New Member from Ohio

[univity]

Hello all!


I still pretty new at winemaking - been at it about 2 years now. Mostly made wine from kits (Orchard Breezin Kiwi Melon Pinot Grigio my favorite so far), but started up a batch of "Pumkin Spice Wine" from a recipe I found as well as some Blackberry wine from blackberries I picked last fall. Plan to bottle those this summer.


I learned how to make wine from some people at my office who have been making wine. We share ideas, etc. It interests me mostly becuase my college education was biochemistry but I do not work in that field at all. This way I get to play mad scientist in my basement and then enjoy the fruits of that labor later!


A couple topics I would like some advice on...


LABELS:


I get LOTS of wine bottles from friends - recycling bottles saves a lot of money in the winemaking process - So far I have yet found a way to remove them without at least some soaking and elbow grease - currently use Straight A Cleanser, hot water, and a putty knife. Sometimes still need Goof Off to remove all the gunk.


Because of this I do not label my bottles - I have made my own hang tags instead - What do you all do for labeling? Do you reuse your bottles as well as store bought wine bottles?
How do you clean them?


After delabeling I usually wash with Dawn dish soap, then soak in bleach water, then run through the dishwasher, then sanitize them just before bottling - maybe overkill, but I have a thing for sanitation in my winemaking




SELLING WINE??:
So far I drink or give away the wine I make. I enjoy giving it away to friends/familyand getting feedback, but it would be nice to be able to sell some of it just to cover the cost of all the supplies/ingredients.Hey - I'm acapitalist -cant help but think about it. I know that with all that comes a lot of other hassles like licensing from the ATF as well as State Liquor control, labeling guidelines, the need for liability protection, and so on. Do any of you sell any of your wine? Is it a hassle or just add more fun ? Is it even possible? Is it frowned upon in the home winemaking community?


Thanks to anyone who read my waaaay too long post! Happy fermenting!

 

[whino-wino]

Welcome univity!


This is a great place with lots of info, you're sure to get almost all of your questions answered. In fact, I'll make the first attempt:


As to labels, if you order label paper from George you won't have any problems removing them. They use wheat glue and when soaked in water they will fall right off within a matter of a few minutes without any "gunk" to remove. Just wipe them clean afterwards. Another option you can use is to just print out labels on any paper, cut them out, and use a glue stick on the back. They will come off just as easily as the labels that George sells. Don't worry about using "permanent" glue sticks either. I use these all the time because they stick the best, but they still fall right off the bottle after a few minutes of soaking. No putty knife or cleansers needed.


For washing bottles it seems that most use B-Brite or Oxy-Clean, then sanitize with Potassium Metabisulfite solution. I'm not sure I'd use Dawn dish soap. Perhaps someone else can chime in on that one. Some do use bleach water (I don't), just make sure you don't mix it too strong. There are also a few who run their bottles through the dishwasher, but don't assume that your dishwasher is reaching the temps needed for sanitization. Most of them don't unless you have a "commercial" version. I think the water temp needs to exceed 180° to 190° for that. B-Brite and K-Meta will usually suffice.


I don't know if I'd venture into selling wine unless you are making an awful lot of it. I'm pretty sure that you would indeed need some sort of liscense(s) in order to do this, the cost of which would probably not justify it unless you were selling thousands of gallons, in which case you may as well start a full fledged winery. I think most of us stick to just drinking it and giving it to friends.

 

[Wade E]

Welcome Univity! I use the pre gummed label paper that is sold on this sight and it does come off with a quick soak in hot water but stays on pretty darn good. I really can not sell my wine here as Id have to grow 30% of my own fruit to do so and that is just not possible on my small lot of yard. I also use Straight-A but mainly just razor blade the labels off dry first as I find it easier then dealing with the glue when it is at its dissolving point and just smears and makes a mess with all the glue residue in my tub. I use the N-Meta in my vinator and hang them on a bottle tree.

 

[smurfe]

Welcome aboard. Labels are a pain and I am lazy. I just buy new bottles when it comes time to bottle. It all depends on the type of label you use as to how easy they come off. The ones George makes up and sells come off real easy. Commercial labels not so much. I do use a commercial type label that is a pain to remove without tons of soaking and scraping on the average.


As far as your cleaning regime, unless that dishwasher is commercial, it won't be hot enough to sanitize. I can't remember off the top of my head but I believe a home dishwasher gets to 140 degrees or soand you need to get to 180 degrees or better to sanitize. Dish soap will leave a film that takes a ton of rinsing to clear off. Oxy-Clean, One Step, or Easy Clean works great to cleanand Sulfite's, Iodophor, or Star-Sanwork great for sanitizing. Bleach works well but then again requires tons of rinsing and essentially all that rinsing defeats the purpose of sanitizing IMHO. I have used it in a pinch though.






As far as selling wine, there are lots of hoops to climb through to do it legal. In the entrepreneurial and capitalistic spirit you have to look and prove to yourself that you can do it as good and as competitive as the already established commercial wineries.


In my research I have found that unless you make a common grape varietal (Cabs, Merlot, Chard's, etc,)wine it isn't really worth the effort as commercial sales of fruit wines outside of the wineries themselves aren't that popular. Most all local made muscadine and fruit (country) wines made around here are on the bottom shelf with a layer of dust on them at all local sellers where I live.


I have access to acres of muscadines at a now defunct local vineyard and winery that makes a pretty good wine but couldn't make a go of it. The owner started on a very small scale and still has tens of thousands of dollars invested in the equipment and vines. He already had the acreage. Luckily he is a lawyer so he isn't hurting for cash.


Not trying to talk you out of it or discourage you about a venture as such, just do a ton of homework and assure yourself that you can do it as good or better and be able to sell competitively to the general public. Remember, most wine drinkers buy on price point. Then you have the Yuppies that buy what's "IN", trendyand expensive, then you have us, the home winemakers that don't buy any as we make all we can drink and it's good. I have drank a lot of fantastic, expensive wines but it is very very rare that I paid for them.

 

[univity]

Thank you all so much for your advice - it is much appreciated! I find winemaking very enjoyable (and drinking it even more so!!).


I will definitely do a little more research on the labels but probably take the advice you all have given - In regards to selling - my intention is more like receiving donations from the people I currently give it to, but when you do things like that Uncle Sam always wants to jump in, get his take, and also take the fun out of it.


Thanks again and I am sure you will be hearing more from me in other threads!

 

[grapeman]

You could always let them select and buy a kit. They then come over and you show them how to make the kit, and you monitor it's progress. They can help you rack it and then eventually bottle it. Then for your assistance in making it, you each share in the bounty. They keep ownership of the batch and you keep some samples for your efforts. They may like the process and you will be helping someone to learn a valuable skill(like drinking wine!).