First time winemaking- advice for getting started!

[Boardbutproductive]

Hi all! Excited to join the community.

My husband and I are looking to make our first batch of wine at home this fall, and trying to wrap our heads around the process and what we need. A few questions:

1) Can anyone suggest some good videos to watch that walk through the process and/or a recipe?

2) We are starting from zero, with no supplies or ingredients. Can anyone suggest a good equipment and ingredients starter kit? We are looking to make about 5 gallons of wine.

3) We have some Niagara grapes growing in our yard that we’d like to use. It’s not nearly enough to make the wine with on its own, so we are looking to buy some additional juice to fill out a recipe. Can anyone suggest a recipe that would either use additional Niagara juice, or uses a true wine grape juice that blends well with Niagara?

thanks guys!! can’t wait to get started!

 

[jtratcliff]

I just started making wine, so I'm a noob... So don't believe anything I say...

I'm growing merlot grapes... (only 1 vine is producing, so far)... You need a ****-load of grapes per gallon of wine... like 15+ lbs! I did not expect that... My 1st batches have been 1 gallon... about 5 750ml bottles...

There are 5 gal wine kits available that send you juice or juice + skins... they can be $pendy
You might want to start w/ a 1 gallon batch for your first go 'round... Dumping 1 gallon is way less painful than dumping 5, if things go wrong... Especially if you've invested $100+ and months of time in a 5g batch....

Also try "country wines"... Usually require less time aging and let you practice the process. We have loquat trees and grow rhubarb... So loquat wine and rhubarb wine... Pears on sale at the grocery store? Pear wine! Bananas? Berries?

Recipes here on HBT, or often Jack Keller (jackkeller.net) has a recipe for what you want...

The German-style cider known as apfelwein (apple wine) is also a good first step... Man, I love Apfelwein

But you'll eventually need buckets, carboys, airlocks, mesh bags (for easily containing the fruit), tannin, pectic enzyme, yeast nutrient, yeast, autosiphon, tubing,...

 

[Bocochoco]

This might seem obvious but before starting any project make a list of supplies needed and have them all ready before you begin.
I can't tell you how many times I forgot a tool or ingredient by rushing things

 

[Katrine822]

Hi there! My husband and I made wine years ago and are taking the plunge again next week with a chard and a grenache. Presque Isle has a basic wine kit that has pretty much everything we pieced together when we began. It's not a juice kit - it's the equipment. Warning: once you start researching, don't be surprised if you look up, it's 2 am and you know more than you care to about something called 'skeeter pee'.

 

[Coffee49]

My guess is is the skeeter pee professors can easily produce a kick as$ wine. Do a couple of kits to start, if you are hooked at that point juice, yeast and sanitation techniques are the next step. Juices t ake 12-18 months to start maturing

 

[Bocochoco]

You can make young juices that are meant to be drank young.