Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑24 Nov 2021, 7:02pm
Kimmelweck wrote: ↑24 Nov 2021, 6:42pm
Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑16 Nov 2021, 8:26pm
I was at school when I got an email saying my wine kit had been delivered. Immediately in my mind, I heard the Chambers Brothers say, "Wine has come today!"
Hey Doc. Didn't notice your post earlier. What kind of wine kit did you get? I'm about to take the plunge and start making my own in a month or so. My parents are apparently getting me the All-In-One Wine Pump for Christmas, so I'll start my first batch at the end of the year. A friend just gave me his Italian floor corker, and I just need to pick up a wine thief and hydrometer and I'm pretty much set for equipment. I've also somehow managed to accumulate 8 carboys (4x 6-gallon and 4x 5-gallon) and about 150 empty bottles.
Holy fudge, 8 carboys?!? I have two, plus the plastic pail. You'll be soused full time before you know it! I wouldn't worry about a wine thief. They aren't expensive but I just use a small measuring cup to scoop out some wine to measure specific gravity (you do need the hydrometer for that). You should also get a heating belt, especially if you're working in a basement in the winter. As for kits, I buy from Costco. I get a box with two kits (± 27 bottles each) in it for about CAD100. I only do red (pinot noir, cab sauv, or shiraz are my rotation*) and I don't filter when bottling. The last part is a bit unusual, but I find the flavour is more impactful that way. (Plus filtering is a pain the butt.) The main thing to be diligent about is cleaning your equipment at every stage. Don't skimp on whatever sterilizing agent you use. Do that and follow the directions on your kit and it's super easy.
If you've got any nuts-and-bolts questions as you get going, don't hesitate to ask me. Seriously, I'm a chimp and I can produce decent wine, so it's not hard.
* I've kept my eye out for a baco noir kit but haven't found one yet. We've bought a few bottles over the years and it is amazingly tasty.
Yeah, 8 of ‘em.
I had picked up two 6 gallons (one glass, one plastic, in the boxes in my pic), and then inherited 2 more when my father gave up on his beer making kit. A week ago a friend gave me his corker and 4 more carboys. I have a couple fermenting buckets too (5 and 6 gallon), and various airlocks, etc. I need to pick up some potassium metabisulfite for sanitizing (I have some Star-San, but I’ve heard it might leave a funny taste and is better for beer making). Also need corks, but I have a beer/wine homebrew store about 2 minutes away from me, run by a very nice family who are super helpful. I’ll dash out for that stuff at the last minute. I prefer reds too, but I plan to experiment with a few different wines. Costco sounds like a great deal.
Good to know about the filtering. Sounds like a pain. The pump I’m getting can supposedly do it with a few attachments, but I’ll see how it goes and maybe skip that step. Hoping I can do it upstairs if I can find a room with the right temp. I’ll let you know when I get started and will undoubtedly have some questions. Thanks.
And to stay on topic for the thread, here’s an observation: wine pairs well with music.
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