Search results

I did this kit as my first kit as well. You will have to degas alot. The instructions always say less time than is really needed. This is a nice table wine but keep your expectations low. Nice wine but not a great wine. Its a little thin on body and there is no Oak in this kit. If you like...

If high/low pressure changes affect this we've had a huge swing in barometric pressure in the past week. Record low system that came through last week and now its clear with high pressure. I see you are in Illinois and that storm came right over you with the high winds.

Yep - maybe a little too small townish I guess. I've heard of the spring lake park shop but the others are closer to me since I'm east of town down here. Did work bring you to Pine river then?

Cool - I have a cabin in Brainerd and we go up to Walker every so often, so I thought I recall the town. I suppose you have to order supplies and have it shipped.

Welcome to a fellow Minnesotan!! There are two great shops in the twin cities for buying kits and equipment. Northern Brewer is on Grand avenue and Midwest Supplies is down in St. Louis Park. Pine River is up past Brainerd isn't it?

I've done a bunch of kits and my theory is to double the amount of time the directions suggest. I think I recall Wade saying not to whip up a froth, but go forward and reverse in quick bursts. Thats worked for me. I've never had oxidation problems yet. There is no magic bullet to degassing...

I agree with Slopenutz. Even adding another $20-$30 and get a Selection International will help greatly. I did the SI Chilean Cab last year and its much better than the VR pinot kit I did. Cellar Craft also has some kits that are reasonable and have grape skins. I don't know if you have CC...

Hey all, I've done 5-10 kits in the past year and a half and a few fruit wines. The kits are OK wines but I keep hearing that if you get real juice you can make better wines, although it sounds like more risk of goofing it up. If I try a bucket of juice, what more equipment do I need...

You are likely to have rocket fuel tasting wine. I did something similar and more alcohol will not make it taste better. Actually most likely it will be worse. I would think your only hope at this point is to either blend with another low alcohol batch or add a very large f-pak to sweeten, but...

I made pesto and froze it and its still good from last season. Maybe if you freeze the basil in olive oil it will keep.

The only thing I've heard is that the wine is very thin. I've heard that if you use these concentrates to give more body to a fruit wine they work fine. NO personal experience but just what I've read on this forum

I added about 3lbs of sugar initially til SG was 1.08, then added all the Fpak after it fermented dry. I made the Exotic Fruit Zin and it was, and still is fantastic. We will have to wait until next year to make another batch, cuz we still have 50+ bottles of Reisling we need to drink.

The funny thing about those mist kits is that I have a variety of kits I've made and the Mist is the cheapest. Its a favorite among non-wine drinkers and my wife chooses one over some of our expensive reislings.

They are ready to drink pretty much right away. I noticed no bottle shock or anything and I was drinking as I bottled. Enjoy

Well - that certainly looks good and familiar. I have that one in secondary right now. Mine still had old instructions, but its working fine. I also had a slow start and it took nearly two full days until it took off. I kept mine on skins for about 9 days and it was nearly finished by then. I...

That is interesting. As I said the RF kit is very tasty even in these early stages. I'll check out that Reserve Cuvee. My grape pack said "Merlot" skins on the outside of it. I assume that is normal for these kits. I'll check that new kit out. Bill

I've filtered and not filtered reds and I don't think it makes much of a difference based on what I've seen. The first few kits I did I filtered so I could bottle quicker and drink, but the others I decided that I would have them wait in a carboy for a while and let the dust settle - so to...

Having more information will help. Nobody can really answer your question until we know the starting SG and what its at now. As Dugger said, generally first rack is at near the end of fermentation - 1.01 or less to offer protection in the secondary from oxidation and spoilage.

I've done both WE kits and CC. I would recommend the CC Sterling series with the grape packs if cost is important. If you have the money the Showcase series is better. I just racked my Rosso Fortissimo last night and it smelled and tasted better than any kit I've done even this early. I've heard...

The CC kit you are using includes an enzyme pack. CC had some issues with a white film developing in the secondary. It was harmless but an eyesore, so they added the enzyme pack and suggested changes to the directions. I've done 2 CC kits recently and you just need to follow the instructions...