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hendu2875

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Hi, My name is Brad, my Wife's name is Amber and we are starting a new adventure together with a Hobby of Making our own wine.
I guess we're here for pointers, the do's and do not's , etc etc.
My first question I guess would be, what is a GOOD BEGINNERS kit?
Been looking at a few, and I'm not really sure what to get.. I dont want to Go CHEAP, because I've learned that you get what you pay for..
So, with that in mind, give us some Ideas and lead us in the right direction.. Thanks for all your time..
Michiganders
 
welcome! i've just started a niagra mist sangria zinfandel blush, and it is smelling delicous!
 
Welcome to the forum and winemaking. I'm very new too! My suggestion is to read all you can from this forum. There is so much information here that you can go blind reading it. Everyone here is so helpful and very willing to help.
I started with the R J Spagnolls, Winery Series, Washington Merlot. I didn't mind spending a few extra dollars for a better kit. My second kit, being delivered today, is a Mosti Mondiale, Renaissance, Italian Pinot Grigio. We tend to like drier wines.
If you are referring to wine equipment kits, I got the Deluxe Wine Equipment package with a glass carboy, from Fine Vine Wines. I only wish I would have gotten a floor corker instead of the 2 handle that comes with it. Everyone raves about the Portugese floor corker.
 
Welcome Brad. My 2 cents worth right now would be to start reading the forum.
There is a lot of knowledge and experience here for you to use. That's what I do then if I don't know I ask!
 
Yeah, basically i need the equipment first.. I guess I should have expressed that.. I was looking at a Deluxe kit from Homebrewit. I have also read that the Floor Corker is the way to go..

Thanks
 
Welcome to the forum. I would recommend looking at your LBS or checking with some of the sponsors from the site to see what kits they carry. You can get the beginers kits that include all the "necessary" equipment and usually have an option for a wine kit. That's what I did a year and a half ago. I still need to upgrade my corker as I still have the double lever corker. Works so far for me.

Read the forums, and don't be afraid to ask questions. On that note, maybe if you tell us what types of wine you and wife enjoy now, someone could better suggest a kit that you may enjoy.

Welcome to the obsession.
 
Brad:

Welcome to a great obsession.

As you have found out, kit means two things in the wine-making world. Equipment kit, and juice/concentrate kit.

Before we can really recommend an equipment kit, it would be nice to know what wines you plan on making. The principal reason is carboy size. Wine kits (the grape juice one) usually make 6 US gallons, whereas juice pails are typically 5 US gallons. In the long run (assuming you enjoy this new hobby), you will want to have a variety of carboy sizes, so you're not stuck with a wrong decisiion on this.

One point...get a primary fermenter that is AT LEAST 7.9 US gallons, in case you decide to make a high-end grape skin kit at some point in the future. A too-large primary is not an issue for lesser volumes.

Steve
 
welcome to the forum, my suggestion is call george at finevinewine, they will help you with whatever you need, starter kit etc, good service great prices,and enjoy this great hobby
 
Welcome!

First i would ask what kind of wine do you like. Whites, Reds, Sweet, Dry, Fruits? There is no sense people recommending wines that you don't like!

Also do your self a favor and make batches a min of 3 gal. 1 gal batches are a waste of time. Unless its an experiment.

I personally have only done one kit and then switched over to fruit wines. There is a recipe section on this forum that has all kinds of great recipes!

The Easiest one in my opinion is the "Apfelwein" Apple wine (very first one on the page). It is a dry wine and is a great beginner wine, plus it is very inexpensive to make. It is made to come out dry, but it can be altered to be sweet too.
 
The Easiest one in my opinion is the "Apfelwein" Apple wine (very first one on the page)

I agree. I made a couple of 1 gal batches, just to figure out what I was doing. My first 6 gal is of Apfelwein.

As for Equipment I went with the kit basic kit from Midwest Supplies. I have a semi local place (50 mi each way) to get equipment and ingredients but while their prices are spot on/cheaper than midwest on most things the kit was priced at 50% premium. You will soon figure out what extras you "need".

Throw in a variety of dry yeast, and additives and go to it.

Pectic Enzyme, Yeast Nutrient, Acid Blend are used in most wines, so skip the little bottle and go for the bulk quantity if you can swing the extra expense up front. If you decide to make the Apfelwein, get the dextrose as well.

Also Find a source for Wine Bottles, At my local Liquor store they give away empty liquor/wine boxes so I picked up several and asked my friends to save bottles for me. When their box is full I drop off a new one and take the full one home.

AD
 
welcome to the forum, my suggestion is call george at finevinewine, they will help you with whatever you need, starter kit etc, good service great prices,and enjoy this great hobby

Welcome!

I agree, call George. He is great with newbies and can get you started off right.

I also agree about not going cheap. I'll get some argument, and it really is a personal matter for all of us, but I figure if I am going to have to wait well over a year to drink the results of a red wine kit, I might as well get a good one.

You will find that whites are drinkable much sooner than most reds... drinkable in a shorter time period, yes, but great takes some aging.

I just finished a Chocolate Raspberry port kit that, honestly, was very nice right out of the carboy after clearing. And to top it off, it should get even better with some age.
 
Any of the above suppliers above in the banners are great and highly recommended and they will help you to make the right decisions. I highly recommend a floor corker, an auto siphon, a drill mounted mix stirrer and a few extra various size bungs with airlocks. I also recommend a electric vacuum pump for degassing your wines and racking them but you can get that later after youve made a few batches unless you have a bad back like I do. I also sell these so if you do want one pm me or check out or classifieds are down at the bottom to see what i have in stock at the minute. These will help you degas your wine way better then the drill mounted stirrer although I still highly recommend getting one of those as they really help you get your must stirred properly and get other stuff stirred in properly and also to start the degassing procedure. You can also bottle and filter your wine with these pumps.
 
You mention in your first post that you want to stay away from "cheap" because you get what you pay for. The one thing I would add to this is that if you're like the rest of us on this forum, this won't be your only purchase. I started with one carboy at 6 gallons; I now have 7 demijohns, 14 carboys, and assorted smaller fermenting bottles. The things that you buy that are quality will stay in your collection, things that are cheaper will end up on the shelf to be used as a back-up. I started with a 2-lever corker and used it for 3 years before upgrading to a floor corker. I still have the 2-lever and use it for odd bottles that don't fit in the floor model. Cheers, and good luck.
 

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