Ever wonder how to brew wine at home? What do I need? How much will it cost? Is it legal? Well keep reading, I am about to tell you all you need to know to get started on making your wine from home.
Wine making kit
First you need a wine making kit. These kits, to a lot of people’s surprise, are not that expensive. A 5 or 6 gallon kit will cost between $50 and $100. You can find affordable wine making kits on Amazon. Your ingredients will cost $30 to $70. That comes out to about 2.50$ a bottle.
You don’t need a winepress. Wineries use these winepresses to extract every last drop of juice from the fruit. Not for quality reasons. At $1 to $2 a bottle for home winemakers, the last drop of juice is not important.
Is it legal?
Making wine at home is legal. A household of 2 adults can make up to 200 gallons of wine a year. And a household of 1 adult can make 100 gallons a year. You will need to check with your local authorities if you intend to sell or distribute your wine.
Choosing your recipe
The most important thing you need to have is good recipes and clear instruction on how to use them. This is where a lot of wine makers fail. Some might have good recipes but vague instructions. Others might have additives that need to be added that aren’t listed. And some wines need to be shaken every 48 hours and some don’t. When choosing a recipe, we recommend you look for recipe books like the “Winemakers Recipe Handbook”. If you chose to purchase a wine making kit, there’ll likely be a recipe book already in there, so be sure to check before you look for alternatives. If you choose to look online, be sure to read reviews.
Determining the Sweetness
You will also need to determine how sweet you like your wine. This is done with a hydrometer. You can find a hydrometer online for an affordable price. We recommend checking your wine making kit before purchasing one as some already come with a hydrometer. A reading of 1020 on the hydrometer means it is a sweet wine, 1010 is medium and 990 is very dry.
Wine making at home is not hard as long as you have the right equipment, a basic kit works fine, and some good recipes and instruction.
For all your wine needs the Eclectic Connoisseur has formed a partnership with California Wine Club, International Wine Accessories, Purewine, Reserve Bar, and The Whiskey Exchange. For a more comprehensive assessment of their storefront, products and services please visit our review section of our web-site. Please share your next dessert inspiration with our Facebook community of food and drink lovers @ the Eclectic Connoisseur!
