WineXpert Old kit viability question

[Brewgrrrl]

This is a long shot, but here goes anyway:
A friend of mine is taking a break from wine-making (ha - good luck with THAT) and he invited me over to pick up some empty bottles. Well, he also insisted that I take one of his old kits, even though I told him that I was making wine from juice now and wouldn't use it. As it turns out, another friend's husband recently lost his job and they had wanted to try making wine at home.

The problem is that the first friend couldn't remember when he bought the kit or how long it had been sitting in his spare room (fairly temp controlled but not as cool as a basement). If possible, I'd like to pass this kit along but I also do NOT want to give my other friend a kit that's dead (and how sad would that be on someone's first try?).

It's Winexpert's "Island Mist - Black Raspberry Merlot"

The peel and stick label has the following on it:
BLK.RASP.MERLOT.0503905 0361

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

 

[grapeman]

This is how you decode it:



Winexpert codes read as the following example: 1319704



<UL>13 These two digits are an internal code used by Brew King- you can ignore them.


197 These three digits indicate the numbered day of the year in which the kit was produced. In this case it was July 10th (the 197th day since January 1st).


04 These two digits indicate the year in which the kit was made, in this case, 2004.


Your code:
0503905 0361
05-ignore (internal code
039 - the 39th day of the year and
05 = 2005





<UL>[/list]
<UL>[/list]So yes, this kit is very old- over 4 years old![/list]

 

[Wade E]

Wow, I get a kit and usually have it started in a weeks time! I dont know what to say about a kit thats over 4 years old, I bet it would probably be ok but wouldn't even waste my time with the yeast packet. I wouldnt give this wine to a friend trying to learn though without warning him about the situation and telling that person its a crap shoot on this one but could produce a decent wine. Its free so what the hell!

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Hmm. I had noticed the "05" but I was hoping I was wrong about what it meant. The juice could really be okay though? Huh.
I've sent my friend and email with full disclosure about the kit. If she and her husband don't want it though, now I feel like I'll have to start it up just to see if it's still alive...

 

[Wade E]

Why not, its just some time and a packet of yeast!

 

[cpfan]

If you have wine in the cellar, can afford a buck for new yeast, and have a free carboy, then go ahead and make it.






Don't give it to your first-time friend. There's a chance that the wine will be awful and they'll drop out of the hobby.


Steve

 

[Brewgrrrl]

They've made wine at a friend's wine store in Canada, so they sort of have a basic understanding of things. I told them how old it is, but I suspect they won't want it anyway. I'll let you know what happens.

 

[smurfe]

Taste the juice. If it taste OK and isn't oxidized get some new yeast and give it a shot. Check the fining agent as well to make sure it ain't dried up. The bentonite, sorbate and K-meta ought to be OK. Make sure to give the F Pack a taste as well. If it has been on a stable temp controlled environment, I don't know why it wouldn't be fine to use.