Dry wine making kits

[windseafire]

I am from England living in the US and like the very dry Bordeux style French wines. Does anyone know of a suitable wine kit to make this kind of wine?

 

[Ohio Bob]

I am from England living in the US and like the very dry Bordeux style French wines. Does anyone know of a suitable wine kit to make this kind of wine?

Label Peelers sells the Fine Wine Kit and has a Bordeaux blend as well as other blends.

 

[ChuckD]

Welcome to WMT. Is this your first attempt at wine making?

 

[windseafire]

Label Peelers sells the Fine Wine Kit and has a Bordeaux blend as well as other blends.

Thanks, I will look into these.

 

[windseafire]

Welcome to WMT. Is this your first attempt at wine making?

Thanks for the welcome. I have made about 30 batches of fruit wine over the years and a couple of kit wines. Problem with the kit wines is they have all been way too sweet for me.

 

[ratflinger]

You will be pleasantly surprised by the FWK Bordeux then. Just remember, these kits are all California grapes, so they may not have the same flavor profile as the grapes from France.

I see you are in Cali, as you get more comfortable with wine making you are in a great area for picking up fresh fruit of your choice.

 

[windseafire]

You will be pleasantly surprised by the FWK Bordeux then. Just remember, these kits are all California grapes, so they may not have the same flavor profile as the grapes from France.

I see you are in Cali, as you get more comfortable with wine making you are in a great area for picking up fresh fruit of your choice.

Thanks, I will give the FWK Bordeaux a try.

 

[Sailor323]

Thanks for the welcome. I have made about 30 batches of fruit wine over the years and a couple of kit wines. Problem with the kit wines is they have all been way too sweet for me.

Odd, I've never had a kit wine turn out sweet; nearly all kits that I've made vinify out to .994 or less SG. My most recent FWK Bordeaux finished at .994. I made a Brunello last year that finished at .992, very jammy wine, not as tannic as I'd expected.

 

[ChuckD]

Are you always adding the conditioner before bottling? I think some of them have sorbate and extra sugar for sweetening.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Are you always adding the conditioner before bottling? I think some of them have sorbate and extra sugar for sweetening.

Neither my Wine Expert GSM kit or the Fine Wine Kit super Tuscan kit came with conditioner packs.

 

[windseafire]

Odd, I've never had a kit wine turn out sweet; nearly all kits that I've made vinify out to .994 or less SG. My most recent FWK Bordeaux finished at .994. I made a Brunello last year that finished at .992, very jammy wine, not as tannic as I'd expected.

I think it is partly a matter of taste. When I think of dry I mean mouth sucking dry. It is also likely that by following the instructions I also stopped the fermentaion. This time round I am not going to stop the fermentation at all and see how dry it will ferment out to.

 

[ChuckD]

I think it is partly a matter of taste. When I think of dry I mean mouth sucking dry. It is also likely that by following the instructions I also stopped the fermentaion. This time round I am not going to stop the fermentation at all and see how dry it will ferment out to.

I would toss out the kit schedule and let your hydrometer tell you when it’s done.

 

[windseafire]

That was my thoughts too.

 

[Jovimaple]

Welcome to WMT!

Make sure you get the Forte version of the FWK Bordeaux, and consider extended maceration with the skin packs. That should get you closer to the tannin level you are describing.

 

[windseafire]

Thanks!

 

[wineview]

Welcome to WMT!

Make sure you get the Forte version of the FWK Bordeaux, and consider extended maceration with the skin packs. That should get you closer to the tannin level you are describing.

When you say “extended maceration”, how many weeks are you talking about. The most I’ve done was three weeks because I get a little skiddish when I can’t see what’s happening under the cover. Are my worries not warranted?

 

[Jovimaple]

Someone else will have to answer that. I don't like that much tannin so I haven't ever done a kit with skins.

 

[ratflinger]

I always go 4 weeks, sometimes up to 6. Never a negative issue.

 

[windseafire]

Are you always adding the conditioner before bottling? I think some of them have sorbate and extra sugar for sweetening.

I was, but I think I am going to leave out all those additions and just let the next batch ferment out.

 

[windseafire]

I always go 4 weeks, sometimes up to 6. Never a negative issue.

I always go 4 weeks, sometimes up to 6. Never a negative issue.

Thst is very intetesting, I will give that a try.