Do The Math... Please!

[bkisel]

My wife drinks ~ 4 oz. of white wine each day and I ~ 6 oz. of red. Assume we'll give away 1 .750ml bottle a month to family and friends and will have consumed another bottle a month for when folks visit and such. How much stock will I need to build up for this hobby and how often do I need to start a white and a red kit to replace consumed stock? Assume on average a kit will take 6 months from start to ready to drink. Also, how many carboys will I need (I've got 2 at this time). I'm suspecting that I'll only need a single primary bucket, right?

Thanks...

 

[jamesngalveston]

what happens if someone over pours....
jeez..just go get some 5 gallon buckets, a few xtra carboys, and make some wine.
I am not trying to be a smart A, but this equation does not add up.
What if you have more friends over one day, are you drop a bottle and break it, are someone wants two bottles to take home.
If you have to break down every glass..I would just go buy it.

 

[Kraffty]

based purely on your numbers I'd say 2 white and 3 red 6gal kits a year. I'd consider overdoing it in the beginning so that you could have a slight backlog where you're drinking from 1 and 2 year old stock rather than always 6 month old wine. Maybe one a month for a year and them cut it in half the second year.

Mike

 

[bkisel]

based purely on your numbers I'd say 2 white and 3 red 6gal kits a year. I'd consider overdoing it in the beginning so that you could have a slight backlog where you're drinking from 1 and 2 year old stock rather than always 6 month old wine. Maybe one a month for a year and them cut it in half the second year.

Mike

Thanks, just the help I was looking for. I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a few more carboys though.

I like your backlog idea even though I'm happy enough with the first two "4 week" RJS wine kits that we're currently drinking.

 

[pjd]

Also when you realize that you can make better wine than you can purchase, I assure you consumption will increase. I used to have the same thought process, now I have several 20 gallon fermenters and 50 carboys! None of them empty.

 

[Kraffty]

I missed the carboy part of the question, YES I'd say you'd need at least two more better yet 4 more. While the kit instructions advertise 30 days to bottling a lot of the time, my experience has been that you can BUT YOU WILL have sediment in your bottles later. If you can bulk at minimum an additional 30 to 60 days in your carboys before bottling you'll end up with a cleaner bottles of wine.
Mike

 

[bkisel]

Also when you realize that you can make better wine than you can purchase, I assure you consumption will increase. I used to have the same thought process, now I have several 20 gallon fermenters and 50 carboys! None of them empty.

Yeah, the third kit that I'm working on now is a higher end RJS kit - CC Winery Series. I'm anxious to find out if this higher end kit is very much better than the tow lower end RJS kit wine that my wife and I are now drinking.

 

[Longtrain]

Yes it will, IF you give it the time to shine. I started much like you and drank, gave away what I made, etc. Was chasing my tail a bit to keep up with the demand.

Buy better kits, give them time and rewards will be yours. If you have a variety you like, make two kits at a time. Soon you'll have plenty of wine aging and will find yourself drinking older and most likely better wine.

Now i have moved from kits ( for the most part), to juice pails and some fresh fruit. They will take at least a year (two is better for reds) before drinking. This Fall I will probably start ~ 20 gals of California Cabernet Sauvignon juice...for 2 years from now.

Still lots of fun.

 

[bkisel]

I think I'll take a couple of weeks break before starting a high end white kit for my wife (She said she'd like a white Zinfandel - guess it is really a blush.). There will be a point in making the the next kit and finishing the kit I have in progress that I'll need to buy another, my third, carboy. Maybe try one of those plastic better bottles?

There's a store bought Merlot, Liberty Creek brand, that I like enough for the price of ~57.00 a case. I can be buying some more of that to fill in the gaps while I work to build a backlog of home made wines.

Thanks for all your help and advice...

 

[JohnT]

When you arrive at what you need, you also need to consider just how long it takes to make a batch. You need to (at a minimum) double the figure ao that you can have one batch ready for drinking, while having another batch "cooking".

 

[Longtrain]

Maybe try one of those plastic better bottles?

Some say they are ok, but I would recommend staying with glass. BTW, you will be amazed what happens to wine with some time added to the process. You'll think its a totally different wine and may be reluctant to share as much.

Tony

 

[GEM]

I have been using Better Bottles for some time and I am very happy with them, especially since they are lite and don't break like glass. The only downside I see with them is that you cannot vacuum rack to them, as the plastic cannot handle the vacuum. Otherwise I love them for their safety factor.

 

[kryptonitewine]

I have a better bottle and hate the way it sucks/blows air when you move them. I have it placed in a milk crate now but my glass carboys are my first to be used.

 

[Enologo]

Though I'm very new at this (just started last fall) I have come to the conclusion that it's very difficult to balance what to drink and what to lay down. I just bottled a Merlot that I started back in December and this is the first wine I've made with any kind of time on it and it's turning out well. I'd love to let it bottle age now but it's so tempting to drink and give away so I can show what I've accomplished. My personal philosophy going forward is to make as much as I can as often as I can. I guess you could always throttle it back if necessary (yeah, probably not).

 

[Putterrr]

drink some, give some away and set some aside, do this with each batch and soon your wine shelves will fill as if by magic

cheers

 

[GaDawg]

I am also fairly new to this. What I have been doing is alternate between fairly early drinkers (CC Sterling Johannisberg Riesling) for summer drinking and wine to put aside (ex. RJS Winery Series Merlot). What do ya'll think? By the way I have discovered the fastest way to increase ones winemaking skills is to read this board every day. Thanks guys, ya'll are great

 

[jswordy]

How much stock will I need to build up for this hobby?

As much as you have capacity to store. When you run out of capacity, build more.

How often do I need to start a white and a red kit to replace consumed stock?

As soon as the last kit finishes.

Assume on average a kit will take 6 months from start to ready to drink.

Unless you run out of your prior wine early, say due to an unexpected party. In that case, you will drink your new wine. Oh yes you will.

Also, how many carboys will I need (I've got 2 at this time). I'm suspecting that I'll only need a single primary bucket, right?

You will need as many carboys and buckets as the remaining space you have not already crammed with full wine bottles will allow. Provide a path in the remaining space for access.

If you feel as though I am being flippant or humorous in these replies, check back in after 6 months have elapsed.

 

[bkisel]

How much stock will I need to build up for this hobby?

As much as you have capacity to store. When you run out of capacity, build more.

How often do I need to start a white and a red kit to replace consumed stock?

As soon as the last kit finishes.

Assume on average a kit will take 6 months from start to ready to drink.

Unless you run out of your prior wine early, say due to an unexpected party. In that case, you will drink your new wine. Oh yes you will.

Also, how many carboys will I need (I've got 2 at this time). I'm suspecting that I'll only need a single primary bucket, right?

You will need as many carboys and buckets as the remaining space you have not already crammed with full wine bottles will allow. Provide a path in the remaining space for access.

If you feel as though I am being flippant or humorous in these replies, check back in after 6 months have elapsed.

I assume you're being humorous and are using hyperbolic jesting. But as the idiom goes... "Many a true word is spoken in jest." [Want to put the regular old smiley here but can't find it.]

 

[jswordy]

I assume you're being humorous and are using hyperbolic jesting. But as the idiom goes... "Many a true word is spoken in jest." [Want to put the regular old smiley here but can't find it.]

Oh do you, do you? Check back in 6 months, please, with a comparative list of your winemaking equipment.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I will agree with JSwordy...he has sound advise, and is a very wise man, when it comes to wine making..do not let his humor fool you....he is earnest
The pleasure of drinking a really good wine, that you yourself has made is satisfying beyond...For me it has driven me to more research, more patience and more and more equipment Example...just made a 3 gallon batch of mango, that topped out at 15 % abv. Quiet strong for a wine.
3 gallons became 2 after lees and racking.
I got 9 bottles..3 i have drank, 4 I gave away... I have two left, and wish I had 200.
How do you calculate how much equipment and wine to make.
Make as much as you can store, and buy as much equipment as your pocket book will allow....
As Js said...come back in 6 mos..and tell us how many carboys you have.