I started making wine last January. I made a raspberry wine from the garden harvest that was in the freezer, which is still aging, and the hobby bit me hard. I have made around 60 gallons in that time. I've made carrot, dandelion, triple berry, dragons blood, malt hard lemonade, skeeter pee, and 6 different kits.
I was trying to make a kit or two every couple of months so that when things matured I would have a constant flow of things in secondary that I could move to bottles as we went through them. I also wanted variety. I got busy with projects and haven't done any kits in quite a few months. I saw a post on here of a member that had just put 10 kits or so into secondary. They were all lined up pretty on the counter. I thought why not? It costs the same if I buy one every other month or 6 at a time. Over the last month I have picked up 5 kits that I am going to get going in the next couple weeks once winter hits. It is way more convenient to store unmade kits and maturing wine in carboys than it is to store that many bottles. Storing bottles full or empty takes up a LOT of space compared to carboys.
Because I was new I really wanted to taste what I was making. I was advised here to make a kit with half the oak and it would be ready this past September. I split the batch into a 3 gallon carboy and bottled half in april. I got to taste it while gauging the development, also I can note the difference between bottle and bulk aging in carboys. I still have full bottles, but have yet to bottle the second half to compare.
Kit wines are incomparably better with at least 3 months aging beyond the kit 6-8 week time and this is where you need the storage if you want a constant supply of bottle ready wine. Some here age a year, others 2 depending on the wine and what they made it from, kit/grapes.
It is WAY easier to move around a 3 gallon carboy than a 6. It is also very convenient to bottle half the batch. I have a Shiraz, a Merlot, and a Diablo Rojo in bottles and in 3G carboys. That's 45 bottles to rotate and store instead of 90. I do have quite a few bottles and yesterday I was going to bottle 2 or 3 6 gallon batches that are now ready, but I decided to filter first and left them to settle after racking. I am now thinking I am going to split them to 3 gallon carboys as well.
That's the long winded answer to say that many of us have a lot going at a time. It is still very strange to me that I like hauling wine around the house, washing carboys and bottles. Nothing about any of that is 'fun', but I really enjoy making wine and experimenting with gallon batches of random things from the yard and garden, as well as making kits. The wine I am making is better than what I was buying and I am learning so much about it.
If you get the bug like a few of us newer members have, you will have the urge to make a lot. Gallon jugs and 3 gallon carboys are something to consider. I store my wine away from where I bottle it. I can rack to 3 gallon carboys and walk them over to where I'm set up. I need a dolly for a 6 gallon and then I still have to lug it onto the counter.
Just some thoughts to consider as you decide how you plan to set up. I got all my equipment used. I got 2 full set ups from different people for a couple hundred bucks, total. It's a good way to get everything you need including bottles, then you can sell off or give away what you don't use. Or buy more? I have 6 3 gallon carboys and 8-10 6 gallon.
Yes, I've convinced myself to start making more wine.
