EXPIRED Cornucopia Fruit Wine Kit Raspberry Merlot £14.16 Amazon.

jellyhead

The local Wilkos didn't have a fermenting barrel but I've ordered one to be delivered to the store for £10

Tiptop

I think if you were going to make wine with juice/berries from scratch then you probably need a lot more of the equipment to test when it's ready but I think the kits are pretty foolproof and don't need with messing with so much unless you really get into it and want to start altering sweetness etc. I've found with the couple I've done I've just followed the instructions but not bothered with any of the testing and they've been fine. My OH's friend on the other hand gets really scientific and spends hours tinkering with his wine!!!

Forgot to say above you need sugar too but I just tend to buy some with my weekly shop so I've always got some in. HTH

scottishf

Mine came today....it says i need the following:
Primary Fermenter
Carboy
Air-lock and rubber bung
Racking tube and siphon hose
hydrometer and test jar
thermometer
long handled plastic spoon
bottle brush
filter and filter pads

sounds expensive :-(

laurals11

Been making wine for over 30 years, agree with gazwood about equipment needed but I've never used a heater. Demijohns /fermenting bucket stand in front of radiator.

I reuse screw top wine bottles;Check bottles seal alright by filling with water. My Freecycle friends are good at supplying those and have also passed on demijohns.
You can use any plastic tubing for siphoning, if you are not near a Wilkinson, try pet shop for tubing used for fish tank set up. They usually sell it by meter.

You don't need a thermometer, remember yeast doesn't like heat ,think baby bottle temp.
Never used a hydrometer, I just wait for fermentation to stop, make sure it doesn't get cold or it will stop before all sugar is used...and can restart after bottling...and bottles can explode !
Most wines clear without filtering.

scottishf

I must be making this harder than it really is, but I still don't know what I need to buy :-(

hex2

scottishf - read this article on wine making on a budget:

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/main/2010/01/taking-the-fear-out-of-winemaking-part-2-by-mkg/

it shows how little equipment you actually need. HTH

I did one of these type of kits with a big bucket, wooden spoon, jug and some demi johns (just because we have them) - otherwise I would have left it in the big buckets and then transferred it to empty pop bottles as described in the link.

autumngirl

To those who mentioned heating their wine in front of a radiator instead of using a purpose-made heater.... Do you have your radiators on for most of the day?

I'm really tempted to try DIY winemaking but my heating isn't really on very often so I don't think I could keep the temperature constant. (Sorry if this sounds like a dumb question!)

pumpkinsoup

I have made 2 batchs so far and don't have mine in front of radiator. I have it on top of breakfast bar approx 2 metres away. I do wrap it with a towel though and has been fine. My mom made one in her hall and went to work leaving windows open hers failed, so I think as long as its not too cold it will be fine don't leave my heating on all day either!

Anthony.S_2

There is also wine making equipment available from the same supplier currently at £18.98 delivered which looks like a very good deal.

I can't post links so search for Vintagemaster-Basic-Starter-Making-Wine/dp/B004XBOA3A/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1333112537&sr=1-1 after amazon.co.uk/

Other Paklab kits are down in price.
Look for the Cornucopia apple riesling or the reserve du chateau Italian Barolo.

clairibel

Anthony.S wrote: »

There is also wine making equipment available from the same supplier currently at £18.98 delivered which looks like a very good deal.

I can't post links so search for Vintagemaster-Basic-Starter-Making-Wine/dp/B004XBOA3A/ref=sr_1_1?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1333112537&sr=1-1 after amazon.co.uk/

Other Paklab kits are down in price.
Look for the Cornucopia apple riesling or the reserve du chateau Italian Barolo.

Apple Riesling £16.91

Italian Barolo £17.12

Winemaking Set £18.98

Thanks for the info Antony.S