# Soo... when does this hobby pay for itself?



## jdammer (May 24, 2010)

Haha. Another $200 today on an italian floor corker and a new filter. 

This week is going to be 10 cases of bottles. Man oh man.


----------



## arcticsid (May 24, 2010)

Sorry man, we lied about the paying for itself part just to get you interested. Hooked now pal!!!! Glad to have you in the group!! Ha Ha Ha


----------



## Wade E (May 24, 2010)

It you are going to keep buying bottles then it will take a long time before it starts paying for itself.


----------



## mmadmikes1 (May 24, 2010)

It pay for itself in a differnt way


----------



## jdammer (May 24, 2010)

Wade E said:


> It you are going to keep buying bottles then it will take a long time before it starts paying for itself.



I kind of outpaced my bottle supply. I figure it will be nice to have all of the same style bottles. My post was more of a joke I just didn't anticipate myself getting so involved in the hobby.

Sounds like the Italian is the way to go. If I don't ever have to buy another one then I might as well spend the extra 40 and get the cash. 

No problem paying the money if it's something I'll use forever.


----------



## Runningwolf (May 24, 2010)

If you know what you want and order everything you can at once from George you'll save a ton of money in shipping. His prices are very good overall and he stands behind everything he sells, If you call your order into him he'll be glad to talk to you about what you're buying also.


----------



## Larryh86GT (May 24, 2010)

This hobby pays for itself?? Cool. How long we gotta wait cause I'm not getting any younger.


----------



## Runningwolf (May 24, 2010)

Larryh86GT said:


> This hobby pays for itself?? Cool. How long we gotta wait cause I'm not getting any younger.



Good Question becuse we definetly drink more then we normally would of. On the other hand the hobby really does not cost that much untill you go for the toys of convienence. Even then it's still not that bad. You could buy one really good old Lional train set and pay what all of your equipment costs for making wine. You can't drink a train. Dollar for dollar would you like to have a hot date over and show her your train or pull out the wine and......


----------



## jdammer (May 24, 2010)

Who is George and what is his website?


----------



## Runningwolf (May 24, 2010)

jdammer said:


> Who is George and what is his website?



George is the owner of Fine vine Wines. http://www.finevinewines.com/ He is a very honest man and supports the hobby. If you ask him a question about buying a piece of equipment and he dosen't think you need it, he'll tell you so instead of making the sale. Of all the places on the internet to buy anything, this is one I and most people on this forum will stand behind. And if you do call him, tell him I told you to call.


----------



## Tom (May 24, 2010)

Welcome to the hobby? (err OBSESSION)
I second George. Great guy great company.


----------



## IQwine (May 24, 2010)

If this hobby pays for itself.... I'm still waiting for my check!!


----------



## Runningwolf (May 24, 2010)

IQwine said:


> If this hobby pays for itself.... I'm still waiting for my check!!



If its not paying for itself your not putting enough value on the wine you're drinking or you're giving to much away! LOL


----------



## Tom (May 24, 2010)

Before I started wine making WE did NOT drink wine. NOW I go thru 1,000+ bottles a year. 
How is THAT paying for itself?


----------



## jdammer (May 24, 2010)

Well I just ordered through Midwest Supplies. Their prices and shipping were very good. Fine wine didn't have the filter I want. 

I'll keep him in mind next time though.


----------



## jdammer (May 24, 2010)

Tom said:


> Before I started wine making WE did NOT drink wine. NOW I go thru 1,000+ bottles a year.
> How is THAT paying for itself?



How do you manage 1000?


----------



## mmadmikes1 (May 25, 2010)

jdammer said:


> How do you manage 1000?


Hold bottle firm, pull cork using cork removal devise, pour into glass to acceptable level, tip glass at proper level to lips swallow. see management is easy


----------



## myakkagldwngr (May 25, 2010)

Heck, pay for itself. 
I'm already money ahead!! 
First of all, I'm drinking what I make,
Second, with work being so slow if I wasn't home trying to make wine or out picking blackberries,,,
I would probably be chasing some good looking country girl named Lucille!
And do you know what a divorce would cost me??


----------



## xanxer82 (May 25, 2010)

Once you find a supply of free fruit or wine grapes, free bottles help too.
George's store is very trustworthy. I got my first starter kit from Midwest with no issues.


----------



## ffemt128 (May 25, 2010)

I don't know as it will pay for it's self, but what hobby does? We do it because we enjoy it. I know I'm having fun making wine.


----------



## midwestwine (May 25, 2010)

Dont you save money at the grocery store now?


----------



## Runningwolf (May 25, 2010)

myakkagldwngr said:


> Heck, pay for itself.
> I'm already money ahead!!
> First of all, I'm drinking what I make,
> Second, with work being so slow if I wasn't home trying to make wine or out picking blackberries,,,
> ...



::ROFLMAO, that makes sense to me!!


----------



## jdammer (May 25, 2010)

midwestwine said:


> Dont you save money at the grocery store now?



Ha. They wont even let us buy wine in the grocery store in NY. 

And no not really. We still do tastings every Friday night and end up picking up a bottle. Once my cellar inventory catches up I'm sure I'll be a little better off.


----------



## Maestro (May 25, 2010)

I'm gonna need to look into a permit to sell alcohol myself. I've had people already asking me about buying our wine after tastings. So this is how I see it now....

1. Make wine.
2. Sell wine.
3. ????
4. Profit!


----------



## IQwine (May 25, 2010)

yep... U might have forgot a couple of steps before the profit shows up

permit fees
sales taxes
income taxes
state taxes
Federal taxes


----------



## Maestro (May 25, 2010)

IQwine said:


> yep... U might have forgot a couple of steps before the profit shows up
> 
> permit fees
> sales taxes
> ...



I think I'll bypass all those fees with my Bootlegger License.


----------



## WhineMaker (May 25, 2010)

I've made wine for a few people.. They buy the kit and get 15-20 bottles, depending on what it is.. I keep the rest. Not turning a profit (depending on how you look at it), but keeping expenses down for sure!


----------



## Runningwolf (May 25, 2010)

I have done the same thing depending on the friendship. If I am making/bottling the wine, getting and cleaning the bottles you bet your *** its worth half the product. On the other hand, I give a lot away and then there are your friends that are not taking advantage and one way or another return the favor.


----------



## myakkagldwngr (May 26, 2010)

I wish that we could get back to the days when I person could do "ANYTHING" within reason to make a living and not worry about license's or being overly taxed.

But those days are gone. 

You can thank the Goberments!

Robinhood has become a thing of the past. No more rob from the rich and give to the poor.
Now it's rob from the poor and give to the rich.


----------



## Maestro (May 26, 2010)

Or, make wine to sell to the rich and tell them to keep their mouths shut.


----------



## TheTooth (May 26, 2010)

We used to buy a lot more wine... so I'm definitely coming out ahead... and I'm enjoying the hobby. I still think some of the wine I buy is better than the most of the stuff I've made. The thing is, it's 10 times as expensive as mine, but it is not 10 times better. And the hobby side has me improving my processes and techniques to hopefully get as good as some of those bottles I buy from wineries.

It also allows me to make things that I can't really buy. Mead for one. Not only is it hard to find real mead, but even when I have my stuff was much better than the commercial bottles I tried. Most of them went down the sink while mine are pretty good and sought after by friends.

Gifts is also where I easily make back my expenses and then some. My wife and I used to buy cases of wine and beer to give out as small gifts at work and to friends... but now we give out our own wine and beer. It's much cheaper to produce and people are far more appreciative of it. The really neat thing about this is that we have been able to turn people onto things they hadn't tried or thought they didn't like because of preconceptions (dark beers are number one on that list).


----------



## jdammer (May 27, 2010)

TheTooth said:


> We used to buy a lot more wine... so I'm definitely coming out ahead... and I'm enjoying the hobby. I still think some of the wine I buy is better than the most of the stuff I've made. The thing is, it's 10 times as expensive as mine, but it is not 10 times better. And the hobby side has me improving my processes and techniques to hopefully get as good as some of those bottles I buy from wineries.
> 
> It also allows me to make things that I can't really buy. Mead for one. Not only is it hard to find real mead, but even when I have my stuff was much better than the commercial bottles I tried. Most of them went down the sink while mine are pretty good and sought after by friends.
> 
> Gifts is also where I easily make back my expenses and then some. My wife and I used to buy cases of wine and beer to give out as small gifts at work and to friends... but now we give out our own wine and beer. It's much cheaper to produce and people are far more appreciative of it. The really neat thing about this is that we have been able to turn people onto things they hadn't tried or thought they didn't like because of preconceptions (dark beers are number one on that list).





Well put....


----------



## xxplod (May 27, 2010)

thanks for the link to good ole george ill have to check him out.


----------



## myakkagldwngr (May 28, 2010)

I joked with Nancy about if I wasn't making wine I would be out chasing women and the divorce would be more expensive than making wine..
She just shook her head and said,, "not divorce! Funeral!!"


----------



## Roatan_Mark (Oct 8, 2010)

I am sorry I didn't see this thread ealier! Myakkagldwngr I like the way your wife thinks! Anyway you possibly in myakka florida and ride a gold wing?


----------



## BIGJEFF (Oct 8, 2010)

it paid for itself for me today...I gave my boss 2 bottles for his thx giving dinner sunday and he gave me the rest of the day off


----------



## JohnT (Oct 8, 2010)

Just think, Every sip you take is tax money Obama doesn't get!


----------



## robie (Oct 8, 2010)

JohnT said:


> Just think, Every sip you take is tax money Obama doesn't get!



No No No! Then who's gun'a pay for them bailed out bankers' million dollar bonuses!!! 

Then they would have to have their private airplanes repossessed.


----------



## JohnT (Oct 8, 2010)

robie said:


> No No No! Then who's gun'a pay for them bailed out bankers' million dollar bonuses!!!
> 
> Then they would have to have their private airplanes repossessed.



How about we just keep this a secret amung was winemakers. I would not want the "gubment" to find out about this. If they knew how much fun this is, you can be sure that they would tax the #$%@ out of it. 

Case in point .. 

It was cigarettes (gee, ain't we lucky to have them looking out for us), now it is sugar and salt, soon it will be red meat, then it will be wine and beer making supplies!


----------



## xoltri (Oct 8, 2010)

Well I drink a lot less whiskey now that I make my own beer and wine, so that's one way I'm saving money. Liquor is expensive in Canada. The beer I make for about $6.50/doz would cost me about $22 in the store. And wine I make for $1.50-$4 / bottle would cost probably over $15.

Also I get the bottles for free. It's not hard to do that, and who cares if they're not all the same! Although I have enough wine bottles now that I'm only keeping the bordeaux bottles and tossing the other kinds.


----------



## Tom (Oct 8, 2010)

JohnT said:


> Just think, Every sip you take is tax money Obama doesn't get!




Careful guys// Nothing political,, remember the rules Or you can be banned of scolded !


----------



## jet (Oct 9, 2010)

Tom said:


> Careful guys// Nothing political,, remember the rules Or you can be banned of scolded !



That's ironic, since there's a Sarah Palin ad on this page.


----------



## Repsolal (Oct 9, 2010)

Absolutely a money saving rewarding hobby in my house.
Started with new equipment but then started checking out used stuff and added
hundreds of bottles and 6 more carboys for next to nothing. Consuming 60 gals of homemade wines a year very quickly pays for equipment compared to buying
it. After 3 years, we now have a 400 bottle collection of nicely aged wines consisting of a mix of various whites, reds and fruit wines.


----------



## Wade E (Oct 9, 2010)

jet said:


> That's ironic, since there's a Sarah Palin ad on this page.


There is? I have not noticed it but its probably a Google add which I have no control over without changing tons of settings which would also stop lots of traffic from new wine makers due to ease of this site getting noticed. Politics are a matter I would also like to keep off any forum as it can really start problems between members views and just not worth it.


----------



## Runningwolf (Oct 9, 2010)

I have noticed different pop up ads on the site also, but they seem related to things I have looked up previously on other sites. I believe those are related to our computer/software settings and not actually this forum.


----------



## JohnT (Oct 11, 2010)

Sorry folks, 

I did not mean to be political. I just wanted to say that this hobby pays for itself in that, if done correctly, we can get good quality wine at a fraction of the cost. Tax savings being a major contributer to the savings. 

I hope that I did not offend anyone. 

johnT.


----------



## FlavorSeeker (Oct 18, 2010)

xanxer82 said:


> Once you find a supply of free fruit or wine grapes, free bottles help too.



I'm just up the road, near Harrisburg. Can I get a piece of that action (free fruit/grapes and/or bottles?


----------



## Wade E (Oct 18, 2010)

John, yes the booze is cheaper but the amount of money some us spend on the toys and our cellar is killing us!


----------



## Runningwolf (Oct 18, 2010)

Wade E said:


> John, yes the booze is cheaper but the amount of money some us spend on the toys and our cellar is killing us!



Hummmmm, I think I can relate to that. But you know Wade we've talked before about the fact that we never take fancy vacations either which allows us to afford some toys.


----------



## JohnT (Oct 19, 2010)

Wade E said:


> John, yes the booze is cheaper but the amount of money some us spend on the toys and our cellar is killing us!



True!

But I figure that this is my only "hobby". There are other hobbies that people end up spending a whole lot more and do not get nearly the same amount of enjoyment. 

But I digress.... I figure that I spend perhaps $3.50 per bottle of wine. I would have to spend at least $10 per bottle more. Let's say I save $120.00 per case. (I live close to NYC where NOTHING is cheap)

I will not take too much wine to justify the purchase of your new press!


----------



## Midwest Vintner (Oct 19, 2010)

going commercial will pay for itself........................................someday


----------



## FlavorSeeker (Oct 21, 2010)

Midwest Vintner said:


> going commercial will pay for itself........................................someday



Now you're talking!


----------



## mxsteve625 (Oct 21, 2010)

I agree with Wade. As long as we keep investing in new toys to help us along, this hobby will NEVER pay for itself. Oh well, that's OK.


----------



## Wade E (Oct 21, 2010)

Im ok with that also and will never stop buying the toys! Bwaaaahaaahaaa! I sort of started this hobby to save money but that went out the window long ago and I never looked back!


----------



## JohnT (Oct 22, 2010)

Wade, 

You just need to use the equipment you have, but make a higher volume. (spead out the equipment cost over more bottles).. That is (at least) how I explain things to my wife!


----------



## Sirs (Oct 22, 2010)

I look at it this way, we all waste money on one thing or another at least this way we not only get the enjoyment of doing somethnig we like but also get the wine from it too.


----------



## Larryh86GT (Oct 22, 2010)

It's nice to have a supportive spouse also. Monday morning I spotted a fruit crusher on eBay I wanted. I called out to my wife who was in the kitchen - "Hon-I'm thinking of spending $$$ on eBay. She calls back - "What are you spending $$$ on?" I say " a fruit crusher" - She says "OK". A couple key strokes later it was mine.


----------



## JohnT (Oct 22, 2010)

Larryh86GT said:


> It's nice to have a supportive spouse also. Monday morning I spotted a fruit crusher on eBay I wanted. I called out to my wife who was in the kitchen - "Hon-I'm thinking of spending $$$ on eBay. She calls back - "What are you spending $$$ on?" I say " a fruit crusher" - She says "OK". A couple key strokes later it was mine.



I could not agree more. My wife lives with hundreds of pounds of grapes fermenting in the house. She does not even drink, but enjoys making wine.


----------



## jdammer (Oct 22, 2010)

It's funny. I went to a new local winery the other day. After talking to the manager I found out they still bottle all their wines one at a time. Use a hand corker. One person puts on the labels and the last person uses a heat gun to put on the capsules. If they can bottle thousands of bottles this way it makes me realize that I don't need all of those fancy toys. ha


----------



## WineyMike (Oct 6, 2011)

I started reloading rifle cartridges years ago to "save money". I cut my cost to 33% but shot 3 times as much. Winemaking is about the same. I spend at least as much money as before but get much more fun per dollar.


----------



## Tom (Oct 6, 2011)

Now if you can get fruit like I do it can be under $1.00 per bottle.


----------



## Midwest Vintner (Oct 7, 2011)

Yeah, the key is to know other wine drinkers. They will help to support the cause. LOL. We used to collect bottles from all the neighbors, so that was free glass. Or know someone with extra fruit that doesn't mind you picking it. Many ways to make it cheaper as long as you are not too picky.


----------

