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Are you looking for a fun way to save hundreds on wine every year? Then by all means please read on!
I don’t know about you, but I love a good glass of wine!
Mr. Rodeo and I like to enjoy a glass on a quiet evening at home, snuggled up with the puppies and a good show on Netflix. Sometimes we will share a glass together, other nights we will share a bottle. But have you noticed that a nice glass of wine can be rather expensive? $10.00 or more a bottle for a nice non-yeasty smelling Cab can start to add up.
Now it might sound like we are lushes, but we go through at least one bottle a week. If it’s been a particularly difficult week at work and we really need to cut loose on a weekend it might be 2 bottles. Add in the occasional friendly get together (alright let’s be honest we have friends over at least twice a week to enjoy dinner) and we are looking at roughly 70 bottles of wine throughout a years’ time.
*Gasp*…perhaps you are reading that and thinking “wow…they have a problem.” But if you figure that up we are each drinking roughly 2.5 glasses of wine a week. That sounds reasonable right? There are an average of 5 pours in a bottle. Now think about that price tag. $10.00 x 70 = $700.00 on wine in a year. That is a lot of money!
Now what if I told you I could save you almost $500.00 in the next year on wine? $490.00 to be exact. Wouldn’t you say YES! SHOW ME!
I learned how to save hundreds this year by buying a wine making kit. It started out as a fun gift idea for Mr. Rodeo for Christmas and it has turned into a fun money saving hobby. The best part of all is I can make absolutely delicious wine that I couldn’t afford to buy at the store.
First things first, get a kit!
Now, to get started making wine you will have to invest roughly $125.00 on the gear. I purchased my gear as a full kit from my local wine making store. You can buy these kits online if you don’t have a local wine making store, but just know that supporting a local business and having someone that you can call if you have questions is AMAZING! If you don’t have a local store to buy from I did find this listing on amazon for a beginner’s kit.
These kits include all of the gear you need to get started, but the most important part of the wine making process is the juice! Now, the best part about making your own wine (besides drinking it) is getting to choose some amazing juices that allow you to enjoy very high quality wine from around the world. I purchase these pre-made kits from my local wine making store, but I have learned that the brand they stand behind is called WinExpert.
Picking out your flavor:
These kits cost roughly $90 depending on where you purchase them and make 30 bottles of wine. That is $3.00 a bottle! And trust me, you can’t buy the cheap stuff in the store that tastes this good!
If you are looking for a mid-grade wine (better than you get at your local store) I would highly suggest World Vineyard versions of WinExpert. Here are some of my favorites:
- Australian Chardonnay
- Italian Pinot Grigio
- French Cabernet Sauvignon
- Australian Shiraz
- California Pink Mascato
Once you get your juice kit it gets very fun. I usually choose to make Cabernet Sauvignon because that is my favorite type, but whatever you choose you will have fun following the instructions that are included with the juice kit.
Bottles:
You are probably wondering where to get the bottles? Well, if you are like me you will have a nice little stash of empty bottles waiting, but you can also purchase empty bottles online or from your local wine making store. I always seem to have empty bottles available that I sanitize and use again, I also have lots of family and friends that save their bottles for me. The hardest part is scrubbing the labels off, but I will write a nice post about tips for doing that too.
My biggest suggestion for making excellent wine is:
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST. Completely read them! The first batch of wine I ever made Mr. Rodeo and I ended up just pouring stuff in without reading first. We didn’t read any of our hydrometer readings, nor did we write any of these readings down. When it came to the fermentation process we ended up letting it ferment much longer than was necessary. Our wine turned out great, but man on man could it knock you on your a**. The alcohol content was huge! Our second batch I made sure to read, re-read and read the instructions again. I also ended up writing down all of my measurements throughout the process. What a huge help!
Now, I believe some of the wines you can drink right away and other age nicely, it just depends on the kit, but I can say from experience that those 30 bottles will go quickly! Be sure to get started on your next batch before your first one runs out (Speaking from experience here, you will miss your nice wine and absolutely hate having to buy it from the store).
This is by far my most enjoyed hobby because the reward is so fun!
I have also used these as fantastic Christmas and birthday gifts. I even made personalized labels and gave some out as wedding gifts. I recommend to anyone to give it a try!
Now go out and get that kit! Make wine and be merry!
Love, Monee
