Wine Makers: Got any tips?

I’m thinking about starting a little home wine making operation, and would appreciate any tips our resident wine makers would like to share. Besides your own personal stories or advice, I’m also very interested in:

  1. Recommendations for some good reference books.

  2. Suggestions on sources for grapes. I live near San Jose in CA, so it’s easy for me to make a day trip to any number of good wine growing regions, and I’d be game for trying some vinyards that allow you to pick your own grapes.

  3. Batch sizes: I want to start reasonably small, so is there any minimum size bellow which you don’t want to go?

Ideally I’d like to have two batches going, if that’s reasonable. Either a Cab, a Pinot, or a Zin and a Chardonnay. I have a basement I can keep at a pretty even temperature, and am game to making some minor modifications if needed.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I’ve yet to make my own wine. My husband and I have brewed our own beer, and we have talked about making or own wine, but it just hasn’t happened yet.

I’ve never heard of a vineyard that allows you to go in and pick your own grapes, but that certainly doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

As for grapes (or bulk juice/wine) check out winebusiness.com or Turrentine Brokerage, although I don’t know how many you are looking to buy and I don’t know the smallest amount any grower would be willing to sell.
Or you can try out Crushpad in San Francisco.

They already have grape sources available, and take care of all materials, etc. Probably not as fun or involved as creating your own, but it seems like a nice idea for someone wanting to start a small brand without investing time and money in all the equipment, legal requirements, etc.

BTW, in case my OP was unclear. When I say “home wine making operation”, I’m talking strictly for personal consumption and to share with friends. If I ever decide to go pro (and the chance of that is slim to none), it won’t be out of my home.