Other Amazon Vino mods

[Charlietuna]

Just subscribed to amazon to get a wine kit a month.

I made the borolo kit & at $ 45, I was suprised by the taste- not bad at all. corks & lables included.

Going to start with some dry reds, cab, another borolo, merlot. Wondering about mods. maybe blending up a raisen slurry or maybe some store bought grapes to add some solids. Bananas?

I almost always make a 5 gallon batch out of 6 gallon kits. IMO just ends up better. how about blending the raisens or grapes in a juice slurry & making the full 6 gallon?

Just thinking out loud & hoping for some experienced advice.

Any input? Thanks, Brian

 

[roger80465]

I have made the Barolo and the Rosso Magnifico. These kits are fun to experiment with but I find the line between a mod and a mess is fairly thin. I have added raisins and oak to the Barolo and was left with a kit that tasted musty. Same for the Rosso. The mustiness did age out but it took quite some time. My best result came from a non modified Rosso. With 3-4 months of aging, the wine was OK as an every day wine. Kind of a long way of saying tread carefully with mods on these. Take small steps and find the sweet spot. In my experience, there is a small margin of error.

 

[Boatboy24]

I've made the Barolo and the cab. The Barolo was actually my first kit. Both were made to 5-ish gallons. On the Barolo, I used BM45 yeast and bulk aged for three months on Hungarian medium plus - about three ounces. I've had the musty smell and taste that roger mentioned, but it is getting better now at a little over six months since I started. The cab has been a nice little wine, but I've just started drinking it. I used the kit yeast, but added raisins, dried blueberries, and a banana to primary. I let it sit on about two ounces of light American oak for six weeks.

At about two bucks a bottle, I think you can do well with these. But for 5-6 bucks, you can make a Showcase or Winery series kit. They can be fun though. I'm thinking about making an f-pack for one someday.

 

[anthony]

Amazon Barolo....

Just picked up a Vino Italiano Barolo at the Amazon warehouse for $29.95. It hasn't arrived yet, but when it does, I'll be tweaking the heck out of it. Haven't decided how yet, but will keep you posted.....

 

[gonzo46307]

I've done a couple of Rosso's, one at 5 gal, and the other per instructions...I wasn't really impressed...even with the price tag. I'm happy with my Trinity Red for a daily drinker. It's twice the cost, but (I feel) it's a better product, and worth it.

This is just my opinion...if you like what you make, that's what matters.

Peace,
Bob