Finer Wine Kit Finer Wine Kits

[Bmd2k1]

Merry Christmas & Cheers to All!

 

[David Violante]

Merry Christmas Friends!

That‘s it… this guy’s cut off…

 

[wineview]

I’ve made at least a dozen Forte kits. At times I had to freeze the skin packs and they would freeze as hard as bricks. A kit was delivered the other day and I noticed the skin packs were not vacuum sealed and appeared a bit larger. But I didn’t give it another thought and put them in the freezer. Several days later I checked the freezer and the skins were not frozen. They were cold but not frozen. I can’t use them for a few more weeks. Will this be a problem? Any one else have a similar experience?

 

[winemaker81]

They were cold but not frozen. I can’t use them for a few more weeks.

It appears to be a different style of skin pack -- there's too much sugar in it to freeze at normal freezer temperatures. This is not a problem -- proceed as normal.

 

[thruhike00]

I have made a ton of wine kits and buckets in the search for the ever elusive no kit taste kit. Whites were no issue but every red had a smell or taste that disagreed with me. I tried everything this site recommended to remove the offense to no avail. I do not have a great sense of smell or taste and was puzzled when others thought my wine was tasty and I thought it had something just not right. So I have been off the site for several years but was still getting the forum activity updates and saw this post. I was so excited I immediately ordered two red kits and they should be here Friday and ready to start. One question on these new kits is does anyone add glycerine to their red kits? If yes, how much is recommended for the super tuscan and the cab I ordered? Hopefully these new kits will bring back the joy of wine making I have been missing for several years! Appreciate any other suggestions and Happy New Year!

 

[Brian55]

I have made a ton of wine kits and buckets in the search for the ever elusive no kit taste kit. Whites were no issue but every red had a smell or taste that disagreed with me. I tried everything this site recommended to remove the offense to no avail. I do not have a great sense of smell or taste and was puzzled when others thought my wine was tasty and I thought it had something just not right. So I have been off the site for several years but was still getting the forum activity updates and saw this post. I was so excited I immediately ordered two red kits and they should be here Friday and ready to start. One question on these new kits is does anyone add glycerine to their red kits? If yes, how much is recommended for the super tuscan and the cab I ordered? Hopefully these new kits will bring back the joy of wine making I have been missing for several years! Appreciate any other suggestions and Happy New Year!

I add about 2-6 ounces per 6 gal carboy, depending on the boldness of the red.

 

[wineview]

Speaking of FWk’s, I order one on November 12 and it hasn’t been delivered yet. Even though they said it would take some time, doesn’t this seem to be a bit excessive? I ordered a Chianti FWK on December 5 and that’s already in extended maceration. I wonder what the hold up is.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I have made a ton of wine kits and buckets in the search for the ever elusive no kit taste kit. Whites were no issue but every red had a smell or taste that disagreed with me. I tried everything this site recommended to remove the offense to no avail. I do not have a great sense of smell or taste and was puzzled when others thought my wine was tasty and I thought it had something just not right. So I have been off the site for several years but was still getting the forum activity updates and saw this post. I was so excited I immediately ordered two red kits and they should be here Friday and ready to start. One question on these new kits is does anyone add glycerine to their red kits? If yes, how much is recommended for the super tuscan and the cab I ordered? Hopefully these new kits will bring back the joy of wine making I have been missing for several years! Appreciate any other suggestions and Happy New Year!

I was nearly ready to give up the hobby because the wines I was making were barely drinkable, not the stuff you were proud to give away.

Several game changers availed themselves to me...

Juice buckets, previously I got juice pumped from a huge plastic barrel shipped to my LHBS. Who knows how long it was between crushing and when I got my juice. Buckets are much higher quality, but maybe that speaks to how bad my original LHBS was (now out of business).

Kits with skin packs, the FWK Super Tuscan kit was my first using skin packs. Might be the best wine I’ve made so far.

Dual yeast fermentation, split the bucket into two buckets, with a different yeast in each one. Blend back together at or near SG = 1.000. This technique seems to create wines that aren’t singular (same flavor at the nose, mid-palate, and finish). They seem more alive and taste differently at the nose, mid-palate and finish.

Future improvements I’m still working on include cellaring tannins, oak adjuncts, etc.

To answer your question on glycerin, I use 8 ounces per 5/6 gallons routinely for every red I make. It seems to thicken the mouthfeel, less watery, and may add the perception of sweetness since it seems to counterbalance the perception of acidity.

 

[Brian55]

I was nearly ready to give up the hobby because the wines I was making were barely drinkable, not the stuff you were proud to give away.

Several game changers availed themselves to me...

Juice buckets, previously I got juice pumped from a huge plastic barrel shipped to my LHBS. Who knows how long it was between crushing and when I got my juice. Buckets are much higher quality, but maybe that speaks to how bad my original LHBS was (now out of business).

Kits with skin packs, the FWK Super Tuscan kit was my first using skin packs. Might be the best wine I’ve made so far.

Dual yeast fermentation, split the bucket into two buckets, with a different yeast in each one. Blend back together at or near SG = 1.000. This technique seems to create wines that aren’t singular (same flavor at the nose, mid-palate, and finish). They seem more alive and taste differently at the nose, mid-palate and finish.

Future improvements I’m still working on include cellaring tannins, oak adjuncts, etc.

To answer your question on glycerin, I use 8 ounces per 5/6 gallons routinely for every red I make. It seems to thicken the mouthfeel, less watery, and may add the perception of sweetness since it seems to counterbalance the perception of acidity.

Nice! I was worried about adding too much, but now I know 8 is a-ok.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

I was nearly ready to give up the hobby because the wines I was making were barely drinkable, not the stuff you were proud to give away.

Several game changers availed themselves to me...

Juice buckets, previously I got juice pumped from a huge plastic barrel shipped to my LHBS. Who knows how long it was between crushing and when I got my juice. Buckets are much higher quality, but maybe that speaks to how bad my original LHBS was (now out of business).

Kits with skin packs, the FWK Super Tuscan kit was my first using skin packs. Might be the best wine I’ve made so far.

Dual yeast fermentation, split the bucket into two buckets, with a different yeast in each one. Blend back together at or near SG = 1.000. This technique seems to create wines that aren’t singular (same flavor at the nose, mid-palate, and finish). They seem more alive and taste differently at the nose, mid-palate and finish.

Future improvements I’m still working on include cellaring tannins, oak adjuncts, etc.

To answer your question on glycerin, I use 8 ounces per 5/6 gallons routinely for every red I make. It seems to thicken the mouthfeel, less watery, and may add the perception of sweetness since it seems to counterbalance the perception of acidity.

Which brand of glycerin are you buying. i assume food grade. Several on amazon, or LP or others.

 

[winemaker81]

Which brand of glycerin are you buying. i assume food grade. Several on amazon, or LP or others.

I buy food grade glycerin by the gallon from Amazon. Buying in small bottles from a LHBS is prohibitively expensive.

In 2022 I made 76 gallons of wine, averaging 0.84 oz glycerin per gallon. My lowest amount was 0.63 oz and the highest was 1.11 oz. I used the most glycerin in kit/pomace wines (kits fermented on pomace from grape wines) that tasted acidic. A bit of extra glycerin changed the perception.

My method is that we prep a wine for bottling and taste it, reserving a large glass for comparison. I've done this enough that I can ballpark the amount of glycerin to use, so we add it, stir very well, and taste again. In the case of the kit/pomace wines we started with 0.8 oz/gallon, then bumped it up when the first tasting was still noticeably acidic.

As I often say, go gently because it's easier to add more than to take some out. but in this case, if you add an extra oz of glycerin to 23 liters of wine, it's not going to ruin it.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Which brand of glycerin are you buying. i assume food grade. Several on amazon, or LP or others.

I buy the brand supplied by my LHBS.

 

[wineview]

I buy food grade glycerin by the gallon from Amazon. Buying in small bottles from a LHBS is prohibitively expensive.

In 2022 I made 76 gallons of wine, averaging 0.84 oz glycerin per gallon. My lowest amount was 0.63 oz and the highest was 1.11 oz. I used the most glycerin in kit/pomace wines (kits fermented on pomace from grape wines) that tasted acidic. A bit of extra glycerin changed the perception.

My method is that we prep a wine for bottling and taste it, reserving a large glass for comparison. I've done this enough that I can ballpark the amount of glycerin to use, so we add it, stir very well, and taste again. In the case of the kit/pomace wines we started with 0.8 oz/gallon, then bumped it up when the first tasting was still noticeably acidic.

As I say often say, go gently because it's easier to add more than to take some out. but in this case, if you add an extra oz of glycerin to 23 liters of wine, it's not going to ruin it.

I have 18 gallons of Malbec I made this past September. Last week I racked and tested PH. It came in a bit high at 3.71. I know it’s a young wine but if the ph is still high in three months should I consider glycerin correct the issue when it comes time to bottle in nine months?

 

[ratflinger]

I dd my glycerin in the 1st racking out of the fermentor. 1/4C per 23L.

 

[winemaker81]

I have 18 gallons of Malbec I made this past September. Last week I racked and tested PH. It came in a bit high at 3.71. I know it’s a young wine but if the ph is still high in three months should I consider glycerin correct the issue when it comes time to bottle in nine months?

AFAIK, glycerin doesn't change the pH; it changes the perception of acidity in the mouth.

Post-fermentation I don't care what the pH is -- I may check it out of curiosity, but the value does not matter to me. All acid adjustments are done by taste. As I've said in the past, the pH meter won't drink the wine so I don't care about its opinion.

At this point the wine is only 4 months old so I'd not worry about it.

What does your wine taste like? If it's flabby, it may need added acid. If it's sharp, it may need an acid reduction.

 

[wineview]

AFAIK, glycerin doesn't change the pH; it changes the perception of acidity in the mouth.

Post-fermentation I don't care what the pH is -- I may check it out of curiosity, but the value does not matter to me. All acid adjustments are done by taste. As I've said in the past, the pH meter won't drink the wine so I don't care about its opinion.

At this point the wine is only 4 months old so I'd not worry about it.

What does your wine taste like? If it's flabby, it may need added acid. If it's sharp, it may need an acid reduction.

At this point not acid or flabby. Time will tell.

 

[wineview]

Ok…..I’m Dumb….just caught a mistake in my post about glycerin and PH. The four month old Malbec has an unusually LOW PH. Coming in at 3.14. Is there anything I need to do now?

 

[winemaker81]

Ok…..I’m Dumb….just caught a mistake in my post about glycerin and PH. The four month old Malbec has an unusually LOW PH. Coming in at 3.14. Is there anything I need to do now?

My answer is the same, answering a question with a question -- what does it taste like?

If you like the taste, then do nothing.

 

[thruhike00]

Got my kits in today and getting things ready to start. I read through the 131 pages but cannot define whether EM helps, hurts, or no effect on these kits. Would like to know before I start as it matters on which fermenters I use. Any help would be appreciated. For reference have the forte super tuscan and cab kits with 2 grape packs and also have an extra pack of grapes for each kit (if needed). Thanks!

 

[thruhike00]

Typed twice.