Wine Kit Wizard

[WINEBAYOU]

I'm new to the forum and I've been doing a lot of reading in the various threads. I've found some good information and some entertaining conversations going on.

A friend introduced me to the concept kit wine making about 3 years ago. Since then I've done over 600 of them. What started as a hobby hobby at home...
...quickly turned into an idea for a business...

...and has graduated into a full time occupation and making wine from bulk juice.
So maybe I can be of assistance to some other folks trying to do the same thing. I look forward to talking with y'all!

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Wow 600 in three years.

 

[jgmann67]

You are my new hero!

Glad you’re here. Welcome!!

 

[WINEBAYOU]

There might be a little OCD involved. lol

I started out using about 15 buckets. But once I got six 300L tanks and started doing 10-12 kits per tank it added up pretty quick, keeping about 120 carboys in rotation.

And out of all those kits I've only had 4 (6gal) batches not turn out right (turned sour) and they were of the same lot/type so I'm pretty sure they were tainted somehow, maybe out of date already when i started them. I didn't check the date codes before I threw away the boxes. So I've had really good luck with the kits.

 

[robert81650]

Wow............Do you have a license to sell or what?????????????

 

[WINEBAYOU]

Yes. Well, not at first but I applied for one and it took about 6 months to get it done.

 

[robert81650]

Where are you located????????????

 

[WINEBAYOU]

I am in Allen, TX - North of Dallas.

 

[gsf77]

Man, that’s impressive! I didn’t find out about the home making wine limit until I have passed it. I knew better than to sell it so I started sipping and giving it away. I fell in love with the process of wine making and got carried away

 

[WINEBAYOU]

I know, right! Like who's gonna come and raid your house and if you make too much?

It was the process that got me interested too. Homestly, I really didn't get too excited about wine until I started making it myself.

 

[gsf77]

I know, right! Like who's gonna come and raid your house and if you make too much?

It was the process that got me interested too. Homestly, I really didn't get too excited about wine until I started making it myself.

My friend and neighbor in his late 50s, started breathing harder every time he exerted himself. He’s like me, he’s always doing something physical. I told him to go to the dr because it sounded like his heart to me. He did, it was. What was happening was something like on the muscles on the back side of his heart were getting (?)hard. This caused his heart to have to work harder. The doctor told him to start drinking apx 4 oz of wine each night. Once he started that his problem passed. I “SAW” this with my own eyes. There is a history of heart disease in the men of my family so I started the adventure. I was spending too much money to drink stuff that tasted disgusting. He started making wine and shared a bottle with me. That was a little over 2 years ago. Even as a newcomer into wine making - the store bought wine can’t stand against what I make. I just bottled some of Dave’s dragon’s blood. The taste was awesome and the cost came out to about $2.05 a bottle. I told my wife if some of this wine we made didn’t have alcohol in it I would drink it all day for the flavor

 

[cmason1957]

I know, right! Like who's gonna come and raid your house and if you make too much?
.

Just to follow up on this question, there have been cases of the Government showing up at home winemakers houses asking for proof that you didn't exceed the allowed amount per year. The assumption they came in with was everything was made in one year. The fines are incredibly high, something like $10k per infraction.

 

[WINEBAYOU]

I wonder what would cause such a "visit" to occur. I would imagine that it would be due to someone selling the wine they make without a license or something like that. I don't recall there being a legal limit on how much wine you can personally own.

 

[jgmann67]

I wonder what would cause such a "visit" to occur. I would imagine that it would be due to someone selling the wine they make without a license or something like that. I don't recall there being a legal limit on how much wine you can personally own.

Own? No. Just how much you can make in a set period.

Prosecutions in the liquor business tend to be complaint driven. For example: I find that bar owners tend to complain about neighboring bar owners (keeping the competition down). Or people that live nearby will complain because they didn’t want you there in the first place.

 

[cmason1957]

I wonder what would cause such a "visit" to occur. I would imagine that it would be due to someone selling the wine they make without a license or something like that. I don't recall there being a legal limit on how much wine you can personally own.

What causes a home visit. Who knows? someone says something to someone else who says something to someone else that old Bayou guy sure seems to make a lot of alcohol. They show up and say looks like you made more than is legal.

 

[WINEBAYOU]

I'm sure you're right about that. But if you just make the allotted 200 gallons per year and you drink less than 4 gallons per week you'll end up accumulating a pretty good inventory over time.

 

[gsf77]

In Alabama the total limit is 15 gallons per household. Anything with a % alcohol (like your must) is considered wine. I was told that it hasn’t been very long at all that home wine making was made legal here. The main reason it was not legal was because everyone thought it was.

 

[cmason1957]

In Alabama the total limit is 15 gallons per household. Anything with a % alcohol (like your must) is considered wine. I was told that it hasn’t been very long at all that home wine making was made legal here. The main reason it was not legal was because everyone thought it was.

And I vaguely remember reading that there is a possession limit in effect in Alabama as well. That may just be for aging wine and not once bottled, we are dealing with my memory and sometimes I forget I went to college in the 1970-80s.

 

[Johnd]

In Alabama the total limit is 15 gallons per household. Anything with a % alcohol (like your must) is considered wine. I was told that it hasn’t been very long at all that home wine making was made legal here. The main reason it was not legal was because everyone thought it was.

15 gallons per quarter, so you can make 60 gallons per year.

 

[robert81650]

I thought it was 200 gallons per year in Alabama. I thought what President Carter got passed was for all the states.