Equipment help

[rhenson]

Hello, I am an old beer brewer wanting to move into wine making.

I woner if anyone can make a good equipment kit recomendation? I have carboys and a lot of beer equipment, but woner if i am better off just gettig a new basic kit, or buying specific, quality items, like an Italian floor corker?

I plan to start off with a concentrate kit - the wife and I like cabs with an earthy quality...any suggestions here?

Sorry to ask, but i have been agonizing over this, and really want to make a decission and get going...

Thanks for any help.

 

[cindy]

you can use some of your beer equipment for wine but the carboys/buckets for beer are 5 gallons. we plan to keep making both beer and wine so we just purchased a wine equipment kit we figured the smaller carboys would come in handy if we had a batch of wine that wouldn't quite fill a six gallon carboy. here's is a similar kit, I have since added more odds and ends so I could have a few different batches all going at the same time.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V34Y66/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Welcome to WMT!

 

[Wade E]

I would say ypul want a new primary as beer tends to leave residual aromas and flavor in the plastic. Youll also need a 6 gallon carboy as wine kits are 6 gallons. Ive heard conflicting stories on if the Italian corker is worth the extra money over the Portuguese floor forker. Ive been using the Port model for about 8 years now and just last year finally replaced the nylon jaws on it and its like new again fof about $15. If I were you Id get the All in one wine pump thats sold on thix site as it makes wine making so much eadier and enjoyable and you dont have to lift carboys that have wine in them.

 

[rhenson]

Thank you both for the input - this should get me going!

 

[cindy]

Thank you both for the input - this should get me going!

you will do great! if I would have known how easy wine and beer making was years ago I would have started a lot sooner.

 

[oldwhiskers]

you will do great! if I would have known how easy wine and beer making was years ago I would have started a lot sooner.

I will definitely second that.

 

[roadpupp]

Rh
I jumped in about 4 months ago with the "deluxe" starter kit from fine vine wines. Unlike you I had no beer experience.

I have bottled a handful of bottles and now am in the market for an Italian floor corker. Several people suggested I get the floor corker in the starter package But it seemed too much to spend at the time. I should have listened!

Since then I have been bitten and each month I have spent a couple of hundred on wine kits used carboys and supplies like corks and carboy handles and shrink caps. It is addictive!

So if you already own a hydrometer, a floating thermometer, clean buckets and tubing, you may be better off just buying the rest of the package piecemeal.

Carboys and now the all in one have been the biggest expense for me getting started.

This site is
Mostly to blame for my spending.

 

[BobF]

Later on, like in a few weeks, you'll want to start watching Amazon for the Paklab 6g carboys. They are $30 with free shipping. The savings will really add up when you buy eleven more of them

They aren't always available, but somebody usually posts here when they are.

 

[rhenson]

Lol...good stuff. I will watch for the carboys...but can someone give a link to the all in one? I looked around, but didn't see it, but it has been mentioned twice now...it must be amazing...

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Good Luck to you as I know we will be hearing some great stories from you down the road !!

Keep a sharp eye on craigslist for your needs or put a wanted list out there as well. I hope this will help you.

 

[rhenson]

Thanks VPM -awesome, and on my list!

One last comment on what Cindy and Oldwhiskers said about how easy it is...I woke up thinking I have had my brewing/making priorities backwards so far - my wife and I brew beer and buy wine.

I have brewed beer for some time' and while easy, brew day is really is...well, a day...it takes time. Looking at wine making, it seems that it wont take as long (I am sure that I am in for a reality check when i get to real fruit - but that does look fun!). But looking at cost, the price of good beer versus the time compared to the cost of good wine versus the time it takes, I think that I am better served making wine...or at least this is how I am justifying my initial purchases!

Thanks again everone!

 

[shoebiedoo]

No, you're right. The actually time you spend making the wine will be much less than brewing beer. but don't let that fool you. The time from start to stomach is much longer. Many here will tell you that you should age your wine for 1 to 2 years before it's ready to drink. I think many wines are good after 4 or 5 but really do improve greatly as time goes on.
I would start out with a good quality kit though. No sense finishing the 1st batch of wine with an OK product! Wine's pretty hard to screw up and usually it's because someone didn't sanitize properly. I somehow don't see you doing that . Get something that has, at the very least, 15 gallons of juice and one with a grape pack would be even better. Again, better to have your 1st wine really good instead of OK.
Northern Brewers (see the sponsor section of the forum) has starter kits on sale for 40% off. I really think that's worth checking out. As far as the corker goes, I have a Portuguese floor corker and it doesn't a fine job. Only thing to consider is whether or not you want to use synthetic corks, as they don't work well with the Portuguese corkers. And last but not least. I highly recomend the Allinone pump as it really makes things easy

 

[rhenson]

Yeah, i think i am going to just start off building my shed around the all in one pump - it seems like it really helps and will reduce the other equipment I will need to buy. I have sent steve a pm on this, but since it keeps coming up, i will just go ahead and ask it here.

Given no equipment, i plan to buy the all in 1 pump, excluding the concentrate kit, and all that it comes with that - what other equipment do i need to buy? I am thinking with the pump, that I wont need to buy an equipment kit, but will buy the individual pieces...unless it is still more affordable to buy a kit...

 

[AlexPKeaton]

Here's what I started off with from Fine Vine Wines:

Link to kit

These are the equipment starter packages. I went with the $118 version and I've added other pieces of equipment every month or so.

The concentrate "kits" will have the juice and additives you need to make the wine. Fine Vine wines has a very helpful set of videos on there website that I watched as well. Here is the link to the videos. Each kit manufacturer has a slightly different set of processes, so they different video series for each manufacturer.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Well everyone has there own opinion on what a 1st winemaker should get, so this is only my personal opinion. Please add to it if I forgot anything.

Just a quick list , I like to purchase things individually - myself - or find great deals on craigslist or garage sale hunting

You already mentioned the allinonewinepump -
6 or 7 gallon food grade fermenters = 2 (used wine juice containers = free )
6 gallon glass carboys = 2
2 - 3/8 plastic racking canes , best are stainless steel and are more pricey
corks - personal preference - I like synthetics
corker - gildia 30 dollars or floor corker for 70 dollars
chemicals - as needed
jet bottle washer - 17 dollars
bottle tree - 19 dollars
sulphiter - 19 dollars
ph test strips - nominal fee
hydrometer - 6 dollars
baster -
large plastic spoon -
therometer

http://71.18.225.134/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=bottle washer&product_id=280

http://71.18.225.134/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=bottle washer&product_id=653

http://71.18.225.134/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=bottle washer&product_id=279

http://71.18.225.134/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=gilda&product_id=750

http://71.18.225.134/index.php?route=product/search&filter_name=hydrometer


http://71.18.225.134/index.php?route=product/product&path=25_32&product_id=455

all links are from Brew and Wine supply as you know you get a discount on ordering as well !

I hope that helps -
a complete filtration system is around 35 dollars !