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Wine, cider, mead and kombucha supplies

Wine kits and equipment, hard cider and mead kits, hard seltzer bases, kombucha starter kits and the yeast, corkers and test kits around them.

Best wine making kitsBest hard cider kitsBest mead making kitsBest kombucha kitsHow to make kombucha safelyABV calculator
Glass demijohns of various colours lined up on a stone shelf
Photo: Le Grand Portage, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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ABV calculatorABV for wine, cider and mead, with the high-gravity formula.
Sulfites and sensitive guestsCampden tablets and potassium metabisulfite add sulfites. Commercial wine at 10 ppm or more must say “Contains sulfites”; home wine is not labeled, so tell sulfite-sensitive guests (often people with asthma).Source: TTB: sulfite declaration

How to choose a wine making kit or cider kit

A wine making kit comes in two halves: equipment (fermenter, carboy, siphon, hydrometer) and ingredients (a juice or concentrate base with yeast and additives). Starter sets like the Master Vintner 6 gal equipment kit need an ingredient kit and bottles; ingredient kits like Winemaker's Reserve need the equipment. One-gallon kits bundle both and suit small spaces.

What each kit type still needs (listing specs)

KitBatchYou still need
Master Vintner Wine Making Starter Kit6 galWine ingredient kit, bottles
Master Vintner Fresh Harvest fruit wine1 galFresh fruit
Cider House Select Apple Cider Kit6 gal2 lb dextrose and equipment
Craft A Brew Mead Making Kit1 galHoney
Fermentaholics Kombucha Essentials1 galNot listed (recipes call for tea and sugar)

Source: Product listings

Hard cider and mead kits

Cider is the quickest route: pasteurized juice without preservatives, a cider or wine yeast and a fermenter. Mead needs honey, water, yeast and nutrient, and more patience. Under federal rules both count as wine, so the household limits for wine apply.

Federal homebrew rules at a glance

Quoted from the U.S. Code, the CFR and TTB. Not legal advice: state and local law can be stricter.

Beer for personal or family use
200 gal per calendar year with 2+ adults in the household; 100 gal with one adult 26 U.S.C. 5053(e) (Cornell LII)
Wine (incl. cider and mead)
Same 200 / 100 gal per household; may not under any circumstances be sold or offered for sale 27 CFR 24.75 (Cornell LII)
Who counts as an adult
18+ under the rule, but where local law sets a higher purchase age that age applies: in practice 21 everywhere in the US 27 CFR 25.205 (Cornell LII)
Selling homebrew
Not allowed: "Adults may not produce beer for sale or offer their beer for sale" TTB: Beer FAQs
Competitions and club events
Removal is allowed for personal or family use, including organized affairs, exhibitions or competitions (check your state) TTB: Beer FAQs
Distilling spirits at home
Illegal without a federal permit, even for personal use; unregistered stills can be seized TTB: Penalties for illegal distilling
State law
Homebrewing is legal in all 50 states (Alabama and Mississippi were last, in 2013), but limits on transport and sharing vary AHA: Homebrewing statutes by state

Kombucha kits and safety

Kombucha kits include a SCOBY, starter liquid and a glass jar. Ferment in glass or food-grade plastic, not ceramic or lead crystal, and confirm pH 4.2 or lower with a calibrated meter. Fermentation continues in the bottle, and Virginia Tech notes that kombucha above 0.5% ABV is regulated as an alcohol beverage. We make no health claims for it.

Kombucha safetyFerment in food-grade glass or plastic, never ceramic, glazed earthenware or lead crystal. Check with a calibrated pH meter that it reaches 4.2 or lower (and not below 2.5); discard moldy SCOBYs. Extension services advise people who are pregnant, immunocompromised or prone to acidosis not to drink it; we don’t recommend homemade kombucha for children.Source: Virginia Tech FST-297; UGA Extension C1312; CDC MMWR 1995
No home distillingFederal law prohibits making spirits at home without a permit, even for personal use; unregistered stills can be seized. We don’t cover stills, “freeze jacking” or distilling to remove alcohol.Source: TTB: penalties for illegal distilling

Homemade wine and cider do not become "blinding" from fermentation alone; methanol poisoning is linked to illicit or adulterated spirits. We never cover distilling.

Who should choose what

  • Small space, curious: a 1-gallon cider or fruit wine kit.
  • Want 30 bottles of wine: a 6-gallon equipment kit plus an ingredient kit, and a corker.
  • Patient and like honey: a 1-gallon mead kit, nutrient and time.
  • Kombucha fan: a 1-gallon glass jar kit and a calibrated pH meter.

Measure strength with the ABV calculator; wines and meads often land well above beer.

Related reading: best wine yeast and best yeast nutrients for mead, wine and beer.

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Wine, cider, mead & kombucha: questions

What is the best wine making kit for beginners?
A 6-gallon equipment starter kit plus a mid-range ingredient kit, or a 1-gallon all-in-one kit if space is tight. Check whether the kit includes bottles and corks; most don't.
How long does a wine kit take?
Many kits list about four weeks to bottling (Winexpert lists that for its Pinot Grigio), with more aging improving reds. Fruit wines from scratch and meads take longer.
Can I make hard cider from store-bought juice?
Yes, if it contains no preservatives such as potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate, which stop yeast. Pasteurized juice is fine.
Is homemade kombucha safe?
Extension services say to ferment in glass or food-grade plastic, reach pH 4.2 or lower checked with a calibrated meter, and discard any batch with mold. UGA advises against it for pregnant people and people with weak immune systems; we don't recommend homemade kombucha for children.
Do wine kits contain sulfites?
Most include potassium metabisulfite or Campden tablets as a stabilizer. Commercial wine at 10 ppm or more must say "Contains sulfites" (TTB), so tell sulfite-sensitive guests.