Winemaking Supplies for the Beginner: To Kit or Not To Kit

Making wine at home can be a fun, educational and money saving endeavor. If you are a wine enthusiast, learning to make your own wine will teach you much about the product and help you appreciate the finished product even more. If you are living on a budget but also love wine, making wine at home can help you enjoy more wine for your dollars.

When setting out to make wine at home, you will have to initially make an investment in quality winemaking supplies. There are many companies you can choose from to purchase winemaking supplies, and it is in your best interest to shop around and compare prices (be sure to calculate the shipping costs as well, however, since many winemaking supplies can be quite heavy to ship).

Many online stores will offer winemaking supplies kits which will include all the basic equipment and supplies you need to make your first batch of wine, often including the ingredients (you can often choose between a white wine kit or a red wine kit). These kits can be an excellent investment for beginning winemakers. Some kits include instructional videos that walk you through each step of the process. You will know that you have everything you need to successfully make your first batch of wine, and it will be hard to go wrong if you start of your winemaking experience with a kit.

However, there are some disadvantages to using a winemaking kit. For one, the selection of wines you can choose to make with winemaking kits are often quite limited, and often not of the best quality. Another disadavantage is that the quality of some of the winemaking equipment included in the kits is geared towards the beginner and for those interested in more advanced winemaking experimentation, many of the winemaking supplies included in these kits will soon become obsolete. Those who decide to pursue winemaking as a serious hobby will soon grow out of the basic winemaking supplies available in the kits and want to branch out and try their hand at personal experimentation.

As long as you are aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of starting your winemaking experience with a kit, however, you should not be disappointed and on your way to making some great wine!