Wine Newbie questions

The wife gave me the ok to buy some wine making supplies and make some wine. I have been making beer for a while.

I have a bucket that is marked for 5 gallons, it says 6 is the bottom ridge of the top of the bucket. My question is: I see where they say to buy an 8 gallon bucket. But mine would be able to hold a 6 gallon recipe with maybe 2 inches on top of space when the lid is on. Do I need to buy an 8 gallon bucket? or would my bucket work ok?

If I buy a wine kit, can it sit around for a month or two as I collect bottles? Or does it need to made quickly?

Anyone have any ideas on how I can collect 30 bottles quickly?

I have a bucket that is marked for 5 gallons, it says 6 is the bottom ridge of the top of the bucket. My question is: I see where they say to buy an 8 gallon bucket. But mine would be able to hold a 6 gallon recipe with maybe 2 inches on top of space when the lid is on. Do I need to buy an 8 gallon bucket? or would my bucket work ok?

You should be ok with what you have. Just keep it in mind that you will loose a bit of wine every time you rack the wine off of the sediment in the bottom of your bucket. I dont really worry about sediment in my primary (your bucket) and choose to worry about it more after I transfer it to a carboy so I can see whats going on in there. If your making a wine from raw fruit then you might want to consider a bigger bucket. If your just going to be using juice from the grocery store or using wine kits then you dont need to worry about it. Also if you dont already have one get a racking cain. This helps minimize wasted wine.

If I buy a wine kit, can it sit around for a month or two as I collect bottles? Or does it need to made quickly?
I have had a wine kit for over a year....just made it and it turned out great.

Anyone have any ideas on how I can collect 30 bottles quickly?
I am ramping up for christmas myself. (Everyone is getting homemade wine.) I have told just about everyone I know that I am making homemade wine and need bottles. You will be suprised how much wine folks drink. Hell even my boss is hooking me up with bottles. I have found that most people are happy....even excited to help me out. You have time.....you can just rack the finished wine to your bucket......rinse out the carboy and put the wine back in it for bulk ageing if you dont have enough wine bottles by then.

I make those Selection kits; you'll find them very easy. You need room in your bucket for a little more than 6 gallons. Sounds like you have the basic ale pail which is what I use - perfect size. I think the 6 gal mark is the 2nd ridge from the top.

The directions call for two rackings, so you need a couple of carboys. From what I understand, you need to be careful to have no headspace after the first racking. For that reason, I ended upo buying a couple of 6 gal carboys. You could probably use 6.5's, but you'll need to make up for the volume. I think Yooper suggested sanasized glass marbles.

You can let the kits sit. They're dry yeast so there is nothing that's going to go bad quickly.

Unlike beer, it's MUCH cheper to just buy the bottles. Buying full bottles of wine gets costly quick. You'll need about 30 bottles per 6 gal kit. So, either start asking people to save them or buy a few cases.

Hope this helps - I'm no expert. Also - making white or red? I might be able to suggest some good kits for you.

I making Red. Probably a Pinot Noir. That is the wife's favorite. I found two kits on Austins website, one that was 50, one that was around 90. I will probably go for the more expensive one, that is still around $3 per bottle. If you know of another Pinot Noir kit, please let me know.

I have all the racking canes from my beer making. I think I will do the primary in the ale bucket i have, do the secondary in the carboy i am buying, then rack it to the bucket, clean out the carboy and back to the bucket. That will save me buying a second carboy, as I could use my 5 gallon carboy but doubt I will lose a gallon of volume from the sediment that I eliminate. Does anyone see a problem with this? Am I taking a chance incorporating too much oxygen doing it this way?

It's probably fine for the first one. If you like it, buy a 2nd carboy.

I get the Selections kits and have had no problems. They run between 85-150 depending on the type. I know they have a Pinot Noir. Let me know how it turns out, I haven't made that one yet.

Everyone in my family LOVES the Valpolicella. I'm on my 3rd one of that kit alone.