Just checking - kit wine ready in less than a year?

[Baja_Brewer]

Hey all,

I'm coming over from the beer brewing side, which I've been doing on and off for a while. I've recently been dabbling in tasting wine, as there is a winery near me in CT that has some great wines (because they contract/ferment in different regions of CA and then age locally.) So what I want to know: can a kit wine be ready in a year?

Back story, my girlfriend and I just got engaged and are planning the wedding for next July - so less than 10 months from now. We're going non-traditional for the wedding, but we still want to meet some standards I did a quick (nerdy) breakdown of anticipated guest preferences, and wine drinkers won out 2:1 - so my beer making interests won't get us very far.

I just read a super useful post by our saint Yooper, which basically told me that you get what you pay for.

The wines I'm looking at buying run about $250-$300 a case (a good Merlot, a great Zinfandel, plus some kind of white.) The stellar advice from Yooper's post aside - are there any kits that I can have ready in less than a year that won't break the bank? I can ferment in glass or stainless, and age that whole time. I'll need to try it a month or so out to determine if its good or if I need to buck up for some cases.

Thanks!

:rockin:

 

[bob1852]

- make sure your venue will allow homemade alcohol; some state laws, venues, and catering company policies can be odd

- whites will be faster than reds, and 6+ months should be adequate for those; I'd consider buying your red...

- most of the kits will have the wine ready to be bottled in ~2 months, so you'll have several more months of aging to determine if you like where they're at

- consider some styles which may not be as well known - Mueller Thurgau, for example. It was a hit at my wedding.

- buy some unique bottles and make up some cool labels

- buy the kits at a local homebrew store if you can; they'll appear cheaper on-line but the shipping will kill ya.

- I've been happy with the Eclipse kits, even though they are a bit pricey...but you're basically making great wine for ~$6/bottle

 

[Baja_Brewer]

- make sure your venue will allow homemade alcohol; some state laws, venues, and catering company policies can be odd

- whites will be faster than reds, and 6+ months should be adequate for those; I'd consider buying your red...

- most of the kits will have the wine ready to be bottled in ~2 months, so you'll have several more months of aging to determine if you like where they're at

- consider some styles which may not be as well known - Mueller Thurgau, for example. It was a hit at my wedding.

- buy some unique bottles and make up some cool labels

- buy the kits at a local homebrew store if you can; they'll appear cheaper on-line but the shipping will kill ya.

- I've been happy with the Eclipse kits, even though they are a bit pricey...but you're basically making great wine for ~$6/bottle

-Shouldn't be a problem - we're doing the event on her parents property and hiring a BBQ place to roast a pig - the rest of the food is on us. We're also going to get liability insurance, its mostly family, but you never know.

-Good info - thanks

-Noted - if they're not ready we can just keep them until they are.

-Never heard of it either! Good idea

-Thanks for all of the rest of the advice!

 

[andrewmaixner]

I did the wine expert "eclipse" Lodi Zinfandel, and for various reasons didn't bottles it till 9 months. It is excellent, i am sure it would have been great at 6 months also. It recommends waiting at least 3.
You can watch for good deals online i occasionally see it online for 130 shipped no tax, but even at the LHBS price of about 180, it's a fair deal.

 

[DoctorCAD]

1 year should be plenty for most red kits. Of course, longer would be better, but a year is pretty good. Bottle at 10 months and sit for 2.

 

[Mismost]

I think you can make it worth with kits....START now. I always extend the time line of kits vs what the instructions say...like 4 month instead of "wine in 30 days"! So, if you bottled around New Years, that's a solid 6 months in the bottle and it will help the quality. Just saw Doc's comment...that would give more time to bleed off CO2, a good thing...then 2 months in the bottle to settle back down. START NOW.

My only other comment...are you guys sure you want to take this on? Planning a wedding can get stressful or so I'm told...wanna added more pressure? BUT...you do have a real cool factor going on here with YOUR wine at the wedding. If it's good, it'll be hit. If it's bad, well, you get a story to tell your Grandkids!

 

[DoctorCAD]

I think you can make it worth with kits....START now. I always extend the time line of kits vs what the instructions say...like 4 month instead of "wine in 30 days"! So, if you bottled around New Years, that's a solid 6 months in the bottle and it will help the quality. Just saw Doc's comment...that would give more time to bleed off CO2, a good thing...then 2 months in the bottle to settle back down. START NOW.

My only other comment...are you guys sure you want to take this on? Planning a wedding can get stressful or so I'm told...wanna added more pressure? BUT...you do have a real cool factor going on here with YOUR wine at the wedding. If it's good, it'll be hit. If it's bad, well, you get a story to tell your Grandkids!

Making wine will be the LEAST stressful thing that they do in the next year.

 

[Mismost]

Making wine will be the LEAST stressful thing that they do in the next year.

You're right Doc! I could something along the lines of 32 years with a hard headed red head being stressful....but, I won't!

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I did the wine expert "eclipse" Lodi Zinfandel, and for various reasons didn't bottles it till 9 months. It is excellent, i am sure it would have been great at 6 months also. It recommends waiting at least 3.
You can watch for good deals online i occasionally see it online for 130 shipped no tax, but even at the LHBS price of about 180, it's a fair deal.

So I went ahead and got that kit. Hope it turns out well! Got it for $148 with free shipping from AIH with their 13% off code.

1 year should be plenty for most red kits. Of course, longer would be better, but a year is pretty good. Bottle at 10 months and sit for 2.

I'll be at T-9ish months by the time I kick these off this weekend. Fingers crossed.

I think you can make it worth with kits....START now. I always extend the time line of kits vs what the instructions say...like 4 month instead of "wine in 30 days"! So, if you bottled around New Years, that's a solid 6 months in the bottle and it will help the quality. Just saw Doc's comment...that would give more time to bleed off CO2, a good thing...then 2 months in the bottle to settle back down. START NOW.

Yeah, I've been brewing long enough to understand that part that I bolded would be balderdash.

My only other comment...are you guys sure you want to take this on? Planning a wedding can get stressful or so I'm told...wanna added more pressure? BUT...you do have a real cool factor going on here with YOUR wine at the wedding. If it's good, it'll be hit. If it's bad, well, you get a story to tell your Grandkids!

Meh, like a lot of people said - it doesn't have to be a thing. Bottle it a few months in, determine whether its acceptable before the party and buy other wine if not. This is a me thing, I'll leave the whole getting stressed-out thing to her (I am helping though, we're just playing our strengths/passions)

I also ordered a Gewürztraminer kit - sort of a long the line of @AZ_IPA 's advice of doing something unusual (I know, I know, they're becoming more popular) - but also because it is a white. The wedding is going to be in VT in July - everything I've been reading about planning your bar spread stresses having more White than Red if its a summer wedding. I also ignored AZ's advice about buying local - my LHBS is pretty $hit - I like AIH.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Baja_Brewer]

So I followed the kits instructions and racked the Zin yesterday after primary fermentation at 73-74. The gravity is 0.997ish, so I won't have to check again after this "secondary"

Time for the noob questions since I haven't had much time to research:

1) can/should I drop the temp? As I said, its done fermenting and I'd like to use my chamber for the next batch. My living room is 65-70F, basement is 60-65. Is there a preferred range for aging/clarifying this early on?

2) I currently do not have any 6 gallon carboys like recommended (I'm guessing to allow me to see the clarity and minimize the head space / exposure to oxygen) . Do I need one? I was considering splitting the batch and aging in a keg & 1 gallon glass jug at the next transfer after driving off the CO2 (or even 2 3-gallon kegs since I have a bunch) and then using nitrogen too push between kegs (with shortened dip tubes) for the clarification process. This would be to limit oxygen exposure, since the constant racking process would seem to introduce a significant amount. Should in just get a 6 gallon carboy and forget this idea?