First time wine brewer

[steve jo]

Hi my name is Steve, I am 53 and from the North East of England. I would like some advice on what kit I need and anything else to get started on brewing my own red wine. I like Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet etc,
my buying habits are now supermarket (ASDA 3 for a tenner, TESCO own brand Australian Red etc etc) if it is possible to brew a wine with a decent body and taste ( Not looking for as good a wine as Brown Brothers or Jacobs Creek, but as close as is poss). I don't know what is possible quality and taste wise with home brewing but I need a good hobby and hey wine drinking is the nearest I get to one so why not try making my own, as I will be the harshest critic of my product. Any advice is more than welcome in fact the more the better as I am a complete virgin when it comes to home brewing.

Thank you in anticipation, Steve J.

 

[dennisking]

Hi and welcome Steve, I'm a beer brewer myself but there are plenty of wine makers that will be able to help.

 

[oldbloke]

Various homebrew shops, online and brick&mortar, do starter equipment set-ups.
Do you want to do 5 gallon runs or 1-or-2 gallon runs?
Ingredient kits are available for all those, and in general the more expensive they are the better they taste.
So you have some Googling to do...
Or, you could try a fruit-tea-bag wine, amazing bang-for-buck, well suited to 1 gallon runs (where the equipment is cheapest too), easy process for beginners.
Or a WOW (threads on here), which is maybe the next step up
Rule 1: careful observance of sanitation procedures
Riles 2: patience - takes longer than you think, don't fiddle with it too much.

 

[joe1002]

Welcome to the forum :

 

[bobsbeer]

Welcome :

 

[mattyhall22]

Hello and Welcome :

 

[GAZ9053]

Welcome, I do the £45-£55 wine kits from Beaverdale, Kenridge, california connoisseur, world vineyard, all have been very good wines, we used to buy the 3 for 10 also SWMBO has not had a complaint yet apart from the fact i keep expanding lol and taking more bits of room.

 

[Papa G]

Hi, welcome to the forum :