Finer Wine Kit Finer Wine Kits

[jgmann67]

I just got the notification that my two new FWKs are out for delivery today. I got Forte kits for Baby Super Tuscan and Sonoma. I'm thinking about freezing one of the skins packs and only using one in the BST kit. Looking for a lighter body red there. The Sonoma gets the full body treatment (meaning two skins packs, seeds pack and EM) Thought?

My thought - if they gave me a kit with three skin packs, I'd use all three. The more the merrier.

 

[AR324]

My thought - if they gave me a kit with three skin packs, I'd use all three. The more the merrier.

Didn’t Matteo say IIRC they would be selling skins separately? It was supposed to be this summer but that has come and gone.

 

[jgmann67]

Didn’t Matteo say IIRC they would be selling skins separately? It was supposed to be this summer but that has come and gone.

If he did, I missed it.

 

[X45011]

About separate grape skins packs availability:
In a July 19 email response to my question, Matt Pruszynski reported that they were installing and testing a new cooler system for storing the skins enabling them to sell them separately. They will know more after testing the new system. He added that those on their (Label Peelers) mailing list would be notified when marketing begins.

 

[joeswine]

Just bottled the FWK Pino Nior , ready to go into a 2 month rest

 

[Old Corker]

Didn’t Matteo say IIRC they would be selling skins separately? It was supposed to be this summer but that has come and gone.

They are available on the LP website

 

[Old Corker]

 

[Old Corker]

Sorry That’s Seeds My Bad

 

[cmason1957]

View attachment 93161

You aren't the first person to make that misteak.

 

[ratflinger]

I'm going to complain one more time. I am tired of fighting with the safety tabs to get to the concentrate. I'm down to jabbing a knife in and starting the tear of the tab, then grabbing it with pliers to finish ripping it off. Am I just not holding my mouth right? It will not tear out without help. I know that folks have said it's for tamper resistance, but WE, Mosti, RJS do not use it, they just have the screw-on or press-fit cap. If you are worried about tamper resistance then use the milk jug caps that screw on, but won't screw off without breaking the lower ring. Easy enough to see if the bag has been opened.

As you can tell, I started 2 new FWK kits today. (Meritage & Baby ST)

 

[KYBEER]

Brewing beer for over 30 years but only making wine about 4 years. My local brew supply store also sells wine kits and supplies.

On the subject of cheap wine kits, I made two kits of the same style from Wine Expert. One was their mid-priced kit and the other was the lower cost kit. Both made wine that was very drinkable. What I noticed was the lower cost kit lacked body and was a bit watery. The mid-priced kit was a definite step up.

With this information in hand and experience with brewing beer with additions of LME/DME and corn sugar achieve the correct ABV for the style of beer I tried to adjust the low-cost wine kits.

I tweak my cheaper wine kits with 1 L of white or red concentrate and add corn sugar to increase the gravity to 1.090 or higher. This was a definite improvement. I read that in Germany they add beet sugar to their low-end wines. Corn sugar was what I have from brewing so that has worked well.

My experience with bulk wine juice is too new. Only three so far and it is newly bottled so I’m not sure how it will compare to the kits. What is the common progression for wine makers, kits, juice, grapes?

 

[winemaker81]

I tweak my cheaper wine kits with 1 L of white or red concentrate and add corn sugar to increase the gravity to 1.090 or higher. This was a definite improvement

If you need to make the additions, is it worth buying the lower end kit?

What is the common progression for wine makers, kits, juice, grapes?

There isn't one. There are so many different stories -- some folks start with one thing and never try anything else, some change, and others do a bit of everything.

 

[3dB]

What is the common progression for wine makers, kits, juice, grapes?

I don't know about "common," but my progression is a gradual but incessant expansion of equipment, and evolving my technique as I learn more.

I used to joke that brewing beer was like cooking from a recipe -- I change it up from a little bit to massively, depending on my goals for a batch, my mood, and what I have on hand. Making wine was more like making a Hello Fresh meal -- it came with everything in a kit, and I just followed the instructions!

Since I have learned of Malolactic Fermentation, Extended Maceration, the various additives available, the effects of pH and temperature, etc., I have experimented and adjusted my equipment and techniques (which itself often begets more adjustments). I only breeze through the instructions now to see what's changed (like using activated charcoal in the FWK whites). Through it all, I've made and enjoyed some damn good wines (and only had to throw out two batches).

 

[joeswine]

I'm going to complain one more time. I am tired of fighting with the safety tabs to get to the concentrate. I'm down to jabbing a knife in and starting the tear of the tab, then grabbing it with pliers to finish ripping it off. Am I just not holding my mouth right? It will not tear out without help. I know that folks have said it's for tamper resistance, but WE, Mosti, RJS do not use it, they just have the screw-on or press-fit cap. If you are worried about tamper resistance then use the milk jug caps that screw on, but won't screw off without breaking the lower ring. Easy enough to see if the bag has been opened.

As you can tell, I started 2 new FWK kits today. (Meritage & Baby ST)

It’s just easier to cut the bag

 

[ratflinger]

It’s just easier to cut the bag

Yes, and I may resort to that.

 

[joeswine]

Yes, and I may resort to that.

Alls it required is a bit of balance.

 

[silverbullet07]

Reconstituted the juice and prepped the must on Saturday. Dropped the yeast in my Sonoma blends on Sunday morning. The SG was a solid 1.110 for both batches and the juice smelled pretty phenomenal. Fermentation is active... the foam from punching is like dropping a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a glass of coke. Punching twice a day and will check the SG tomorrow morning then likely kick in the yeast nutrient.

I've been drinking my other FWK wines... likely long before their prime. And, they've been good. But, lately they've been coming into their own and are now tasting really good, bordering on great.

My Sonoma and Meritage SG ended up being both 1.095 after 24 hours before pitching the yeast. Yesterday it was 1.100 so it dropped a little over the 24 hours. Pitched the yeast a few hours ago.

 

[silverbullet07]

Yes, and I may resort to that.

Just pop it up and twist it off with one hand will the other hold the bag. Just like some of those pop up lids on cans.

 

[Tbraz23]

Progression of my moscato.
In the bucket before racking, the next day in the carboy, day 9 of clearing.

 

[jgmann67]

Started the Sonoma blend wines on Sunday morning. Last night (4.5 days later in a 68° basement) my SG is down to 1.010 and the skins are barely staying afloat.

That’s just too damned fast. Snapped the lids down and air locked the wines. Going to let it sit till next Sunday at least.