FINE WINES WITH HOME BREWING...POSSIBLE?

[Whirlaway]

I am wondering if anyone has any real life experience (not just opinion) on homebrewing wine.

Is it possible to produce a reasonably nice red wine (say $18-$25 /bottle retail) by homebrewing?

By home brewing I am talking wine in a bucket; not buying a Napa Valley vineyard.

[Sitara Devi]

I remember a few years ago a friend making something with fermented mangoes. It was a type of alcohol that was delicious but not sure if it can be classified as a wine. I wonder if someone has a recipe or instruction list for you on how to create this.

Sitara Devi

[Tobor the 8th Man]

No.

The juice you get in kits is the crap that real wine producers won't buy.

No handful of oak sawdust will ever be as good as a fine oak barrel

No home brewer can match the quality controls needed to make decent wine.

On the other hand I've had some AMAZING home crafted beer!

[Lazydynamite]

As an at-home wine, beer, and cider maker, let me expand on Tobor's perspective. You can make great wine if you have access to great grapes or juice, know what you are doing and have the right equipment. Like the rest of this site, money can solve some, but not all of the puzzle.

[Madame X]

I'm not sure what constitutes homebrewing, but several of the vineyards around here offer wine crafting classes and workshops in which you tour the vineyard, select your vines, detail your process, and pretty much design your own wine which will be stored in their cellar. Once they're ready, you can pick up your cases and see how your wine came out!

I know a few people who have made very nice custom wines this way, that would probably fit well into that price range.

I have a few vines myself, and know a bit about how to prep the soil to produce good grapes, but it's a long process and I have no motivation to do so while I also have apple and pear trees that would make fine cider. A friend of mine makes a very good apple "champagne" from his trees, and I'd like to try my hand at that if I have time in the fall.

~Mme X~

[pghms]

Www.crushpad.com

[cgrman]

I would have to agree that a "quality" wine can not really be made in a bucket and using oak chips etc. The juice that you start with and the equipment are key. With that being said I know of some places that order surplus juice from the areas around Napa and other AVAs and make wine but not in a bucket per se. I have tasted some of the Cabs and Pinots that they have made and while they are OK they would not be in an $18-25 range in my opinion. They seem to be "thin" and don't have much depth or power to them on the finish... If I am correct the above link to crushpad.com does not work as. I think they went under when their investors pulled the plug. I think they started a new site called www.thefoundry.com or something close to that. A great place to look for wine making supplies would be in the back of magazines such as Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast. I hope this has been helpful to someone out there.. Thanks for a good topic....