Finer Wine Kit Finer Wine Kits

[Brian55]

Hello Fellow Winemakers! Does anyone know if the FWK grape packs are 100% respective varietal to the kit that it purchased?

Cheers!

They are not.

 

[Gilmango]

New Video with Matt and Matteo talking about but not tasting the wines till the end, talking about new developments, flash evaporation v. ultra pasteurization, addition of seeds to forte kit, etc. EDIT - they start tasting 22 minutes into the 56 minute video (I was watching live at first so it seemed like the tasting was more at the end). The whole thing is a good watch/listen).

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

So did labelpeelers remove all Finer white kits from their website? I bought one last week and when I went back to order another, not a single white is shown.

 

[Cogo]

I noticed the same. I wanted to order one a week or so ago and decided to wait a few days. Went back to place the order yesterday and no whites on the site. Was wondering if they pulled them due to the off color some were reporting.

 

[Rocky]

I just watched the video and I checked the Label Peelers website. It appears that they have suspended sales of all whites for the time being while they address the off-color issue. They had a Sauvignon Blanc in the video and while it was on the darker side of SB's that I have seen, it was nowhere near the color of mine.

I just went down to my wine area and took some pictures of my SB. It is clearing nicely (you can see the peg board behind the carboy) but still the color of tea. We all need to be patient while Finer Wines and Label Peelers work through this issue.

 

[Jovimaple]

I got my blackberry and strawberry FWKs yesterday. They're a little different - they come with 2 wine conditioner packs each. The directions recommend adding 1 for sure (post-fermentation/clearing) and then adding the other one to taste. The rest of the packets appear to be the same as with the grape wine kits - starter, yeast, nutrient packs, clearing agents.

I also noticed the checklist at the back of the instructions, for those who don't need/want to read through the more detailed instructions. The instructions I got with my Barbera kit in July did not have this checklist. I think it's a good addition.

All in all, I'm excited to start these later this week! And I'm glad I watched the video above because it's nice to know that the expectation is these will be drinkable as soon as they're bottled, rather than having to age for a while. I'm still planning to age at least some of the bottles just to see the difference, but I think I will follow the timeline re: bottling and not worry about bulk aging in the carboy too much beyond what the kit instructions say.

 

[Swedeman]

I just went down to my wine area and took some pictures of my SB. It is clearing nicely (you can see the peg board behind the carboy) but still the color of tea.

You guys weren't joking about the color! I know some said the color doesn't matter that much but that looks like a strawberry wine.

 

[Bmd2k1]

I got my blackberry and strawberry FWKs yesterday. They're a little different - they come with 2 wine conditioner packs each. The directions recommend adding 1 for sure (post-fermentation/clearing) and then adding the other one to taste. The rest of the packets appear to be the same as with the grape wine kits - starter, yeast, nutrient packs, clearing agents.

I also noticed the checklist at the back of the instructions, for those who don't need/want to read through the more detailed instructions. The instructions I got with my Barbera kit in July did not have this checklist. I think it's a good addition.

All in all, I'm excited to start these later this week! And I'm glad I watched the video above because it's nice to know that the expectation is these will be drinkable as soon as they're bottled, rather than having to age for a while. I'm still planning to age at least some of the bottles just to see the difference, but I think I will follow the timeline re: bottling and not worry about bulk aging in the carboy too much beyond what the kit instructions say.

Looking to do both of those too for summer -- would love to hear what ya think once they are done.

Cheers!

 

[MarkSC]

My Forte Cabernet is not quite ready at day 14 after pitching--despite a vigorous ferment for the first week. Only 0.998 SG. This is the first time I have had a ferment of any kit go past 14 days. I attribute it to the cooler weather conditions, as the room averages 69 degrees.

 

[katmike57]

My Forte Cabernet is not quite ready at day 14 after pitching--despite a vigorous ferment for the first week. Only 0.998 SG. This is the first time I have had a ferment of any kit go past 14 days. I attribute it to the cooler weather conditions, as the room averages 69 degrees.

My Forte Syrah experience was similar. 1.000 at Day 14. No change at Day 15, so I proceeded to the next step. I expect it to be slighly sweet. Room temp around 70.

 

[winemaker81]

My Forte Cabernet is not quite ready at day 14 after pitching--despite a vigorous ferment for the first week. Only 0.998 SG

0.998 is a valid FG, so it's possible the wine is done.

 

[Bprinc]

Does anyone know the base for the strawberry wine? I assume it's a white wine with strawberry flavor pack?

 

[MarkSC]

0.998 is a valid FG, so it's possible the wine is done.

Thanks. I plan to give it one more day to see if any change. Otherwise, on to the carboy. I did steal a taste. It was slightly sweet but certainly promising.

 

[winemaker81]

Thanks. I plan to give it one more day to see if any change. Otherwise, on to the carboy. I did steal a taste. It was slightly sweet but certainly promising.

If you're tasting sugar, it's probably not done. However, @Matteo_Lahm stated that fermentation is not necessarily done at 14 days and the minor remaining sugar may be consumed during succeeding weeks. My own experiences agree with him.

In the past I preferred to press/rack before fermentation was complete. I got into this habit as I traveled for work, and having a bit of fermentation in the carboy meant that I could ignore the wine for a week or two with no ill effects.

Follow the FWK instructions -- I don't believe you'll get a bad result.

 

[Jovimaple]

Does anyone know the base for the strawberry wine? I assume it's a white wine with strawberry flavor pack?

There is no fpac - it's just strawberry concentrate.

 

[Jovimaple]

Starting SGs are right on target
Strawberry = 1.100
Blackberry = 1.095

Both kits came with Lalvin D47 yeast.

The concentrates were thick and required a couple of rinsings of the bags to get it all out. The color after adding the water is still rich and dark for both.

Both smell delicious! I am excited to finally be starting these!

I also took the time to add some kmeta and vented bungs to my Barbera (no skins) that I started in August. I have it split into one 3-gallon carboy that is all Barbera and one 3-gallon carboy that I topped off with other wines. I took a small taste of each and they are both very good, although I admit that dry reds are not my area of expertise. I probably could bottle them but I decided to bulk age them for another 3 to 6 months. Edit: decided to add about .5 oz French Medium Roast cubes to the pure Barbera carboy.

All in all, it's been a successful FWK evening!
Strawberry




Blackberry

They are both still a little foamy from my stirring.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Interesting that they are including a pack of the Global wine conditioner in the frutta kit.

That adds cost to the pack.. It makes me wonder how long they will hold these prices before they raise them. I have to assume they are selling at a discount (hence the much higher advertised price) to gain market share and brand loyalty before taking the price up.

 

[Jovimaple]

Interesting that they are including a pack of the Global wine conditioner in the frutta kit.

That adds cost to the pack.. It makes me wonder how long they will hold these prices before they raise them. I have to assume they are selling at a discount (hence the much higher advertised price) to gain market share and brand loyalty before taking the price up.

There are actually 2 in each kit. The directions recommend using at least one, let it sit for a time (I can't remember right now how long), then taste and slowly add the other wine conditioner pack to your desired sweetness.

Edit: I looked and it says to top off with 1 wine conditioner pack after degassing, then 2 weeks later rack off the sediment and sweeten to taste with the second wine conditioner pack.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

There are actually 2 in each kit. The directions recommend using at least one, let it sit for a time (I can't remember right now how long), then taste and slowly add the other wine conditioner pack to your desired sweetness.

There ya go! Those are not cheap ($12 / unit on Amazon) i for one will load up on kits now, prices are gonna go up!

 

[ratflinger]

@She’sgonnakillme

Just because it's on Amazon does necessarily mean it's the best price.