Taste of new wine kits.

[Hypno]

So I have started a winexpert Amarone kit with skins. I have followed the instructions perfectly for the first 14days and transferred to a carboy the sg. was 0.994. I have added the sulfites, oak cubes and degassed, didn’t add any clarifiers as I plan on bulk aging. Today is day 21 and I snuck a taste. I’m new to kit making and this is my first after making wine from grapes with my Dad for years. The question I have is, after tasting the wine today I was very disappointed, it was dry which I liked but had a very bitter fruity taste and fruity aroma. not very drinkable at this stage as expected but complete different from what I have experienced with making wine from grapes. Did I mess things up or is this just the way kits are at this stage. I don’t know what to make of it, any advice?

 

[my wine]

After only 21 days it shouldn't taste great. You have dry, fruity taste and fruity aroma. Sounds ok so far. The flavor will change even after a short while aging. I would press ahead and not worry.

 

[Hypno]

After only 21 days it shouldn't taste great. You have dry, fruity taste and fruity aroma. Sounds ok so far. The flavor will change even after a short while aging. I would press ahead and not worry.

I hope so, seems like a lot going on in terms of flavors + the oak but nothing really pleasant right now. Like I said this is the first kit and have never tasted a kit this early. I don’t think sanitation is an issue as I was very careful. We’ll see in about six weeks when I rack it. Fingers crosssed

 

[heatherd]

Give it more time.

 

[Hypno]

We’ll see, I guess coming from traditional wine making this is all new and very different. Hopefully it turns out to be a drinkable wine.

 

[salcoco]

with Amarone I would expect a year before reaching any potential

 

[Hypno]

with Amarone I would expect a year before reaching any potential

Yes I’m planning to keep it in carboy for 6-8 months, maybe longer and then bottles for another 6 months. Just curious how it will evolve because right now it’s not the greatest lol.

 

[winemaker81]

@Hypno, write down your impressions. Taste the wine again every 3 to 4 weeks, recording your impressions. When you're ready to bottle, read your notes, first to last. You'll find it instructive.

 

[Hypno]

@Hypno, write down your impressions. Taste the wine again every 3 to 4 weeks, recording your impressions. When you're ready to bottle, read your notes, first to last. You'll find it instructive.

Great advice, I will definitely start doing that to learn the changes going with the wine.

 

[winemaker81]

Warning! If you find that you only have half a carboy at bottling time, reduce the sample sizes while performing quality control on the next batch!

 

[Hypno]

Well that all depends how good it is lol

 

[Handy Turnip]

As has been mentioned reds take a while to develop, however whites are ready much quicker.

While you have your Amarone in the carboy, you should start a white wine. Starting it now will mean it'll be tasting good and very drinkable in just a couple of months*, and help you give confidence (and get through) the next year waiting for the red to develop.

* in fact if you sneak a taste at day 21, it'll already be tasting pretty good!

 

[VinesnBines]

Out of curiosity, what kind of wine were you making from grapes? I don’t think any wine is very good at 21 days.

 

[Hypno]

Out of curiosity, what kind of wine were you making from grapes? I don’t think any wine is very good at 21 days.

Mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Not sure what it is but I notice a huge differenc maybe it’s the oak I don’t know.

 

[Ajmassa]

Mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Not sure what it is but I notice a huge differenc maybe it’s the oak I don’t know.

The progression from grape, juice, and kits I’ve noticed are all very different. My experiences were in line with what your tasting.
A grape wine fresh after pressing you can already get a real good sense of what it will become. Everything’s just bigger. Fruit. Dryness. Tannin Things just need to calm down and fall into place. But nothing exactly needs to ‘transform’
Fresh juice early on would taste... idk, extra “young”. Hard to describe. Which fades as it ages.
Kits can march to their own beat and were more difficult to determine what they will be. Lacked any bouquet. Some I though were even unpleasant for a stretch. And had a chemically aftertaste. That all changed tho.
Decant the hell out of if popping corks early. I noticed an hour or more & it would be like 2 different wines.

 

[Hypno]

I agree, it’s totally different. It’s hard to tell how this wine will turn out,

 

[Hypno]

Funny today I move the wine into storage and took a taste. It resembled a very young apothic red but not nearly as smooth, Good or bad I don’t know but definitely better.

 

[my wine]

That's 28 days if I'm counting right and it now tastes like a young red wine. In 6 months you will be happy with it. In 12 months it will be even better.

 

[winemaker81]

@Hypno, this is a great thread. New wine makers, and even a lot of experienced wine makers, don't understand how wines progress during the first few months. There is nothing equal to direct experience, and hey! It's fun!

On the plus side, if your wine tastes good at 28 days, at 280 it will be better.

 

[MarcOlivetti]

I’m glad to hear this! Winemaker81 is correct, this is a great thread. I racked my Stag’s Leap Merlot from primary to secondary carboy, and I was worried I messed up along the way. I “sampled” the juice when I took the starting SG (hadn’t pitched the yeast yet) and I really liked what I was starting with it was much better than at Day 14. Time heals all wounds (and Wines, I hope).