Wine maker...HELP!?!
now none of the books i got for him have come in yet and im not sure what else to buy for him to make this wine...when i bought the maker itself from Cabelas the wine packets were sold out so im gonna check again but what do i need to make wine just in case they won't be here by xmas?
Answers: i got my bf a wine maker for xmas
now none of the books i got for him have come in yet and im not sure what else to buy for him to make this wine...when i bought the maker itself from Cabelas the wine packets were sold out so im gonna check again but what do i need to make wine just in case they won't be here by xmas?
What you picked up is a standard 'starter kit'. Very good choice, too, it looks like everything he needs is included. If you are looking for the kits check out your local homebrew shop, or http://www.midwestsupplies.com or http://www.midwestbrewer.com the wine kits are all designed for either 5 or 6 gallon batches (it looks like a 5 gallon arboy is in your starter kit, so look for the 5 gallon wine kits).
If you are looking for other, non-grape, recipes for wine, check out http://scorpius.spaceports.com/~goodwine... and http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/ for some great ideas. There are also a few great books I can recommend if you wish, feel free to email me if you (or your bf) have any questions...
Google winekits (about $60) and that will get you started. What exactly is a winemaker? You'll get the juice, and chemicals in a kit. I have listed my local where I get my kits.
To make sure I understand this correctly, you got him the equipment kit, but couldn't get an ingredient kit? Looking at the kit you've listed, I would say you'll definitely need some empty bottles--I personally don't like to spend money on buying new empties, I just go to a restaurant or something and ask if they'll save me some. It would also be nice to have an auto-siphon if it's not included in the kit. The kit comes with siphoning equipment, but an auto-siphon makes it quite a lot easier to get things started.
What do you need to make wine, assuming you can't get the ingredient kit in time? The basics are grape juice (with no preservatives, as some of them will kill any yeast you try to introduce); yeast (you'll want a good wine yeast available from a homebrew supply store); and water (tap will do fine, or you could spring for some nicer stuff, but avoid distilled water, which doesn't have the nutrients that are beneficial).
Most wine kits will also include a variety of chemicals which make things easier and faster, so you would really need access to a homebrew supply store.
You could also do some other sort of wine with a different fruit, or with honey (honey wine is called mead). This would alleviate most of the need for extra equipment from a homebrew place. I personally would recommend "Joe's Ancient Orange Mead," as it doesn't require anything too special, and it's pretty quick to be drinkable. For information on Joe's mead, and if your books don't come in on time, there's a wealth of information online about making beer, wine, and mead; just give it a search and you'll find some good places. (Joe's recipe makes only 1 gallon, so you should multiply the ingredients by 5, except you probably won't need that much yeast; one packet should do fine, you could use 2 if you wanted.)
By the way, I just want to point out that you're awesome for getting this stuff for a bf. I would also suggest to your bf that he try his hand at beer, as most of the equipment needed is the same.
Cheers!
Ben
EDIT: Mitchell makes a good point; if you end up getting a kit, you'll need to make sure it makes the same amount as the size of that glass carboy you're getting. And from the picture it does look like a 5-gallon carboy, although I would have thought that most wine kits would include a 6-gallon carboy...
Just buy him wine to drink while he waits for the books. Problem solved.
Good times!!!