best advise is to look at the archives and also visit a local Homebrew Shop
for good advice.
it would seem that you can afford to go for a reasonable amount of equipment
but don't go over the top.
A couple of my opinions
1 Do go for a top of the range kit like Brew King Selection.
2. That means inevitably that it will be a kit which makes up to 23 Litres
(5 gals Imp, 6 Gals US ) but that is better than just buying a 1 gallon
kit.And it takes just as much effort to make 1 gallon as it does 5 gallons.
3.Don't go mad on your purchases of equipment until you are happy to be
doing it. Your home brew shop will lend/hire you a floor corker when it
comes to bottling time.
4. Do follow the instructions that come with the kit the first few times
until you glean a lot more info by reading about it ( on here and in books).
5. For a good kit red wine you do need to be in the top of the range of kits
and you do need to "bulk age" for about 6 months --- but with your first kit
start drinking it after a month of aging --- that is a month after the kit
instructions say it is ready to drink. It will have made a lot of difference
even with just a month.White wines kits produces generally "better" results
within any price range. But I bet you will enjoy your first home made
wine -- it will be the best you ever make. So as soon as you can, start your
second kit so that you can bulk age it for longer -- you will be amazed how
different it is after more aging.
6. If you have read my comments on red kit wines before you will see I am a
bit critical but I make twice as much red wine as white and am only critical
cos I strive for the best results. Occasionally, out of the blue I get an
excellent result out of something that I thought would be "run of the mill".
A case in point I bought a £22 kit of SolVino Tempranillo. It came in a can
and I expected to use it for cooking and slurping! I actually forgot about
it during its bulk aging and it sat for a year. I bottled it in November and
when I tried it just before Christmas when I was cooking I was so surprised.
It had all the body, fruit and tannin of a much more expensive wine -- I
immediately withdrew it from my "fit for non wine drinkers" list and put it
on my reserve stock. I now have to try and keep my fingers off it for a
while longer cos I can't buy that kit any more -- it has been
withdrawn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Any way, Welcome and Good luck!


--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
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"Jack" > wrote in message
om...
> I think I'm getting close to taking the plunge. I've seen many
> equipment kits on the internet. Any recommendations? I guess I'm
> just as interested in a quality supplier as I am a quality kit. I
> don't mind spending up to $200 to get started. Though from what I've
> seen, it doesn't look like it will cost that much. Seems like most
> folks like the glass carbouys so I'll probably go that route. I'm
> also interested in small, wood barrels. Of course, that can come
> later.
>
> Also, what is a good first-timer wine kit (red). I like cabs, merlots
> and such-- typically failry dry and not too sweet. I've seen the 28
> day kits, but am a little skeptical. It would be nice to get one or
> two batches in for practice that didn't take too long to complete. It
> would be a huge let down to make, ferment and bottle over the course
> of a year, only to discover my wine tastes like dog doo-doo. I would
> also like for each of these first batches to be small, ten bottles or
> less if that's possible. I don't want a glut of mediocre wine. I
> just want enough to wet my whistle (pun intended).