E.C. Kraus Home Wine and Beer Making Supplies

Whether you are just starting to get involved in home winemaking or you have been making wine at home for some time, it’s a good idea to have a good understanding of the different types of homemade wine equipment, how they function, and whether or not a particular piece of equipment is needed in your home. Of course, there are many more pieces of homemade wine equipment than can be described in...

As a home winemaker, you don’t have to worry about conforming to all the strict rules regarding wine bottle labels that are in place for commercial winemaking.  However, creating labels that will allow you to easily identify your wine in your cellar is highly recommended.  Simply writing a “Cab” for Cabernet Sauvignon or “P” for peach on the top of the cork or side of the bottle isn’t going to cut...

We are in the midst of the holiday season, and the days to purchase gifts for your friends and loved ones are going by quickly.  But there's still time!  Place your order with us by noon, December 19th, and you'll have it in time to place under the Christmas tree.Perhaps you know someone who is an avid home winemaker, or maybe you know someone who keeps talking about making their own wine at home...

The holidays are about 6 weeks away: have you started shopping for your friends and family?  Are you looking to add to your own gift list?  Here are some wine making book suggestions for you to think about now for the home wine maker that is near and dear to your heart.  Don’t celebrate the holidays?  It’s never the wrong time to surprise an aspiring enologist with a wine making book!Techniques in...

I was introduced to wine-making while we were RV'ing in Nova Scotia. We were fortunate enough to meet a gentleman by the name of Doug Copp. He and I learned that we had many things of life in common and had a fantastic visit. At the end of the evening we learned that he made his own wine, offered my wife and myself a couple glasses and they were terrific. Thereafter, he gifted us with a few...

We just did the $100 drawing for the winner of the Share Your Wine Making Story contest. The drawing was comprised of participants who submitted their wine making stories between January 18th and January 26th on the E.C. Kraus Wine Making Blog.It was a random drawing, so if you didn't win, don't think we didn't like your story. If fact, we saw a lot of stories that were very interesting and...

Christmas is also my birthday, so for the holidays and my birthday, in year 2000 I received a gift of some cash. I exchanged it for a wine start up kit, and a great hobby was born. My first wines were usually drinkable, but I had lots of questions and no one to share them with, so in 2003 I put up some posters around my town, Sun Prairie, WI. inviting interested parties to join a home wine...

I made 14 gallons of cider wine which I gave out as Christmas gifts to many people. Sometimes I add a bit of mint spirits to make a Cider wine with a hint of mint, which turns out to be quite good. Name: Steve Armenta State: New MexicoRead More » »

Dear Mr. Kraus, I am a winemaker and I use used wine bottles.  Used cork type wine bottles are becoming harder to find.  I was told by a winery around here that it is ok to use corks in screw type wine bottles as they both have the same inside neck diameter.  I tried corking one filled water and it seemed to work fine. I would like to get your thoughts on this. Thanks William  P.---------- Hello...

There are many misconceptions and misguided assumptions about making wine at home. Most all of them are perpetuated by individuals who never even tasted or made homemade wine. Others are simply born out of the mystique surrounding the commercial wine industry.How can something so sophisticated be made in one's kitchen?Here are the ones that we run into the most. The ones that flat-out drive us...

Great news! Our line of Niagara Mist wine making products has just gotten a little bit bigger. A brand-new wine making kit has just been released by Niagara Mist. Introducing, White Pear Pinot Grigio!Bold Flavors It's a unique and refreshing blend of juicy pears and tangy, white Pinot Grigio grapes. This exciting, new combo is destined to become a summertime hit. Exploding with crisp and fruity...

[This is part I of a 2 parts] Hello, Your blueberry wine recipe on your website states you need 13lbs of blueberries for making 5 gals. Will using 20lbs of blueberries add more color and flavor to the finished wine? Thank-you Gary C.---------- Yes, adding more fruit to any wine recipe is going to intensify the flavor and add more color. But before you go taking this bit of information and run with...

Hi Kraus People - How is the best way to tell when your wine is ready to bottle? Thank You, Rick ---------- Hello Rick, Great question, and an important one too. The last thing anyone wants to do is bottle their wine too soon. This is especially important if you plan on handing any of it out as wine making gifts. A significant amount of sediment could eventually form in the wine bottle, or corks...

Greetings, My son gave me a 5 gallon oak barrel as a personalized wine gift.  I have a batch of wine that I would like to put in the oak barrel and let it age a bit.  Do I finish the wine (use bentonite) and then put it in the barrel or should it go into the barrel now, let it age for a period of time then finish and bottle it? Thanks, David ---------- Dear David, Thanks for the great question,...

This has been quite a year. Some fantastic, new items have been added to our catalog: plastic fermenters, Huron Bay Premium and Ultra Premium wine kits, Stainless-Steel Racking Tubes, and many others. We've also had a lot of wonderful conversations with a lot of great customers. It's amazing to see so many enjoyable people making wine. Wine making seems to transcend across many different walks of...

Many beginning winemakers will be happy to know that you do not have to buy a corker to bottle your wine. We have solutions for sealing wine bottles that can be done without a corker as well as with a corker. When you go to buy corks for your wine bottles you will find that most wine cork stoppers require a corker to press the cork into the wine bottle. This is because a new cork starts out much...

I know my opinion may be a little bias, but I find it very hard to think of a gift more thoughtful and sincere than a bottle of homemade wine. Wine, by itself, is the kind of gift that brings happiness and togetherness. Add to that the fact that you made it with your own hands, and you've got one heck of a gift that can be cherished and enjoyed throughout the holiday season.It didn't always used...

Christmas shopping for wine making gifts is not an easy task. You're trying to find a special gift for the home winemaker in your life when you barely know a wine press from a wine barrel. What could be more difficult. Well, we're going to make this holiday season a little more merry for you and give you a little help.We've assisted all kinds of unknowing Christmas shoppers over the years, and...

In my own humble opinion, nothing describes Thanksgiving better than the word togetherness. Whether it be with family, friends, co-workers or someone you just met, being together is what seems to make Thanksgiving work. Togetherness is what makes Thanksgiving worth celebrating. It is my deepest wish that where ever you may be this Thanksgiving holiday, that you my find and share some...

Hello I made wine from muscadines and gave a bottle to a friend they said that it gave them heartburn. Can you tell me what is in wine that would do that and can I make the next batch better..?? Thank you  Chuck __________ Hello Chuck,That's a heck of a note. You give a friend a personalized wine gift like a bottle of your own personal wine stock. You probably had some customized wine bottle...