Want to make my own wine, husband skeptical. Help me convince him!

[Jericurl]

That made me laugh. Don't get me wrong, Hubs is a very wonderful guy who gives me anything I ask for and more. If I insisted that winemaking as going to start happening whether he liked it or not, he wouldn't argue, but I would not be a very respectful partner. This is what I love about our relationship, neither ever insists because we make sure the other is 100% on board with all endeavors in life. And since he's a very logical man (one of the many things I love about him!), I figured cost effectiveness might be a logical way to get him on board.

Fantastic, that is good to hear.
It's a bit of a button with me, I'll admit.
I'm quite lucky in that respect as well. Manthing and I both have our hobbies that we love, and as long as the bills are paid, neither comments on what the other is doing.
I have friends that don't have hobbies because their husbands won't "let" them and it drives me up the wall.
Case in point, a work friend has been saving up for some dental work she needs done, which includes getting teeth removed and dentures. Her husband blew all the money getting parts for his race car. Yet he pitched a fit when she bought a $25 skein of yarn.

Anyhoo, I love winemaking.
I get to come up with unique flavors, plus it gives me a sense of accomplishment when one turns out well. Plus it's perfect for the lazy person in me. Mix some stuff, leave it for a few days.
Rack it, leave it for a few months.
rack it again, add some stuff to it, leave it for months.
Bottle, and drink.

 

[Zintrigue]

Ahh, already played that card, I see!

You caught me!

There are lots of usefull benefits of making your own wine.

1). it teaches you patience.

2). if money is tight it teaches you how to be creative with what you have available as well as the other way around.

3). you can share you product with friends, or drink it alone, with the satisfaction you crafted it.

4). you can have a drink mostly whenever you want some, without going to the shops.

5). Its a great way to tweak you wine to suit your own needs.

6). you can make wine from almost all flowers fruits or vegetables amongst other things, depending what mood takes you.

7). you can even create your own flavour which cant be bought in the shops.

8). you can spend as much or as little as you want making wine, but, can still get enjoyment from making it.

On top of that is the hobby aspect and all that entails, such as giving you something to do if you get bored etc plus the increased knowledge and fun, basically if you enjoy wine its almost the perfect hobby.

I also tried to sell him on the idea that I can make a wine that he can't live without, and he pointed out that it's not likely since he's a beer man. I disagree, I think the skeeter pee might be right up his alley.

So many great ideas and opinions (and some bad ones as well), so I thought I'd share my 2 cents.

For the first time I completely recommend getting a kit since they have all the ingredients you need, as well as instructions. You will still have questions as you go along, but having a minimum bit of info to guide you the first time is the best way to go to familiarize yourself with the process.

I wouldn't buy a kit from Amazon the first time... I would buy a medium price to higher price kit from the best known manufacturers like Wine Expert, RJS, or Cellar craft. The idea of trying to convince your husband aside, you'll want your first one to be pretty good so you stay passionate about it as well. There are cheaper kits that can make good wine, but for the first one I would look for something bigger than a 10 liter kit, preferably an 18 liter (less concentrate).

Schedule your consumption so you still have a few bottles in a year. You can certainly drink and enjoy young wine, but they really don't integrate and become a grown up wine till about a year. You will absolutely want to drink them too soon (EVERYONE does), so try to schedule one or two a month, so you can really see the full potential after a year (or 2 if you're incredibly patient).

Have fun!!!!!!

Patience is a virtue I have in abundance. Hence the reason I haven't bought any kits yet. I'm excited, but want to make sure I spend the coin on a kit or items that will serve me well for a long time. Single income with 3 kids, gotta spend wisely.

And I noticed that you're a graphic designer. Cheers, I am, too (by hobby, not trade). My dear mom suggested I combine my passions and make wine labels. Good for you for doing just that.

I agree with Noontime. I would go with a higher end kit to start. Takes a lot of the guess work out the first time around and providing something doesn't go seriously wrong. You should end up with a good wine. If your first wine is terrible, you most likely will be less incline to try again.

Besides, using the kit will teach you a lot for the second go around. Especially when you start to make non-kit wines like the Dragon's Blood. (DB is my 3rd attempt at wine making, the first two are kits)

I was angling for a higher end to start. I'll gladly pay more for quality.

 

[Boatboy24]

Patience is a virtue I have in abundance.

I'll say! You've been a member of this forum since October and actually haven't started any wine.

 

[richmke]

I also tried to sell him on the idea that I can make a wine that he can't live without, and he pointed out that it's not likely since he's a beer man.

Make him some "craft" beer. That will get you most of the equipment you need to make wine.

 

[Noontime]

Make him some "craft" beer. That will get you most of the equipment you need to make wine.

Great point richmke! Once you know the basics, there's really little difference in making all kinds of interesting alcoholic beverages. I've made a mojito wine, ginger beer, skeeter pee, mead, dragons blood, gluten free beer, roasted butternut squash wine, a cinnamon liqueur, sherry (in additon to all the traditional wines we've made); all with the same equipment. My point is you may find a personal favorite or something that your husband likes that becomes your go-to drink. We have mango trees and our mango wines and mango melomel has become a yearly event for us.

 

[Zintrigue]

Fantastic, that is good to hear.
It's a bit of a button with me, I'll admit.
I'm quite lucky in that respect as well. Manthing and I both have our hobbies that we love, and as long as the bills are paid, neither comments on what the other is doing.
I have friends that don't have hobbies because their husbands won't "let" them and it drives me up the wall.
Case in point, a work friend has been saving up for some dental work she needs done, which includes getting teeth removed and dentures. Her husband blew all the money getting parts for his race car. Yet he pitched a fit when she bought a $25 skein of yarn.

Anyhoo, I love winemaking.
I get to come up with unique flavors, plus it gives me a sense of accomplishment when one turns out well. Plus it's perfect for the lazy person in me. Mix some stuff, leave it for a few days.
Rack it, leave it for a few months.
rack it again, add some stuff to it, leave it for months.
Bottle, and drink.

I've got so darned many hobbies (painting, novel writing, gardening, knitting, cooking, reading, gaming, on and on it goes...) that a lazy hobby is all I have time for. Perfect. And a $25 skein of yarn? Holy cow, must have been spun gold.

I'll say! You've been a member of this forum since October and actually haven't started any wine.

Haha! I wondered how long it would take for someone to catch on to that. I don't jump into new hobbies lightly, I take my time and really feel it out. My cheap welch's wine was a fun feel, now I want to move on to serious stuff.

Make him some "craft" beer. That will get you most of the equipment you need to make wine.

Genius. I'll run this by him, maybe it's something we can do together. Thanks for the idea.

 

[coboll2921]

Zintrigue, it's definitely worth it. I'm on my 5th year the wine keeps getting better. It's very cost effective if you drink wine and taste alot better than store bought wine. My husband finds people/friends that don't use their fruit from their trees. We always share back the wine when it's finished. We did pear, peach, grape, apple, cherry and plum wine in the last 5 years. Hook up with an orchard that sells to the public they might sell you fruit or juice at a really low price.
My husband is the picker and I'm the winemaker. You need the babysit the recipe every step of the way but the results are worth. There's alot of good information from Wine Making Talk, Jack Keller and EC Kraus regarding recipes and methods. Good luck!!

 

[Scooter68]

Let your patience work for you. Shop for the various hardware you need between now and the next season for fruit. (Look for any type of wild berry you both like if they are in your area.) Gather bottles for bottling and carboys from your local recycling center. Between now and next May/June you might be able to put together everything you need for next to nothing.

 

[fishboy]

Tell your husband to get a life. Do what you like. I'm working on 1300 lbs of grapes and buying another 1000 lbs in a week. My wife doesn't say a word. Go for it. It's a blast and enjoy your rewards. Oh yea, Barefoot is terrible.