Ohai from Michigan!

[Demoncat]

I am very new to the forum, (as in just found it today) and so far have been impressed with what I was looking for. My goal was to find recommendations for books for the beginning home wine maker.

I am also getting back into home brewing after 13 years and have 2 batches bottled, and one more in the fermenter as of last night

I would like to get into home wine making and will most likely have tons of questions for y'all. Like, is a kit a good way to get into home wine making?

Demoncat

 

[cpfan]

Demoncat:

Personally I stongly believe that a kit is a great way to get into wine making. Others won't agree, but that's their privilege. I'm still basically a kit guy after 10 years.

If you are going to make a kit, don't bother with the books. Just follow the instructions as much as possible. Once you've got a couple under your belt, and are ready to branch out, go for the books.

Choice of a kit? Well there a few brands that are preferred and a couple to avoid.

How close to Canada do you live? Much better selection of wine kit stores in Canada than the US, although many in Ontario don't seem to like the home wine maker, preferring folks who vint in store (called an FoP or Ferment on Premises).

Steve

 

[St Allie]

Hello DemonCat and welcome to the forum,

I hadn't made a kit wine til I arrived here.. had always made fruit wines.

I'd certainly recommend you do a kit if it appeals to you.. they are less mess than fruit wines and quicker to readiness for drinking. Plus, there is the bonus of having some experienced kit wine makers to help you out here, if you have any problems.

Allie

 

[Wade E]

Welcome Demoncat, Kits are a great way to start and i recommend starting the wine endeavor with a kit as it gives you everything you need which most beginners dont get when making a fruit wine such as clearing agent, sulfites, sorbate and s the kits are balanced as far as acids and stuff. If you are looking to make a white wine then almost all brands will produce a decent whie wine with even a cheaper kit, if you are looking for a red wine then there are warnings that I will tell you about. Cheap red kits will be thin with body and not much flavor and most people are not happy and end here as a result asking whet they did wrong when they did nothing wrong at all. If you have been drinking OK wine and make some of these cheaper kits then you will get discouraged with winemaking and probably give up. The bigger red wine kits are just a little more work and actually have grape skin packs to add and really produce wine that is better then what you can typically buy commercially for 15$-20$ but you will have to be patient cause like any wine it will require time which youre probably not used to being a berr maker as I am also(we also have a beer area down bottom). You have most if not al of the equipment as we speak so that wont a problem. Post your beer making at the bottom, do you make all grain and lets see some pics.

 

[manku007]

Welcome Demoncat to the Forum,

Hope that you will find this forum helpfull and friendly, as I found and others will also agree with me . I m from India and Kits are not presented here , so I go making wine with juices. I have just finished my first batch (very little) but I m happy with it. The hard the work the equal the result, As a new I have done something wrong and I also don't have any equipment with me, but now I m looking forward to buy some of them. As Wade E told me that they are necessary.

Ok Then bye bye Enjoy .....

 

[Tom]

Here is a gook book for starters
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3394&highlight=Books
Look in the 1st message

 

[smurfe]

Welcome aboard. Look forward to reading your posts.

 

[WildSeedGrrrl]

I second the welcome!

Kit wine was how I started making wine though I had made beer with friends. I like them for sheer volume of wine made. You can't beat the price and value of 28-30 bottles for under 100.00 (some are more but less likely to give away wine from a 125.00 kit).

Great advice to be found for both kit and fruit here.

WSG

 

[diggerdan17]

Welcome aboard! I recently started home wine making and my first kit was under 50 canadian dollars. I bottled it last week and although i,m not totally unhappy with it it is somewhat thin and has little body.I,m sure in 6 months to a year it will be a bit better.I since have bought 5 more higher end kits and they are in various stages .I only bought the cheap kit because i was afraid to screw up and throw away 140 dollars worth of juice.My advice is buy a premium kit and just follow the instructions and you will be fine.

I,m currently going to be fermenting a kit with grapeskins added to the must and although these kits will take sometime to reach their full potential i,m excited about the prospect of producing some excellent wine in the future.

I have alot of friends and family who enjoy good wine and my goal is to be able to give some decent bottles out at chistmas and special occasions.

Good luck with it and have fun.

 

[Tall Grass]

Demoncat:

How close to Canada do you live? Much better selection of wine kit stores in Canada than the US, although many in Ontario don't seem to like the home wine maker, preferring folks who vint in store (called an FoP or Ferment on Premises).

Steve

Kind of funny that you said that because I actually had a lady tell me she didn't like that people make their own wine at home... and this is after I've bought $50 or $60 worth of yeast/nutrients/sanitizer/glass jugs from her store (Windsor.) The way she said it was really condescending.. just rubbed me the wrong way.

I haven't been there since.

 

[cpfan]

Tall Grass:

The closest store to me refused to order a kit for me from her supplier. I haven't been back. I'm done two limited edition kits from that supplier since that I bought through other stores. That's over $200 in sales that she missed out on.

I've also suggested to folks that I've talked to about wine making that they not patronize her store.

Steve

 

[djl - Michigan]

Hello DemonCat,

Lots of info on here. Where in Michigan are you located?

I'm down in the southeast corner near Adrian.

Dave

 

[Tom]

Tall Grass:

The closest store to me refused to order a kit for me from her supplier. I haven't been back. I'm done two limited edition kits from that supplier since that I bought through other stores. That's over $200 in sales that she missed out on.

I've also suggested to folks that I've talked to about wine making that they not patronize her store.

Steve

Here is a place where you can call the owner and get advise. George also has the biggest selection around.
http://www.finevinewines.com/

 

[cpfan]

Here is a place where you can call the owner and get advise. George also has the biggest selection around.
http://www.finevinewines.com/

Tom:

I'm sure that George is a great store owner, and has a great selection in stock. But there are probably more stores selling kits etc within a 30 minute drive of my house than the entire state of Texas. The Vineco production facility and factory store are within that 20 minute drive. That usually provides me with a wonderful selection of products, and most actually want my business.

I don't really need a good store owner. After all, I ran an FoP from Sept 2001 to Sept 2007.

Oh and shipping from Texas to Canada? not worth it for me.

Steve

 

[Demoncat]

Hello DemonCat,

Lots of info on here. Where in Michigan are you located?

I'm down in the southeast corner near Adrian.

Dave

I'm in mid-Michigan near Fenton

 

[Demoncat]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I think that a kit is going to be a great starting point for me. It will allow me to get my feet wet in the ways of wine making. Now the hard part is going to be deciding what to make first!

Demoncat