FNG with $1500 to spend

[limulus]

Hello,
This is my first post in the wine area (I have lots of posts on the sister site homebrewtalk). I've been brewing beer since about 1994 or 95. I have gone through lots of diy stuff and made some great beers. My kids are both away in college and I really have no bills. My wife only drinks white wine and I'd like to start making wine. I'm at a point in my life (54 next week and my back hurts) where I'm tired of going diy for everything. I am getting rid of most of my diy beer stuff and just ordered a Brewha BIAC system and a glycol chiller for my beer and would like to buy something not so basic for wine.

I know it sounds arrogant for a guy who has never made wine before to want something fancy and semi automated for wine without ever appreciating the finesse that goes into the craft. I am more than willing to start with a kit and basic equipment if that is best for learning. I do have a lot of plastic beer fermenters from places like Speidel and even 3 SS Brewtech conical brew buckets made from stainless. I was going to sell or give away a lot that stuff, but it may have another life for wine. Since I brew all grain beer, I'm definitely interested in going all-in with grapes. The Blichmann Wineeasy looks pretty interesting and for about $1100, it is in the range I have in mind.

So, for a FNG who has consumed lots of wine but never made it, do you guys think I should go more basic?

 

[cmason1957]

Normally, I tell folks to buy a wine making equipment kit from one of our sponsors or your LHBS. But it sounds like you might have most everything those would provide already at your disposal. I would get a few 6 gallon glass carboys, and maybe a few new fermenting buckets (I don't like to mix my wine stuff with my beer stuff).

Next I would spend the $200 (or so) and get an All-in-one wine pump. You can use it with your beer as well as with wine. It moves liquid around under vacuum. I might hold off on other purchases, until you decide if you really want to make wine or not. I would start with a few kits, normally I suggest you start at the lower end, but I might go for the mid range kits to start. Doing a few kits will get you started and you can ask questions about the differences between wine and beer at a lower level.

Once you are hooked and obsessed, like most of us, proceed to grapes. I would consider a vinmetrica for checking ph and any malolactic fermentations you might undertake. And maybe consider a wine barrel. That should be a pretty good start and you are nowhere near your $1500, probably closer to $500 or so.

That should be a good start.

 

[NorCal]

I started strong my first vintage and was able to pick up a Wineasy for 40 cents on the dollar used. Overall, he appy with it. I did 3 pressings with it; 100 gallons of Zin, 30 gallons Syrah, 40 gallons of Cab Franc. It worked great on the cab franc and the syrah. The zin was real late harvest and the broken down pump clogged the screen, creating a pretty painful pressing, taking twice as long as it should have.

I would do a dragons blood / skeeter pee batch, just to get the process down. Not sure where you are located, but the most important variable I have found is good fruit. Seeing how grapes are not all that transportable without considerable expense, finding a good local source of grapes is paramount.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

Dude, if you want to go all in with grapes like in buying grapes and starting at the beginning you might want to think about a crusher and press. Seriously if you have been making beer you already have ALL the skills needed to make wine, except we dont cook everything but use sulfites to knock down bugs and use pectinases to help clear the wines. You can repurpose your beer fermenters for wine, just clean the hops out As grapes might be a little hard to get right now a good start might be a good kit with grape skins and some oak to play with to learn the basics which you actually already know but just need to apply to a different style. If you dont have glass carboys you might want to pick up some, if you like gadgets a small plate filter is nice to get the wifes white wines nice and bright. You already know what clean is, that yeast are alive, we add nutrients also if needed and rack more often and wait a bit longer. You can even still use your capper on 750 ml cap bottles and your kegs to age and store your wine. And um, 1500 wont last you long just as a warning WVMJ

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to Wine Making Talk!

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Welcome to winemakingtalk !

I really like your original post - but there is no need to start from basics if someone else has made it easier for you. I believe you already have alot of the basics, as you are already making beer.

 

[limulus]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm glad to hear that I may be able to re purpose some beer equipment and even some of my beer making skills. Since there are no grapes right now, I believe I'll buy a kit. I read somewhere that Pinot Grigio is a good way to begin. So maybe I'll go that direction. I have not had glass carboys in quite a while, but I do have three SS Brewtech Brewbuckets, which are conical bottom and stainless steel. I also have a couple of the plastic Speidel 7gal beer fermenters. Is it absolutely necessary to use a glass carboy? Are you are using glass so you can see something going on in the process? BTW, I am going to buy a couple of books and will keep watching youtube vids and of course reading here.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm glad to hear that I may be able to re purpose some beer equipment and even some of my beer making skills. Since there are no grapes right now, I believe I'll buy a kit. I read somewhere that Pinot Grigio is a good way to begin. So maybe I'll go that direction. I have not had glass carboys in quite a while, but I do have three SS Brewtech Brewbuckets, which are conical bottom and stainless steel. I also have a couple of the plastic Speidel 7gal beer fermenters. Is it absolutely necessary to use a glass carboy? Are you are using glass so you can see something going on in the process? BTW, I am going to buy a couple of books and will keep watching youtube vids and of course reading here.

Step 1. Delete all links to youtube. Do not use it for research. Stick around here or Jack Kellers site if you really want to learn.

As to kits, white wine kits are easier than red mostly because of time. Whites will be ready in a few months, but good reds can sit for well over a year before the tastes come around. Two years is not out of the question.

Glass carboys are used because they are perfectly matched to kits, 6 gallons. Also they cost way less than stainless steel. When I hit the lottery, the first thing I buy will be stainless steel wine equipment (assuming they have such stuff in wishland).

 

[sour_grapes]

I am unfamiliar with your conical brewbuckets. However, it is required (for aging) that nearly all headspace can be eliminated. This necessary attribute is readily fulfilled by a carboy.

 

[limulus]

DoctorCAD, thanks for the tip regarding YT. I noticed that many of the vids I watched did not show a lot of the type of sanitation I'm used to. There were videos of guys doing things that just seemed wrong. In the beer world, sanitation is probably rule #1. sour_grapes, here is a link to the type of bucket I'm referring to. I have three of these which I won't be using for beer now that I have my jacketed fermenter and glycol. http://www.ssbrewtech.com/collections/fermenters/products/brewbucket

 

[sour_grapes]

They look wonderful for primary. However, I think you will need something that can eliminate the air for aging.

 

[seth8530]

Hello,
This is my first post in the wine area (I have lots of posts on the sister site homebrewtalk). I've been brewing beer since about 1994 or 95. I have gone through lots of diy stuff and made some great beers. My kids are both away in college and I really have no bills. My wife only drinks white wine and I'd like to start making wine. I'm at a point in my life (54 next week and my back hurts) where I'm tired of going diy for everything. I am getting rid of most of my diy beer stuff and just ordered a Brewha BIAC system and a glycol chiller for my beer and would like to buy something not so basic for wine.

I know it sounds arrogant for a guy who has never made wine before to want something fancy and semi automated for wine without ever appreciating the finesse that goes into the craft. I am more than willing to start with a kit and basic equipment if that is best for learning. I do have a lot of plastic beer fermenters from places like Speidel and even 3 SS Brewtech conical brew buckets made from stainless. I was going to sell or give away a lot that stuff, but it may have another life for wine. Since I brew all grain beer, I'm definitely interested in going all-in with grapes. The Blichmann Wineeasy looks pretty interesting and for about $1100, it is in the range I have in mind.

So, for a FNG who has consumed lots of wine but never made it, do you guys think I should go more basic?

If you got money burning a whole in your wallet I would invest in some sort of temperature control setup ( ie deepfreezer and temperature controller) especially if you want to make white wines.

Getting a crusher and a press would not be bad investments either. Some sort of pumping system.. all in one or perhaps something a little beefier depending on your needs and how much wine you plan to make.

The SC-300 is a really nice peice of wine testing equipment for testing out SO2, PH and TA.. Plus other goodies..

All of these items cost $$$, but would be good uses of money on wine equipment, if you plan on seriously getting into it using fresh grapes and juice.

 

[limulus]

If you got money burning a whole in your wallet I would invest in some sort of temperature control setup ( ie deepfreezer and temperature controller) especially if you want to make white wines.

Getting a crusher and a press would not be bad investments either. Some sort of pumping system.. all in one or perhaps something a little beefier depending on your needs and how much wine you plan to make.

The SC-300 is a really nice peice of wine testing equipment for testing out SO2, PH and TA.. Plus other goodies..

All of these items cost $$$, but would be good uses of money on wine equipment, if you plan on seriously getting into it using fresh grapes and juice.

Thanks for the recommendations. Since I've been brewing beer since the mid 90s, I've accumulated a lot of stuff for fermentation and that includes a glycol system, a 4x4 temp controlled fermentation cabinet, a full-size fridge in my garage, a three tap kegerator in my basement, a portable two tap system. I also have a Vinotemp wine fridge with 3 zones (for finished product!). I also have several nice stainless steel pumps, but I think you need a vacuum pump for wine, correct? The crusher and press seem like the obvious choices if I am going to be serious about this. Since there are no grapes at the moment, I'm going to buy a kit and give that a go first.

 

[seth8530]

No need for a vaccum pump for wine. If you already have transfer pumps, I would use those instead. If you want to lower the flow rate, build in a bypass. Depending on the volume you are working with, you could consider some filtration systems. However, keep in mind, the number one ingredient in wine is patience, followed up by good quality fruit. I would say, getting a press and a crusher ( if you intend to work with fresh produce), and some testing equipment should be your number one priorities then by the sound of things.

 

[Boatboy24]

You probably have just about everything you need to do a white wine kit, with the exception of bottles, corks and a corker. Carboys will be essential. Aside from that, your beer fermenters, and tools should be enough. You could start there with a white kit and be off in running in just a few days. Were it me, I'd start there and 'step it up' in a few months if I like the results. A white kit will be quite good at the 6 month mark, but would still need another 6 months for full evaluation, IMHO.

The SC-300 and associated goodies will set you back over $400. A motorized crusher/destemer will run you $1,000 new, and a good sized press will probably be $3-500 new. So, there goes your budget if you want to go big. If you think you'll only do white wines, the crusher/destemer could easily be knocked off the list, since many suppliers offer a crush/destem service. Then all you have to worry about is pressing. With white wines, you may want to consider filtering. Not sure if you have any of that equipment from your brewing, but filtering gives white wines a nice 'polish'.

Welcome to WMT.