questions on making wine

[mburtis]

So ive been brewing beer for a little while and the fiance really likes wine (not a big beer drinker) so i was thinking of giving it a shot. I do have a few questions. What excess equipment do i need? im assuming i probably want to buy a new fermentor for wine and not mixing the wine and beer fermentors or would that matter (thinking the beer might leave a taste in the wine). I will probably need a couple of other little thinks like racking canes and such but don't really know. If anyone can give me pointers on getting started making wine i would really appreciate it.

[gplutt]

You can use your beer-making equipment for wine, too. My racking cane is a bit stained from using it for wine, but there has been no flavor transfer at all.

If you are doing the wine kits then you are pretty much good to go.

[mburtis]

oh ok cool. so basically i order a kit, dump the juice in the fermentor and add the yeast and thats it? then transfer a couple time and add clarifiers and stuff before bottleing.

[Flyin' Lion]

Just remember that wine makes six gallons--not five (if you are using the kits). I have a separate frementor for the wine and a better bottle for secondary. the only piece of equipment that I find essential for wine is the whip that attaches to a drill for degassing (you can spend a lot of time stirring with a spoon).

http://www.weekendbrewer.com/equipmentaccessories.htm#Aerating%20&%20Degassing

[marzen41]

if you are using plastic buckets the wine may stain them, the kits make a really decent wine. i've made many gallons of wine and have never degassed the wine, time and racking are your friend. the 6 to 8 week time lines on some kit wines are bs imo. 6 months is much closer to reality.

[Milf Man]

Yup, thats about it.

I will say that unlike beer, wine takes a long friggen time to reach its peak.

The best batch I ever made was the one I put in a 5 gallon cask and promptly forgot about for 5 years.

I rediscovered it when we moved and it was delicious. By FAR the best one I ever made.

That ruined me for making wine ever again. It just takes too long.

Call me shallow...

MILF Man

[mburtis]

yea i have a couple of 6.5 gallon buckets and im not too worried about them staining as long as no taste transfers. i might just buy a new fermentor and better bottle so i dont tie up my beer stuff with wine.

[Flyin' Lion]

if you are using plastic buckets the wine may stain them, the kits make a really decent wine. i've made many gallons of wine and have never degassed the wine, time and racking are your friend. the 6 to 8 week time lines on some kit wines are bs imo. 6 months is much closer to reality.

I don't know enough about the process to deviate from the directions--so I do degass. Our tastes may not be that refined, but for the "sweetened" wine kits, we find them drinkable in a month--right after bottling. They do get better with age, though.