Question:
Spot on! But that’s a big list. I’ve been making wines since 90 and have accumulated a ton of stuff at garage sales etc. I was especially aghast at prices when it came time to purchase carboys the first time, 23.00 each seemed like an awful big initial investment. So I put a 3.00 ad in the local shopper looking for glass carboys. I found 4 x wine makers, with a total of 16-5 gal carboys for 5.00 each! What a deal! And each of these guys had all kinds of accessories they just threw in for good measure. Hydrometers, air locks, old recipe books, primaries, thermometers, corkers, you name it. I never plan anything small that I can’t screw up by just throwing more money and time at! But what an adventure it’s been! Happy hunting, and home wine making! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – We moved to the Eastern Shore of Md. two years ago and I planted three grape vines on the property and this year it looks like a pretty nice harvest may occur..I really want to make some grape wine but do not know the first thing about it..I do not want to go the" kit "route, I just want something simple ..I cannot find a basic step by step procedure of getting it started..Specific gravity and such will be checked into later on.. Bill: I will try and give you a "shopping list" that you could use to assemble the "hardware". I will leave the recipes to Jack Keller and others, you can find "all kinds of information on the web or at the library. I have been making wine for many years, but only the last few years got into the "scientific stuff". I had been using "folklore" recipies, and trust me those hillbillies can make some mighty fine wine. They can also make some proven recipies and using the correct sugar content. (Specific Gravity will rear it’s ugly head quicker than you think) Find a home brewing store, or locate an internet outlet. Don’t get a "kit" from a department store. Find an specialty shop. There are some basic things that you do need. I make an assumption that you don’t want to spend big bucks now. I think you can probably get the absolute basics for about 25 dollars or so, 25-75 bucks for some of the "nice" stuff, depending on what you already have in your kitchen. You can also spend MUCH more. (You can always go to the home brew store salesman and say "Set me GOTTA HAVE Hydrometer. Buy one. it’s about 5-10 dollars, and takes most of the guesswork out. The scale is easy to read, and it allows you to add the CORRECT amount of sugar. It’s glass, so take care of it. Air locks. These things go on top of the secondary ferment vessel and keeps the fruit flies out. They are about 1-2 dollars. Buy one for each "jug". (Secondary fermenter) Rubber stoppers (for the air locks). They have a hole sized for the airlock. Buy the secondary fermenters (below) before you purchase these so you will get the correct size. Purchase an extra one the size of your hydrometer tube to keep it from falling out. Wine yeast. Buy some, and put it in your freezer. don’t use bread yeast. I suggest Champagne yeast if you only want to purchase one kind, but the home brew guy can point you in the right direction here. It comes in 5 gram foil packs, good for five gallons each. (I use 1/5 th of a pack per gallon, and it has worked for me every time, some will howl at me for saying that). I have in my freezer, Cuvee, Montrachet, Blancs, and Champagne. Primary fermenter. This is an open topped vessel that you use to do the first ferment. I use stainless steel stock pots, but then they were available to me, so I didn’t have to purchase an 80 dollar pot. You can use food grade plastic buckets, the only requirement is that the fermenter has to have a lid that will keep the bugs out. The primary fermenter needs to be about 20% or so larger than the amount of wine you want to make per batch. If you make gallon batches, you only need a 8 quart stockpot, most people have these. You can purchase five gallon food grade buckets from bakeries or even some department stores. Secondary fermenter. These are glass "jugs". You need to decide how much wine per batch you want to make. I like gallon batches, sometimes three gallon batches. I don’t make larger batches than that. Personal preference. You can get or find one gallon jugs if you look around. Three gallon or five gallon jugs can be purchased from the home brew store. (remember the stoppers here) Wine Corks. Use cork, not plastic. Cork inserter. I have the simplest device, a plastic cylinder that has a plunger. The cork fits inside. It cost about 10 dollars. It would suck to cork more than about 12 bottles at a time though. (which works for me, because I don’t make more than three gallon batches) Siphon hose. (You CAN get this at the hardware store instead of the brew shop). clear plastic hose, 1/4 – 3/8 inch. wine bottles. You can purchase them, or you can save them from your own use….. Acid blend. I suggest tartaric and citric acid blend. (I know some might howl at me)……If the home brew guy knows what he is talking about, he might steer you to tartaric acid. Most recipies ask for 1-2 tsp per gallon. Yeast nutrient. Most recipies ask for 1/2 -1 tsp per gallon. Campden. Gotta have it. Kills the bad (wild) yeasties on the fruit. Buy the tablets, use 1 tablet per gallon. Tannin. depends upon the type of grape you have. Pectic enzyme. I use the liquid and keep it in the refrigerator. OPTIONAL STUFF (But recommended). I have a box in the garage with all this Bottle brushes to clean the jugs and wine bottles. Racking tube. It’s a plastic tube with a "J" on the end. makes siphoning out the wine easier. Filling Tube. It’s a plastic tube with a little valve on the bottom. Makes filling the wine bottles easier. Big serving spoon (preferably stainless) I’m talking about the big ones, 16 inch long suckers. Big wooden spoon. Used to stir, and used to finish the cork installation. Big sieve paddle, basically a big spoon with little 1/8 inch holes. Used to scoop the junk out of the must. coffee filters. I bought a "Mr. Coffee" filter made of brass wire, works great. used to filter musts. colander and mashing stick. Used to mash the grapes or fruit to juice. (If you happen to have a "kitchen aid" K5SS or K4SS counter top mixer, go ahead and spring for the fruit/vegetable strainer. works slick for juicing the fruit.) dewey PS.. Hey experts, any comments?
Response:
We moved to the Eastern Shore of Md. two years ago and I planted three grape vines on the property and this year it looks like a pretty nice harvest may occur..I really want to make some grape wine but do not know the first thing about it..I do not want to go the" kit "route, I just want something simple ..I cannot find a basic step by step procedure of getting it started..Specific gravity and such will be checked into later on..
Bill: I will try and give you a "shopping list" that you could use to assemble the "hardware". I will leave the recipes to Jack Keller and others, you can find "all kinds of information on the web or at the library. I have been making wine for many years, but only the last few years got into the "scientific stuff". I had been using "folklore" recipies, and trust me those hillbillies can make some mighty fine wine. They can also make some proven recipies and using the correct sugar content. (Specific Gravity will rear it’s ugly head quicker than you think) Find a home brewing store, or locate an internet outlet. Don’t get a "kit" from a department store. Find an specialty shop. There are some basic things that you do need. I make an assumption that you don’t want to spend big bucks now. I think you can probably get the absolute basics for about 25 dollars or so, 25-75 bucks for some of the "nice" stuff, depending on what you already have in your kitchen. You can also spend MUCH more. (You can always go to the home brew store salesman and say "Set me GOTTA HAVE Hydrometer. Buy one. it’s about 5-10 dollars, and takes most of the guesswork out. The scale is easy to read, and it allows you to add the CORRECT amount of sugar. It’s glass, so take care of it. Air locks. These things go on top of the secondary ferment vessel and keeps the fruit flies out. They are about 1-2 dollars. Buy one for each "jug". (Secondary fermenter) Rubber stoppers (for the air locks). They have a hole sized for the airlock. Buy the secondary fermenters (below) before you purchase these so you will get the correct size. Purchase an extra one the size of your hydrometer tube to keep it from falling out. Wine yeast. Buy some, and put it in your freezer. don’t use bread yeast. I suggest Champagne yeast if you only want to purchase one kind, but the home brew guy can point you in the right direction here. It comes in 5 gram foil packs, good for five gallons each. (I use 1/5 th of a pack per gallon, and it has worked for me every time, some will howl at me for saying that). I have in my freezer, Cuvee, Montrachet, Blancs, and Champagne. Primary fermenter. This is an open topped vessel that you use to do the first ferment. I use stainless steel stock pots, but then they were available to me, so I didn’t have to purchase an 80 dollar pot. You can use food grade plastic buckets, the only requirement is that the fermenter has to have a lid that will keep the bugs out. The primary fermenter needs to be about 20% or so larger than the amount of wine you want to make per batch. If you make gallon batches, you only need a 8 quart stockpot, most people have these. You can purchase five gallon food grade buckets from bakeries or even some department stores. Secondary fermenter. These are glass "jugs". You need to decide how much wine per batch you want to make. I like gallon batches, sometimes three gallon batches. I don’t make larger batches than that. Personal preference. You can get or find one gallon jugs if you look around. Three gallon or five gallon jugs can be purchased from the home brew store. (remember the stoppers here) Wine Corks. Use cork, not plastic. Cork inserter. I have the simplest device, a plastic cylinder that has a plunger. The cork fits inside. It cost about 10 dollars. It would suck to cork more than about 12 bottles at a time though. (which works for me, because I don’t make more than three gallon batches) Siphon hose. (You CAN get this at the hardware store instead of the brew shop). clear plastic hose, 1/4 – 3/8 inch. wine bottles. You can purchase them, or you can save them from your own use….. Acid blend. I suggest tartaric and citric acid blend. (I know some might howl at me)……If the home brew guy knows what he is talking about, he might steer you to tartaric acid. Most recipies ask for 1-2 tsp per gallon. Yeast nutrient. Most recipies ask for 1/2 -1 tsp per gallon. Campden. Gotta have it. Kills the bad (wild) yeasties on the fruit. Buy the tablets, use 1 tablet per gallon. Tannin. depends upon the type of grape you have. Pectic enzyme. I use the liquid and keep it in the refrigerator. OPTIONAL STUFF (But recommended). I have a box in the garage with all this Bottle brushes to clean the jugs and wine bottles. Racking tube. It’s a plastic tube with a "J" on the end. makes siphoning out the wine easier. Filling Tube. It’s a plastic tube with a little valve on the bottom. Makes filling the wine bottles easier. Big serving spoon (preferably stainless) I’m talking about the big ones, 16 inch long suckers. Big wooden spoon. Used to stir, and used to finish the cork installation. Big sieve paddle, basically a big spoon with little 1/8 inch holes. Used to scoop the junk out of the must. coffee filters. I bought a "Mr. Coffee" filter made of brass wire, works great. used to filter musts. colander and mashing stick. Used to mash the grapes or fruit to juice. (If you happen to have a "kitchen aid" K5SS or K4SS counter top mixer, go ahead and spring for the fruit/vegetable strainer. works slick for juicing the fruit.) dewey PS.. Hey experts, any comments?
Response:
Welcome, Bill. I’ve been making wine from various means for around 4 years now, and if you had to put a technical term to my skills (compared to most of the others on this ng) it would be "Precocious Neophyte"(sp?). Start small and simple, and remember _grapes can be frozen until you’re ready to use them_. Good luck and keep us informed. Jim L.
Response:
I’am a beginner also, check this out http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/8280/book.html It is a downloadable book on home wine making http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/8280/index.html this is the homepage Hope this helps, Jarrod – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I checked into a winemaking group and was pleased to see the word beginner used, thinking I will find something here–wrong, those beginners were discussing things well over my head..I need advice below the beginner stage I assume.. We moved to the Eastern Shore of Md. two years ago and I planted three grape vines on the property and this year it looks like a pretty nice harvest may occur..I really want to make some grape wine but do not know the first thing about it..I do not want to go the" kit "route, I just want something simple ..I cannot find a basic step by step procedure of getting it started..Specific gravity and such will be checked into later on.. Maybe there is an ole timer out there who can relate how it was done in the old days?? I will certainly be appreciative of any advice..Thanks Bill Brandick
Response:
I checked into a winemaking group and was pleased to see the word beginner used, thinking I will find something here–wrong, those beginners were discussing things well over my head..I need advice below the beginner stage I assume.. We moved to the Eastern Shore of Md. two years ago and I planted three grape vines on the property and this year it looks like a pretty nice harvest may occur..I really want to make some grape wine but do not know the first thing about it..I do not want to go the" kit "route, I just want something simple ..I cannot find a basic step by step procedure of getting it started..Specific gravity and such will be checked into later on.. Maybe there is an ole timer out there who can relate how it was done in the old days?? I will certainly be appreciative of any advice..Thanks Bill Brandick
If you like this post and would like to receive updates from this blog, please subscribe our feed.