New Guy from Wisconsin
- Thread starter KevinVG
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Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
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Well if you have any questions - you sure hit the right forum to ask any question that you may have.
Welcome !!
Welcome !!
Arne
Senior Member
Hi Kevin,
Welcome to the forum. Let me guess what you got for Christmas, have anything to do with making wine?? Arne.
Welcome to the forum. Let me guess what you got for Christmas, have anything to do with making wine?? Arne.
Hey, fellow cheesehead, welcome to WMT! Enjoy it!
Welcome to the hobby and the forum!! It starts with one or two batches. 
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For Christmas I got a 5 gallon wine making kit, an extra 5 gallon carboy and a 96 oz can of Vinters Harvest Raspberry fruit wine base. I think I am going to exchange my kit for some equipment I can make 1 - 3 gallon batches with. I think I would rather experiment with smaller batches until I figure out what the wife and I like.
sour_grapes, I live in the Milwaukee suburbs, if you have any local advice please share.
sour_grapes, I live in the Milwaukee suburbs, if you have any local advice please share.
I do all of my shopping at Northern Brewer on 108th in West Allis. There are a few other options, but I have not explored them much. (Sorry, I have to cut this message short, as I have to get moving pronto!)
Double Daylo
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Hello fellow wisconsinite!
I can't recommend enough to visit The Purple Foot on 92nd in milwaukee. It is a little mom and pop wine making store. Extremely knowledgeable staff that are home brewers themselves. If you have any questions they always know the answers and you can bring in samples of your wine that you think something is wrong with and they will taste and get you fixed up. Love that place.
Northern Brew is a great store with a ton of stuff in stock. They are more directed towards beer making. The employees there are practically chemists. Great source but I find myself at purple foot far more often.
Great to see another local on the board!
I can't recommend enough to visit The Purple Foot on 92nd in milwaukee. It is a little mom and pop wine making store. Extremely knowledgeable staff that are home brewers themselves. If you have any questions they always know the answers and you can bring in samples of your wine that you think something is wrong with and they will taste and get you fixed up. Love that place.
Northern Brew is a great store with a ton of stuff in stock. They are more directed towards beer making. The employees there are practically chemists. Great source but I find myself at purple foot far more often.
Great to see another local on the board!
Kevin,
Go to Water2Wine on Moreland Rd in Brookfield. They are a DIY wine making shop, and also sell by the bottle and glass. They do WE kits, and it is easy enough to figure out from the description which kit it is. You can sample "young" wines there. "young" because they do not seem to give the wine much time to age. You could buy a bottle and wait a year yourself. Better yet, buy a bunch different bottles.
FYI: By the time you are paying $10/bottle, it almost makes sense to pay $100, and do the entire kit yourself. At least sampling a bunch of glasses gives you an idea of which kit to try first. There is a similar place in Port Washington called Vine to Cellar.
Regarding norther brewer: Wait until the are offering sales of Gift cards. Typically 20% bonus ($120 of gift cards for $100). Then, wait for a 20% off sale. It is like getting the kit for 30% off.
Richard
Go to Water2Wine on Moreland Rd in Brookfield. They are a DIY wine making shop, and also sell by the bottle and glass. They do WE kits, and it is easy enough to figure out from the description which kit it is. You can sample "young" wines there. "young" because they do not seem to give the wine much time to age. You could buy a bottle and wait a year yourself. Better yet, buy a bunch different bottles.
FYI: By the time you are paying $10/bottle, it almost makes sense to pay $100, and do the entire kit yourself. At least sampling a bunch of glasses gives you an idea of which kit to try first. There is a similar place in Port Washington called Vine to Cellar.
Regarding norther brewer: Wait until the are offering sales of Gift cards. Typically 20% bonus ($120 of gift cards for $100). Then, wait for a 20% off sale. It is like getting the kit for 30% off.
Richard
Thanks for the advice. I have checked out Purple Foot and Brew and Grow. I plan to take a free class at Northern Brewer. I will try to get the wife out to Water2Wine for date night. I will be starting my first batch of wine probably on Sunday. Water2Wine is a very interesting business model. Does anyone here have experience with Wisconsin Vinters Association?
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drumlinridgewinery
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The vintners are a good group. I know several members. I am a member of the Sun Prairie club myself. We do a juice bucket buy in the spring and fall and offer to the vintners to join in if wanted. A club is a great way to get local info and try new and interesting things. Also meet people in your area that have some of the same interests.
I also have used Purple Foot several times they are great. Never had much luck with Brew and Grow in Madison not sure of the Milwaukee location. We have a couple great shops over this way also if you get to Madison.
Jeremy
I also have used Purple Foot several times they are great. Never had much luck with Brew and Grow in Madison not sure of the Milwaukee location. We have a couple great shops over this way also if you get to Madison.
Jeremy
