I've been homebrewing beer now for about a year and a half. I would like to now start making some wine. My LHBS carries the Grand Cru series and the owner gave me a bottle of one he made a year ago to sample. I was impressed enough that I want to give it a try.
I have some very basic beginner questions though:
1) How long does the process take? I don't care about speed, but I would like to know simply for planning purposes.
2) I have no temperature control, so, at least for my beers, I am limited in what I can brew in the summer (generally, I won't brew in July or August). Is wine similarly temp-dependent? (i.e. can I ferment wine in my 75-80 (or more) degree F house this summer?)
3) Is there a good online step-by-step tutorial? My impression is that wine making from kits involves fewer steps than brewing from kits since I imagine there is no actual boiling involved. Is it as simple as combine juice concentrate, water, nutrients (?), and yeast and let ferment? Then what? Rack to secondary for long-term, bulk aging? Straight to bottles? Are oak cubes of some sort involved along the way somewhere?
Thanks for any and all help!
I have some very basic beginner questions though:
1) How long does the process take? I don't care about speed, but I would like to know simply for planning purposes.
2) I have no temperature control, so, at least for my beers, I am limited in what I can brew in the summer (generally, I won't brew in July or August). Is wine similarly temp-dependent? (i.e. can I ferment wine in my 75-80 (or more) degree F house this summer?)
3) Is there a good online step-by-step tutorial? My impression is that wine making from kits involves fewer steps than brewing from kits since I imagine there is no actual boiling involved. Is it as simple as combine juice concentrate, water, nutrients (?), and yeast and let ferment? Then what? Rack to secondary for long-term, bulk aging? Straight to bottles? Are oak cubes of some sort involved along the way somewhere?
Thanks for any and all help!