I've been researching how to make wine for a couple of years now and decided the best way for me was going be purchasing a wine kit and going from there. My husband however, thought this was silly. He felt that a kit somehow involved cheating or something. Like if our wine came out really well that we had done something to falsify our first batch. Let's be honest, Leonardo da Vinci didn't use a paint-by-number kit when creating the Mona Lisa!
After visiting over 100 wineries in the past two years and speaking with dozens of winemakers about how they got their start it was clear -- if I was going to be a multi-million bottle winery I needed to get a kit to start out just like they did. So the Mr. loses the kit battle and I am prepping for my very first batch!
The friendly owner at Downtown Craft Brew helped me select the BSG Homebrew Equipment Kit along with my wineexpert juice. We typically drink more reds so Merlot was an easy choice for our first batch.
I needed a couple of more items before I started and aslo picked up a brush to clean my fermenting bucket and carboy as well as a carboy handle and a test jar. This only added about $14 in extra material the kit didn't originally include. I'll also be getting a whip, but won't need that until the degassing phase in a couple of weeks and of course bottles in about 8 weeks.
Until tomorrow, I think I'll just sit back and enjoy a glass from my favorite local winery - Amigoni Urban Winery.
Cheers!
The stockings are emptied and the tree is bare. Christmas came through in a flash this year. Our kids agree they are probably some of the most spoiled there are and yet the thought of their excitement will be enough to last a whole year. But they aren't the only ones who love their gifts. My hubby surprised me with something I've been begging to have for nearly a year. My very own wine kit!! I feel like squealing with excitement just typing the words!
After traveling around the midwest in search of new wines from local vineyards and meeting so many winemakers I've decided I need to be a part of it all. I've seen operations ranging from elaborate steel tanks in picturesque ranch resorts to plastic buckets in the back of a storage shed. It seems to me that anyone and everyone is making wine so why can't I? How hard could it possibly be? Famous last words, I'm sure.
I've looked through site after site and asked as many questions as I can come up with and I. Am. READY! Well, as ready as any vintner can be without her equipment or the actual juice to begin the process. But those are merely details. Hell, I've already come up with 96 different possibilities for names and my labels is practically designing itself. I should probably start looking for my own winery site because this thing is going to be a huge success. The only other small detail not covered is my patience. Something tells me that if I can't learn patience through wine making it may never happen.
Tomorrow is the day I pick up my kit and begin my new career. Vintner Extraordinaire.
Cheers!
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