# Book for Beginners



## Tom

Here is a quick reference book on Winemaking. 

[PDF] The Home Winemaking Book by Michiel PesgensFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Michiel Pesgens. The Home Winemaking Book. 2. Preface. The basis of this book was the content of my internet page "The Home Winemaking Page". The root of ...
http://www.homebrewit.com/winebook.pdf


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## smurfe

Tom, thanks for the post. That is the text I used to learn with when I started. I need to drag out my old laptop and see if I still have all of the pages like that saved on it. I had quite a few different recipe and instruction pages like that saved.


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## smurfe

I went ahead and made this a sticky thread as well


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## Tom

There are a few more PDF wine books around. If any other members has one post here.


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## smurfe

Wish I could edit the title. You spelled Beginners wrong.  There goes your credibility!


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## Wade E

Great stuff Tom, smurfe. you could edit it you just have tohit edit then go advanced.


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## Tom

Add me to those who can't spell.( been tipping a few already with this 90* heat...I know there are many. You can delete the thread and CORRECT the spelling.
Watch out 
DA SPEELINNG POLEICE IS WORKING ! ::


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## smurfe

Wade E said:


> Great stuff Tom, smurfe. you could edit it you just have tohit edit then go advanced.



Yup, you are correct. I have been looking through the admin panel where it used to be. Couldn't find it there. Figured they did away with it. There they go making this thing easier to use and it confuses me even more.


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## Luc

I send an e-mail to Michiel Pesgens (Mipeman) a few days ago as the site you are referring to (geocities) is closing down later this year.

I hope he is notified and moves his book and wine-calculator to another site as soon as possible. In the meantime download the info the site offers before it is gone.

There is another book at Geocities, the one from Lum Eisenmann:
http://www.geocities.com/lumeisenman/contents.html

I also send and e-mail to Lum, but the mail bounced.
So I do hope that anyone can contact these guys and notify them that their sites will be gone in a few months.

It would be a shame if the invaluable information, these guys have provided us with, would be lost.

Luc


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## donnaclif

Tom said:


> Here is a quick reference book on Winemaking.
> 
> [PDF] The Home Winemaking Book by Michiel PesgensFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
> Michiel Pesgens. The Home Winemaking Book. 2. Preface. The basis of this book was the content of my internet page "The Home Winemaking Page". The root of ...



At a first glance this appears to be quite an informative book.i will go in detail and give a more knowledgeable feedback.


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## Tom

Another book
The Wine Makers Answer Book
by Alison Crow
Columnist for WineMaker
Check www.Amazon.com thats where I got mine.


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## donnaclif

Thanks tom i would go through this too.at present i am hungry or rather thirsty for some deeper knowledge in wine making,so any input is more than welcome!


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## Tom

Well here you will find alot of very knowledgeable winemakers. What have you made or plan on making.
Also,where you from?


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## Bunny

Thank You for the winemaking book.
Maybe it will anwer my question.


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## Tom

Your welcome. best way to get any wine questions answered is ASK here.
Welcome to the forum.


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## BillInInd

The links didn't work for me. I'm reading everything I can about wine making without trying to break my bank, which right now has no reserves.


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## Tom

Sorry Looks like they closed down the server. We knew it was comming just not when.

Luc, Have you heard where they moved to?


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## rogers

*Here's some books on pdf's*

Don't know if I'm braking any rules or not. I have more if anybody wants them. 

View attachment basic, overall wine-making process.pdf


View attachment Home_Brew_Hard_Cider_from_Scratch.pdf


View attachment thwb.pdf


View attachment Wine and beer.pdf


View attachment winemakers manual.pdf


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## arcticsid

Lets see if this works. DIAL UP sucks! Took me 20 mins just to attach these! Was working on my buddys computer a few weeks ago and downloaded a 40MB program in less than 60 seconds. Far cry from this. Anyway, enjoy, thanks for all the posts. 

View attachment wine book.pdf


View attachment winebook[1].pdf


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## BillInInd

Thanks all. That ought to keep me busy reading for awhile. I'm throwing myself full fledged into this. I have 5 to 7 acres of land that I want to eventually slowly over time plant with grape vines that will grow in West Central Indiana (can't afford to plant quickly).


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## Luc

Tom said:


> Sorry Looks like they closed down the server. We knew it was comming just not when.
> 
> Luc, Have you heard where they moved to?



Not as of yet.

I had a conversation with Lum some time ago and he told me he was going to move the files somewhere. I have not heard from him since.

Another books has vanished from the internet. The book by Paul Humber 'How to brew fruit and Kit wines'.
I am trying to localise that one too.

Luc


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## goclarkanderson

Great books for beginners have been shared. I will come up with a collection of mine as well.
Much Thanks!


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## bryano

thanks guys


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## rhoffart

first link seems to be dead ...


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## arcticsid

RHO, even if the links are dead the books have been posted for you to peruse. You may need Adobe Reader to view them. if you don't have that ask, it's a free program and would be happy to point you that way.

And once you have it you can open and read them and save them to your HD for later.


troy


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## arcticsid

For anyone having a hard time viewing a PDF file, here is the link to download Adobe Reader to do so: 

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?platform=windows&product=10

I take no responsibility for anything you download into your computer!(my disclaimer LOL). No kidding!

If you don't have this program load it and you will be able to look at, save, and share or even print if you want to.

I am a wino, but I am also a geek, if you have any questions about downloading and installing this program, or anything else please ask, or PM me, sure happy to help if I can.


Troy


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## Hillbilly Bill

rogers said:


> Don't know if I'm braking any rules or not. I have more if anybody wants them.



What else do you have? I am a voracious reader and need all of the help I can get.
HB


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## rogers

*More stuff*

HB:

Here's what I had on the thumb drive that I keep with me. I'll look on my other ones later and see if I have more.:> 

View attachment Fixing common wine making problems.pdf


View attachment harvestsample.pdf


View attachment wredw.pdf


View attachment Home Winery Sanitation.pdf


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## Tom

All good info
Thanks


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## Hillbilly Bill

Absolutely indebted to you... good stuff. I will gobble it up asap.


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## Monica

Thank you for allllllll the info!! I printed it all off and now I have plenty of reading for my 3 day weekend!


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## rogers

Your welcome. I have alot more, I just have to get time to get it all together. Maybe this weekend.


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## amandacarlson

*wine guide*

i love making wine , great thread


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## dazz

*Wine software.*

Is anyone aware of software for tracking their wine kit's progress? 

Dazz


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## WeekendOasis

Wow, great stuff! Thanks to everyone for sharing. I am eager to get a batch going at home. I've started my first batch at Vinters Circle, which bascially helps you learn the process at the store, etc.


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## Snowbird

Tom said:


> Here is a quick reference book on Winemaking.
> 
> [PDF] The Home Winemaking Book by Michiel PesgensFile Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
> Michiel Pesgens. The Home Winemaking Book. 2. Preface. The basis of this book was the content of my internet page "The Home Winemaking Page". The root of ...
> www.geocities.com/mipeman/download/thwb.pdf



Can u resubmitt this book . When I try to look at it, it says geocities is no longer avaliable.....Thanks Snowbird


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## Snowbird

*beginner book*

Nevermind......I googled it. Thanks anyways


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## Tom

Please POST the link you found.
You can always PM me with your e-mail and I will send it to you.


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## Snowbird

*Beginners Book*

http://www.homebrewit.com/winebook.pdf Here's the one I found..


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## Snowbird

Thanks Tom..... I'll remember.


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## Tom

Snowbird said:


> http://www.homebrewit.com/winebook.pdf Here's the one I found..



Thanks for the link. I edited my first msg and included it


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## rogers

*More PDFs*

Here's some more. 

View attachment Fixing common wine making problems.pdf


View attachment free_book.pdf


View attachment fruit_Wine_Making_Made_Easy.pdf


View attachment Home Winery Sanitation.pdf


View attachment Simplifying Cleaning and Sanitizing for winemakers.pdf


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## rogers

And a few more. 

View attachment Stabilizing Sweet Wines.pdf


View attachment Storage Containers for Home Wine Makers.pdf


View attachment Stuck Fermentations.pdf


View attachment Topping Up.pdf


View attachment winemakingbooklet.pdf


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## ohbeary

Fantastic info, and there I was thinking I'll just tell them about my fave book "First Steps in Winemaking" by CJJ Berry, I have to say it is a recipe book but has some very clear instructions, easy to follow if youre a bit thick like wot i am


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## harlantk

*More sources for books*

I thought I would chime in here and hopefully my reference is acceptable use for the forum and if not please adjust this accordingly
I use the Google books search and find a wealth of material on many subjects, many are full preview and down-loadable too.
I also subscribe to a similar on-line service Scribd again a lot of down-loadable books and a lot of history in them too.
This is not to compare to the current material suggested here though, as I think for the new wine maker the suggested PDF files are more of a fit to the time.
Just another resource suggestion.

Tim


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## Torch404

Here is a good step by step with some basic wine info. Most of the "cheats" at the end only seem like they'd matter if you stick to making tea wine. Hopefully you'd only use this to start from  It would be nice if they get around to writing up part 4 though...

Part 1:
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...-the-fear-out-of-wine-making-part-one-by-mkg/

Part 2:
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...ing-the-fear-out-of-winemaking-part-2-by-mkg/

Part 3:
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...of-wine-making-part-3-cheating-and-improving/


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## arcticsid

Part 4:

_Please read parts 1, 2 , and 3,....
_


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## arcticsid

LOL, excellent Torch. Hows that nastrircium coming along.


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## Torch404

It's been in the bottle about 9 months...Might be about time to give it a try.


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## seopiper

Torch404 said:


> Here is a good step by step with some basic wine info. Most of the "cheats" at the end only seem like they'd matter if you stick to making tea wine. Hopefully you'd only use this to start from  It would be nice if they get around to writing up part 4 though...
> 
> Part 1:
> http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...-the-fear-out-of-wine-making-part-one-by-mkg/
> 
> Part 2:
> http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...ing-the-fear-out-of-winemaking-part-2-by-mkg/
> 
> Part 3:
> http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...of-wine-making-part-3-cheating-and-improving/



This is what I like with e-books as you can find plenty of them for FREE. 
Thanks anyway for putting your time in posting and sharing this valuable links full of information.


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## Ankita

Hi,

Ita a great stuff and very informative.I really enjoyed while reading this blog and it help me .Thanks for this post.

Thanks.


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## SteveL

Thanks for all of the great info here. I was wondering though if any of you can recommend some actual print books. I know that the Wine Makers Answer Book was mentioned and I plan to to take a look at that one. Any others though?


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## rodo

My "go to book" is "Home Winemaking Step By Step" by Jon Iverson.
Here is a link to it on Amazon where you can use the "look inside' feature to read quite a bit of it. I have quite a few pages tabbed and excerpts highlighted.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0965793648/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I also have just acquired Daniael Pambianchi's "Techniques in Home Winemaking" Lots of good info there too!

Besides these each time a problem presents itself I do an Internet search and print out the results which I then bind into booklets for future reference. I have seperate ones for topics such as acidity, pH, yeast, oak barrels,...ect.


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## Runningwolf

rodo said:


> My "go to book" is "Home Winemaking Step By Step" by Jon Iverson.
> Here is a link to it on Amazon where you can use the "look inside' feature to read quite a bit of it. I have quite a few pages tabbed and excerpts highlighted.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/0965793648/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



I also like this book


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## SteveL

Thanks! I do believe that is what I was looking for. I have a feeling I will making that purchase soon.


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## Smartdog

There is another book that is interesting available through UC Davis V&E Department under Wines & Grapes and then Winemaking, called Making Table Wine at Home. Little bit more technical then others.

Since I have not posted sufficeint number of posts I cannot post a link.


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## djrockinsteve

I wanted to try and get many of the books referring to wine making on this forum and get them under one thread if we can. Here's a bunch that I came across. Some have been mentioned earlier in this thread.

No order however the free downloads are first.

The Home Winemakers Manual by Lum Eisenman
Free Down load on the web at http://www.winebook.webs.com/

The Home Wine Making Book by Michiel Pesgens
Available at http://www.homebrewit.com/winebook.pdf

How To Brew Fruit and Wine Kits
http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/phumber/msie.html#How to Brew Fruit And Kit Wines

Introduction To Home Winemaking
http://www.home-winemaking.com/index.html

Home Wine Making
http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/content.php?category=Winemaking

Making Wine For Home Use
http://mtngrv.missouristate.edu/Publications/MWFHUpub.htm

The Wine Maker’s Answer Book by Alison Crowe @ $15.00

Home Wine Making Step By Step by Jon Iverson @ $18.00

The Home Winemaker’s Companion by Gene Spaziani @ $30.00

Making Wild Wines and Meads by Pattie and Rich Gulling @ $17.00

From Vines To Wines by Jeff Cox @ $28.00

The Backyard Vintner by Jim Law @ $20.00

Growing Wine Grapes by McGrew, Loenholdt, Zabadal, Hunt and Amberg @ $11.00

How and Why To Build A Wine Cellar by Richard Gold on Amazon

The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil @ $14.00

The Joy Of Home Winemaking by Terry Garey

Successful Winemaking At Home by H.E. Bravery


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## Savana123

ebooks are very important when we have to make different wines as I believe while preforming any practical it is very important to first known to all the steps that are given and with the help of these ebooks one can come to know about all the steps that are necessary before applying. I find ebooks or books very effective no doubt.


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## bowfish

*Beginners Book*

I’ve read the “Alaskan Bootlegger’s Bible” written by Leon W. Kania. Not sure where it can be found, borrowed my copy from a friend. It seems to explain the simple steps to wine making. Added this book to my library.


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## scurr

this may have already been mentioned but archive org has captured this link/site... im too newb to post a link but just copy and paste your link and it will bring up the original content into archive...


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## Giovannino

Torch404 said:


> Here is a good step by step with some basic wine info. Most of the "cheats" at the end only seem like they'd matter if you stick to making tea wine. Hopefully you'd only use this to start from  It would be nice if they get around to writing up part 4 though...
> 
> Part 1:
> http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...-the-fear-out-of-wine-making-part-one-by-mkg/
> 
> Part 2:
> http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...ing-the-fear-out-of-winemaking-part-2-by-mkg/
> 
> Part 3:
> http://www.selfsufficientish.com/ma...of-wine-making-part-3-cheating-and-improving/



This is an old post so there's probably a reason the pages won't come up.


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## timber

Hi Tom,

Wow, this is a gem!
Thanks for the link on Michiel Pesgens' book.
Very informative, easy to follow ... great information.

The Home Winemaking Book by Michiel Pesgens

... good thread in all with lots of resources for reading, thanks all.

*Exactly what I need to get started on my blackberry wine.*
Since I joined the forum (and it's a great one) I've been a tad overwhelmed with all the great information and advice ... this little book, however, seems to cull all that information together in one logical set of steps with charts, examples and even a great looking blackberry wine recipe near the end.

I think all beginners could benefit from this gem.

Thanks,


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## Tom

I make alot of fruit wines so ck here 1st for tried and true recipies.


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## timber

Tom said:


> I make alot of fruit wines so ck here 1st for tried and true recipies.



Hi Tom,

I'll be interested in hearing what you know about Pear wines.
Live near Hood River OR which is a great apple and pear valley.

I'm thinking a semi-sweet, fairly high alcohol content, earthtone, soothing, cool, white wine that contains little if any sulphites.

This will be a springtime - summertime project.

Working toward a 5 or 6 gallon batch that will be well on it's way to ageing this time next year.


Wines so far:
Blackberry Wine ... first wine ... WIP

Thanks,


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## Tom

For 6 gallons
Get 40#'s of VERY RIPE pears
You need 2 straing bags and 2 fermenting buckets
Core them and 1/4 them
take 1/2 in a straining bag in a fermenting bucket, water to 3 gal (repeat)
add Pectic Enzyme
wait 24 hrs and ck gravity, add sugar to 1.085 ( take 3 qts out heat add sugar stir till dissolved.
Ck TA
I like Cote des Blanc yeast

(short version)


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## timber

Bookmarked ...

... Thanks Tom

May hit you up on some details when I get the pears.


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## blairholand

*Great wine making book*

This book is a great starting point thanks for the post I came up with a couple of new ideas thanks


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## VegasScott

djrockinsteve said:


> I wanted to try and get many of the books referring to wine making on this forum and get them under one thread if we can. Here's a bunch that I came across. Some have been mentioned earlier in this thread.
> 
> No order however the free downloads are first.
> 
> The Home Winemakers Manual by Lum Eisenman
> Free Down load on the web at http://www.winebook.webs.com/
> 
> The Home Wine Making Book by Michiel Pesgens
> Available at http://www.homebrewit.com/winebook.pdf
> 
> How To Brew Fruit and Wine Kits
> http://www3.nf.sympatico.ca/phumber/msie.html#How to Brew Fruit And Kit Wines
> 
> Introduction To Home Winemaking
> http://www.home-winemaking.com/index.html
> 
> Home Wine Making
> http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/content.php?category=Winemaking
> 
> Making Wine For Home Use
> http://mtngrv.missouristate.edu/Publications/MWFHUpub.htm
> 
> The Wine Maker’s Answer Book by Alison Crowe @ $15.00
> 
> Home Wine Making Step By Step by Jon Iverson @ $18.00
> 
> The Home Winemaker’s Companion by Gene Spaziani @ $30.00
> 
> Making Wild Wines and Meads by Pattie and Rich Gulling @ $17.00
> 
> From Vines To Wines by Jeff Cox @ $28.00
> 
> The Backyard Vintner by Jim Law @ $20.00
> 
> Growing Wine Grapes by McGrew, Loenholdt, Zabadal, Hunt and Amberg @ $11.00
> 
> How and Why To Build A Wine Cellar by Richard Gold on Amazon
> 
> The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil @ $14.00
> 
> The Joy Of Home Winemaking by Terry Garey
> 
> Successful Winemaking At Home by H.E. Bravery



Steve, 
Have you read any of these books? I'm a newbie that has the _'drinking'_ part down, I'm now looking to _'making'!_

I've been a beer guy since college, but over the past few years I've become a 'winer' due to my love for gardening and the fact that my in-laws have a beautiful home on Seneca Lake nestled amoung the many wineries in the area.

I really don't want to fail in my first attempt at wine making, so I want to do my homework first. My plan is to get a couple of books, ask for all of your input, and make my initial kit purchase, and possibly a couple of supplemental pieces of equipment.

When looking at amazon.com, I came across these:





I liked this one because it tied in the gardening, and since I have a couple of grapevines, I thought it would bring me full circle throughout the process.

Then I found this one...





This is the book Steve quoted above and had on his list. From looking at the preview pages on the site, it looked pretty good. 

Anyone on the forums read either of these? The first book has a 5 star rating from reader reviews and 41 of the 50 were 5 stars. The second book has no reviews as of yet.

And thanks to view the classified area of this website, I saw this deal on 6 gallon carboys from amazon as well:





At only $30 with free shipping, I can't go wrong. If it turns out I can't vint wine worth a damn, I'll have a great start to building a pirate ship in a bottle! LOL!


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## djrockinsteve

I have read several of the wine making books here, after I learned how to make wine. I wanted to understand why I was doing what I was doing. I prefer the science of it all.

The book by Lum Eisenman is very good but may be too much for a beginner. Others are good in their own way but sometimes can assume you know something already.

One of the fears many have is after spending money and waiting 6 months they have a blah wine. Now you either give up or are just frustrated about it all.

We have some good tutorials on many parts of the wine process. They are located on the home page here under tutorials.

I have never made wine from a kit, just juice and a few canned concentrates. Kits were too pricey compared to buckets of juice. To each his own. Kits are a good way to start and learn the basics and get most of the items you need to get started. If nothing else buy a hydrometer and learn how to use it (tutorial).

Let us know what kit you are considering and I'm sure there are folks on here who have made it. You can also make wine via juice concentrates found in the grocery store if you like.

We can help you and others with your hobby. All of us started in our own different ways and are now hooked on making not just ok wines but great wines. Don't be afraid to ask if you are unsure of anything.


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## VegasScott

Steve,
I totally agree. I don't like being told "add this to that..." and "do this to that" without knowing why I'm doing what I'm doing. I'm a self proclaimed science geek and want to know "WHY".

As for the kits, I'm looking at some of the kits from amazon that are just equipment and no supplies. I'm also interested in the wine kits themselves for my first attempt at winemaking. I want to take out as many variables out of the equation as I can. If its a quality kit, the results should be very good each and everytime as long as you stick to the instructions and don't make any bonehead mistakes. 

Any suggestions on either the equipment only kits? Or the winemaking supply kits?

Thanks everybody for the warm welcome!

VegasScott


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## PeterB

*Lost!!*

Hi its Pete here, 
I love wine, but I am a complete beginner when it comes to everything else to do with wine, I only know how to drink it, where should I start help me haha. I would like to grow my own!! I would very much appreciate any help.

Cheers Pete B


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## PeterB

Cheers Tom, I shall be having a look at that one.. 

Pete B


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## djrockinsteve

Pete welcome to the forum. If you visit the home page you will find useful items to assist you. Wikipedia of terms. Tutorial section. Recipes. The Map to see who is near you along with wine supply stores and more.


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## PeterB

Cheers steve nice 1


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## PeterB

Cheers steve nice 1


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## djrockinsteve

We did the Tutorials because we were getting the same questions posted. Wade's fingers were getting tired typing the answers. 

Hope they shed a little light on the subject for you.


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## Bjarne

Hi Guys

Tom said that is was ok to post links to PDF books here. I am currently developing a business teaching hobby wine makers how to make their own wine through a book delivered with 12 month support from an award-winning winemaker in Napa, California, Cynthia Cosco of Passaggio Wines. 

Our site also has free wine radio 24/7.


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## Julie

Bjarne said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> Tom said that is was ok to post links to PDF books here. I am currently developing a business teaching hobby wine makers how to make their own wine through a book delivered with 12 month support from an award-winning winemaker in Napa, California, Cynthia Cosco of Passaggio Wines.
> 
> 
> Sorry Bjarne,
> 
> I'm sure if Tom gave you permisison, he would have left us know and introduced you. I'm deleting your link, please contact Wade if you want to advertise on the site.
> 
> Thanks for your support.


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## Wade E

I emailed him but he wont be back until the 9th. Sorry for the confusion Bjarne.


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## Giovannino

Glad someone caught this one.
No pdf to be found. Besides, if only just putting the book together why have testimonials from people who refer to the book all the time.


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## rlplummer

Thank you so much! Now I have some new late night reading material! Awesome website....


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## italianwine

http://www.eckraus.com/start-wine-making/
It is a useful link for the beginners.


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## amy78

I am a beer lover and I always love to drink something special made by me. I love to do experiments with wine and beer. I always prefer to make beer for my friend and relatives. I have read a great experience on beer making and this experience has extended by tasting, listening, questioning, exploring the facts about beers.

I always curious to know about the new methods and recopies about beer. Recently I read about Home Brew West beer making kits and recipe books on the internet. When I came across this site I found a huge list of wine making books and kits. I decided to purchase a book on beer making. The book has various new and advance beer making ideas and suggestions. I think you should purchase a book from here.


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