From Homebrewing to HomeWinemaking - any good how to's?

[Stevorino]

I consider myself an advanced homebrewer - all grain, temperature controlled fridges for fermentation, repitch yeast slurries, etc.

That being said, I've never even looked into wine making and have recently had an increased interest in wine. Anyone have any recommendations for good reads on winemaking in general or the similarities between homebrewing and homewinemaking? Would love to make a batch of wine this holiday season.

 

[Meisterlowin]

I did just the opposite. Went from winemaking to homebrewing. The two practices definitely complement each other.

I used C.J.J. Berry's book "First Steps in Winemaking" when I first started. Some of the info is a little outdated but it is a great and cheap book to have as a reference. It's mostly geared to the fruit "country" wines made in one gallon batches. I've found 5 gallon batches to be easier and more consistent due to easier temp control in the larger batches.

Some tips for winemaking

--become comfortable with racking you will need to do this relatively often with wine
--have tremendous patience--white wines take 6 months minimum and reds 1 year or longer to mature
--sulfur is your friend--in proper dosages of course
--As in beer, sanitation is extremely important
--obtaining clear wine takes a while. Your wine will be cloudy and look like @ss for quite a while. You can use clarifiers or filters, but I've found time is the best clarifier
--There are a few more chemicals and additives involved in winemaking, but it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it
--Like anything, the basics are simple to learn but mastering the craft takes a lifetime

Otherwise, many of the practices are similar and you probably have most if not all of the equipment you need.

Hmmm, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there is plenty I've missed but I hope this helps.

 

[Stevorino]

I did just the opposite. Went from winemaking to homebrewing. The two practices definitely complement each other.

I used C.J.J. Berry's book "First Steps in Winemaking" when I first started. Some of the info is a little outdated but it is a great and cheap book to have as a reference. It's mostly geared to the fruit "country" wines made in one gallon batches. I've found 5 gallon batches to be easier and more consistent due to easier temp control in the larger batches.

Some tips for winemaking

--become comfortable with racking you will need to do this relatively often with wine
--have tremendous patience--white wines take 6 months minimum and reds 1 year or longer to mature
--sulfur is your friend--in proper dosages of course
--As in beer, sanitation is extremely important
--obtaining clear wine takes a while. Your wine will be cloudy and look like @ss for quite a while. You can use clarifiers or filters, but I've found time is the best clarifier
--There are a few more chemicals and additives involved in winemaking, but it's pretty simple once you get the hang of it
--Like anything, the basics are simple to learn but mastering the craft takes a lifetime

Otherwise, many of the practices are similar and you probably have most if not all of the equipment you need.

Hmmm, that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure there is plenty I've missed but I hope this helps.

Awesome - a few questions I have:

1) These kits that I'm seeing on sites like morewine.com - how good are they relative to store bought wine? Is it like a $6 bottle of wine quality, $10, $20?

2) Generally speaking, how cost effective is the hobby compared to just buying wine? One of the characteristics of homebrewing that I value is being able to brew beer and say that it was cheaper overall than buying the same quantity of craft beer (minus the equipment, of course).

 

[3 Dog Brew]

Jack Keller's wine making blog is also a good resource. I'd provide the link for you, but I'm at work and shouldn't even be on this site right now.

 

[SpaceCoastBrew]

I'm contemplating the jump as well and have been spending some time reading the forums at www.winemakingtalk.com - they have a lot of information there along with some tutorials. A book that is suggested there gets into some of the science as well as the process of making wine. You can download a copy of it here: http://www.winebook.webs.com/

Good luck.

 

[maddprofessor]

Here's a link to Jack Keller's page which has already been mentioned: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/starting.asp

I'm a wine making newbie still and I've found his site very informative.

 

[Meisterlowin]

Awesome - a few questions I have:

1) These kits that I'm seeing on sites like morewine.com - how good are they relative to store bought wine? Is it like a $6 bottle of wine quality, $10, $20?

2) Generally speaking, how cost effective is the hobby compared to just buying wine? One of the characteristics of homebrewing that I value is being able to brew beer and say that it was cheaper overall than buying the same quantity of craft beer (minus the equipment, of course).

Some of the recipe kits are very good quality and the cost per bottle can be from $3.00 to $8.00, or so, assuming you get bottles on the cheap or free.

I usually get local grapes/juice so I can't attest to the quality of the kits but I've heard they can be very good and are certainly comprable to good storebought bottles of wine.

I haven't done any business with morewine.com. I generally stick with Midwest Supplies for no particular reason than I've always been happy with their service and products. I've heard their kits are good.

I'd say that home winemaking is a great value particularly considering that a good bottle of wine can cost anywhere from $15 to $45 dollars. Plenty of the kits give these expensive vintages a good run for their money.

 

[vanceromance]

I've made two Merlot Kits from Wine Expert. I've already drank most of the first batch I made after only one month of aging and I find the wine good. The cost (without bottles or equipment) is about $2 a bottle. I would rank it to an $8 to $12 bottle and it might even have been better if I could have let it age longer. (I'm making more now so I have a pipeling) The added bonus is for some reason I get almost no hangover from it.

 

[Stevorino]

The added bonus is for some reason I get almost no hangover from it.

This has been the biggest factor for me not going to winemaking already. I get awful headaches from most bottles of wine I drink (usually spend between $6-$12 a bottle on wine). I'm hoping I get a much less significant hangover from homemade wine than the cheap stuff I'm used to buying.