Let's start at the beginning...

[Abigail]

Hi everyone,

I've never made wine before but I'm going to give it a bash next weekend. I have some questions that I'm hoping somebody can answer for me.

1. I've done some googling to see what sort of equipment I need. I've come across various different containers: demi-johns, plastic buckets, barrels, fermenters. Which is best to start with? Does it depends on whether I use fresh grapes or a concentrate kit?

2. Should I start with fresh grapes or one of those kits that have everything included? I'm hoping the wine will be ready to drink in time for Christmas so the most fool-proof method would be best (if you could see my baking attempts you'd understand why I want to do it the easy way to begin with :lol: ). I don't know which that would be!

3. I've read about putting oak in the brew. What's this about?!

Cheers,

Abigail :

 

[Drunken Horse]

Hi everyone,

I've never made wine before but I'm going to give it a bash next weekend. I have some questions that I'm hoping somebody can answer for me.

1. I've done some googling to see what sort of equipment I need. I've come across various different containers: demi-johns, plastic buckets, barrels, fermenters. Which is best to start with? Does it depends on whether I use fresh grapes or a concentrate kit?

2. Should I start with fresh grapes or one of those kits that have everything included? I'm hoping the wine will be ready to drink in time for Christmas so the most fool-proof method would be best (if you could see my baking attempts you'd understand why I want to do it the easy way to begin with :lol: ). I don't know which that would be!

3. I've read about putting oak in the brew. What's this about?!

Cheers,

Abigail :

Supermarket grapes arent suitable. You can make good cheap wine fron fruit juice (look in the how to and recipe sections for ideas). Kits are relatively expensive and vary widely in quality.

As for equipment depends on how much you want to make. Its the same effort to make 30 bottles as 6 (apart from bottling them) you need the same equipment no matter what you brew, it just depends on the 6 bottle or 30 bottle on the size you need.

Oak is to simulate the oak casks wine is aged in which affects the flavour

 

[godfrey]

if you want to make wine from fresh grapes you will need a crusher and press and a supply of wine NOT desert grapes

have you not considered a country wine from fruit and berries

or a wow type wine from supermarket juice

a wow varient would be the cheapest way to start,
unless you have, or know where, a lot of fruit you can gather or forage

apples / pears / plum / elderberry / brambles all in season now

elderberry will take years to be ready due to the tannin (unless you steam extract and leave most of the tannin behind)

 

[PD]

Hi Abigail

if you have never made wine before have a read here....

viewtopic.php?f=41&t=2291&hilit=tea+bag+wines

making wines from fruit tea bags must be the easiest way to make " a decent drink " and its usually ready to drink in a short space of time

buy a few different cartons from the supermarlet a few 1 gallon demi johns bungs and air locks and have a good range of drinks for Christmas....at very little cost.

I recommend Blackberry and Nettle....hmmm.

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

Hi Abigail, welcome to the forum.

A lot of the answers depend on what you want to make. If you want to make grape wine, then by far the best bet is to buy a wine kit. Other people on here can recommend particular brands. I've never made a grape wine before, so I've no idea what the best ones are, but I do know people have been very impressed with them.

However, as I said above, I've never made a grape wine, and I would therefore heartily recommend WOW, or Wurzels Orange Wine. It's as good as a shop bought wine, but made from supermarket fruit juices.

Equipment costs aside, you're looking at 50p per bottle tops.

It is, of course, a white wine. You can mix with the juices used to make a rose, but you won't get a red.

If you want a red wine, you will either need a kit or to go fruit picking (elderberries are your best bet). I'd reccomend either a kit or WOW before you delve into making wine from fruits, though, just so you get familiar with the process.

So:

Red or white/rose?

Red: Go for a kit, and seek advice about which one to buy.

White/Rose: Go for a Wurzels Orange Wine.

As for equipment, that's all covered in the How To, which I will post a link to shortly.

Edit: Here's the How To. I think you should find everything you need about making a WOW on here:

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=10179

 

[peteplus1]

Really depends what you want to make!

From a kit would probably be best for quick results, and somewhere to start.

Or, take a look at the 'how to thread' on this forum for knocking up a gallon via juices, and a run down of everything you need.

I prefer to make wine out of fruit, flowers and berries I've foraged. Made plenty of mistakes along the way but with help on here I'm slowly understanding the knowhow, improving results and really enjoying doing it

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

I prefer to make wine out of fruit, flowers and berries I've foraged. Made plenty of mistakes along the way but with help on here I'm slowly understanding the knowhow, improving results and really enjoying doing it

+1 to this. :thumb:

If you've got the point of asking for advice on here, you've probably been lurking if only for a day or two, so you've probably seen us chatting about various stuff, but it's worth saying it anyway: There's a wealth of knowledge on here, and it is always very friendly and warmly imparted.

I don't profess to be anything close to an expert, but I've learnt a lot over the years from these guys. Hopefully you'll continue to be an active, enquiring and, in time, helpful member of the forum in your own right. :)

And I also agree with what Pete said about making wine out of foraged fruit, but that can be a bit daunting to start off with. I think the best way to start is with a kit or a WOW (my first wine was a Cherry kit, which was lovely. My second was a dreadful attempt at mead from honey, then an awful attempt at cranberry wine, then a failed go at strawberry and a somewhat uninspiring plum wine, all attempted from real fruit. Now, I make almost nothing but real fruit wines, and it's really not all that difficult, but it was a learning curve getting to that point and getting to know the processes with kits or WOWs will set you in good stead.

As a student teacher, I could go into the pedagogical reasons why it is good to blood yourself with a WOW and then move on from that to other things, but I shan't bore you all with that!

 

[Abigail]

Wow, so much advice. Thanks everyone :thumb:

My perference is red wine. I can drink some rose but white tends to get me too drunk, too quickly. Saying that, I'd rather start out with something easy to begin with, and I'm not going to drink it all myself.


Drunken Horse - thanks for the tip about supermarket grapes. I didn't know that :whistle: I thought grapes were grapes. I see the logic in going for 30 bottles compared to 6 bottles. More to drink and share :mrgreen: I'm having a late birthday party in December, so hoping to have something ready for then.


Godfrey / Hypnoticmonkey / peteplus1 - supermarket juice sounds a strange way to make wine. I've read the guide linked to, it sounds pretty simple to make. That would definitely be top of the list.

If I'm going for a red, what sort of kit am I looking at? I'd rather stay away from fresh fruit to begin with. I don't know where I'd source wine grapes from, and the pressing thing sounds a bit advanced right now.

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

Godfrey / Hypnoticmonkey / peteplus1 - supermarket juice sounds a strange way to make wine. I've read the guide linked to, it sounds pretty simple to make. That would definitely be top of the list.

It does take a while to get your head around! Particularly Orange juice! If you're looking to make more than 6 bottles at a time, and you're looking into WOW, then maybe a trip to ASDA to buy a 15L water cooler bottle, might be worthwhile? You can follow the WOW How To, just multiply everything by three.

Once it's done, you could then bottle 6 bottles and transfer the remainder to 2 x 5 litre water bottles for longer term storage. (With any luck you'll have a bit left over that won't fit into either, and you can try that straight away!)

If I'm going for a red, what sort of kit am I looking at? I'd rather stay away from fresh fruit to begin with. I don't know where I'd source wine grapes from, and the pressing thing sounds a bit advanced right now.

I *suspect* that you'll soon find that grapes aren't the 'be all and end all', but you may nonetheless wish to stay purist.

I'll let others advise on kit types. All I could do myself is recite the names of brands I've heard of.

 

[godfrey]

I believe wilco have a sale on now

might be worth a trip down to see what they have got

if you going for 30 bottles, I would get the 5 gallon narrow neck fermenter
http://www.wilko.com/homebrew-accessori ... vt/0075885

I would also get a chaplewood storage container and fit an airlock ( could just get 2x this and not the narrow neck above)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chapelwood-CPW0 ... B004478Q0G

you will also need a hydrometer, trial jar, syphon, bungs and airlocks

but if you have no kit at all then perhaps a starter kit from one of the forum sponsors
take a look here http://www.balliihoo.co.uk/30-bottle-wi ... -2_28.html

 

[Abigail]

Godfrey / Hypnoticmonkey / peteplus1 - supermarket juice sounds a strange way to make wine. I've read the guide linked to, it sounds pretty simple to make. That would definitely be top of the list.

It does take a while to get your head around! Particularly Orange juice! If you're looking to make more than 6 bottles at a time, and you're looking into WOW, then maybe a trip to ASDA to buy a 15L water cooler bottle, might be worthwhile? You can follow the WOW How To, just multiply everything by three.

Once it's done, you could then bottle 6 bottles and transfer the remainder to 2 x 5 litre water bottles for longer term storage. (With any luck you'll have a bit left over that won't fit into either, and you can try that straight away!)

If I'm going for a red, what sort of kit am I looking at? I'd rather stay away from fresh fruit to begin with. I don't know where I'd source wine grapes from, and the pressing thing sounds a bit advanced right now.

I *suspect* that you'll soon find that grapes aren't the 'be all and end all', but you may nonetheless wish to stay purist.

I'll let others advise on kit types. All I could do myself is recite the names of brands I've heard of.

Thanks, Hypnotic, you've been a great help.

I'm going to go with the fruit juice method. I'll see how that goes. If it's successful, I'll try one of the kits.

I really can't imagine making wine from orange juice but having read the WOW thread for a few pages and looking at pictures and videos of what people have made, I'm really excited :party: To begin with, I'll just go with the six bottles. Stick to the recipe, keep everything simple and it should work out fine.

Is there a difference in the final product when using plastic bottles compared to glass?

 

[hypnoticmonkey]

Is there a difference in the final product when using plastic bottles compared to glass?

Nope. In fact, I'm starting to consider shifting to wholly plastic use for fermentation and glass for storage, because the glass ones are 4.5 litres, so the wine you lose in racking doesn't leave a gap at the top when storing.

 

[Abigail]

I believe wilco have a sale on now

might be worth a trip down to see what they have got

if you going for 30 bottles, I would get the 5 gallon narrow neck fermenter


I would also get a chaplewood storage container and fit an airlock ( could just get 2x this and not the narrow neck above)

you will also need a hydrometer, trial jar, syphon, bungs and airlocks

but if you have no kit at all then perhaps a starter kit from one of the forum sponsors
take a look here

Hi Godfrey,

Now you've really thrown a spanner in the works!! I was looking at one of the starter kits on a different website this morning but they didn't include the ingredient kit. I wasn't sure whether they were worth the money but... ready to drink in 7 days?! Now that's tempting. With a bit of 'resting' (or whatever the correct term is), it should taste pretty good by December.

Would it be too ambitious to have a red and a WOW on the go at the same time? The only thing that would stop me would be the space. Guess I'll be clearing out my under stairs cupboard to make room.

Another question: I was given some homemade wine about a month ago in a plastic bottle, very much like a small keg. Is plastic or glass better to store wine in? I prefer glass but there's the issue of corking and storing all those bottles, plus I'm pretty clumsy.

 

[godfrey]

ready in 7 days is ambitious

maybe a month would be more realistic, bet certainly by December if you start now

which kit were you looking at ?

I love the chapplewood style for fermenting fruit on the pulp and mixing ingredients

but the narrow neck I use as my stage 2 FV and I love it !

 

[Abigail]

I was thinking the 30 bottle french red wine kit from the website you suggested. Can't post a link as I'm a new member.

 

[Abigail]

Would I need any other equipment with that kit? Apart from the sugar and bottles. I'm assuming all of the bits I'll need will be included, but I don't want to start and realise I'm missing something vital.

 

[godfrey]

the only thing the 2nd bucket in the kit has is a tap for bottling

but you can use the syphon for bottling :thumb:

you can use only one chapplewood style bucket fitted with an airlock but a second is good for racking

the plastic spoon is also needed for mixing the kit

other kit as i listed above.

you can get reusable corks here http://www.balliihoo.co.uk/plastic-wine ... p-483.html
and recycle glass bottles

 

[GAZ9053]

My first ever wine was a beaverdale kit, bought set up kit and wine kit at morley home brew, well worth the £45 for the wine kit.

 

[Drunken Horse]

Wilkinsons do a 6 bottle cabernet sauvignon starter kit for around £20. Includes everything you need to make wine including a tin of the grape juice and brewing sugar.

The wine it makes wont won any awards but you wont get any complaintd either. I bought 2 and have used the kit a number of times since. Once you are up and running you can add more or better equipment.

 

[KevinH]

elderberry will take years to be ready due to the tannin (unless you steam extract and leave most of the tannin behind)

Sorry to hijack this thread: what's that about, then? All the reading I've done and pressing of elderberries and now I find 'steam extract"! How do I do that, please?