simple hand corker (≈£15) or screw caps. Swing-top (Grolsch-style) bottles work well for country wines.

The Next Step Up (≈£50–150 total)

Once you've made a couple of batches and want to improve quality and process.

Temperature-controlled fermentation

Yeast behaves very differently at 16°C vs 26°C. A seedling heat mat (cheap, £10–15) or an inkbird temperature controller + heat belt gives you basic control. For consistency in cooler climates, this is the single most impactful upgrade.

pH meter or strips

Testing pH before and after acidification is important for microbial stability and correct SO₂ effectiveness. A basic digital pH meter (£15–25) is more reliable than strips.

Titration kit for TA

Titratable acidity tells you how much acid is in the wine, which informs how much tartaric acid to add. A basic titration kit costs £15–20.

Peristaltic pump or wine thief

A wine thief (long tube that samples from a vessel without opening it) avoids contamination during gravity checks. Useful once you have multiple vessels.

Fining agents

Bentonite (protein haze), Superkleer (kieselsol + chitosan), isinglass (whites), egg white (reds). Keep a small supply of one or two general-purpose fining agents.

Campden tablets

Pre-measured potassium metabisulphite tablets (one tablet per 4.5L ≈ 50–65 mg/L SO₂). More convenient than weighing powder for small batches.

Serious Amateur / Small Producer (£200–800)

At this stage you're making multiple 20–30L batches and want repeatable quality.

20–30L glass or food-grade stainless carboys

Glass is inert, easy to clean, and lets you see the wine. Stainless steel is better for longer storage. Avoid plastic carboys for ageing more than a few weeks — they're oxygen permeable.

Bench corker

A floor or bench corker compresses corks cleanly without damaging them. Hand corkers on more than 6 bottles per session become painful.

Free SO₂ test kit (Ripper or Aeration-Oxidation)

Essential for any winemaker managing SO₂ seriously. The AO method is more accurate but requires more equipment. The Ripper titration method is simpler and good enough for most home use.

Oak alternatives

Spirals, chips, or cubes for oak character without the cost of a barrel.

Plate filter

For polishing wine to brilliance. Hobby units (e.g. Enolmaster) are expensive but produce professionally clear wine without fining.

Professional Equipment (£1,000+)

Variable volume tanks

Stainless with floating lids for filling to any level without headspace. Standard in commercial wineries.

Oak barrels (225L or smaller)

A 225L barrique costs £400–900 new. It gives unmatched integration of oak and micro-oxygenation but requires maintenance (topping up, bung position rotation, cleaning).

Pneumatic press

For grape wines — much more gentle than basket presses, allowing precise extraction by fraction. Entry-level pneumatic presses start at £2,000+.

Summary

Level	Key purchases	Approx. cost
Beginner	Demijohn, hydrometer, airlock, KMS, auto-siphon	£30–50
Intermediate	pH meter, heat control, TA kit, bench corker	+£80–120
Serious amateur	Stainless carboys, free SO₂ kit, plate filter	+£200–400
Small producer	Variable tanks, barrel, pneumatic press	£1,000+

Start with the essentials. Add equipment as the gaps in your process become clear — not before.