New in Illinois

Hi all from Illinois,


I'm brand new and just ordered my equipment today. George was great at helping me and I'm excited to make my first batch.


As a newcommer to this hobby, any suggested topics to read?


Thanks and I'm sure you'll be hearing from me.


Monty

Welcome, Monty. Check them all out, the advice here is amazing. Give the ones you find interesting a quick look, and once you start your first batch, refer back to the topics you may have questions in as you go. Good luck.

Welcome Monty. We are glad to have you join in the fun.
Check the following link out
http://www.finevinewines.com/Home-Wine-Making-Tutorial.htm


Get your kit and follow directions in it. If you have questions as you begin, just ask and you will soon get help.


Tell us a little about yourself and what you want to make so we can help more.

Welcome Monty, what kind of wines are you looking to make and what equipment kit did you order? Glad to have you aboard and ask any questions as the only dumb question is 1 not asked.

I purchased the delux starter kit and a wine kit. I'm hoping to learn the basics before jumping into making wine from scratch. I grow a lot of rasberries and would like to make wine from them this summer. George felt that making wine from a kit first would teach me a great deal.


I've already learned a bunch from reading the posts on the forums, but I'm sure to have many questions later.


Looking forward to getting to know you all.


Monty Fox

Thats a great equipment kit you have.

Welcome Monty Fox. We are doing our first one also and everyone has been very helpful with our questions.


Gene & Marcia

Welcome to the forum Monty. How's things up in Illinois? I was born and raised there and all my family and 3 of my kids live there.I movedmoved to Louisiana about 10 years ago. I grew up in central Illinois in theShelbyville area which is just south of Decatur.


What topics to read? Well all of them. You could start with the pictorial tutorial I made up a while back just to see how easy and fun this hobby can be. It sounds like you are starting with the same kit I did so your process should be the same as I show. Feel free to ask questions or PM if other questions occur.

Welcome montyfox, I agree with what everybody is saying.. read a lot & read often. There is a huge amount of good info here for the taking. Good luck with your new hobby.

Welcome to the forum monty. glad to have you onboard...raise a lot of rasberries do ya !!!! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Shipping from IL to AR would be ???????????? Edited by: Waldo

Welcome Monty! Watch out for that Waldo; he loves to share everyone else's stuff! I'm kidding about Waldo, he's a kind and very generous soul and we like having him around. What wine kit will you be starting?

Welcome Monty. I would definitely read past threads in various topics in this forum. It is very helpful. There are a couple of tutorials that are good also here. I believe one is smurf's that goes step by step with pictures.


Enjoy the process~

Welcome to the forum, monty,


There will always be someone to answer your questions...almost in seconds. I've been in the middle of making a batch and ran over to the computer, posted and before you can get up....you have an answer. You will never be stranded with all of these fine knowledegable people here to help you.............................Ramona

Thanks for the welcome all. I'm starting out with the Vintners Reserve White Zinfandel (Had to make something right off the bat that my wife would like so I could justify the hobby .I've been reading these forums non-stop and can't wait to start. The question I have after reading is about bulk aging. Everyone seems to be pushing for a minimum of 6 months. I'm not sure I can wait that long for my first batch. What is the minimum recommended aging time for the white zinfandel?





Thanks again.


Monty

Monty, don't worry about that White Zin, it will be ready to drink pretty quick. While it will be better with a little age, you can drink that one basically after it gets over the bottle shock which is a week to a month depending who you ask. I make the Selection White Zin for the wife and start drinking it a couple months after bottling. I did the VR Blush which is similar to the white zin. We enjoyed it after a month in the bottle. The bulk age topic is normally referring to the bigger red kits.

monty,


My very first batch 3 years ago this month was a VR White Zin. As a matter of fact I just now started another batch of it today. I started out with that one for similar reasons as you. Most of my friends (girls) really like that one. It turned out fantastic and I did back sweeten it to get it to the level of sweetness that the commercial ones seem to have. Everyone loved it and we pretty much drank it within the first week of bottling. I had given a bottle to my boss and two years later deicded to drink it and it was the best White Zin I have ever had. So either way...aging is always bestand in most cases necessary for the wine to mature but this one is drinkable and very good right away....your wife will like it!!!! Hobby Saved !!!


Ramona

Monty,
I think your question was how long do you have to bulk age before bottling. I really not the one that should be answering this. I have never made a kit. I have just made fruit wines and wine from grapes. But from what I have read here. You can follow the instructions on when to bottle. You will need to make sure it is done fermenting. This is done by taking an SG read several days to see if the SG stays the same. When it does you need to stabilize and degas. Then you need to clarify. This can be done by aging. This may take a couple of months or longer. You can use an additive. Super Kleer KC is what I use but there are other that you can use. After the clarifier does it's job. Rack again and back sweeten if you like and then you should be able to bottle in a couple of days. Like I said earlier there are people here that know a lot more about then I do.

The minimum for this wine is 3-6 months from when its done clearing. If bottled then, you will need to give it another month to get over bottle shock.

monty,


Taste it along the way and see how it is.


Ramona