Customer Review: Not for Brand-New Beginners

For beginners, I would rate the book 2 stars. For more experienced winemakers, this would be a fantastic reference book.

After reading the reviews here, I purchased this book, to be our very first book to tell us how to make wine. At the same time, I was trying to purchase winemaking equipment as a Christmas gift for my husband and was hoping this book would help me know what to buy. The book has a lot of recipes and great details, but not a really simple step-by-step "how-to" for the person who knows nothing at all about winemaking. The 10 minute free video that came with the equipment I bought showed more step-by-step than this book.

There is no index.

I think my husband would take one look at this book and say "Wow, I don't have the time to read this and figure it all out!" It leaves me with the impression that winemaking is difficult, tricky, and time-consuming.

Example: When I was trying to figure out what corks to buy, it does tell to use 1 1/3 inch corks for wines you intend to drink within 12-18 months and 1 3/4 inch ones for those to be aged longer. But that's all it tells. It doesn't tell me whether to buy straight ones or tapered ones, #7, #8, #9, etc.

I am now going to buy First Steps in Winemaking, hoping that will have some simpler answers.

Customer Review: New to Winemaking? So am I.

A friend over seas, living in a country where one must make their own, recommended this gem to me last year. Since then, although possessed of no previous knowledge or experience, I succeeded rather easily in making good wines. I also compared the wine from the recipes in Anderson book with highly recommended kits from Vino Del Vida. Although much easier and quicker, the kit product, while very satisfactory according to those who have tasted it, did not measure up to the superior wine made from Anderson's recipes. Practical suggestions for equipment, where to purchase it and techniques are explained in a straightforward fashion. With a relative small cash outlay and this book, you can be well on your way to an interesting hobby.

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