Well, I have finally done it... after months of lurking in this newsgroup
and researching the process, I have started my first batch of wine. I
received a 5 galon starter kit for christmas and am using Sun Cal zinfindel
concentrate for my first batch. I put it in the primary fermenter on
Tuesday. After trial and error in finding a spot in the house that was warm
enough for fermentation, I moved the bucket to a closet in my home office...
and it has really taken off.

Any tips for a first timer??

Chris Hertling
North Kansas City, MO

On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 01:26:27 GMT, "Chris Hertling"
wrote:

Well, I have finally done it... after months of lurking in this newsgroup
and researching the process, I have started my first batch of wine. I
received a 5 galon starter kit for christmas and am using Sun Cal zinfindel
concentrate for my first batch. I put it in the primary fermenter on
Tuesday. After trial and error in finding a spot in the house that was warm
enough for fermentation, I moved the bucket to a closet in my home office...
and it has really taken off.

Any tips for a first timer??

Er, golly.I guess I did it backwards. I started my first batch a
few hours ago, and THEN found this newsgroup. I have no idea what
a wine kit is, http://holtsmoke.org/wwjd shows my first attempt.

"Primary?" "Secondary?" Gods damned if I know what that means.

Chris Hertling
North Kansas City, MO

---
http://lastliberal.org
Free random & sequential signature changer http://holysmoke.org/sig
"I will pray for your poor demented soul.: - "Bill Ferg"

"As the time is short, I will leave out all the flattery, and retain all
the criticism." -- Henry David Thoreau, from _Life Without Principle_

Er, golly.I guess I did it backwards. I started my first batch a
few hours ago, and THEN found this newsgroup. I have no idea what
a wine kit is, http://holtsmoke.org/wwjd shows my first attempt.

"Primary?" "Secondary?" Gods damned if I know what that means.

Chris Hertling
North Kansas City, MO

Chris - Check out the on-line winemaking sites listed below. A lot of
questions are answered at these sites. All are very good. BTW, you may be
able to find Norton grapes at Davenport Orchard and Vineyard in Eudora,
Kansas next summer. Get in touch with Greg Shipe...the owner.

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/index.asp
http://home.att.net/~lumeisenman/index.html
http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/

Bill Frazier
Olathe, Kansas USA

There is no real backward. I assume you had some advise for instructions
from some source. Ask questions. They will get answered. Even the basic
ones. A primary is the container you start your fermentation in. It is
usually a food grade plastic bucket about twice the volume of the wine you
are making. It is usually not sealed but is covered to keep out bugs and
other undesirables. This brings us to the secondary with is usually a large
glass jug or carboy that can be tightly sealed to keep air out. You move
your fermenting wine from the primary to the secondary after the violent
part of fermentation has finished and, if you are using fruit, the fruit is
no longer floating. You keep it in the secondary under an airlock, an
airtight seal, until fermentation is finished.

A wine kit is a kit of ingredients, not hardware, used in making a certain
type of wine. You can buy a Riesling or Gewürztraminer, or a Merlot or any
of dozens if not hundreds of styles of wines. The better (more expensive,
$60 plus) kits can be quite good. I personally think the white kits are
better than the reds but that is my opinion. Cheaper kits are mediocre.
There really is a rough relationship between what you pay and what you get
here. They give you very detailed instructions and are a good way for a
beginner to get started or for an advanced winemaker to make wines when he
has no access to the type of fruit required.

Enjoy the hobby.

Ray

Susan (Susan S) wrote in message
...
On Fri, 31 Dec 2004 01:26:27 GMT, "Chris Hertling"
wrote:

Well, I have finally done it... after months of lurking in this newsgroup
and researching the process, I have started my first batch of wine. I
received a 5 galon starter kit for christmas and am using Sun Cal
zinfindel
concentrate for my first batch. I put it in the primary fermenter on
Tuesday. After trial and error in finding a spot in the house that was
warm
enough for fermentation, I moved the bucket to a closet in my home
office...
and it has really taken off.

Any tips for a first timer??

Er, golly.I guess I did it backwards. I started my first batch a
few hours ago, and THEN found this newsgroup. I have no idea what
a wine kit is, http://holtsmoke.org/wwjd shows my first attempt.

"Primary?" "Secondary?" Gods damned if I know what that means.

Chris Hertling
North Kansas City, MO

---
http://lastliberal.org
Free random & sequential signature changer http://holysmoke.org/sig
"I will pray for your poor demented soul.: - "Bill Ferg"

"As the time is short, I will leave out all the flattery, and retain all
the criticism." -- Henry David Thoreau, from _Life Without Principle_