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On January 14, 2022, I posted my goals for my 3rd year of winemaking. Let's see how I did: 1. I started an Island Mist Black Cherry kit. Why? It was on the shelf, and my family loves it. I'm tweaking my process based on some good advice from the senior members here. I prefer a nice dry red...

I think the kit directions suggest water. I've used white zin.

Hi Bryan. I enjoy dry red wine, black coffee, unsweetened iced tea, sour hard candy and hot chicken wings. My wife enjoys things that taste sweet and mild. She thinks food with black pepper is spicy. I like the tartness of my strawberry wine, but I am trying to reduce the tartness of the...

I'm not a big raspberry guy, but I made the Island Mist Raspberry Mojito kit and my wife loves it. I was originally following the Label Peelers boosting instructions, but now I just add a 4lb bag of sugar in the beginning and it seems to mostly taste the same (much cheaper). I haven't had...

I will definitely make them again. The FWKs are my "kit of choice" moving forward. If I cannot figure out how to reduce the Frutta tartness, they will be for me, and I'll make boosted Island Mist kits for the family so they can get their sweet fix. I'm also experimenting with making wine from...

These fruit wines are very tart. I added both sweetener packs plus some sugar to my strawberry and it's still tart. I like tart, but my wife does not. I'm ready to bottle my blueberry and I've added a ton of sugar. It still has a little pucker, but has amazing blueberry flavor.

I haven't had the same issue with Island Mist kits, maybe because they were consumed by my family very quickly. I made a Sangiovese Rose 6-week kit and a White Zin 4-week kit that have discolored. My 6-week Gewurztraminer is getting darker too. The 6-week kits are medium grade while the...

Green bottles in cardboard boxes on their side, in finished basement with temp ~69 degrees F. Carboy was topped off to bottom of spout (for 2-6 weeks depending on kit). I agree on aging but these were some of my first batches so I was following the directions pretty closely. Directions call...

I'm looking for a little help from the experienced winemakers, especially those who have made kit wines at some point. I posted the following text and got no replies. It must have been a remote thread because usually there is a flood of helpful information. Here goes... "I made a couple...

I made a couple blush wines from Winexpert kits and followed the directions quite closely. I bottled it in green bottles and there was really no exposure to light. The wine was a beautiful blush at bottling time, but a years or so later, the bottles I'm opening have an orange tint. It tastes...

I finally got my Blueberry kit from LP and am pitching the yeast today. I've been waiting over a year for it to come back into stock. It smells so good!

I am also a 1 or 2 bucket guy. I've been a part of several discussions and have decided that saving money (this year), may not be possible with inflation, etc. It still seems like a good idea for the future. Another option for this year is to call Ruffled Brewing in Oakmont, 412-828-7412 as...

Sure it's childish, but it's also hilarious!

FYI. When I made Oh So Strawberry, I put in both sweetener packs and extra sugar. I thought it was good and bottled it. Tasting it a few months later, it is still pretty tart. Don't be afraid to add a little more sugar to take the edge off.

Count me in. I'm a cheap engineer and love to save $$$$$.

Today, at 4 weeks, my Dragon Blood is tasting better. The flavors are merging and the sweetness is coming forward. I'm so relieved because I had already dreamed up plans for another batch; Blueberry Mojito Dragon Blood. Next time though, I'll probably skip the early tastings. Thanks for...

OK. That patience thing again... ;)

Thank you for the replies. I hear ya, but... I taste all my wines throughout the process so I have a rough idea what unfinished wine should taste like. Dragon Pee is also supposed to be a quick drinker, so I expect to taste something palatable before I bottle it, even though it's very young...

This is a serious question. 😖 I just tasted my first batch of DB (berry pee) as I'm racking it and honestly, it tastes like crap (pun intended). Will it get better after sweetening?

Just out of curiosity, how does your pee taste before sweetening?