Hi all - newbie to the forum alert

PaulC70 · Oct 15, 2022

Hi all, just joined as it looks a fairly comprehensive forum with a lot of knowledge. I used to brew years ago (10-20) in single demijohns and always using the old book you used to be able to get pre internet, I only remember it had a red cover and I made all sorts of coffee wine, orange wine, jam wine etc etc, some rubbish, some would knock your socks off!

Anyway, coming back to it for some fun and distraction so hoping to approach it from a more "mature" point of view. Not like crushing my own grapes, not going that far but will do some exploring and try and brew some semi decent and hopefully drinkable wines

vinny · Oct 15, 2022

Welcome! Even cheap wine kits make a pretty good wine. If you want something really good, prepare to wait for it. A 6-8 week kit is drinkable at that time, but is MUCH better around 3 months after the 'ready' date and continues to improve even beyond that. Expecting to give it a little extra time will benefit you tremendously.

None of the country wines I have made from raw ingredients are ready, yet. I can't speak on how much I like them, or not, but Dragon's blood is a very drinkable wine you can have ready to drink within a month or so. You can find the recipe searching this site.

Have fun!

Ohio Bob · Oct 15, 2022

Are you in the UK? Aside from Brexit issues, you might be able to get juice buckets. These are a good way to start, don’t need crushers, etc. in the US we can get Chilean and Italian juice buckets, so maybe you as well.

BigDaveK · Oct 16, 2022

Welcome back to the hobby, @PaulC70!
The book was possibly/probably CJJ Berry "First Steps In Winemaking".

winemaker81 · Oct 16, 2022

Welcome to WMT!

BigDaveK said:
Welcome back to the hobby, @PaulC70!
The book was possibly/probably CJJ Berry "First Steps In Winemaking".

The red cover makes me think of H E Bravery's "Successful Wine Making at Home". I purchased the paperback in '84, and later picked up the hardbound, which has a solid red color. I got it used and if there was a paper cover, it was long gone.