no expiration date on wine kit box

[skhoury40]

i have two premium kits that I bought over 2 years ago (maybe 3?). I cannot see an expiration date on either box. do wine kits expire? they are both 18 litre kits (or close to that), one red one white. are they okay to use?

 

[Luc]

Tossing it is a shame.
Steve is the kit-guru over here but maybe I can give
some thoughts.

So start.
Just keep in mind that some ingredients may have gone south.
So keep sulphite, sorbate, yeast etc. at hand.

Add the water and make a yeast starter from the yeast then you will for sure know that they yeast is viable. If not keep extra yeast at hand.
Add sulphite as you would do with a non-kit wine (1 cambden tablet per gallon).

Everything that is in a kit is available as seperate ingredients.
So look at normal winemaking procedures and follow those.

Luc

 

[cpfan]

There is no expiry date on most kit boxes. There is probably a date of manufacture. What brand are the kits?

If they are 2-3 years old, I would probably not make them, especially not the white. I don't have much experience with old kits. However, others have reported that older kits have produced decent wine.

It's basically your choice. Look at the date on the yeast package and replace if out-of-date.

Steve

 

[twissty]

I've used expired kits.

Reconstitute the concentrate , then taste the juice. If it tastes like fresh grape juice with no obvious off flavours, then your probably good to go.
If the juice tastes bad, then your not going to get a good result. (this is true of any wine kit regardless of age)
There may be a bit of crystalized sugar in the concentrate, just use a bit of hot water to dissolve.

You probably want to get a fresh packet of yeast as cheap insurance

I dont normally use the finings in the kit, but i believe the keisol and chitosan could go bad in time. I'd leave those out, just to be safe.

The other usual components of a kit are sorbate and metabisulphite, both preservatives, so they shouldnt go bad.

 

[randyelias1]

newbie

I too have old kits. What do you mean by " reconstituting "

 

[St Allie]

Hello and welcome to the forum randyelias1,


reconstituting..

is adding water to the desired amount to bring the concentrate back to 'fresh juice' levels.

your kit will be specific as to how much water needs to be added to bring the juice to the required level, before adding yeast.

most kits are '23 litres".. you add water to the concentrate til this volume is achieved.

Allie

 

[bka4]

I have routinely purchased out-of-date kits (RJ Spagnol) and never had a problem. Though 3 years is a bit beyond my experience. 1.5 years is about the furthest I have ventured from juice date. If the juice smells OK, I would give it a try.

 

[Paolo Scagliarini]

So I have been out of wine making for a long time. I have a carboy full of Amarone. So for sh... and giggles I pulled a sample it was fantastic. Did I mention it has been sitting in my storage location since Jan. 2011. Yep. Going to bottle it this week.
Now my other crazy thought. I have a kit case of Pinot Grigio, probably just as old. Juice smells fine. I reconstituted and have set it into fermentation. Have no idea what will happen. My only concern is that the juice seems to be a bit on the dark side. But, if it doesn’t work out it really is only cost me a bit of time and a few bucks.
Am I nuts?

 

[Scooter68]

I would imagine the determining factor is how it was package. An bag of juice with no air inside should be pretty good if your storage temps didn't get out of hand. Other than time and equipment you might have tied up with it... Why no go for it. As mentioned fresh sorbate of course.

Unless you have some definite indication that the juice has gone bad - WHY NOT?

 

[Rocky]

I have a Malbec going that was from very old concentrate. I call it my "Low Expectations Malbec." It was discolored but tasted okay so I went ahead with it. I have had to "doctor" it with currants, raisins, oak, etc. and I am not expecting too much. Last time I tasted it, it was not horrible. The way I look at it, most of the wine was a sunk cost anyway so I was only risking a fresh packet of yeast and some ancillary items, maybe $5. My advice to you is to go for it. How much have you got to lose?