Wine Kitz Atlantic

Guidelines for New Home Winemakers

Production Guidelines

January is the month with the most “new” winemakers. This is generally due to Christmas gift giving. This is also when we, at the brew stores, receive the most phone calls, questions and in-store enquires. Don’t be shy, ask away: there are no dumb questions.

Management and staff who work at local winemaking shops are there to help. It’s all part of the services we provide. We understand the learning curve of new equipment and the new challenges of the winemaking process. At first, it can all seem very intimidating. I’ve often said if you ask ten different winemakers how to make wine…you’ll get eleven different answers. Same principles apply for beer making. My suggestion is to find a method that YOU feel comfortable with and run with it. Cleanliness & patience are the two most important tips I can offer.

A few words of caution….

Once you’ve made several wine batches, your 3rd or 4th batch is at the highest risk to fail. This will most likely be due to shortcuts, bad advice or inadequate cleanliness of equipment or bottles. You will then need to go back to the steps that made your previous batches such a success.

As you continue winemaking you will quickly learn that bottle cleaning & sanitizing can sometimes be a tedious task. You can easily shorten and simplify the bottle cleaning chore by investing in bottle cleaning equipment. A bottle sulphiter and a blast bottle washer will shorten time spent cleaning bottles by as much as 50%. Additionally, some of the full-service wine stores offer in-store commercial bottle washing services.

Once you get familiar with the equipment and get the hang of the winemaking process, it will not take too many wine batches before you find yourself offering advice and/or showing friends or family members how to make wine.

Production vs. Consumption

This often a challenge for many winemakers. Staying ahead of the game and drinking wine at its peak by aging should be one of your winemaking objectives. Thirty bottles may seem like a lot at first but now that you’re a winemaker you will be making “new” friends. You may find that family members linger a bit longer at social events at your house. All in all, you will share and give away far more of your wine than you first anticipated. Most wine shops have in-store charts or hand-out product brochures with aging & cellaring guidelines.

Product Purchasing Guidelines

The best advice I can offer on this topic is to suggest you shop local and you select your products based on value, not price point. Value is most often found at wine & beer making stores. This is where you will find the highest quality products available in the industry, the best selection, the best winemaking advice and expertise and the best service level.

At some point other winemaking friends may tell you of the great wine kit prices at big box stores. Prior to making a purchase based on this advice, you may want to taste their wine and decide how it compares to the quality of your own finished wine product. Keep in mind that the adage “you get what you pay for” also holds true in the winemaking industry.

Some of you may have received a well-intended but inexpensive wine kit as a gift. Most likely this wine kit was not purchased at a winemaking store. Don’t despair or give up on winemaking if you’re disappointed with the quality of the finished product. Visit a local winemaking shop for advice and expertise and the possible purchase of your next kit. You will be pleasantly surprised by the difference in quality, advice and service level.

At some point in your winemaking life, treat yourself by graduating to a higher-end wine kit. The cost difference will be approximately $1 per bottle. Higher-end kits are comparable to a $20-$25 bottle of commercial wine. Your wine of choice will reward you. Once this wine is bottled and properly aged, you will unexpectedly be able to tell the difference in quality. The best time to move upwards in kit quality is when your wine rack is full and you don’t necessarily need to make wine. This timing will allow for long-term aging and provide you with a superior product for special occasions such as Christmas 2010. A word of caution: Once you taste your high-end kit, you may not downgrade back to a lesser kit.

Happy Winemaking!!