Other Premium kit

Sag12 · Nov 18, 2016

Was wandering lately why did we have to add water to premium kits? :ft

I did asked the question to my local WineExpert retailer, he had no clue as to why we should add water to their's (and RQ's premium kits also), Limited Edition or high end products. I heard Mosti Mondiale have a limited edition that came in a 23 lt version. Any answers or thoughts about it?

AZMDTed · Nov 18, 2016

I've read a couple articles that mention that sometimes even grape wine makers add water to their must to reduce the sugar levels. It seems that with the tendency to wait to the last possible moment to harvest sometimes the sugar levels are so high that potential alcohol is up towards 16%. Personally I believe that may play a role, but I also think it's a compromise between shipping costs and quality.

bkisel · Nov 18, 2016

I ditto... "a compromise between shipping costs and quality."

salcoco · Nov 18, 2016

it is not a compromise, the juice is concentrated to reduce shipping costs. the quality comes in the various size kits that can be obtained.

rustbucket · Nov 18, 2016

The concentrated juice in a wine kit starts out as grape juice that was pressed from wine grapes after they were picked. Water is removed from the juice in order to make the concentrate. The fruit sugars and solids that remain in a concentrated form are so high that bacteria cannot grow in this culture.

The concentration process is, therefore, a preservative measure. This is why some level of concentration of juice in wine kits is a good thing.

Fruit juice reconstitution is why we add water to the juice that comes in our wine kits. The water reduces the sugar levels back to the original levels in the fruit juice. The reconstituted juice typically gives you a starting SG reading, specific gravity being a measure of the sugar level in the juice, in the vicinity of 1.080. This SG level has proven to be well suited for yeast growth.