Hello from Southeast PA

[Grabo]

Hey everyone,
My wife and I are just starting to get into wine making. We like to go to the Renaissance Faire in PA, which also happens to have a winery, and at the faire they have some pretty good meads that they sell. After talking to some of the people in the wine line at the faire, we somehow got on the topic of homebrewing. Later on I also learned that some relatives of my coworkers make their own wine and heard that it can actually be better than commercial wines. I starting thinking: 1) I have a mostly empty basement begging to have a fermentation station set up and 2) I need a hobby for the winter months. That spurred my interest enough to register for a wine making kit for our wedding.

Well it worked! We were married last September, I have a kit to start my new hobby, and now I am lurking through threads to learn where to start. My various Google searches took me to a Dragon Blood thread on this forum, which I have read is a cheap way to get started on a good wine, so here I am. I'll be lurking around for a while, studying up, and plan to start up a batch of Dragon Blood to get this homebrew party started.

-Steve

 

[BlueStimulator]

Welcome from one newbie to another. The people on this board have been very helpful and kind to my inexperience and bumbling questions. I have read tons of posts to learn as much as I can maybe even post on your Dragons blood progress.

 

[bkisel]

Welcome to the forum!

Dragons Blood would not be a bad place to begin but I would recommend starting with a low to mid-range priced kit wine. Do you have a Local Home Brewing Store that is reasonable close to your home? Are you comfortable with shopping online?

 

[Johnd]

Welcome Grabo!

Sounds like you have a good place to start, do a little shopping around and find a starter equipment kit with the essentials you need to get started, it's really not a lot of stuff. If you like to read, there are lots of books out there on home wine making, they'll give you a boost with understanding the process and the terminology.

This is a wonderful forum, it's a great hobby, enjoy the ride!!!!

 

[mike_d]

Welcome, from Lancaster county. I. too, love the Ren Faire.

Making wine, mead, and beer are all wonderful hobbies!

 

[jgmann67]

Mike - you have a great LHBS with excellent prices in Lancaster County. PM for the contact info.

 

[Grabo]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I have a few homebrew stores near me. I called the closest one, but they only had a few wine kits available. I'm not sure if that one is more catering to beer brewers or if it is just small.

I plan to go to another homebrew store this weekend to get a white wine kit to start. Maybe Lancaster Homebrew, which is about 40min from me. It looks like they have a lot of Winexpert kits. I plan to scout around for reviews of a semi-dry white by WE. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

 

[mike_d]

Mike - you have a great LHBS with excellent prices in Lancaster County. PM for the contact info.

I'm well aware. I was there again just last week.

 

[jgmann67]

I'm well aware. I was there again just last week.

If you weren't in Lititz, then maybe not. Check out Cooper's Hill Farm. I haven't gotten down there yet, but the prices are excellent.

 

[ceeaton]

Uh oh, an empty basement and a desire to make wine. We'll need an update about this time next year to see how large your carboy farm has grown.

FYI, most any of the WE whites are would work well and if you got started making it now would be good by the middle of summer.

Welcome to WMT!

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome (again) to WMT, Steve! I am a native of a county to your east. (No, not Delaware County, but the other one!)

Keep us posted on your first foray.

 

[Grabo]

Welcome (again) to WMT, Steve! I am a native of a county to your east. (No, not Delaware County, but the other one!)

Keep us posted on your first foray.

Thanks (again) Sour Grapes! I assume you mean Montgomery county, which is actually where I work. Small world

 

[sour_grapes]

Thanks (again) Sour Grapes! I assume you mean Montgomery county, which is actually where I work. Small world

No, not that one either! You're getting warmer....

(I realize that you knew what I meant originally -- just playing along!)

 

[jumby]

Welcome Steve! I'm from Delaware. There's a home brew store in Chadds Ford, Pa that carries lots of WE kits. Personally I would recommend Label Peelers. They have the best prices and great customer service. Enjoy your new hobby!

 

[Natrix]

Welcome from an other newbie. You'll enjoy this hobby for sure. And this forum too. It's addictive !

 

[heatherd]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Grabo]

Welcome Steve! I'm from Delaware. There's a home brew store in Chadds Ford, Pa that carries lots of WE kits. Personally I would recommend Label Peelers. They have the best prices and great customer service. Enjoy your new hobby!

Thanks for the tips Jumby! I didn't realize there was a local store in Chadds Ford. That is a very reasonable drive for me, so I'll definitely check it out and Label Peelers.

 

[Runningwolf]

Welcome aboard

 

[jumby]

Thanks for the tips Jumby! I didn't realize there was a local store in Chadds Ford. That is a very reasonable drive for me, so I'll definitely check it out and Label Peelers.

Go on WE's website and use the store locator... it will give the address and name of the store in Chadds Ford.