New and about to buy initial equipment and kit.. Please advise!

[ibglowin]

I hear there is a camp as well that thinks aging your wine is a total waste of time!

There is another camp that considers bulk aging a waste of resources. They say to bottle when the wine is clear and bottle age. That frees up your carboys for more wine.

 

[Tom]

I hear there is a camp as well that thinks aging your wine is a total waste of time!

LOL !

Dosen't mean it's right...

Lets see what winery bottles in 6 months vs. those who "age" for 1+ year.. Hmm...

 

[Repsolal]

Two excellent sources of information regarding making kit wine, better...

http://www.winemakermag.com/stories...5-kit-winemaking/459-make-your-kit-wine-shine

http://www.winemakermag.com/blogs/Making-Your-Kit-Wine-Shine-Redeaux.html

You may also want to check graigslist or other buy-sell resources
there are always folks getting out of winemaking and selling all their
equipment for a great price.........

and to quote Tim "The interface seal between the neck of a carboy and the bung is actually really leaky: the oxygen transfer rate is hundreds of times higher than that of a cork. If you want your wine to age gracefully and appropriately, a bottle is the best place for it. "

 

[amytmock]

Great Advice

All of this has been great advice. I guess I'll have to do my own taste testing regarding the bulk aging debate! The suggested articles are great too!

 

[SarahRides]

I have caught the wine making bug, and I am about to buy my first equipment and wine making kit. I am trying to figure out though, is it worth the extra money for me to get the floor corker, or will I be able to manage the standard #9 corks with a double lever?

Hi Amy! As far as cork size goes, my first kit came with size #9 corks and we couldn't get them all the way into the bottles with a double lever corker. There was about 1/2" sticking out of the top of most of the bottles. Soaking the corks beforehand helped a little, but I still couldn't quite get all of them all the way in. The work very fine however with the floor corker (that is what my mother uses). The #8's work much better with the double lever corker.
Good luck!

 

[robie]

Got a watch those #8's in a typical wine bottle. If you bottle when the wine is really cold, like in a cold basement, then let it heat up to room temperature (or higher), it is possible they can blow out on you. I probably won't happen, but just be mindful of the possibility.

Just as a precaution, make sure my wine is room temperature before bottling, if you use the #8's.

 

[amytmock]

Floorcorker

Thanks! I've already decided on upgrading to the floor corker. I'm hoping I'll be fine with the Portuguese one and I don't have to get the super expensive Italian one.. What do you think?

 

[robie]

Thanks! I've already decided on upgrading to the floor corker. I'm hoping I'll be fine with the Portuguese one and I don't have to get the super expensive Italian one.. What do you think?

You won't be disappointed in either. Either will last you many, many years. You will be a happy camper, compared to a hand corker.

I actually got pretty good with my original hand corker. It was all in applying steady pressure and not stopping until the corker stopped me (not trying to hold back toward the end of the stroke). Problem was that it is really easy to have a bottle slip and lay down, making a mess.

Still, I do love my floor corker; very consistent results. You will love yours, too, either one.

 

[Runningwolf]

My guess is 90% of the folks on this forum that have floor corkers have a Portuguese corker. It works great. I have put well over 2000 bottles through mine. Amy you are well on your way to making great wine. Did you call george and order yet? Just wonder which kits you decided on.

 

[Dugger]

Thanks! I've already decided on upgrading to the floor corker. I'm hoping I'll be fine with the Portuguese one and I don't have to get the super expensive Italian one.. What do you think?

There is more than one type of Portuguese floor corker - if you can find it, get the Excelvin one; it's the burgundy colored one and is much better built ( much like the Italian one) than the red Portuguese model. Both models are about the same cost ($50-60). Unfortunately, the Excelvin model seems to be hard to find these days.

 

[amytmock]

Order

My guess is 90% of the folks on this forum that have floor corkers have a Portuguese corker. It works great. I have put well over 2000 bottles through mine. Amy you are well on your way to making great wine. Did you call george and order yet? Just wonder which kits you decided on.

I spoke with him today, and he has suggested two wines for me to start with both Mosti Mondiale --Bourg Royal White and Castel del Papa (with some added Tancor Grand Cru tannin). He also said that anything from the Showcase collection I can't go wrong with.

I'll probably start with the two he suggested, and once I have my feet wet, upgrade to the Showcase collection.

What do you think????? You seem to be the expert and I'd love your opinion if you have made those two before.

 

[ibglowin]

Just me but if you have the $$$ I would go with the Showcase any day of the week. Those two wines will be ready to drink much quicker though. Trade offs even in winemaking!

 

[Runningwolf]

Amy, I have made mostly Wine Expert kits as that is what available in my area. Also most of the kits are semi dry whites. I only made a few red kits and now I'm starting to buy pure juice from the wineries. Mike (ibglowin) and several others including Wade have made the big red's that you like.

 

[amytmock]

Hm... Decisions, Decisions, huh? I guess there are hundreds of choices for me to start with. I have to start somewhere though! I'm thinking that maybe I will start with those two. The money isn't the TOTAL factor, but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I start going in with the $100+ kits.

Also, in terms of timing it works out. I can buy two carboys to start, and have the red and white "starter wines" going, and since the white bottles pretty quickly, I can start on a nice showcase wine right after that. It ends up being a short, medium, and longer term commitment at the same time


I can't wait to try them all!!! (now I just need to figure out where to keep it all!)

 

[Tom]

I spoke with him today, and he has suggested two wines for me to start with both Mosti Mondiale --Bourg Royal White and Castel del Papa (with some added Tancor Grand Cru tannin). He also said that anything from the Showcase collection I can't go wrong with.

I'll probably start with the two he suggested, and once I have my feet wet, upgrade to the Showcase collection.

What do you think????? You seem to be the expert and I'd love your opinion if you have made those two before.

What ever you get please keep us posted.

We are here to make you make great wine.

 

[amytmock]

I absolutely will! You all have been so much help, and I'm sure I'm going to have a million more questions along the way. I'm so glad I found this group!

 

[Runningwolf]

Holy smokes are you organized. I think you're going to be just fine. Do you have an area such as the basement to work in, or will you be doing this in the kitchen? Sam's club has a real nice wine rack available on line only. It holds 168 bottles and costs just a hair over $100.00 delivered. I had to order a few of these to hold the wine that won't fit in my wine cellar. A good number of other folks here have them also. That is unless you have someone that can build some for you or if you want to buy wood racks. These are the best value for the money.

 

[amytmock]

I think the organization bit is in my DNA. I'm an architect by day -- organization nerd and spreadsheet addict by night.....

I don't really have a basement (my townhouse is an older one, with the kitchen IN the basement) but I was actually thinking about the closet in the guestroom for the carboys..

I'll check out the wine rack you mentioned. Unfortunately though, I'm a Costco, not Sams Club member.. I was thinking about building a couple of my own wineracks in the more of the general "X" shapes.

 

[xanxer82]

Get the floor corker. Fine Vine Wines has great service. You can also get stuff from Flying Barrel in Frederick or Maryland Homebrew in Columbia. Also, add yourself onto the Map page. Great to have another 'local' on the forum.
Oh also if you like to drink beer... You can make that and drink it while waiting for the wine to age properly.

 

[Gumjump]

I started out with the hand corker and had nothing but problems. After 30 bottles your arms feel like they will fall off. Towards the end the bottles would slip and fall. Best investment I mad was to get the floor corker. Also if you get more carboys try the Better Bottles. Much lighter. I'm still new at this also. Good luck. You'll be addicted real soon. I think I'm going to order the wine rack from Sam's also.