I want to learn more about the home winemaking industry. (For this
purpose I'm interested in large-scale winemaking of 100+ liters per
batch rather than the 5 or so gallon wine kits)

1. How many people (US and globally) produce wine of this scale at
home? Is this number growing? If this number is not available, one
helpful proxy, among others, would be the number of people with
high-end wine cellars or coolers.

2. Who are the major vendors of winemaking equipment? I am
particularly interested in vendors of the Italian method of
winemaking, many of whom, not surprisingly, are Italian.

3. How much does the process cost in capital outlays (e.g., tank,
fermenting equipment) and ongoing costs (e.g., grapes, bottles)?

4. As a follow-up to #1 and #3, what is the value of the market?

5. How does one reach the personal winemaking population? Are there
magazines, clubs, interest groups, etc.?

Thanks.

Curiousb,
I thought a wine-savvy Researcher would jump on your question, but
maybe they have sworn of the stuff during lent, very virtuous (but
virtually also?)

But maybe I am wrong, so I will just let you do a little browsing.
Search with:  wine making
and you will find many sites that should help, even one for supplies.

As to your no. 4  - the market:  I expect that state laws on
commerical production and tax will be a big hurdle.  Maybe you can
sell to a few friends, but I believe that any income will be the
savings from not buying wine yourself.

Regards, Myoarin

There is a company called ProVina that makes a product called WinePod.
 It is 100 liters.  Their website is www.personalwinemaking.com

Whilst this question looks like it may have expired I am interested to
try and help out.

I am an oenology graduate and have had some experience with small
timers trying to produce their own product. One of the best things to
do I would think is to try and befriend or approach a wine producer in
your area to help you to create something using their resources and
paying their fee.

Whilst this may not seem to have quite the autonomy and romance as
doing something in your own shed it would almost certainly guarantee a
better product at the end and give you contacts and insight into doing
it on a future occasion on your own.

A few tips though. 

- Avoid trying to make your own wine out of white grapes. Reds are so
much more robust and can take a whole lot more bashing about. i.e.
they can take care of themselves to a greater degree.

- don't aim to high and expect at best a young drinking, barely
palatable product. (maybe that is too pessimistic, with the right
assistance you could get something a lot better).

... that's not many tips.

Post back to this if it seems like I can be of any assistance and I
will be keen to give further insight if possible.

Josh