Potential Newbie questions

Youre starting in the right place

THere are many aspects to tailoring the "flavor" of a wine...start by looking at the recipes at this site

Temperature is important although I will let the others answer how much...I dont have any problems with keeping temperatures around 68

I would love someday to use barrels but as space is a consideration, I started with plastic "bucket" fermenters and now use glass carboys with great results

You can always add but most starter eqipment kits provide a great basis....its important in the beggining to not get bogged down in too many details...if you like it there will be plenty of time for that...most moderately priced kits provide great wine when aged and you only go up from there

why not do both...much of my equipment i use for both....the only thing you might have to be careful with is the plastic bucket fermenter but I use glass now so I havent had any issues.

Biggest advice....ENJOY

The temperature thing has me the most worried. I don't know how I would keep 5 gallons @ 68 deg F.

I'm interested in the small wood barrels. These would be easier to move around than a large barrel, plus you would still have the added benefit of the flavor advantages that comes from using wood barrels. I've seen some on the internet. They're not cheap, but the price is not that bad.

I figured you could use the same equipment for both, with some small additions for beer brewing (like a boiling pot). If I start with wine, I'll probably try beer some time and vice versa if I start with beer. However, I would want to gain some experience and expertise in one, before going to the other.

Thanks.

I agree with the other poster - why not do both - some wine and some beer. Pick wine kits to start as they're fairly easy and do beer later. As far as the fermentation temperature goes, do the wine as I do in the fall. The temp in my basement hovers around 68F.

Don

I cannot imagine a kit wine making a wine as bad as MadDog. You may not make a wine equivalent to a $120/bottle wine but you can certainly make wine as good as any $10-15/bottle wine and you can do even better with experience as you can tailor it to your own taste.

Don't worry about temperature. I have made wine when the temperature of my house regularly went above 90 deg. There is no dought that wine makes better at the proper temperature but wine is VERY forgiving.

Which to make? I have had some REALLY good home made beer but I fined wine is a bit less trouble. Also, when I made beer, friends would come over and it was gone in a weekend. Wine tends to stay around longer.

Most kits have everything that is essential to get you going. But you will find new definitions of essential as you get deeper into the hobby.

Don't Worry, just do it. You will surprise yourself with how good the wine is. Start with a good kit wine. (Not to be confused with the hardware. This is all the ingredients you will need. If you really like wine start with a good Gewürztraminer. If you are kind of new to wines, or like pop wines, try and Island Mist kit. Both of these can be ready to drink in 2 months so you can have some quick feed back.

Ray

I'm not new to drinking wine, but I have very little knowledge of wines. I like fairly dry cabs and merlots. I don't like whites as well, though I'll probably make a batch at some point.

You mentioned the Gewürztraminer. Honestly, I'm not familiar with. Is it a fairly dark, dry wine? You also mentioned "pop wines" like the Island Mist. I don't even know what pop wines are. My guess is that they are fairly sweet and fruity. Is that true? Any suggestions/links on particular kits?

Gewürztraminer is a German white wine. Usually slightly sweet. Excellent with spicy food. It is often liked by people who normally do not like wine. They are often drunk young.

Island Mist and what I call pop wines or picnic wines are low alcohol (6%) fruity wines. Very pleasant when you want to quench your thirst or drink more than a couple of glasses. Sort of like a wine cooler without the carbonation but much better than the wine coolers you buy at the store.

I never cared for whites very much but I really enjoy some of the white kits I have made. Much better than what I buy at the store.

Ray

I am like you and the original poster. Wife and I prefer red wines, but I figured I should make a white for "company" and the like, so I ended up with Gewürztraminer on the advice of a German friend and fellow wine maker.

What I have has aged about 6 months and had some while watching the Superbowl with Chinese/Asian finger foods and a Thai hot chili sauce. I have to admit, it was one great wine with that food combination. I am sure it's as good as most purchased product. Who says a red wine drinker can't enjoy the occasional white wine?