Ohio Wino

[dangerdave]

Greetings to all! I am a firefighter (25 years) from southern Ohio. I am nearing retirement, and searching for a great activity to keep me busy thru my later years. As my wife and I have always enjoyed wines, I could think of no better way to spend my time than producing a good wine for my family and friend.

My wife, Johnna, and I have attended numerous wine festival, visited many vinyards, and tasted lots of wines. Now, I hope to learn to make agood bottle of wine myself.

Glad to be here! Cheers!

Dave

 

[ffemt128]

Welcome to Wine Making Talk. Feel free to ask all the questions you can think of. There is a ton of knowlege here and everyone is more than helpful.

 

[Runningwolf]

Dave welcome to the forum. We have another member here also from Chillicothe, Ohio.

 

[Flem]

Welcome to the forum, Dave. I'm originally from Lancaster. We relocated to the Pittsburgh area many years ago. We still have a lot of relatives in the area. This is a great forum. Utilize it to the max.

 

[dangerdave]

I see this as the beginning of a long journey. Being new at this venture, I have more questions than I could ask. I'm reading a lot of useful info, and I am very good at following directions.

I have downloaded and scanned the contents of Lum Eiseman's Winebook, which was supposed to contain Step-by-Step instructions on how to make wine, but it really doesn't. What I need is a list of steps to follow, and list of equipment I will need, and I can take it from there, tweek the process as my skills advance. Make my own wine, so to speak.

I'm off to read the Book for Beginners, in the Beginner's Section. I'll check back later.

I know I need to start simple. Call me a clean slate. How do I begin? Anyone?

 

[PCharles]

Welcome Aboard Dave

Hi Dave, welcome aboard. This site is a great place to start developing your skills as a winemaker. I just got started with this the past February. You will find all kinds of information including, kit wine, fruit wine, starting from scratch with grapes and fresh juice. There's also plenty of info about procedures and testing. Suggestions for your winery set up and storage are available and advise on what to avoid is also presented.

Check out this unfortunate experince a fellow member had recently.
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14300

We've all made mistakes and can learn from each other to avoid the pitfalls.

See ya around,
Paul

 

[ffemt128]

I see this as the beginning of a long journey. Being new at this venture, I have more questions than I could ask. I'm reading a lot of useful info, and I am very good at following directions.

I have downloaded and scanned the contents of Lum Eiseman's Winebook, which was supposed to contain Step-by-Step instructions on how to make wine, but it really doesn't. What I need is a list of steps to follow, and list of equipment I will need, and I can take it from there, tweek the process as my skills advance. Make my own wine, so to speak.

I'm off to read the Book for Beginners, in the Beginner's Section. I'll check back later.

I know I need to start simple. Call me a clean slate. How do I begin? Anyone?

How do you begin? That is a good question. Alot of people, myself included, purchased a complete wine making kit that included all the "basic" equipment as well as a "kit wine" (concentrated juice and necessary chemicals) to get started. IMHO, this is a good route to take as it teaches you the basics needed to make wine. Others start right off with wine juices. I would recommend you either visit your local brew store and see what packages they have for the beginer or call George at finevinewines.com and he can set you up with a package. At a minimum you will need;

7.9 gallon primary
5 or 6 gallon carboy
2 hydrometers (you will eventually break one when the store is not open)
campden tablets or kmeta
sorbate
long handle spoon for stirring and degassing
bottle filler
auto siphon and tubing
bottle brush
carboy brush
corker - double lever or floor
corks
bottles

I'll let others complete the list.

 

[Julie]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to winemakingtalk.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!!

 

[Mike93YJ]

Most places that sell wine amking equipment have 'kits' that have the basic stuff needed to get you started. After ou get going you will find more things you'll want and/or need. The suggestion to get an extra hydrometer is very good advice!
We started in March, with a cranberry juice/ fruit from a can (I think it wsa County Fair brand). I wish we ahd gotten a wine kit, instead. With a wine kit, we could have learned the process better. Everything is measured out, balanced and explained what to do and when to do it. Then again, learning is part of the fun, and mistakes can teach longer lasting lessons!
Welcome to the forum

 

[Redtrk]

Dangerdave welcome from just down the road Cincinnati. I have a few friends that live over your way I ride motorcycles with.

 

[Arne]

Hi Dave,
Glad to have you along. Arne.

 

[ibglowin]

Welcome aboard!

If you have not found the Wine Making Videos over at Fine Vine Wines check them out. Watching those videos cleared up so many questions I had about the process and made it seem so simple. George is a supporter of this site and has great prices and the best customer service there is bar none.

Again, welcome!

 

[dangerdave]

Thanks for the welcome, all. I can only hope that somewhere down the line, maybe in years to come, I can give such good advice to a new winemaker. I'm taking it all to heart.

For now, I'm going to watch those video's, and maybe get to know George at Fine Vine a bit better.

It sounds like a kit would be a great starter. That'll give me the basics. I can give the process a whirl, and see where we go from there.

I don't even know if there are any brew supply stores in my area.

Time for more research!