Hey lasercrazy! I don't make home made wine, but I do make home made beer, aka Homebrew, and I have for years, although lately I've been on an off phase, but I still have all my equipment to do all grain brewing, including a very expensive stainless steel pot and copper immersion chiller. Fun stuff, brewing. No matter how many times I do it, I still feel a child-like thrill at seeing the first CO2 bubles and yeast colonies, the first signs of fermentation. It's miraculous--or at least I feel like it is--every time. The miracle of life. Or, that could be the homebrew talking. hehe. Probably a combination.
BTW, be careful not to explode a carboy when doing fruit wines! The fruit mattes together and gets pushed to the top and can actually seal the container, preventing the CO2 from being able to escape. Then BOOM! A friend of mine had this happen to him while he was away on a trip. Came back to half fermented strawberries and broken glass splattered all over the inside of his brewing room. Not fun.
