Is a 8gal primary bucket really necessary for kit wine?

[terrapinj]

going to venture into wine making very soon and most of the kit instructions I see call for a 7.8gal primary bucket.

I've seen a number of posts in misc threads comment that beer equipment is fine for primary (i'm assuming 6.5gal standard ale pale buckets)

is there a reason that I would need a larger bucket or can I use a normal 6.5gal bucket for a 23L kit?

I def will be using a 6gal better bottle/carboy for secondary etc.

 

[Yooper]

You can get by with a 6.5 gallon bucket, no problem! The only issue for me is when I lift it to rack, I tend to splash it since there is only .5 gallon of headspace and it's heavy. Otherwise, you should be fine.

Some of the better kits come with grape skins in a package, and those may rise to the top in your bucket and get up under the airlock, but that still shouldn't clog up the airlock.

 

[BBBF]

As Yooper said, you could get by with it. My biggest issue is that foaming can get away from you when you add nutrients/oxygen to the fermenting must, so it's nice to have a little extra space. You could also ferment in two buckets and then rack them both into the same secondary.

 

[solbes]

I've made 4 batches of wine in 6.5 gallon buckets and not had any issues.

 

[Cyclman]

I bought the bigger bucket, when degassing the wine it kept spills off my cement basement floor.

 

[Bombo80]

I use a food grade plastic tote for primary fermentation of wines with a lot of must (grapes, rhubarb, peaches, etc)

I feel it has enough surface area for the cap to float, without it getting too thick. That would make it a bit more difficult to punch down.

Also, I believe this helps with the release of CO2 and any other gasses. IMHO

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I ferment almost everything in the 7.8gal buckets. Beer, cider, wine. Piece of mind. Why risk it?