Other How much wine do you have on the go?

[SPR]

I am new to wine making having started in July 2015 and have around 16 kits either bottled or being bulk aged

I am wondering if this seems a lot but I went mad at it for the first 3-4 months to get a good amount ageing

I was just wondering how many carboys etc you have on the go bulk aging etc as if you have been making wine for years for example how much to you have ?

I am still buying the kits and just getting another 9 (10% discount sale) to keep me going over next month or so! Is this normal in the home winemakers world?!

 

[Johnd]

I'm not sure if it's "normal" or not, but when you get bit by the bug, it is certainly "typical"!!!

I have one active primary, two wines in carboys completing alcoholic fermentation, 9 carboys bulk aging and waiting for my new Vadai barrels to arrive for a round of barrel oaking.

I have two refrigerated wine cellars that have 500 + bottles of wine in them, 7 kits preordered which should start arriving monthly.

Got a chardonnay kit being delivered on Monday, and have been scoping out a 15' x 15' outside area to build an attached, refrigerated wine making / cellar to my home. The more wine I drink, the closer I am to pulling that trigger.

Welcome to the obsession. I know there are others that have way more going in, surely they'll chime in to make you feel better.

 

[NorCal]

Living in a grape growing area puts me at a bit of an advantage. I have 150 gallons aging in barrels/carboys from the 2015 harvest and around 400 in bottles.

 

[dralarms]

I'm not going to admit how much I've got in carboy right now.

 

[Boatboy24]

I have a couple dozen cases boxed and bottle aging. Another 75-100 bottles either on the rack or in the wine fridge. Batches in process are as follows: 3 kits bulk aging, another to be started today. 10 gallons of 2014 Old Vine Zin barrel aging. 2015 vintage includes 7 gallons of Cabernet Sauvignon, 7 gallons of Syrah and 4 gallons of Petite Sirah. Finishing things out is 3 gallons of 2014 peach wine.

I have 4 empty 6 gallon carboys plus a 5 gallon because I'm starting to save on carboy space now to make room for 25-30 gallons of Chilean wine this spring.

 

[heatherd]

I have around 300 bottles. I have 7 carboys aging with the 2015 Italian and Californian juice and grape harvest. I have 3 kits waiting now (GSM, Forza, white zin) and 2 2015 Winexpert LE kits coming in Feb/March. They are the Fourtitude with skins and the Gewürztraminer Verdelho Muscat.

 

[David219]

So....
I'm at the other end of the spectrum. I've been involved in home winemaking since May, 2010. I've made 31 kits and one batch of cherry wine from fresh fruit.

I would offer a more...cautionary...note to someone new to the hobby. I have found that it has taken me a few years to understand the consequences of various decisions I made, or circumstances that I encountered, in making my wines (particularly the first 10 kits, or so). Making more kits in this steep section of the learning curve only would have meant that I would have replicated the same mistake more times before I had time to see the ramifications.

Now some of this has to do with how much wine I consume. Even though my early kit attempts were "rough", I enjoyed them...even while "young". And most friends I shared them with enjoyed them, too. I drink about a bottle a week...maybe six a month, so around 2 kits per year satisfies my personal consumption. I've averaged making over 5 kits/year. Even with gifting, sharing, and such, I've easily got over 400 bottles of wine aging in my basement/wine cellar. More than I can comfortably store. I'm at my storage limit, and frankly, some of my older wines that I still have (a 2011 WE Selection Pinot Noir, for one) may be edging past peak. Or maybe I'm making so much better wine now that any technique flaws in my early attempts are now showing up in the aged final product and are more glaring to me, and those wines aren't as enjoyable to drink.

So I've decided to make three kits per year...enough to keep my barrel full, satisfy my personal consumption, and give me a couple cases to give away. I also usually make a specialty wine kit per year, and will probably try my hand at another batch of cherry wine. If I start to see my stock dwindle, I can put another kit or two into the "rotation".

Do some math and figure out your consumption rate and any storage space limitations you have, and factor in how long...maybe as long as two years...it will take for you to really critically evaluate your wine. How much do you need to make to satisfy personal consumption and gifting? How many bottles can you store? How many kits can you make to satisfy these factors and allow you to build a cellar of aging wines?

At the end of the day, it's a hobby, right? So it's all good. Have fun. Share with friends. Laugh and learn. I once had a professor from the Philippines who, when asked a question that did not have a definitive answer would say, "Whatever make you happy!"

 

[SPR]

I think I can safely increase production then by some of your answers!

Very interesting are your replies and the large amounts I guess come from years in the hobby so,I must be patient. I am still drinking the early whites to,keep me going as I now can't bear to pay for commercial wine anymore!

 

[Dhaynes]

There is a lot of wisdom in what David said. We've been making wine for a little over 3 years now. We have 42 batches completed or in process. All were kits except for one batch each of skeeter pee and dragon blood. We have about 16 six gallon carboys, all Better Bottles except 1. We have 12 five gallon that we don't use much but we got a deal on 10 glass five gallon carboys for $12 each so what could we do? We also have 5 three gallon carboys.

We have about 350 bottles in inventory. We have 7 batches that are a year past due for bottling but we've been busy this year and we didn't have any place to store the bottles. The carboys take up less space so we we've just let them bulk age longer. We have 4 batches in process and 9 kits waiting to start. We don't have a basement or a cellar so we have to store everything in the house which is going to decrease the shelf life before the wine starts to go bad. We are either going to have to build a cold storage area in the garage, drink/give away more wine or slow down our production. It's a very addictive hobby but dealing with the results can be challenging.

 

[ceeaton]

I have 180 bottled, gave away or drank about 120 bottles so far, 40 gallons bulk aging and one 6 gallon batch actively fermenting. Have about 1.75 gallons (est.) of Sauvignon Blanc sparkling wine in a keg. Have one batch of Stout taking up a carboy. One case of raspberry wheat beer. Have four 6 gallon carboys plus one 7.9 gallon bucket open, waiting for Spring juice buckets/grapes.

I've only been at it for 14 months...

 

[JohnT]

So I am guessing that you have made around 300 liters (or about 80 gallons) so far?

That is not even close to being a shocking amount. In these parts, we are legally allowed to make up to 200 gallons per household. I know that many here go right to that limit.

Keep it up kid! Go big or go home

 

[dralarms]

So I am guessing that you have made around 300 liters (or about 80 gallons) so far?

That is not even close to being a shocking amount. In these parts, we are legally allowed to make up to 200 gallons per household. I know that many here go right to that limit.

Keep it up kid! Go big or go home

Are you talking about me John?

I make close to my limit every year. I don't go over but I make all I can.

 

[thruhike00]

I am playing catch up just like you. I got back into this hobby after recently moving and switching over from beer. There are so many craft breweries in the area and they sell really good beer cheaper than I can make it, so it didn't make sense anymore. I have started at least 25 kits in the last eight months. 19 are low end kits in the $40-70 range to get the cellar going. And we have lots of parties where a lot of wine is consumed and I got tired of paying $5-8 for a decent bottle of wine for others to drink. I am now switching over to mostly higher end kits to cellar for at least 18mos. I am trying to get my hands on some fresh juice this spring to improve the end product and move away from kits almost completely. I am still making the low end kits based on future usage and to try and keep up with the basic whites and reds, but this varies so still in the process. I am also trying to figure out a cellar location but need some more temperature inputs before I build. Good luck on building the herd!

 

[GreginND]

Working on about 900 gallons at the moment. Need to get bulk of this bottled in March.

 

[dralarms]

Working on about 900 gallons at the moment. Need to get bulk of this bottled in March.

Now that ain't playing fair:

 

[FTC Wines]

We make about 500 bottles a year. Have 700 ish bottled & 20 carboys full at present Trying to get a 3 yr supply, so all our wines are 3+ yrs old!. Roy

 

[SPR]

I am actually normal or possibly inadequate compared to you guys!!

I am off to the shops for more! As far as I know in the UK there is no limit on alcoholic made at home so....

 

[Steve_M]

If you were to measure the amount of wine I have made vs the amount of time I spend here on the forums....
I am in the abnormal category!
Started winemaking in October 2014 with 3 6 gallon pails, 2 were Cabernet the 1 a Montepulciano.
January 2015 RJS WS Amarone (just opened first bottle this weekend)
February 2015 LE Triumph
September 2015 about 500 lbs of grapes consisting of Cabernet, Merlot and OVZ.
I have about 100 bottles and another 22 gallons in carboys.

Steve

 

[Stressbaby]

I have 34 gallons in carboys. No kits, all country/fruit wines using something locally grown, that's my shtick.

 

[Daroowala]

24 gallons in carboys and that's all I can handle for now.