# F-pack



## Tyroneshoolace (Nov 23, 2010)

Hello all, I was wondering the following.

Most times by adding an F-pack this also increases the sweetness of the wine.

What would happen if I added the F-Pack during fermentation. Will this now give me a dry wine or would it me a dry wine with limited flavor.

Thanks in adavance


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## cpfan (Nov 23, 2010)

Tyroneshoolace said:


> Hello all, I was wondering the following.
> 
> Most times by adding an F-pack this also increases the sweetness of the wine.
> 
> ...


Adding the F-pack prior to pitching the yeast will result in...

1. a dry wine (unless you add some sweetener post sorbate)
2. higher alcohol
3. the possibility of a slow starting ferment - because most commercial F-packs contain some sorbate

When making white wine kits (not Mist wines) that come with an F-pack (or Suss-Reserve), I have often added the pouch prior to pitching the yeast. No problems yet.

Many people have reported success when adding the F-pack that comes with a Mist kit to the fermentation pail. Personally I feel that the Mist wines need some sweetness to bring out the fruit flavours, so I have not tried this.

Steve


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## Savana123 (Nov 24, 2010)

cpfan said:


> Adding the F-pack prior to pitching the yeast will result in...
> 
> 1. a dry wine (unless you add some sweetener post sorbate)
> 2. higher alcohol
> ...



This update is quite necessary as, I am trying making dry wine and f-pack is very useful.


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## critterhunter (Nov 24, 2010)

What the heck is an F-Pack and where do I get it? I'm seeing this required in a fast wine recipe using store bought juice and I want to try making it.


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## winemaker_3352 (Nov 24, 2010)

critterhunter said:


> What the heck is an F-Pack and where do I get it? I'm seeing this required in a fast wine recipe using store bought juice and I want to try making it.



F-Pac = Flavor Pack. Here is a link to it and explains how to make one. http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7547


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## Tom (Nov 24, 2010)

HA! you beat me to my answer to my link


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## Tom (Nov 24, 2010)

critterhunter said:


> What the heck is an F-Pack and where do I get it? I'm seeing this required in a fast wine recipe using store bought juice and I want to try making it.




BTW. There is no "fast" wine recipe for store juice. It will in most cases take longer that the early drinking wines from kits. When I make wine from store juice its a min of 6 months to bottle.


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## winemaker_3352 (Nov 24, 2010)

Tom said:


> HA! you beat me to my answer to my link



Quickdraw baby!!!


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## critterhunter (Nov 24, 2010)

Tom said:


> BTW. There is no "fast" wine recipe for store juice. It will in most cases take longer that the early drinking wines from kits. When I make wine from store juice its a min of 6 months to bottle.



Oh, I don't know about that. Check the other "Fast" thread going on. I've already got a few recipes from people that are talking two months or so for store bought juice such as Peach/Apple or Peach/Grape. I'm planning to make one or the other of those. Then there's that Skeeter Pee which is 30 days to bottle and can also be drank right away.

I'm not trying to make award winning wine for my circle of friends. Just something that tastes halfway decent and that we can get drunk off of. Well, perhaps one or two of my carboys will be devoted to wine taking 2 to 6 months to bottle, but at least another will be used for faster stuff.

I'm still wondering where these F-Paks can be bought. Do any other stores carry them besides a wine supply store like maybe Grocery stores?


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## cpfan (Nov 24, 2010)

There are (IMO) three things called F-packs.

1. The flavour/sweetener pack found in Mist wine kits. To me, this is the original F-pack.

2. The sweetening pack found in some white and blush wine kits. In some cases this is wine grape juice and could be considered a Suss Reserve pack.

3. Home made flavour/sweetener packs being used by some wine makers with their fruit wines. This offers great versatility in the flavours and sugar levels of your final wine.

In this case, I believe that the Original Poster (Tyroneshoolace) was asking about type 1, the F-pack for a Mist wine kit.

Steve


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## cpfan (Nov 24, 2010)

critterhunter said:


> I'm still wondering where these F-Paks can be bought. Do any other stores carry them besides a wine supply store like maybe Grocery stores?


As a rule they cannot be bought separately, although ABC Cork had some listed in their catalog 3 or 4 years ago, I don't think they were popular with retailers.

Steve


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## Tyroneshoolace (Nov 25, 2010)

hey thanks for your responses.

i was hoping that this would work as I am looking at a blueberry pinot noir kit. with adding the f-pack post fermentation it would finish about a 4 or 5 on the sweetness scale.

will this affect the flavour of the finished product if i add the f-pack early and how much alcohol would this add.i want the finished product to be good, just not so sweet.

any other ideas on what i can do? i asked at the local shop if i could leave it out completely and she said it would lack flavor.


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## Wade E (Nov 25, 2010)

Great job with your well thought through responce cpfan! 
Tyrone, adding some or all of the f-pack pre fermentation will boost the abv of the wine but also make the wine less flavorful vs using it all at the end but it wont be as sweet. IMO the best idea if your looking for less sweetness is to add 1/2 the pack up front and the other 1/2 post fermentation. You may also want to add about 1 1/2 -2 lbs of sugar to get a starting sg of about 1.085. When I make these I add 3 lbs of sugar up front and then use the whole f pack post fermentation but most of the people who I make these for like it this way and the higher abv balances out the added sweetness pretty good.


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## Tyroneshoolace (Nov 25, 2010)

Thanks Wade that sounds like a great idea.

I'll be doing the in the near future and I'll let you know how it turns out.

Also a dumb newbie question: Would the sugar I add be regular old table sugar dissolved in water then added?


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## Tyroneshoolace (Dec 22, 2010)

Still haven't had any follow up to the sugar question. also what do I do with the other half of the f-pack while it is fermenting? Should I freeze it


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