Why Not Wine?

This article originally appeared in the September/October 2009 issue of Zymurgy Magazine

By Byron Burch

Homebrewers making wine? You betcha! As a homebrewer, it’s super easy and fun to get into home winemaking, especially with home wine kits. Think about it…no heating, no cooling, and no carbonation required! You can make some truly exceptional, and perhaps even award-winning, wine for as little as $4 a bottle and in as little as four to six weeks. And, homemade wine also makes a terrific gift, especially for the holidays. Best of all, you don’t need much gear beyond your existing homebrew equipment. You can still homebrew regularly, but also change it up once in a while and pop a wine into your brewing schedule.

Before becoming a professional brewer, I was an avid homebrewers for many years. As I experiments with beer recipes and beer styles, I was always curious about home winemaking but unsure about how to get started. I ultimately got into winemaking back in 1999 when I opened a small, local homebrew shop here in my hometown of Pagosa Springs, Colo. I began stocking wine kits just to round out the basic beer supply inventory. This gave me the perfect excuse to try…