By James Wilson

Ideal wine making utensils to use for boiling ingredients & juices are those consisting of good quality enamel. If possible, try to purchase wine utensils sold under proprietary names, as they are often most reliable. They cannot be chipped.

Cheap enamel utensils often contain lead in the glaze and this might be boiled into the brew. If this happened, the wine would then be dangerous.

If copper or aluminum is used, there could be a slight risk of small particles of the metal being boiled into the brew. This could poison the yeast, which would prevent fermentation.

For fermentation purposes and for soaking fruits and flowers, try using a china vessel or one made of polythene. China vessels should not be too wide at the rim as this exposes too large a surface to the air. A polythene bucket is ideal - but do make sure it is of polythene, as some plastics are not suitable. And choose a pale color or a white one. Where large batches of wine are made, a polythene dustbin makes an excellent fermentation vessel, as does a strong polythene bag, lining a worn-out barrel or similar container.

One advantage of Polythene has is the fact that it is nearly unbreakable. A polythene bucket may be used for all wine-making purposes except boiling the ingredients.

Do not use enamel vessels for fermentation and do not use a galvanized vessel for any part of the wine-making process.

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