Should it taste like this?

[Cooky11111]

My husband just did his first ever wine kit. He made Island Mist BLACKBERRY CABERNET. It cleared and he bottled it. We tasted it and it tastes really watered down. It says you can drink it after 30 days which it is 30 days. Is it that it just has to age more?

 

[ibglowin]

Have not made that particular kit but they are relatively low ABV I think. Some people bump them up with extra sugar to raise the ABV a bit. Maybe someone who has made this kit will chime in shortly.

 

[Runningwolf]

Aging will help some but this is a wine without body. When you racked each time what did you top up with. How many bottles did you end up with in the end?

 

[Manimal]

I find most kit wines to taste pretty thin, and I imagine the mist kits are even thinner than average since they are intended to make a "wine cooler" type beverage. Any wine with a low amount of dissolved solids will taste lighter in body than a wine with more extract. Kits generally have fewer dissolved solids than wines made from juice or grapes.

 

[ffemt128]

I've made 3 of the black berry cabernet. We really enjoy it but as others have said, we bumber up the aclohol to about 11% by adding additional sugar. It is a thin body kit but I can't say we have ever had a watered down taste. The have always been very flavorful and liked by everyone who has tried it.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!

Did you add a lot of water initially? Or like Dan was asking - did you top off each racking with water?

 

[Flem]

I would think that, after adding the f-pac at the end, you would have more than enough to top off with. I think it's just a very light bodied mist kit. There's very little grape juice that goes into these kits. Especially when your making 6 gallons of "wine" with them. BTW, I just started one.

 

[Angie]

I've made the same kit a few times and the times that I have not bumped up the sg the wine did not taste watery. Now I add 1/2 the f-pack at the beginning and save the remainder for back sweetening. I bulk age for at least 6 months - there is quite a taste difference once (even for mist kits) these have aged abit.

 

[Cooky11111]

Thanks Everyone. I sent the replies to my hubby and he said:


After racking the wine I did add water as the instructions said. I did not bump the sugar up but next time I will.I also think that I wont top off next time.I will just bottle 5.5 gallons.
That and aging should help alot. For now I guess we hope the aging works.

 

[Runningwolf]

Cooky if you think you like this enough to make another one I would start it soon so it has time to age. In addition to that you can still make the full 6 gallons but top it up with one your current bottles. In the future when your racking just pick another similar wine to top up with instead of water.

 

[Wade E]

With these mist kits especially you shouldnt have had to top up with water as there should have been actually overage. You make this kit to 6 gallons in the beginning and lose a little during racking but then add the fining agent and the f-pac which replaces quite a bit. Dont be afraid to rack over a little mud from primary and get all the wine you can. It will be dropped out from the fining agent. Another trick is to tilt the carboy as soon as you add the fining agent so that all the sediment falls to one side and then when you are just about done getting it off the sediment into a fresh carboy to age or to bottle (Never bottle straight from a vessel with sediment, its a recipe for disaster!) gently tilt the carboy back at the last minute and you should have just wine until the very last second. Also, let the fining agent sit an extra week to let the sediment (lees) compact better so that its not as easily disturbed.

 

[millwright01]

x2 on having extra. I have always had extra wine. When you remove some to add the f-pack it has never all fit back in.

 

[reefman]

You guys (and gals) must be good at getting every last drop off the lees. I lose way too much wine when I rack. The other day, I had to add a couple cups of water to a 5 gal. Niagara I have going. I hated to do that, but I had nothing else to add.

 

[ibglowin]

Some will rack to a smaller vessel, other use marbles to raise the level. Good racking techniques are essential in this hobby and we all have tricks for this.

But the one thing you should never do is top off with water (unless its only an ounce or two), always top off with something similar.

 

[Runningwolf]

You guys (and gals) must be good at getting every last drop off the lees. I lose way too much wine when I rack. The other day, I had to add a couple cups of water to a 5 gal. Niagara I have going. I hated to do that, but I had nothing else to add.

Doug another practice is to dump all of your lees into a 750ml bottle or or vessel properly sized. Within less than a week you'll be able to rack another several cups or so off of that.

 

[Daisy317]

My husband just did his first ever wine kit. He made Island Mist BLACKBERRY CABERNET. It cleared and he bottled it. We tasted it and it tastes really watered down. It says you can drink it after 30 days which it is 30 days. Is it that it just has to age more?

The directions tell you to add water to the primary bucket to meet the volume requirements for primary fermentation. However, these mist kits don't need to be topped off after the f-pack is added.

I have made a few of these kits and actually had extra wine that had to be pulled out before adding the f-pack that couldn't be added back in because there was no room. How big is your carboy?

I agree with the others in that these are a lighter bodied "wine beverage". Rather tasty but not a high abv.

On the bright side... Winexpert guarantees all their kits. If you think you did something wrong they will replace it for free and you an try again.

 

[Angie]

On the bright side... Winexpert guarantees all their kits. If you think you did something wrong they will replace it for free and you an try again.

Are you sure that they replace it? What if you buy the kit through a retailer? Do they have an agreement to replace it and then reimburse the retailer??

 

[Daisy317]

Are you sure that they replace it? What if you buy the kit through a retailer? Do they have an agreement to replace it and then reimburse the retailer??

Yes. Winexpert guarantees results with their kits. To have a kit replaced you call the customer service line and explain what happened and they will send you a new kit, free of charge. They stand behind their products and what is the cost of one kit to them if they keep you as a repeat customer?

I've never had to replace one but I know someone who has. They had the replacement within the week. It's one of the major ups of buying a kit from them.

 

[ffemt128]

Yes. Winexpert guarantees results with their kits. To have a kit replaced you call the customer service line and explain what happened and they will send you a new kit, free of charge. They stand behind their products and what is the cost of one kit to them if they keep you as a repeat customer?

I've never had to replace one but I know someone who has. They had the replacement within the week. It's one of the major ups of buying a kit from them.

I never knew this. It is a good thing to know.

 

[Runningwolf]

I don't believe a light bodied kit or something you did wrong would constitute a new kit. If they do thats pretty dam awesome.