# Tweeking a kit



## Schuster1 (Oct 18, 2013)

Recently purchased a Mezza Luna White Wine kit and was thinking about tweeting the kit with white raisins and a west coast oak blend cubes. Does anyone have suggestions on how to go about doing this. Thanks. Ds


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## joeswine (Oct 19, 2013)

*Maza luna white*

GOOD TO THE *ALMOND WINE* SITE AND FOLLOW THE RPOCESS BY LONE STAR LORI'S MEZA LUNA WHITE,IT'S SPOT ON TO THE FINISH.............................................OR JOE'S WINE AND YOU'LL FIND IT.


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## Schuster1 (Oct 20, 2013)

Ok. Thanks I'll check it out.


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## LoneStarLori (Oct 20, 2013)

Joe is a pro at tweaking and there is lots of info on different tweaks on the thread. 

Here's the link to the start of the Mezza Luna. I tried a bottle this weekend at a month after bottling and it's really nice. My daughter picked up on the full body right away and the fruitiness. She's a bit of a white wine snob so I was pleased.

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f61/almond-wine-9155/index24.html#post453501


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## Schuster1 (Oct 21, 2013)

I'll give it a go this weekend. Hope it turns out as good as yours did. Thanks.


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## Schuster1 (Oct 24, 2013)

With regards to adding the golden raisins, do you clean them or just add the directly from the box ? And just to confirm they are added to the secondary container / carboy. Thank you. Ds


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## joeswine (Oct 24, 2013)

*Adding raisins*

FROM THE BOX RINSE THEM AND DRAIN OFF OR PAT DRY,ADD THEM DIRECTLY INTO THE SECONDARY,FOR ABOUT *2 WEEKS* THEN REMOVE AND RE-RACK,FOLLOW THE MFG. DIRECTION FROM THAT POINT FORWARD,Okay.


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## LoneStarLori (Oct 26, 2013)

ooops.. I was supposed to rinse them? lol


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## Arne (Oct 27, 2013)

You didn't rinse them Lori???? Best send them to me for disposal. I will make sure they are safely emptied. Arne.


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## bkisel (Oct 27, 2013)

Not rinsing them probably added to the total solids of your wine and is why your daughter picked up so readily on its full body.


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## barbl72 (Aug 4, 2016)

I have a cheap merlot kit and I want to add black raspberries to the initial ferment. I'll put them in a mesh bag and squeeze out the juice as it perks. I don't want it to be sweet but thinking I may have to add a little more sugar to counter the tartness of the berries. Any advice?


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## Noontime (Aug 5, 2016)

I've never tasted "black raspberries", but my standard advice for anyone using raspberries is to be very conservative. Raspberry flavor seems to dominate everything else if there is too much added. We made a raspberry zinfandel, and a raspberry gewurztraminer, and a fruit blend with raspberries....and we ended up with raspberry wine and raspberry wine and raspberry wine.


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## joeswine (Aug 5, 2016)

*Cheap kits*

Here's how I would proceed...


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## jdwebb (Jul 25, 2018)

So after a long absence, I'm back. After doing several wine kits and being left nothing more than unimpressed with most, I did have one that turned out pretty amazing, a cheap kit by most standards, Meza Luna red. I brew mostly beer and mead, I did manage to put together a tawny-like mead/port using juices from red zinfandel and merlot along with blackberries and cherries in secondary. It was fortified with an expensive bottle of Hennessy and is aging on some cognac soaked oak at the moment at a whopping 19%ABV. So, that being said, I have two more projects I will be starting soon, a Meza Luna re-do but this time adding 9 pounds of honey, 1 can of cherry puree, and Wyeast 4946. The extra sugar from the honey should push the alcohol up somewhere around 18-19%, then I'll fortify it with a good brandy. Next is the Plum/Black Currant mead/port with 15 pounds of honey, juices from Sirah, Cabernet and red Zinfandel with 1/2 can each in primary of black currant and plum puree. The other half will go in secondary, with 2 pounds each of cherries and blackberries and a ton of oak for a tawny-like presence. Looking for a fruity good port style mead.


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## joeswine (Jul 25, 2018)

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate and a good plan.


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## jdwebb (Jul 25, 2018)

Yes, in fact, here's the plan for the port mead:
It calls for 15 pounds of honey...

1 can each Alexander's Cabernet, Red Zinfandel, Sirah
9 lbs of honey (looking for an SG in excess of 1.160
1/2 can each Vintner's Plum and Black Currant puree
Water to 5.5 gallons
1 tsp yeast nutrient (yeast will need it for the honey)
1 1/2 lbs very ripe bananas cut in 1 inch chunks plus 8 oz dried cherries & boiled gently for 5 minutes in spring water
Wyeast 4946 high gravity yeast (18%) (will need to make a starter a day ahead, gravity is above 1.160)

At 1.080 - add 3 more lbs of honey, gently remove cherries and bananas with strainer if still floating & stir very gently, do not introduce oxygen at this point, but to mix the honey and put the yeast back into suspension
At 1.040-20 add 3 lbs of honey, stir gently
At this point we're trying to coax the yeast to go to 20% ABV or there abouts.

When fermentation all but stops, rack to secondary with the rest of the plum and black currant puree, and 2 llbs frozen mixed cherries. You're likely to see fermentation resume, but very slowly. Let it ride, be patient.

After 4-5 weeks, rack again to tertiary, add 750ml of brandy and 4 oz soaked French Oak (or cognac, your choice at this point), this should kill the remaining yeast if we were lucky enough to get to 20%
Regarding the oak, if you want a nice tawny finish, you may have to add more or re-oak for more wood flavor. Monitor it closely though.

I did a similar recipe with Merlot & Red Zinfandel, and it's aging right now and tastes amazingly good.

EDIT: Also, when racking to secondary, splash it, here is where you want a bit of oxygenation, you won't be hurting it, you'll be helping it.


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## Venatorscribe (Jul 26, 2018)

Schuster1 said:


> Recently purchased a Mezza Luna White Wine kit and was thinking about tweeting the kit with white raisins and a west coast oak blend cubes. Does anyone have suggestions on how to go about doing this. Thanks. Ds


No harm to be had doing this. I use white raisins a lot - but mostly with country wine - in order to bolster that elusive mouth- feel and add some more fruit / natural sugars. Similarly oaking. But I don't exceed 4gms per litre and then for no more than 10 Days. Otherwise it is easy to over oak. Not that that is a problem. Just means you need to extend the bottle conditioning. I add the raisin during primary and the oaking during bulk storage. Although some might suggest adding in primary.


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## ASR (Aug 9, 2018)

I have a Reisling Ice WIne kit that I want to tweak with a hint of strawberry flavor. I was thinking of just putting about a pound of raw strawberries when it goes into secondary at the same time the F-pac is added. It is in secondary about two weeks. Would this work? They would end up sitting in everyting that settles out. I was thinking of mashing them in the primary and letting them sit there for a few days during the intial fermentation. I only want a hint, not a strawberry reieling wine.


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## pillswoj (Aug 9, 2018)

Putting them in the primary should give you the hint you are looking for, I have done this with peaches in a Reisling, Used 6 peaches in a 23 L Kit.


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## ASR (Aug 9, 2018)

pillswoj said:


> Putting them in the primary should give you the hint you are looking for, I have done this with peaches in a Reisling, Used 6 peaches in a 23 L Kit.


Was thinking of putting them in nylon bag, mashing with patatoe masher, adding a camden tablet (to prevent stray yeast). Pour the kit right over it, let sit a day. then add yeast. Stir it once a day for next few days then remove, squeeze it out and continue with kit instructions. Sound about right?


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## jpwatkins9 (Aug 14, 2018)

Meant to put this in here, but put it in another topic on the forum yesterday. Not exactly a kit, but still in the 5 to 6 gallon range. Just got my Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and juice(helped with the picking) from 20+ year old Texas hill country vines. Optical measure of sugar is 25.8 Brix, Ph is 3.6 and Sp Grav. 1.101. I checked these with my instruments at home and they read close enough to the ones at the winery. Juice with grapes some stems, etc. in the primary fermenter with water lock and pitched pre-hydrated 1118 yeast last night. Will let it sit for a week or two, but keep track of the fermentation every few days, and stir up the grapes, bits of stems, and other debris. Then a few weeks of MLF and more weeks of racking before putting it into a 20 liter French oak barrel for a few years. Should be a fun experiment. Will report as progress (Ihope) continues.


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## Venatorscribe (Aug 14, 2018)

ASR said:


> Was thinking of putting them in nylon bag, mashing with patatoe masher, adding a camden tablet (to prevent stray yeast). Pour the kit right over it, let sit a day. then add yeast. Stir it once a day for next few days then remove, squeeze it out and continue with kit instructions. Sound about right?


That sounds like a good plan. Depending on the Brix of your kit, you might get away with pouring some boiled water on the contents in the bag before adding to your kit. Just as another line of defence against lurking randoms. But also stick with the k-meta as your second line if defence.


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## Venatorscribe (Aug 14, 2018)

jpwatkins9 said:


> Meant to put this in here, but put it in another topic on the forum yesterday. Not exactly a kit, but still in the 5 to 6 gallon range. Just got my Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and juice(helped with the picking) from 20+ year old Texas hill country vines. Optical measure of sugar is 25.8 Brix, Ph is 3.6 and Sp Grav. 1.101. I checked these with my instruments at home and they read close enough to the ones at the winery. Juice with grapes some stems, etc. in the primary fermenter with water lock and pitched pre-hydrated 1118 yeast last night. Will let it sit for a week or two, but keep track of the fermentation every few days, and stir up the grapes, bits of stems, and other debris. Then a few weeks of MLF and more weeks of racking before putting it into a 20 liter French oak barrel for a few years. Should be a fun experiment. Will report as progress (Ihope) continues.


You must be pleased with the Brix and pH levels. Good one.


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## jpwatkins9 (Aug 14, 2018)

Yes, this should turn out great if everything goes right. No tweaking on this as it is my first from raw juice and fruit. Will keep it a varietal all the way. It is currently bubbling away and tomorrow I will stir the bottom to keep the fruit in there moving. I did pull about 1/2 gallon of grapes etc. out and froze it. Will re-add that in the secondary fermentation just to get as much body as possible. Had to pull it because the primary fermenter was also the transport and was filled to the brim. No instructions with this, will just take my time with it.


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