I agree with Mr. Ray's post.

Let your wallet be your guide on both the equipment and the kit.

Basic equipment should run around $50

Brew King has 50 -60- 100 dollar kits and up.


BASIC Kit:
Plastic Pail
Hygrometer
Car boy(s) one 6 gallon 1 5 gallon
Car boy washing brush
raking cane/ tubing clamp
bottling dealie (about $3)
Air lock(s)

Options:
Floor COrker

Most important thing:

TAKE THE PLUNGE!

Good Luck,


--
KB





"Pinky" > wrote in message
...
> 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
> Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
> All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
> Anti Virus for your protection too!
> "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).
>
>