New to wine making

[mtstarr]

Iam thinking about starting to make wine. I have brewed beer since the early 90's. Over the years I moved from extracts through to a complete grain system from mash to keg. Most people would rate my beer (the good ones) as store bought or better. Of course this took years to get all of the systems and recipes down but in the end I can brew some pretty good beer. Over that time frame I ended up collecting lot of equipment, mostly through upgrades. So, I am looking for advice on startup. I read a few post that said to spend as much as you canstartup since this is so addicting. I have been told to poll a few people to get an idea on what I should buy. My vision now, and this could change, is that in 5-or more year I making wine from scratch and casking it for aging. Now I want to start simple and move slowly. I know with beer kits, most are not that great. How about wine kits? How much should I spend on startup, I gave away a $1000 plus of brewing equipment to a good friend and brewer so in the end I believe that the right equipment is the best choice.
Questions: How close will this be to store bought wine, it took me years to get my wife to drink my beer. Only when the beer was close to store bought micro brews would she even touch it?
How much should I plan on spending at startup -- I know this is opinion but I am looking for some rough numbers. $100, $300, $500, $1000
My wife prefers whites over reds, my reading indicates that reds are easier. Should I start with red or white, does it matter?
Is there a preferred kit to start with? There are two or three starter beers I would recommend.
How much space should I plan for?
Do I need running water near by or do most people move from kitchen to cellar?


Any insight would be great. Any one in the Boulder/Lafayette Colorado area?


Thanks


matt

 

[grapeman]

Welcome Matt. This is indeed a very addicting hobby and can become an obsession in no time. You can indeed make many kits that rival or exceed all but the best stor bought wine- some are even very close to those. What you like to drink would be a big help in getting some kit recommendations from the members- reds, whites, oaked, fruity, sweet, dry, etc.


As far as equipment, you can get by with a modest investment, but many here like to get a few extras. One of the best places to start is with a call to George at Fine Vine Wines. Tell him what you like and he can recommend a kit you should be happy with-both equipment and juice kit. You can't get better advice than from him since he has made many of the kits he carries.


Click the Fine VIne Wines link at the top left and find his number. Give him a call. Others here will respond soon I'm sure.

 

[masta]

Questions: How close will this be to store bought wine, it took me years to get my wife to drink my beer. Only when the beer was close to store bought micro brews would she even touch it? For the most part the better quality kits/usually higher priced will be as good if not better than store bought wine. I havemade many wines that folks have told me was better than the comparable quality but much more expensive store bought.
How much should I plan on spending at startup -- I know this is opinion but I am looking for some rough numbers. $100, $300, $500, $1000 If you want to buy the right equipment to start off and not have to upgrade later on plan on spending $300.00 on the Premier Equipment Package: http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdDetKits.asp?PartNumber=1012
My wife prefers whites over reds, my reading indicates that reds are easier. Should I start with red or white, does it matter? Doesn't matter as one is not easier than the other.
Is there a preferred kit to start with? There are two or three starter beers I would recommend. The best kit you can afford.
How much space should I plan for? Some of us have a dedicated space to make our wines but many folks work with what they have. The key is to have a place that can get a bit messy and also within the temperature range 65-75 F.
Do I need running water near by or do most people move from kitchen to cellar? It isn't necessary but certainly helps since a bulk of the work is cleaning equipment.


Welcome Matt and great questions! I would strongly suggest give George a call and he loves to help folks like you get started. You will also find plenty of help here day and night with the great folks we have on the forum.

 

[mtstarr]

Thanks for the quick feedback.


My wife is a chardonnay fan. I just like wine, somewhat like beer. The only beer I won't brew or drink is a wheat. I am currently not a fan of "earth wines", like some Pinot Noir. I love Barolo on the red side and Chards or lighter on the white side.


WhenI brewedbeer, one time I was working on cost per gallon and end up under well under $10 per batchwhen I had my own yeast and all grain. I don't want to start my wine that way so I happy to spend what is need to have a successful first couple of runs. After that, if I experiment and something goes wrong, I can point back to the successful batches.


I will give George a call, it looks like he has a setup that is pretty close to what you are talking about.


Also, I picked up "the way to make wine". Is there another book or two I should grab for this quest?


matt

 

[BrianD]

Matt, I envy you your beer success. I've brewed 4 batches of extract kits or simpler can kits. I'd be very, very interested to hear what beer kits you think are worth brewing. PM me if you'd rather not divert the thread?

Where my beer hasn't lived up to my expectations, I've been very happy with my wines. A WineExpert Selection Pinot Noir is getting better as it ages. A lower-end WineExpert Gerwertzemener that we just bottled and sampled on bottling night had us enjoying one of our favorite $8.00 whites from the store a little less the next night. We're looking forward to revisiting those when they've matured a bit. One other nice thing about winemaking is that it's less energy-intensive than brewing.

The patience thing is a little hard, but the final results of home winemaking using the products available today are very worth the effort.

Brian

 

[mtstarr]

Brian,


Do you have Charlie Papazain's book on home brewing,"The new complet joy of home brewing" I will go dig mine up and pull a couple of recipes from it. Email address?

 

[BrianD]

You can email me at [email protected].

Thanks.


Brian

 

[Wade E]

Matt, 1st of welcome to the best forum with the friendliest people. 2nd of all,

I recommend going with the bigger kits such as 16 liter kits up to all
juice kits but beware as these really need some time to age to become
what they need to be, an awesome wine! The more juice in the kit the
better the body will be of the wine especially for a red wine. Some of
the medium white wine kits rival the bigger ones but there is no
comparison with the reds, the bigger the better.

 

[Waldo]

Welcome to the forum Matt. Looks like you are off to the right start with the book on win making. Lots of good resources on the net too and of course here on the forum

 

[Lmcirig]

Hello

I've just started as well.


I bought the premier package, including bottles & pinot noir (mid range I think $80) After tax & shipping (to NY)it came to about $440. Not too bad. And I must say that so far I've found the equipment very easy to use. I've been searching the threads on here looking at other people equipment & I know that there is some nice stuff out there, but I think the premier package was a good way to start.


I'm having my husband put up some walls & AC in a section of our garage, along with a sink that will eventually serve as my wine area. But for now, I started the wine in my kitchen (since there is a sink) and moved it into a spare bedroom with AC. You really don't need all that much room, mainly just somewhere to keep the equipment.


Oh- and I was looking for some books on the subject but couldn't find any in our barnes & noble. If you find one that you think was helpful, please let me know

Otherwise, I've just been asking the nice folks on here all my questions!!


Good Luck!!

 

[smurfe]

Welcome to the forums. Looks like your questions have pretty well been answered. All I can add is to agree with the others. Buy the best kits you can afford. Ask here about a kit you are interested. Chances are someone has made it.


With the reds, the higher end (more expensive) kits produce very good results. The whites are much more forgiving and some of the lower line kits make great wines. On average though, the more juice the better. Look at the Mosti kits for you reds. The Wine Expert Crushendo's and Estate Series kits are great as well.


Just remember there is much more patience involved with wine than beer. It will be a while before you can truly enjoy the true fruits of your labor. Most get discouraged with wine kits because they drink them entirely too early. Your beer takes a couple weeks or so to age some wines take a couple years or better to age. Whites are faster though and on average are great at a year for a quality kit. Others will say they are ready faster but for my palette it is around that range.


I applaud you on looking toward the proper equipment as well. Too often we read about beermakers wanting to cross over but use their beer equipment to make their wine. Many items will cross over though. As stated, give George a call (he loves it) and chat. Tell him what you have and he will give you an honest, no pressure opinion on what you need and what you could use that you already have. You may not need an entire starter kit. Hints from me though, get a good mix stir device for a drill and a floor corker (either kind is fine). You will thank me later.


Once again, welcome aboard.

 

[smurfe]

Forgot to add to above. You will be hard pressed to find better customer service or an honest businessman than with George. He isn't just an Internet retailer but a real guy with a real store. Excellent packaging for shipments (you will curse Mark for all the peanuts all over your house), quick and reasonable shipping and he stands behind everything he sells 100% Hands down the best retailer I have bought from.

 

[bj4271]

Welcome to the forum. You'll love the hobby. Only hope you can afford to keep expanding your wine horizons. Wine from kits, wine from fruit, wine from juice, wine from vegetables, wine from weeds, etc. Experimentation/innovation really adds to the hobby - and the wine.


Conside rthis forum wine college. A bunch of professors who can't wait to impart knowledge.


And, George is your god - I mean guide to all things to do with making wine.

 

[BrianD]

If I had any doubt that home winemaking results in a product that isn't worth the effort, it was erased last night when SWMBO and I shared a bottle of Inglenook White Zinfandel. We had received it as a gift.

This hobby definitely changes your idea of what a good $4-$5 bottle of wine should taste like! Or, since I haven't stepped up to the premium kits yet, a $3 bottle.


Brian

 

[Mr Robusto]

I am a newbie as well. I started out buying the kit from George and then adding a few items. Still not up to where a lot people here are, but i have finfished my firnst batch (MM Zin) and will be bottling around the beginning of Oct.


Look at it this way... there is a initial startup cost, but after you make a few batches, your expenses go down and your return get s better.

 

[OldWino1]

Yes what a hobby OCD Obsiseve (its my wine you cant have any) Compulsive (those bottles arent clean enough bacteria and germs on everything) Disorder (dont need to explain). Check some of the pics out. I would bet the average wine maker has close to 30 gals working and closets full of bottles instead of clothes. Hey how many bottles can I get in there. Hey if I wax seal them they can stand up as well as synthic corks. Hey I can keep them in case boxes. See it goes on and on and what about gadgets for assiting Brake bleeding systems to get the evil gas out. WHAT a HOBBY. Gotta luv it.