Very new so please help me get started!

[xmascarolmarie]

Hi, I'm still in the research stage of wine making and need your help to get pointed in the right direction. I am intimidated by the kits that make 6 gallons at a time. I would be devistated if I ruined it! I also like very sweet wines. Would you recommend I stick with a kit to start or venture into making a honey wine? I'm going crazy trying to make up my mind where to start this new hobby! Thank you for your help!

 

[Luc]

The easy way would be to make a kit.

The hard way would be to make wine from scratch.

The most expensive way would be to start a kit.

The cheapest way would be to make wine from scratch from
plain juices (like Welches).

So are you looking for results or wanting to start a hobby ???

I never did kits.
The first batches I made from juices from the Supermarkets
were so-so. But I learned a lot along the way to where I am
now.

The investment for wines from scratch is low.
A bit of juice, a bit of sugar, yeast, sulphite, 2 carboys, a rubber bung, a waterlock and a racking cane.
With 3 carboys you can start 2 different wines !!!
You can even start a kit and a wine from scratch at the same time.
You can re-use the equipment a life long.

What is keeping you ????

Luc

 

[xmascarolmarie]

Thank you Luc. I've been at work all day so sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I think I want results more than a hobby but I'm not sure I want to start out doing 6 gallons like you have to do with the kit. Thirty bottles is alot to do until I know I like the results. I like sweet wines and tried a mead this weekend that I loved. I understand that making mead is more complicated and takes a very long time before you can drink it. I would love to be able to make about 3 gallons of sweet wine or mead with fairly guaranteed good results. Thanks again for your thoughts!

 

[oxeye]

Find a simple recipe for something that you think you might like, the mead you tried for example, and post it here.

Check the recipe section of this and other wine making sites...jackkellerdotnet is a good one.

Maybe someone here can advise you on the steps to take, or offer other suggestions.

oxeye

 

[Bob]

Hi, I'm still in the research stage of wine making and need your help to get pointed in the right direction. I am intimidated by the kits that make 6 gallons at a time. I would be devistated if I ruined it! I also like very sweet wines. Would you recommend I stick with a kit to start or venture into making a honey wine? I'm going crazy trying to make up my mind where to start this new hobby! Thank you for your help!

Dont believe you will ever leave the research stage.... I started winemaking as a hobby after becoming disabled june of 2007... Family and friends think I am nuts for doing this... considering I dont drink.... especially wine, got wasted on Thunderbird when I was in the military in 1967.. Havent touched wine since... Rambling here.. Anyway, I am having fun with it. Everything so far has been from scratch and was not that difficult.. Find a recipe that turns your crank and follow it. My first was strawberry from my garden.. followed by Beet, Peach, Grape, Blueberry, and finally Jalapeno/Habanero/Raisin. Good luck Carol and have fun..... Also, take notes on everything you do. Oh yeah... all my wines are still in secondarys.. Plan on bottling the Strawberry next week... researching that part of it.

 

[CedarLakewine&jelly]

Recipes and good reading for wine

Try going into E.C. Kraus wine making and supplies. Ive used their recipes and purchased equipment from them and Im happy with results, eckraus.com. You may want to stay away from honey wine to start with as it is a bit more complicated. If you have available fresh fruits in your area you will find many recipes for 5 gallon batches. Cranberry are now in season and make an easy first time wine project. Always stick to the recipe as it will give good results for you starting out.

 

[BeeKind]

Mead is way easy. I've finished a couple of 1 gallon batches already, and now have 5 batches going currently. Try a traditional style quick mead. Start to finish you can have something drinkable in about 5 weeks (of course, it will taste better aged a bit more).
Both my wife and I have had many meads, and we found that our 2nd batch was better than most commercial meads in the US.
You can find some quick mead recipes at gotmead.com.
Just jump right in.

 

[rms1]

First Batch

If the cost, $70.00 or so doesn't scare you off, do a kit. If you follow their directions you'll have a hard time going wrong. Like someone above mentioned, http://www.eckraus.com/ has all that you need including a monthly newsletter. Kraus isn't the cheapest source but they seem to have everything. I like you, started with no knowledge, just a desire. The first kit worked out and now I'm doing more and more. By the way, as far as sweetness goes, just before bottling you can sweeten to taste with sugar water.

 

[tonyyy_11111]

my 2 cents

do you have any wine / beer hobby shops near you ? i havent found one yet that didnt like to talk about what they make or how to make it .. and that site in a previous post .. i think most recipes are done in 1 gal so you can do a bunch and try different kinds .. and cheep .
i found a small resturant that went through gallo by the gallons .. in their food and they seem to serve it by the mugg ahahahah so i have a free supply of 1 gal juggs .. all ya would need now is some stopper and airlocks , bucket pri. sifon wand . ask a vendor close by .. also you might be able to find a club through the hobby shop .. or on the net and get more info that way .. and get some hands on with someone else ..some shops have supervised kit makings classes and you can use their supplies .. so you would just need the price of the kit. so plenty to think about

 

[Madriver Wines]

You can google wine recipes and supply sites or stores. I would suggest a fruit wine then you can back sweeten to your taste at the end. I am really getting into making fruit wines and there are experts here such as Luc who will steer ya in the right direction and help if needed.

 

[cpfan]

xmascarolmarie:

Do you like Wild Vines or Arbor Mist commercial wines? These are sweet lower alcohol wines. There are various kits available that reproduce these very well. Niagara Mist, Orchard Breezin', Island Mist, and others.

If you want to make 1 gallon just as a trial, you will end up with some equipment that you can't use when you graduate to 6 gallon kits.

Steve