new to this from home brewing beer

[ctayl9jq]

Hey all-

So I have been brewing beer for a while and wanted to get my hand into wine. I had a few questions.

For beer I have a big mouth bubbler carboy (having trouble linking on mobile). I was planning on the fermentation in the standard beer making pales, but for secondary using the big bubbler 6.5 gallon. I have read mixed feelings on this and just looking for advice. I don't have a glad scarboy at the moment but I may be able to get my hands on one fairly easily.

Also I am trying to figure out which kit to purchase. I like full bodied reds, cab sav. And blends. I love wines with a little spice. Any recommendations on kit I know I'll be looking in the 100-150 range, but want something I can follow fairly easy so I don't mess it up.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[BernardSmith]

Hi ctayl9jq, and welcome. Many folk on this forum use "glad scarboys" and others use plastic. The big mouths - I think - were designed more for brewers as they may need to get their hands inside to remove dried-on krausen. But the plastic carboys sold for home brewers and wine makers - I think - are perfectly adequate for fermenting and aging wines. The kinds of plastics used do not allow excessive transfer of air inside through the walls and do not leach chemicals into the wine. They are lighter and safer (don't shatter) but they do have downsides: you cannot use a vacuum to move the wine without the carboy deforming and while glass carboys may be more fragile moving them around does not result in their shape changing enough to push wine up through the airlock or suck the contents of the airlock into the wine. Me? I use both plastic and glass.

As to kits... Here I need to be silent. Never made any, but my guess is that as a brewer you probably have a good handle on the key issues and none will be a real challenge. Good luck!

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome, ctay,

As for kits, I would say one major aspect of your choice breaks down to whether you are looking for a quick drinker, or, alternately, the best wine you can make (with the understanding it will take longer to get to drinkability). This article contains good information on the distinction: https://winemakermag.com/90-big-kits-wine-kits

 

[ctayl9jq]

Thank you both for the replies! Yeah my concern was the big opening and head space in the 6.5 gallon bubbler.... Maybe an excuse to buy a carboy!

As far as what kind of wine I would want to make, I am happy waiting ad long as it takes to make a really good wine. I would rather wait and make a really good wine then rush one and make an OK one. That article helped a lot. Very interesting. I am excited to get into this but again don't mind waiting, I have beer to keep me company!

I think I am torn between premium, super premium and a kit with skin, maybe I'm getting into too much this early though? Should I buy a cheaper kit first to test the waters, or is it pretty self explanatory? Anything else I should know?

 

[sour_grapes]

This is a fine question, with no obvious answer. All of the kits are pretty straightforward, IMHO, so I doubt you will go off the rails no matter what.

The grape pack does present some difficulties. The first two times I had to deal with a grape pack, I felt a bit lost, but got good directions from people here: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/how-do-you-fill-your-grape-pack-bag-40697/.

Personally, I did a mid-grade kit with skins first (CC Sterling) to let me get my feet wet without a large cash outlay. Then I did a lower-end kit (Mezza Luna Red) without a grapepack in hopes of getting a quicker drinker. After that, I have been making only high-end kits and aging long-term (18 mos.). I will admit that I found the process a bit demanding at first, but after 3 kits or so, I found it quite comfortable.

 

[loumik]

Hey all-

So I have been brewing beer for a while and wanted to get my hand into wine. I had a few questions.

For beer I have a big mouth bubbler carboy (having trouble linking on mobile). I was planning on the fermentation in the standard beer making pales, but for secondary using the big bubbler 6.5 gallon. I have read mixed feelings on this and just looking for advice. I don't have a glad scarboy at the moment but I may be able to get my hands on one fairly easily.

Also I am trying to figure out which kit to purchase. I like full bodied reds, cab sav. And blends. I love wines with a little spice. Any recommendations on kit I know I'll be looking in the 100-150 range, but want something I can follow fairly easy so I don't mess it up.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

ctay19jq,
Most wine kits make 6 gal. of wine. I would recommend that your primary be at least a 7.9 gal. pail. When doing kits headspace is usually not a big problem in secondary as long as you have an airlock attached to your carboy. I use a big mouth bubbler often as a secondary. It works very well and is easy to clean.
As far as recommending a kit, Wine Experts, RJ Spagnols, Cellar Craft, all have good kits in the $150 range. Just follow the instructions that come with the kit and you shouldn't have any problems. If you do have any questions just hurry right back here to the forum and you'll find plenty of people ready to help you out. Good luck.
LOUMIK

 

[heatherd]

Welcome to the forum!

When I started making wine, I began with a quicker drinking kit, just to get acquainted with the process. But if I had it to do again, I would skip the lower end kits and just do the better ones. That said, I would have probably been extra nervous about making an expensive mistake at the beginning. I would suggest making what you like to drink!

Heather

 

[ctayl9jq]

Glad to hear about the bigmouth bubbler, I will def. Have an airlock on it. I am thinking I'm gunna pull the trigger and go with his wine here, I just know it will have to age it a few years in he bottle. Thanks again for the help and recommendations

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/australian-cabernet-shiraz-selection-international.html

 

[loumik]

Glad to hear about the bigmouth bubbler, I will def. Have an airlock on it. I am thinking I'm gunna pull the trigger and go with his wine here, I just know it will have to age it a few years in he bottle. Thanks again for the help and recommendations

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/australian-cabernet-shiraz-selection-international.html

This is a good choice for a first kit. I've made this kit and enjoyed it. Just follow the instructions and don't rush it, patience is the bases of good wine making. A kit like this will generally only need to be aged 9 to 12 months, just make sure it is clear before bottling. Let us know how your doing and don't hesitate to ask questions as you proceed.
LOUMIK

 

[seth8530]

I don't really have any good kit recommendations, but I can say welcome to the winemaking side of the world. I have been conscripted into more brew days than I would like to admit, so I can tell you, making wine is sooooo much less work than making beer. However, I feel that where it really gets involved in is the act of balancing sugar, acid, alcohol and tannins. Plus, we sometimes have to deal with questions like scheduled nutrient additions, oak, MLF, sulfites and sorbate which normally do not come up in beer land.

Another difference is that,the general perspective in wine land for residual sugars is that you hit a dry gravity first, clarify, then sorbate.. Then you backsweeten.. Where as in beer world, your residual sugar is controlled by unferemntables from grain choice and mash technique.

I say this, but working with frozen must and fresh grapes can be a chore too.. But a fun one.... But honestly, on the fundamentle and basic level brewing and winemaking have much in common. So, I think you will soon be off to the races and having a great time.. If you have any questions or need to know where to look for some information please feel free to ask!