Starter Winemaking Equipment Kit w/ Floor Corking Machine

My wife and I bought this kit after attending a local class to start our first batch. It truly does include pretty much everything you NEED to start out. There are definitely some things you'll WANT to get for other batches, but this is enough to get started. I definitely recommend the floor corker as well, as it's about the best way to cork bottles and the price of the kit even with the corker is quite reasonable.

I needed to replace all my wine making equipment that was lost in a fire. These kits saved me time and money. Thanks Midwest.

I got interested in making my own wine, and through lots of research ended up with Midwest's kit with the Portugese style corker. The product shipped quickly and everything was of great quality. Even when something showed up broken in shipment, customer service was quick to send out a replacement, no problem. The DVD that came with it was very helpful, and I'm almost done with my first batch of wine. This is a great value for beginners. Start with Midwest!

Love, love, love Midwest Supplies! I am currently "brewing" my first red wine kit and purchased this starter kit to begin my newfound hobby. It arrived to my doorstep very promply (within 3 days) and I was off and running.

My first little stumbling block however (therefore the "Almost...everything you need to start!" title was that there is no Test Tube included to use with the hydrometer. This hurdle was solved by simply not using one and just testing right in the bucket...no problem. But I got on the live chat with customer support and asked about the Wine Thief which can also be used very successfully as a test tube. Got one, and love it. I do think the kit should include a test tube however.

Next minor stumbling block was following the degassing process and not having the test tube to "test" whether there is remaining CO2 in the wine. The wine thief I have cannot be closed off at one end so that was not helpful. In the end, I am purchasing a test tube to use for this purpose as well as perhaps it's intended purpose as well (sometimes it can be difficult to load enough wine into the wine thief to easily drop the hydrometer in without fear of it hitting the bottom...which it hasn't because I use a cup to add more wine the top of the thief).

Bottom line is that this kit is phenomenal, and I'm thrilled to have the floor corker (hope that when it comes time to bottle...next week!...that it will perform as good as it looks :-). All the parts and pieces are constructed well.

I cannot say enough positive about Midwest's support team. I first received a glass carboy (though I ordered the Better Bottle with the kit) and they quickly sent a replacement along with a return label for the glass carboy. The same happened when I ordered a Port Kit (and associated 3 gallon Better Bottle). I received a Better Bottle with a port, and a replacement is on the way.

I am a now a devout customer of Midwest Supplies!

I received this kit as a Christmas present (2012 Christmas) and I feel that it is a great starting wine kit. We did upgrade to the floor corker to make life a little bit easier. I'm also going to need to get a second carboy, but all in all, a great beginning kit with pretty much everything to need to start making wine!

I ordered this a after taking a class at a local store. would have bought for the store but they were out of stock. Midwest's price even with shipping for this stuff was better buy $40 than local. It is everything you need to start a kit wine. The floor corker is nice a makes corking a breeze, I would not buy a hand model. I got a better bottle with mine, love the light weight of it and its easy to clean.

there are some things I don't like. The racking cane was not easy to get a siphon going, I would have liked the option to upgrade to an auto siphon, which I bought local to replace it after one use. I'm keeping it as a spare.
The bottle filler while it looked a bit cheap works great, happy with that.
A wine thief and test vial is not included and not needed to make kits you can float it in the bucket. However I am going to need one as I am moving on and doing more than kits soon.

I would recommend getting a bottle tree and bottle rinse it makes sanitizing and drying bottles for bottling your wine go move smoothly