Singleton here. I don't personally know anyone else that makes wine. Got a few tips from George and the rest mainly from here. Alos some reading at different sites.
How much wine do you make? (2023)
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I have so much wine it ain’t funny. I make about 40 gal per year and I can only drink so much, but I would like to hit 60 gal in order to fill a barrel. I wish that I could sell some but that is a no no.
You might consider 55 and 110 liter barrels, which are more manageable for your output.
I figure that being around the wine making area gives me more chances to snag a cheap, large barrel. I should look into the cost of the smaller barrels. Then I need to buy a floor jack to move the barrels and a pump. etc. LOL the fun never ends
Full size barrels are easy to find, including used if you want neutral barrels. I lucked into a pair of 54 liter barrels, as the couple who owned them were getting out of winemaking.
It can't hurt to ask at local wineries if they have used barrels in good condition they want to get rid of. Or ... they may be kind enough to let you purchase a new one through them, if that's what you want.
Huh, I just gave myself an idea -- I'd love a neutral barrel in the 19-30 liter range. I expect that will be hard to find, but if I'm not on a timetable, there are local wineries to check with.
winebusiness.com is a good resource for used barrels. You should be able to pick up an older neutral barrel for $30-$60 (ie used 3-4+ times), with newer barrels commanding a higher price. Some of the wineries that list there want to sell all or none (or at least have a minimum order size), but I expect many of them will sell a single barrel.
Half barrels are rare, and I don't think I've ever seen a commercial winery use anything smaller than that.
Generally speaking, I agree, although a local brewery has some smaller barrels for experiments. It might be possible to locate a smaller barrel, even if it's much rarer.
With 45 people responding so far, nearly 40% make 26 to 50 gallons per year. IIRC, it was about the same with last year's poll.
The 11 to 75 gallon range is over 80%, with none reporting less and about 18% making more. Considering my own production, these numbers make sense, as 75 US gallons is 30 cases of wine. Very few non-winemakers that I know of have more than a case at any time ...
The 11 to 75 gallon range is over 80%, with none reporting less and about 18% making more. Considering my own production, these numbers make sense, as 75 US gallons is 30 cases of wine. Very few non-winemakers that I know of have more than a case at any time ...
You didn’t know me before I started making wine!
I had a 120 bottle wine fridge way before I started making wine….
@ChuckD & @GSMChris -- you are NOT typical. 
A few years back a friend proudly showed me the 6 bottle rack he installed under a cabinet in his kitchen. He had 4 bottles in it. This is a lot of people.
He thought I was crazy as I normally have more than 20 cases ... until I had him open his liquor cabinet, where he had over a dozen bottles of different Scotches, plus another dozen bottles of various things. He realized we had a commonality, just a slightly different focus on that.
A few years back a friend proudly showed me the 6 bottle rack he installed under a cabinet in his kitchen. He had 4 bottles in it. This is a lot of people.
He thought I was crazy as I normally have more than 20 cases ... until I had him open his liquor cabinet, where he had over a dozen bottles of different Scotches, plus another dozen bottles of various things. He realized we had a commonality, just a slightly different focus on that.
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@ChuckD & @GSMChris -- you are NOT typical.
A few years back a friend proudly showed me the 6 bottle rack he installed under a cabinet in his kitchen. He had 4 bottles in it. This is a lot of people.
He thought I was crazy as I normally have more than 20 cases ... until I had him open his liquor cabinet, where he had over a dozen bottles of different Scotches, plus another dozen bottles of various things. He realized we had a commonality, just a slightly different focus on that.
I agree with Bryan. Before I started making wine I thought I was an absolute GENIUS when I started buying wine by the case, as in, I bought a case when the previous case ran out!
I did start to up my game even before making wine, but not drastically.
I like your style, sir. One day I am going to have 2400 square feet of shop space to do with as I please. I am thinking roughly 1/4 will be wine operations, sinks, counter, cold storage, etc etc. Then my 100 bottle rack in the house will finally make sense.My wine closet. I get nervous when I hit 50% occupancy
Looks like you have a decent stock of retail wines mixed in with your own?
To be honest, before I started making wine we routinely bought by the case but it wasn’t for aging. When the case was getting empty we bought another. And we like wineries so we always had a few dozen bottles floating around.
Now I want what @Brent2489 has!
Now I want what @Brent2489 has!
I like variety too much to buy a case, except on rare occasions. Costco had a Kirkland Bordeaux that tasted great but was clearly young. We bought a whole case and are waiting eagerly to dig in.
One of my tactics when buying from Total Wine is to research wines, then purchase 3 bottles of each when buying a case. I get the case discount (which depends on the coupon at that time) but get a variety. One of each wine is WAY too few, but when I buy a full case, it's something I've had and really want.
My rule is always buy two bottles. If it is good we can try it again. If it is not so good, we have wine for the next party. 
DaveMcC
Escaping the prison of past and future with wine.
At bottling in April, we bottled 38 cases spanning three vintage years (20-22) and 6 varieties.
i can totally symphatize . Hate seeing some gaps in my racks too.My wine closet. I get nervous when I hit 50% occupancy
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