Brand spanking new to wine making!

[lhunkele]

Hi!

My name is Linda and I live in the metro Detroit area. The closest I've come to wine making is consuming it After enjoying other vintners wines, I've convinced myself I can do this too! I'm currently in the process of amassing my equipment and hope to actually get started early next month. I'm delighted to have found this forum and will be perusing it often. I tend to be a stickler for details and a complete novice, so let me thank you in advance for your patience

 

[Julie]

Hi Linda,

Well to winemakingtalk. You need to go check out www.finevinewines.com, their prices are pretty good and they have starter kits. Have you thought about what wine you wanted to make first?

 

[Redtrk]

Welcome and enjoy the site!

 

[xanxer82]

Be sure to visit finevinewines.com and get a starter kit. It comes with everything you need to start making wine.

 

[AlFulchino]

make sure you have informed the closest members of your family about your new past time....because it increases they will be impacted.... more wine..but less time w you perhaps

 

[countrygirl]

welcome linda! i started with a kit...it's a great way to get your feet "wet", lol, without actually sticking them in a vat of grapes, lol. you'll find TONS of support here. good luck!

 

[cpfan]

make sure you have informed the closest members of your family about your new past time

and tell them to save cork-finish wine bottles for you.

Steve

 

[lhunkele]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome - looking forward to getting to know you more!

Julie - Wow, that is an impressive list!! I did order a beginner equipment starter kit from the Wine Making Superstore. I choose to go with the one-gallon kit, thinking I didn't want 25 bottles of anything, yet... my plan is to go to our local market and check out their 'priced reduced for quick sale' fruit then chosing a recipe from there...

Al - my husband is delighted!! He's already designing my wine cellar

 

[djrockinsteve]

Hi and welcome aboard Linda. I have relatives near you. Sorry to inform you of that.

You'll love this forum, great folks, alot of information to help you. Ideas, recipes, map, dictionary, and on and on and on.

Feel free to search the site and if you still need help ask away. For me it started with 4 wine juices and now.......WOW! It's a blast. Welcome again.

 

[Runningwolf]

Hi Linda and welcome to our forum. You wine find plenty of knowledgeable folks and and even some nuts like me. We have a great time and are usually quick to respond to your questions.

Now just one important thing to know....

"Al - my husband is delighted!! He's already designing my wine cellar"

....What ever he is drawing up isn't big enough! Make it expandable. I built mine a heck of a lot bigger then what I knew I would need. I have added to it twice already!

Good luck in your ventures into the best hobby ever!

 

[djrockinsteve]

What ever he is drawing up isn't big enough! Make it expandable!

Dan's right. I just finished my second wine shelf/rack. It holds 500 bottles, just like the other one next to it. No it's not maxed out but they are filling up fast.

I discovered today it's easier to keep them in the wine boxes, then place the cases on the shelf. They can't slip and fall breaking my heart.

Don't want to worry you though, some of us are obsessed. Right Dan?

 

[Runningwolf]

"Don't want to worry you though, some of us are obsessed. Right Dan?"

Yes we are, right Julie, Wade, Tom and the rest of you! I was just talking to Wade about this last night. The obsession is making it and sharing it, then drinking it. I know, I know Tom I hear yeah!

 

[lhunkele]

Oh My!!

O.k, so I'm starting small; one gallon at a time...

1) I was thinking if I totally screwed it up, my up-front cost/loss wouldn't have been that great, and

2) I was under the impression that fruit wines (which most if not all the recipes I found are) didn't have all that long of a shelf-life (6 mos ?)

For the most part, it's just my husband and I and although we both induldge on a regular basis, I was concerned we wouldn't be able to keep up with my production (once I get started that is

So tell me, what kind of wines are you making? Are you using kits? Fresh fruit? Frozen/Canned? and what kind of shelf-life can you expect?

 

[ffemt128]

Welcome to the forum. You'll enjoy your stay here. I know I have.

My fruit wines I don't even start to taste until 4-6 months. I've only made a few so far though. Other here can fill you in on shelf life better than I. Our, problem being new ourselves is we consume to early.

Realizing you want to start small, just keep in mind it takes just as long to make a 1 gallon (5 bottle) batch as it does to make a 3 (15 bottle) or 5 gallon (25 bottle) batch.

We started with a kit. It let us get a start on something that is darn near impossible to screw up if you follow the directions. The kits generally say they take 4-6 weeks until you can bottle but most on here will allow to age much longer. Unfortunately our first 2 kits didn't make it much past the 4 month mark before they were gone.

Ask lots of questions, and you'll get the answers here. If in doubt, ask before you act. Asking the question may prevent a mistake while making your wine.