# improve wine kits



## 3girlswine (Aug 14, 2012)

looking for way to improve your typical kit. I generally stick with dry reds. I can certainly give more specifics but I am interested in what types of alterations anyone has made to improve win kits in general. abv, taste, body,etc. new to the group. thanks


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## joeswine (Aug 14, 2012)

*Making it your own*

There are plenty of things you can do to make the wine kit different for what it was supposed to be ,and if you have made many kits then that's okay to stray from the path a little bit. Just remember, you don't will lose the taste the manufacturers trying to produce ,unless you just using it as a base wine and then adding your touches to its, that's very doable something I enjoy doing . You get a chance look up ( when good wines gone bad )and check out some of the techniques use to make a basic wine your own ,but once again I'll state that, these techniques are good if youve been around a while and want to make the wine differentR but still retaining the base wine.


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## cpfan (Aug 14, 2012)

3girlswine said:


> looking for way to improve your typical kit. I generally stick with dry reds. I can certainly give more specifics but I am interested in what types of alterations anyone has made to improve win kits in general. abv, taste, body,etc. new to the group. thanks


Not sure what you mean by typical kit. Kits vary from bottom end 4 week thru many steps to very high-end 6 or 8 week kits.

I prefer to buy a better quality kit than mess with the lower ones.

Steve


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## Dugger (Aug 15, 2012)

Check out the sticky thread under Kit Winemaking for bzac's tweaks - it has some good suggestions. Like cpfan said, though, better quality kits are the best tweak.


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## joeswine (Aug 15, 2012)

*Quaility kits?*

SOME TIMES THE POCKET DICTATES WHAT IS A QUALITY KIT OR NOT,AND IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD ,LETS SAY A 149.00 FOR A (QUALITY WINE KIT)0R EVEN $99- FOR A KIT ,BUT YOU STILL WANT TO MAKE WINE THEN THE ALTERNATIVE IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE KITS,AND TO THESE KITS OF WHICH I,VE MADE A FEW AND DID MY EXPERIMENTS ON ,THEIR THE RIGHT PRICE AT $69 to $89--per kit,that's not to say IF fresh juice at $45 to 65 a bucket isn't available to you at the time ,OR YOUR NOT SURE HOW TO.THEN LEARNING HOW TO TAKE A INEXPENSIVE KIT AND MAKING IT BETTER,IS THE RIGHT COURSE OF ACTION.


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## 3girlswine (Aug 17, 2012)

cpfan said:


> Not sure what you mean by typical kit. Kits vary from bottom end 4 week thru many steps to very high-end 6 or 8 week kits.
> 
> I prefer to buy a better quality kit than mess with the lower ones.
> 
> Steve



I understand the levels of wine kits and thanks for the feedback. I guess what I was trying to ask is that if there were some things that you do to improve kits regardless of quality. Tricks that you have learned over time that you do to quality or less than quality wine kits. Looking for the simple improvement suggestions. I have made kits that range greatly in value and age time but just thought I might hit on some hidden secrets that someone might have come across before I experiment on my own. thanks and love the forum.


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## DoctorCAD (Aug 17, 2012)

3girlswine said:


> I understand the levels of wine kits and thanks for the feedback. I guess what I was trying to ask is that if there were some things that you do to improve kits regardless of quality. Tricks that you have learned over time that you do to quality or less than quality wine kits. Looking for the simple improvement suggestions. I have made kits that range greatly in value and age time but just thought I might hit on some hidden secrets that someone might have come across before I experiment on my own. thanks and love the forum.



Biggest improvement comes from slowing down to 90 or more days between starting and bottling.


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## joeswine (Aug 19, 2012)

*This can help*

Take the time to read when good wines gone bad . There are some things in there they can help you enhance and improve a lower and wine kit ................. and that's fact


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## TonyP (Aug 19, 2012)

While I'm not big on changing ingredients, I always extend the time. The 90 day approach or something like it is a good way to go. Also, be patient after bottling, as well.

Tony P.


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## Bartman (Aug 19, 2012)

Most of the 'tricks' to improve lower end kits add to the cost, even if only a little bit, and have left me wondering if I wouldn't have been better off just getting a better kit to start with. That said, adding some chopped raisins, adjusting with some extra oak/TanCru, holding out a little of the water (2-3 Liter max) at the outset, using a different yeast are all things I have done or considered doing to tweak red wine kits. Also, I *always* extend the time for aging, so I forgot to "second" that suggestion from the other commenters, but that is a critical tweak that will improve every kit, IMHO.

Lots of possibilities out there - what works for you will depend largely on your personal tastes. It's not one-size-fits-all - that's why we all enjoy this hobby so much!


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## joeswine (Aug 19, 2012)

*agree to disagree?*




 THE BEAUTY OF THIS CRAFT ,IS YOU CAN BE AS RIGHT, AS YOU ARE WRONG ,IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TASTE ,AND THAT IN IT'S SELF IS NOT A PROBLEM,THE QUESTION IS CAN I AFFORD A HIGH END KIT OR DOES MY BUDGET NOT QUIT ALLOW FOR IT ?


IF THE WINE DOESN'T HAVE THE BODY AND STRUCTURE BUILT IN IT ,TIME WILL MAKE LITTLE CHANGE TO THAT ,IT CAN CORRECT FLAVOR IN A SENSED POSSIBLE SMOOTH OUT SOME ROUGH EDGES,BUT IN THE END TIME IN A BOTTLE ,IS JUST TIME IN A BOTTLE ,(kit wine).

TO GIVE YOU A EXAMPLE ALL BUCKET JUICE WINES HAVE CONCENTRATES IN THEM ,WITHOUT THE CONCENTRATE THE JUICE WOULD BE MORE OF A BLUSH THEN A DEEP PURPLE,THAT'S A FACT SO RIGHT THERE IS A ADJUSTMENT BEFORE THE FACT.

 SO ADJUSTMENTS ARE NEEDED UP AND DOWN THE LINE,AND AT TIMES WE NEED TO MAKE A FEW OURSELVES AS WINE MAKERS, INEXPENSIVE KITS,EXPENSIVE KITS,LEARNING HOW TO ADJUST THEM IS WHAT WINE MAKING IS ALL ABOUT....


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## 3girlswine (Aug 22, 2012)

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I will start out slow and learn what best fits my taste. Have to start somewhere I suppose but willing to try.


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## kevinlfifer (Aug 23, 2012)

I've made 10 kits using the packlab grape packs, I've added their $20 grape skin pack to their $40 kits. I think they have all turned out quite well. The cheap kits are very drinkable early. 3 mo after bottling.

They are supposed to start to sell the grape skin packs at Amazon soon.


http://mywinemonvin.com/ 888-946 -3233 ext 225

I also add Oak (1 cup med or light toast chips, boiled with the water) to primary, 1/2 tsp tannin, 2 tsp peptic enzyme for the grape pack, usually 1-3 cups sugar to get sg to 1.10. and I take it to 5.5 gal. then add grape pack. I ferment to dry on the pack. Ussauly about 8-10 days. I have switched the yeast to pastuer red, made a slight difference but not much.


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## robie (Aug 24, 2012)

Yes, layering in the oak can make a difference.

A year ago I pretty much had given up on red kits because they just never seemed to come around. The kit taste just seemed to hang on. Seems no matter what, I could pay $16 for a box wine and get a better product (Most boxes of wine hold 3 to 4 bottles of wine, too!).

Next, I bought a six-gallon oak barrel hoping the concentration effect would help out, but at first it didn't make that much difference.

I tasted some kit wines that were near 2 years old and was very disappointed. Then I waited about 4 months and tried them again.

Now, all the kits, which went through the barrel are really shaping up. The concentration and micro oxygenation the barrel offers has really paid off. The wines are thicker (better mouth feel) and much more fruity than before. The flavor has really started to come around. 

I think one of the biggest differences between a good $10 to $12 bottle of wine and an ultra-premium kit are aging time and some barrel time.

Now, all my reds, kit and fresh, go through the barrel. I have reached a point where once again I am no longer against making more red kit wines.

This might get some disagreement, but I really think the ultra-premium red kits need 3 years to really blossom. Good at 2 but really nice at 3.


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## rjb222 (Aug 24, 2012)

The price point in kits is set by the quality of the concentrate used in the kits setup and the quality of the juice in the kits set up. Manufactures use high end concentrates in high end kits lower end concentrates in lower end kits. There are tweaks that use Banana,Raisins,Grape concentrate, Yes they improve the quality of the low end kit but they do not compare to buying a better kit to start with and having a better wine.


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## blackfin1 (Aug 24, 2012)

When I make wine from kits, I tend to use less water then required. Especially when topping off, I try to supplement water with wine as much as possible. I also bulk age for longer periods of time then required by the kit manufactureres. I once added fresh grapes, crushed of course, to help with flavors and tannins. It worked great and added a bit more flavor. But that can get costly, your better off buying a high end kit and following the directions to the tee.

Sal


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## joeswine (Aug 24, 2012)

*Think outside the box*

 I think kit manufacturers, know the difference between eight 1299 and $20 bottle of wine to with their providing in the kits .by layering the Oak in the form of chips in then powder your pretty mouth feel, as the years went by the manufacturers knew this ,one of the few ways they can improve your wine kits was by showing us different ways of enhancing the outcome. 
 Layering is one aspect, doesn't matter the quality of the kit you can improve , using the grape concentrate that is already out there , you can improve whether as white or red . Adding water or less water does not improve the quality of the kit what it does do is either dilutes the flavor and the color or increases the amount of alcohol that will take away from the flavor . Now remember, , this is just my own take on the subject, but if you follow good wines gone bad you have seen that I fit every aspect of this , including the flavor enhancements. 
 I just read the making a tropical Riesling kit from Amazon.com for a friend of mine . . It started out like any of the kitan off white wine now flavor the process continued , . Then came the fpacs in the finished product , followed all the dots connected to tease , and was all said and done it wasn't a bad tasting wine not great before it was worth it was not a bad tasting party . 
Even some good winemakers here in South Jersey, and I'm referring to wineries use these tricks of the trade , you have to be open-minded and and be able think outside the. B
TR


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