Gift Bundle Shopping List: For a New Winemaker
What you actually buy a friend who said 'that sounds fun.' Enough to make wine, not so much it scares them off.
Six thoughtful items in a box you'd actually wrap. Russ has gifted this exact stack three times — all three friends made wine.
What's on the list
Grouped by store aisle so you walk the shop in order — in and out without backtracking.
Fermentation
- Fermonster PET carboy
- Airlocks + stoppers
Transfer
- Auto-siphon + tubing
- Stirring spoon
Sanitation
- Star San (small bottle)
Testing
- Hydrometer + test jar
Wine
- Starter wine kit (their varietal)
Who it's for
- Gift-givers shopping for a curious friend
- Anyone who's tried to share the hobby and watched the friend bail at item #20
- Holiday shoppers who want to wrap one box, not seven
Why you'll love it
Fits in a box you'd wrap
PET fermenter is light, unbreakable, and small enough to look gift-y.
Pick a kit they actually drink
Don't gift a Cab to a Sauvignon Blanc person.
Leaves room to grow
No bottling supplies — they reuse beer bottles for batch one and graduate later.
Print it. Fold it. Take it to the shop.
We email you the PDF so you have it on every device — phone in the car, printer at home.
More shopping lists
View all
Beginner Supply Shopping List
The exact 15 items Russ hands you when you say 'okay, I'm actually going to make wine.'
Bottling Day Shopping List
Bottle, cork, capsule, label — the assembly line, in the right order, with nothing missing halfway through.
Premium Red Aging Shopping List
Built around an Amarone or Cab kit you plan to age 12+ months. Get the oak, the SO2, and the corks right.
Cleaning & Sanitation Starter Shopping List
The $40 shelf that saves your batch. Cleaning is not sanitizing — you need both, and this list spells out which is which.
Fresh Juice Pail Shopping List (Fall)
When you skip the kit and ferment a 6-gallon pail of California juice, this is what you add to your beginner setup.
Big-Batch Mass Production Shopping List
Four batches a year, forty pounds at a time. The upgrade gear that makes scale work without losing your mind.
White & Rosé Summer Shopping List
A lighter setup for whites and rosés you'll drink within a year. Cooler ferments, synthetic corks, less oak, more refreshment.
Testing & Measurement Upgrade Shopping List
Stop guessing. Hydrometer, refractometer, pH, SO2, acid — the instruments that turn a hobby into a craft.