Is it as good as the beer home brew?

MattM1

I started making my own beer a few months back, have done 40 pints of Wherry and 40 Coopers lager. Really impressed with both, both with how easy it is to produce and the quality of the beer. Because this has been such a success i am considering making my own wine but there are not really the rave reviews of wine production that there are with the beers. I'd be grateful for any comments re the ease of production and the final quality. Thanks.    

HBO_Staff

Great news on the beer making, we agree it matches bought beer any time, and often with better ingredients. The wines are much like the beers, the process is not too different, but it does need the gas removing from it by degassing, and it needs finings to help it clear faster. If you can make beer then you will have no problem with wine. The main thing with the taste/quality of the finished wine is the ingredients, we only stock kits with ingredients we know produce a good wine, there are loads of kits out there and some are not so good. You do get what you pay for, the budget kits will make very good wine, with many repeat customers buying several at once, you do need to add sugar which adds to the cost. The premium kits need no sugar adding, and the quality of the juice increases, with the top end wines costing around £95 for 30 bottles, but this wine will beat much of what you can buy, and is still only £3 a bottle or so. There are loads to choose from and wines for all budgets, if you fancied a dabble art wine making but without much outlay, try a 6 bottle equipment pack and a cheaper 6 bottle refill, and it will help you decide for yourself. You can be sure though that the 30 bottle kits are very good, we have the mid-range Cellar 7 in our starter pack and an honestly say we've never had a single complaint about the quality of it....
It's £65 ish for 30 bottles, add nothing but water, includes all the equipment and there is a range of 7 to choose from, so including the equipment it is not much more than £2 a bottle. As with beers, leave it bottled for as long as possible for the full flavours to develop

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/starter-kits/products/home-brew-online-starter-equipment-pack-wine-30-bottle-kit-with-choice-of-wine

MattM1

Thanks HBO - I think It's certainly worth a go. Does the kit you mention here include a degasser ? Also how long would you say would be a good time to leave to mature 6 months, a year ? Would it be ok in the garage for this length of time ?

HBO_Staff

The kits don't include a de-gasser to help keep the cost down, instead you can de-gas by stirring thoroughly which is what most instructions recommend. There are specific products available to help with this, we have a brand new product available exclusively here from the USA, and it works a treat;

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/degassing-tool

It attaches to a standard drill and makes it easier. Many wines are drinkable really quickly, but all will improve with a little more time in the bottles, as with any wine. If possible store it somewhere cool and dark for a few weeks, a couple of months to 6 months would be great, but we know most people can't wait that long. With wines such as the Cellar 7 many people tell us how great it is after just a week, and after a month it is even better. You can store it wherever you like, cool and dark is best, but not too cold where there is the risk of freezing, in boxes in a garage will often help keep the light out and stop it getting too cold

MattM1

Do you do any mix and for the kits? I already have a bucket from the beer starter pack that i have. I also have sterilising solution and a spoon. Would it be possible to leave these items out and add 30 wine bottles instead ?  

HBO_Staff

Whilst the kits are pre-packed and the price based on the contents so it is not possible to mix and match with them, as you have some of the equipment already from your beer making kit, if you intend to brew either just wine or beer at once then some of the kit can be re-used, therefore you only need a few additional items.

As a guide, you could add say a second 25 litre fermenting vessel, a corker to seal the bottles (there are 3 types available and we recommend the 2 handled version) and some corks, syphon tube and a 30 bottle wine ingredients kit of your choice, perhaps Cellar 7 or Beaverdale, etc

MattM1

Thank you for your advice. All ordered now. I'll post some newbie reviews once completed !