Introduce Yourselves here

[malcmackenzie]

ewbie

Hi all

I live and work in Northampton (Carbon surveying) and have been making own beer ale from the grain for years.
Recently got into wine via kits and have just started fruit wines and grape wines.
Have 7 gallon sof white grape wine on the go 2 gallons of red and made 3 gallons of Rose from grapes.
The Rose is bottled and excellent
Also have 2 gallons of Chambourcin red grapes on the go.

I am also experimenting with Ribena wine and some grape wine from supermarket juice..... which looks to be coming on well.

Sounds excessive but it is harvets time.

This site has been an amazing help to me....... thanks

[goldseal]

That doesn't sound excessive at all

Welcome aboard Malc.

[Cellar_Rat]

Welcome aboard !!

Like Pete say's not excessive - not at all (not even close). Some of us worry about our bottle count don't we Pete?

[goldseal]

Some of us worry about our bottle count don't we Pete?

[95percentgorilla]

Hi to all,
Firstly I'd like to say thank you for the wonderful tutorials, so easy to follow and the results are amazing!!
I was a little sceptical at first having previously killed house plants at friends houses with their home made wines/vinegars! Well, I've now made 10 x 5L batches of No1 (later ones with various variations) and not had a failure, It's addictive!
I've done blind taste tests with some of my more fussy friends and family, who initially refused to try my wine I might add, and not one has preferred the £5 shop bought bottle they brought to my No1. What a success!
I also wanted to say to any fellow newbies who read this and are in two minds, just do it, I started with a 99p 5L water carrier from Tesco and an air lock and just got the small amount of other kit needed as I went along, spending less than 2 shop bought bottles for all the kit, followed the tutorial and made magic! Seriously up there with anything I've bought.

I properly costed the first 10 (60 bottles) and minus equipment they came in at just over 50p a bottle, £30 as opposed @£5 a bottle £300. As we tend to drink at least a bottle a night this has saved us a fortune.
All thanks to this site, so again a massive thank you to the mods and contributors who make this a great site.

Also, sorry for the long post but I do have a couple of questions.

I know the wine I've been making to be 11.5 to 12% but it seems to be stronger, not to taste but in its effects, it seems to be a very happy drink, I've never known my girlfriend dance so much! and we seem to laugh so much more than with the same amount of shop bought. Has anyone else experienced this or is she slipping some vodka in there when I'm not looking!!

Also the morning after hangovers are minimal, maybe I'm just not drinking enough, but is there a known reason for this?

Thanks again
John

[lockwood1956]

Hi john,

and welcome aboard, the hangovers are minimal because of the lack of additives, and the happy effects are perhaps attributable to the home made factor? just dont have a good explanation for that one....but if it makes her happy...who cares?

regards
bob

[Ted.B]

Maybe it's the 50 pence effect ?

[Ted.B]

Hi to all,
Firstly I'd like to say thank you for the wonderful tutorials, so easy to follow and the results are amazing!!
I was a little sceptical at first having previously killed house plants at friends houses with their home made wines/vinegars! Well, I've now made 10 x 5L batches of No1 (later ones with various variations) and not had a failure, It's addictive!
I've done blind taste tests with some of my more fussy friends and family, who initially refused to try my wine I might add, and not one has preferred the £5 shop bought bottle they brought to my No1. What a success!
I also wanted to say to any fellow newbies who read this and are in two minds, just do it, I started with a 99p 5L water carrier from Tesco and an air lock and just got the small amount of other kit needed as I went along, spending less than 2 shop bought bottles for all the kit, followed the tutorial and made magic! Seriously up there with anything I've bought.

I properly costed the first 10 (60 bottles) and minus equipment they came in at just over 50p a bottle, £30 as opposed @£5 a bottle £300. As we tend to drink at least a bottle a night this has saved us a fortune.
All thanks to this site, so again a massive thank you to the mods and contributors who make this a great site.

Also, sorry for the long post but I do have a couple of questions.

I know the wine I've been making to be 11.5 to 12% but it seems to be stronger, not to taste but in its effects, it seems to be a very happy drink, I've never known my girlfriend dance so much! and we seem to laugh so much more than with the same amount of shop bought. Has anyone else experienced this or is she slipping some vodka in there when I'm not looking!!

Also the morning after hangovers are minimal, maybe I'm just not drinking enough, but is there a known reason for this?

Thanks again
John

This is just a brilliant first post. Wine #1 is a consistent favourite with all who have it made it from what I can tell.

Welcome.

[lockwood1956]

Maybe it's the 50 pence effect ?

lol good point Ted

[N.K.]

Hey ,

Well Ive been doing alot of reading over the site for the last few days now .....
Its great ....
I,m learnt so much already , but everydays a school day .

My names Nikki I,m form Carrickfergus N.Ireland
Yesterday I put down a No1 and No2 followed to the letter ,
except for I used a Gervin no2 in Wine No1 .
Can,t wait wait to try these , Ive read so many good things .

I thinking of starting a Wine No3 in a day or so , any feed back on this one ?

Nikki

[blocky129]

Hi All,
I have been tempted to return to home winemaking by the number of plums going begging on my trees (couldn't bear the thought of wasting them!)
I used to try to make wine several years ago - but gave up due to the dissapointing results - far too sweet and often shockingly bad tastes (slavishly following old country recipes)
I have to say that this forum has been a revelation, I have learnt an awful lot (never heard of degassing before) - and have an awful lot more to learn.
I now have 4 gallons of plum "ageing" in the shed, 2 gallons of No2 on the go, and plans for some Blackberry and Blackberry and Apple at the next opportunity.
I am really enjoying myself (and I suspect have turned into a bit of a HB bore).
Many Thanks for all the help and advice posted on here - I hope that my efforts will do it all justice
Cheers,
Kev

[misterrossi]

hi, i am mike,i make lots of wine number 1 very drinkable thank you.
i also like to make country wines ,elderberry,sloe,ginger
have made a couple of kit wines such as beaverdale pinot noir,i like this alot.
i have also made some chocolate red wine which might be good in about 12 months
i have storage for about 150 bottles so am trying fill them up with maturing wine
have just started some of your wines like a gurty and a gooseberry
i live near to winchester and am a chef

[Brewbin]

Hello, new here. Used to brew from scratch many years ago but now coming back to it I am just using kits. Thanks to Karl at hobby home brew in Featherstone for the products, equipment & encouragement + advice when my memory goes all senior on me
I may go back to mash brewing eventually as I enjoyed it so much last time....We'll see.

Cheers All,
Norm.

[goldseal]

Hi Misterrossi and Norm, welcome aboard

[wayne]

Hello all, I have been a member a few days and i have not stopped reading the posts, It's only now I thought I'd put a post and say hello (this is also the first forum i've ever joined!!!!). I love wine and this year i thought i'll have a go at making my own. I started with a Youngs cabernet sauvignon and rioja kit, which weren't bad just not good, I have to say I love big bold full bodied reds however my budget doesn't alow me to buy them that often. In august i started to make my own from scratch using fruit, I started just using fruit then the more i researched the more I wanted to try different variations i.e making wine just with fruit then with raisins or sultanas and then trying grape juice/concentrate, the idea is, once they are ready sit down and taste the difference. The wines I have maturing at the moment are

Kiwi
Plumb
Plumb with raisins
Plumb with grape juice
Kiwi
Nectarine
Carrot
Damson
Damson with raisins
Damson with grapejuice
Raspberry
Beetroot
strawberry

Fermenting
Mixed Dark Berries and Damson (Secondry)
Damson with grape concentrate (primary).

Due to costs I'm using 5 litre pet bottles for the demi's (which I get free!!) and will be bottling them with screw tops. Making wine has taken over my life and people at work are now getting bored of hearing me talk about it (funny though they are all interested in trying the wine!!). Well, i think thats enough for my first post (hope it's not too long!). I have loads of questions so no doubt I'll be chatting to you all soon.