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Welcome! Been at this ten years and I can say that the "tweaking cheap kits" approach didn't result in as good a product as the Finer Wine Kits. And grapes and juice have yielded complex and really good wine when I did them right.

I have made white wine citrus sangria with: -1 bottle Sauvignon blanc, chilled -1/2 of an orange and 1/2 of a lemon, sliced -1.5c elderflower liquor -1 liter sparkling water -Lots of ice

Bubbling isn't a good indication of fermentation. Were you able to get a hydrometer?

I started making wine in 2012 with a lower-end kit my hubby gave me, and it was okay but not the greatest. At the beginning, I made way more because I was making it more quickly and not really aging the wine more than the kit instructions stated. Also needed to build up stock. Over time I...

Agree with the posts above. I wouldn't use marbles during fermentation because you really need extra space, that's something you can do in the carboy after fermentation. I'd use your steel fermentation vessel for this until fermentation is done and then rack over to your airlocked jugs and...

Welcome to the hobby! I totally remember making my first kit and it was tough to wait. :) So I got a few more fermenters and carboys to make several batches at once while building up stock in the cellar. Now I try to age the reds in a carboy for 1-2 years and leave in the bottle 1+ years...

Welcome to the forum and the hobby! Folks here are making anything and everything. You might enjoy a fellow Texan's book of recipes (note that many folks here suggest doubling the fruit in the recipe for more flavor)...

We always had homemade corn tortillas in Texas and got spoiled. There's nothing like them.

I am a big fan of Meritage and talked to the winemaker at Great Frogs about theirs which was delicious. He didn't share the proportions but I would very much like to replicate one. I also like the sound of this blend but haven't tasted it yet: Cold Blooded 19 American - Other $45.00 / 750 mL...

0.990 is done, actually. That's when I add kmeta and rack to a carboy.

Welcome!

My only worry about using dried fruit in general is that they tend to high levels of sulfite, higher than fresh or frozen.

Welcome to the forum! There are tons of helpful folks here.

Since the FWK kits have a yeast starter that gets very active, I didn't feel I needed it.

I follow the directions with these exceptions: I don't add the yeast nutrient I top up with similar commercial wine (not my kits) to avoid exposing the FWK to kit taste I am currently doing extended maceration on Forte Pinot and Bordeaux Blend for 6-8 weeks on the gross and fine lees and will...

Welcome to the hobby! Hydrometer is necessary to know for sure. I will say that when I was starting out, every step of the process was new and seemed tedious, but now things are familiar and much easier.

You're likely still well below the sulfite levels in things like dried fruit and commercial wine.

Welcome!

Jack Keller has a book that I bought of all his recipes that his widow published: Amazon - Home Winemaking: The Simple Way to Make Delicious Wine: Keller Jr., Jack B., Pambianchi, Daniel: 9781591939474: Books I'd add that folks using his recipes on this forum felt he was light on fruit, though.

Here are my two carboys of Sauvignon Blanc two days after degassing and adding the chems.