I’m excited to be starting yet another wine today, Australian Chardonnay. This variety was my wife’s pick, as she prefers the whites over the reds. Of course, we don’t have chardonnay grapes in NH, so this was purchased as a kit from my favorite supply store, Quality Wine and Ale Supply. The kit is a Vinter’s Reserve, World (something) Vineyard.Â
Just like the other kits, we start off by mixing up the packet of bentonite and some hot water. The bentonite serves the purpose of soaking up proteins in grape juice, essentially aiding in the clearing of the wine. The grape juice was also poured into the primary vessel and topped up to 6 gallons. The starting gravity was only 1.078, a bit low, so I added 3 full cups of sugar to the mix. That brought the SG up to 1.082. I prefer to raise the SG at the beginning, because I feel it gives me some tolerance for adding water later. Plus, I prefer a bit higher alcohol content, for all the right reasons. 
I added the wood chips and the yeast, per the instructions and covered the primary. Apparently, the juice provided in the kit has all the right levels of tannins, pectic enzymes, and nutrient at the start so you do not have to add these ingredients, like you would with a fruit wine, or other wine from scratch. Apparently, the juice is also sulphited and clean enough to start the fermentation without having to wait the usual 24 hours before adding the yeast.
The Chardonnay will ferment for 5-7 days, and when it reaches SG of 1.010, it will get racked into a secondary fermentor.