Finer Wine Kit Finer Wine Kits

[Jim Welch]

Your comparison was to not purchasing a similarly damaged item in a store. False equivalence. There is no cost, trouble, or added delay in passing over a minorly damaged item in a store, and instead picking up one in perfect condition. Having to ship a delivered product back and wait for a replacement is a PITA. If the damage is trivial, the rational thing to do is accept it as "stuff happens" and get on with making the wine.

Yes, you hit the nail on the head.
I wasn't sure how much leaked when I posted about the loose cap I only knew some had leaked. I initially speculated 4-8 liquid oz leaked but after emailing LP, posting here since I know they read this thread and cleaning the bags up I thought it was probably more like 2 liquid oz give or take. I was disappointed but not going to get my Irish up over it and I am certainly not going to try to shake them down over it either though some folks would.
I prefer to get the facts before I make a decision so to that end I weighed both bags before and after emptying. The bag that did not leak was to my surprise one of the original bags with the internal seal that has to be pulled out after removing the screw cap. Another surprise was that the bag that leaked actually had 3.7 oz. more juice concentrate (by weight), than the sealed bag after leaking so other than my initial shock at seeing the leak there is no problem with the juice concentrate portion of the kit. Now if the box had spent any time sideways or upside down then much more would have leaked.
What ticks me off is someone who goes off half cocked, jumps to a conclusion without the facts and puts words in my mouth by saying I consider the issue "no big deal", because neither I nor anyone else that I see wrote that. Then the same individual proceeds to insinuate that I am accepting of mediocrity!
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!
Think, do not react unless being attacked by a large predator, your head is not just a hat rack!

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

IMO, To each their own people....service is relative to one's personal experience. And in the case of shipping chilled juice, sadly sometimes the distance you live from the origin can have an effect on some experiences. I have had great delivery experiences and some really bad ones. In the end, Matteo has always made it right by me...as for FEDEX and UPS......they are another story!!!

 

[Brant]

Watching from the sideslines, I think bstn1 made a couple generalizations that I don't belive were completely directed at FWK or Jim Welch specifically and I don't believe he was trying to put words in anyone's mouth.

The problem with chat forums and written words in general is that intention is often lost in what people perceive. We can all benefit from a little grace (given and taken) every now and then.

 

[GaDawg]

I'm in Raleigh and FedEx consistently makes a 2 day delivery for my kits. It may be that Raleigh has a major airport, so things move more quickly.

We have our Austell distribution center that is actually a black hole. We live about 30 minutes from Austell and most packages take 2 weeks to infinity.

 

[Rocky]

Watching from the sideslines, I think bstn1 made a couple generalizations that I don't belive were completely directed at FWK or Jim Welch specifically and I don't believe he was trying to put words in anyone's mouth.

The problem with chat forums and written words in general is that intention is often lost in what people perceive. We can all benefit from a little grace (given and taken) every now and then.

Well put, Brant.

I know that I have to be more careful with some of my futile attempts at humor because some people take them as sarcasm.

 

[bstnh1]

News Bureau | ILLINOIS

Study: Online retail contributes to decline in product quality​

 

[hamish]

I've been making FWK's Riesling. TIL that the carbon does not get filtered with a 1 micron filter. I'm used the AllInOneWinePump with filter. My source was nice and clear. Racking it with the filter I sucked up a little carbon and it passed right through.

 

[katmike57]

FWK Super Tuscan shipped on 6/21 to Illinois. Anxious to try this one, but it's been "stuck" in the Fedex local hub which is an hour away since 6/23. Daytime temps have been near 90 every day. Now I get an update that it will be delayed until tomorrow (26th). Even had the audacity to include "We made a delivery attempt: 06/24/2022 06:56 PM" which means who-knows-what (I was home ALL DAY). So..... sorry for the rant but at least I feel better lol.... Hopefully I'll have a chilled product.

 

[jgmann67]

FWK Super Tuscan shipped on 6/21 to Illinois. Anxious to try this one, but it's been "stuck" in the Fedex local hub which is an hour away since 6/23. Daytime temps have been near 90 every day. Now I get an update that it will be delayed until tomorrow (26th). Even had the audacity to include "We made a delivery attempt: 06/24/2022 06:56 PM" which means who-knows-what (I was home ALL DAY). So..... sorry for the rant but at least I feel better lol.... Hopefully I'll have a chilled product.

Good luck. If the bag is warm and bloated when you get it, you should probably reach out to Matt or Matteo.

 

[katmike57]

Good luck. If the bag is warm and bloated when you get it, you should probably reach out to Matt or Matteo.

I did receive this finally on Sunday 6/26. Juice bag felt warm but I wouldn't say it was bloated. I went ahead and started it right away and the juice temp in the primary measured 79.9. Juice smelled fine, so proceeded with all the initial steps. Today I pitched the yeast and the must temp was 73. Fingers crossed.

 

[jgmann67]

I did receive this finally on Sunday 6/26. Juice bag felt warm but I wouldn't say it was bloated. I went ahead and started it right away and the juice temp in the primary measured 79.9. Juice smelled fine, so proceeded with all the initial steps. Today I pitched the yeast and the must temp was 73. Fingers crossed.

I’m going interested to read about your results.

 

[cmason1957]

I did receive this finally on Sunday 6/26. Juice bag felt warm but I wouldn't say it was bloated. I went ahead and started it right away and the juice temp in the primary measured 79.9. Juice smelled fine, so proceeded with all the initial steps. Today I pitched the yeast and the must temp was 73. Fingers crossed.

What was your starting SG? That will give you a good indication of had any fermentation happened do to the extended time at higher temps.

 

[katmike57]

What was your starting SG? That will give you a good indication of had any fermentation happened do to the extended time at higher temps.

My initial SG was 1.106 - a little near the high end of the expected range. Sorry should have added that information.

 

[cmason1957]

My initial SG was 1.106 - a little near the high end of the expected range. Sorry should have added that information.

Perfect, certainly doesn't sound like any fermentation had taken place prior to you starting the kit. A little high in this case is a really good thing!!!.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Hey all, great news!! Label Peelers now has the FWK labels for sale on their website in case you forget to order them initially.

 

[Kreigle]

That's good to know. For some reason I can't find the labels from the last two kits I ordered.

 

[Brant]

Anyone here made the FWK Tavola sangiovese kit? I just ordered one and was curious if anyone has an opinion on it.

 

[Jim Welch]

Anyone here made the FWK Tavola sangiovese kit? I just ordered one and was curious if anyone has an opinion on it.

I made two last June, iirc. One of the first FWKs I purchased. I’m hopeful but imo it doesn’t have enough age to really judge. With that said I will buy it again as I’m confident it will age into a very good to excellent wine but only time will tell.
Edit Syntax

 

[Brant]

I made two last June, iirc. One of the first FWKs I purchased. I’m hopeful but imo it doesn’t have enough age to really judge. With that said I will buy it again as I’m confident it will age into a very good to excellent wine but only time will tell.
Edit Syntax

Did u make it with skins, or no? I was planning to make it without hopeful it would be decent in 6 months.

 

[winemaker81]

Did u make it with skins, or no? I was planning to make it without hopeful it would be decent in 6 months.

I started the Barbera last August, and aged for 4 months with 1 oz medium toast Hungarian cubes, bottling at the 5 month mark. It's light bodied and was immediately drinkable, although far better at the 7 month mark. My goal was a quick drinking red, and achieved that. I expect you'll get similar results with the Sangiovese.

My educated guess is that mine will start declining at the 3 year mark, but that's unlikely to be an issue, as I expect to have none left by the 2 year mark.