What Is It?
The Artful Winemaker is an all-in-one home wine-fermenting kit.
Who’s it For?
Wine lovers who want to try their hand at making hooch without having to stomp their own grapes.
Design
It’s a large tub filled with grape juice and yeast.
Using It
The Artful Winemaker is very easy to use. It comes with everything needed to brew a batch — juice, yeast, flavouring, equipment sanitise, bottles and step-by-step instructions. You empty packets of ingredients into the tub at set intervals and install a sediment catcher two weeks in, but otherwise just let it sit there for four weeks. Each batch nets 12 bottles of wine.
The Best Part
The first sip. After four weeks of waiting, cracking open the first bottle is like opening the big present first on Christmas morning — except, instead of a pony, it’s booze! Plus, the cost per bottle amortises out to something like $US4/unit.
Tragic Flaw
The first sip. And now I know how Charles Shaw is made. The wine you get from this system does an excellent job of getting you tipsy but definitely tastes like something brewed in a big plastic tub.
This Is Weird…
Unlike conventional wine, this stuff only gets slightly better with age and has a six-month shelf life.
Test Notes
- Kinda mindless, no room for me to experiment with/improve the winemaking process, just dump packets and wait.
- Could be good for cooking wine or entertaining guests who routinely order from the bottom of the wine list.
- I wonder if I can use my own grape juice/flavorings?
Should You Buy It?
Yeah, despite the underwhelming quality of the final product, the process of making your own wine is actually very satisfying and, at $US150, it’s way more affordable than buying a plot in Napa.
Capacity: 9L
Varieties: Cabernet/Shiraz, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Riesling
Brewing duration: 28 days
Price: $US150 ($US60/refill)
StevoTheDevo
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 2:37 PMI reckon $4 cleanskins would taste nicer (just) and would be less likely to poison you (just).
Tristan
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:00 PMHow does it differ (apart from volume) to a beer homebrew kit?
Sarah
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:23 PMVery expensive for a basic kit! The Coopers homebrew beer kits only cost about $80 on sale and produce excellent beer if you follow recipes on the net.
alex effing
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:34 PMThere were these bottle lids that allowed for nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
fermentation of basically juice, so you just added a packet of yeast and in two weeks you had juice wine. They were like $10 a piece which is a much better option
Al
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:40 PMI think you are talking about oztops.com.au
Sarah
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 3:44 PMyes oztops will make drinkable cider within 3 days, great things buy them for $20 at homebrew shop. best bottle of juice is the Berri apple and blackcurrant. put the yeast in, top on and in 3 days you have cider that tastes just as good as rekordeligs