Getting the gear!!

[madmatt]

Hi All, I'm a complete newbie(used to brew ale many moons ago, but never wine) so need to invest in all new gear.

What is the cost of startup to make some decent quality wine of around 11% ABV red wine?(not looking for a chateau neuf du pape yet, more the 3-for-12 type you find in tesco-on the other hand not the 'orrible ribena tasting english wines that tesco sell either)

Is ebay the place to look as I would think a lot of peeps give up if the first batch comes out wrong.

Regards

Matt

[Rich]

Get some decent gear to start with I'd say, rather than buying too cheap to start. Buy cheap, buy twice.

You looking at doing 6 bottle stuff, or 30 bottles?

Have a word with Karl, (Duffbear on here) who has a shop at www.hobbywinesupplies.co.uk he does some starter kits, but I'm sure if you ring him he'll put you on the right track for what ever type of wine you want to make.

There are other homebrew shops too that do starter kits too..

I've assisted a few friends to start using Karls kits.

[Rich]

And,

Welcome to the forum

[madmatt]

Many Thanks, Will do,

It looks like around 75 squid to get started?
I guess its best to start with a 6 bottle, until your confident you wont be throwing the lot down the sink!!??but once you get it right, the longer you keep it the better, so a 30 bottle must be the aim, and make a batch every couple / few months??

Matt

Get some decent gear to start with I'd say, rather than buying too cheap to start. Buy cheap, buy twice.

You looking at doing 6 bottle stuff, or 30 bottles?

Have a word with Karl, (Duffbear on here) who has a shop at www.hobbywinesupplies.co.uk he does some starter kits, but I'm sure if you ring him he'll put you on the right track for what ever type of wine you want to make.

There are other homebrew shops too that do starter kits too..

I've assisted a few friends to start using Karls kits.

[ToulouseLePlot]

Hello Matt, the "Happy Brewer" in Union St., Bedford is a good homebrew shop. There are occasional bargains on eBay when someone clears out their dad's shed. A good number of online homebrew shops do starter 'sets'.

There is one online shop to avoid. You have to look up shops you may be buying from on www.trustpilot.com to find out the problem one. I'm not going to name them here because they have been known to get litigious with forums and besides, it's a good idea to check out online stores with trustpilot.

I've done it the other way round, started with 30 bottle kits and now collected about a dozen 6-bottle demijohns off chums who are getting rid of them. I'm having a lot of fun playing with cheap wine recipes in these - many from this forum. The Lychee wine is amazing! However the 30 bottle kits are very good now and that's where the serious cellar is getting built from. Quality does come at a price. I started with the more expensive "Selection" rnge and I'm now trying a few others to see how they compare. (The cheapies are virtually undrinkable, that's one lesson)

Best of luck!

[woody1962]

Hey Matt
welcome! just recently joined myself. I'm trying the Wine number 2 recipe (red) which is starting to clear so I hope to post some feedback on this 'afore too long (the Wine no.1 is awesome - though this is white) - once you get your kit sorted you might want to try these recipes
happy brewing!

[Rich]

Hmm, what does it cost..

It doesn't have to cost much really, maybe the price of a Hydrometer, some decent yeast and an airlock.

Then, down your local super market to get:

5 litres of water in 1 container.
1 litre Apple Juice
1 litre white grape jucie
some sugar,
Some citric acid (either from a home brew shop, or I believe you can get it from the chemist)

Probably a few more bits too, read through this wine #1 thread and see how cheaply you could get your first 6 bottles on the go for.

Any questions at all on the way, post them up.