Other Tired of same old, same old

[Elizajean]

Is anyone else tired of making the same brand over and over? I've only been making wine for a year but all except one have been WE and I'm bored with them. I have two Eclipse aging and they taste almost the same to me. Today I ordered the Passport VRM, from Finevines, and a couple of their Summer Breeze, because they aren't too sweet, for something different. I see different wine kit brands on here, but can't sort by them since the conversion so it's difficult to see what is going on with other brands than the popular top few. Just looking for some other quality options to the WE I've made this year.

 

[Boatboy24]

Cellar Craft Showcase series is very good as is the RJS En Primeur/Winery Series.

 

[Doug’s wines]

Another vote for RJS en primeur. I like Eclipse, but think the En Primeur has a little more differentiation. I was also getting a little bored so I recently ordered a few cheap kits and have begun “tweaking” them as per @joeswine thread on the topic. Having a really good time with that and looking forward to creating some “different results” while building knowledge that should help me decide how to differentiate with the more expensive kits as well.

 

[Doug’s wines]

Btw @Elizajean i see you have the eclipse nz sav in carboy. It’s one of our favorite recent batches. I have however had trouble with keeping the acidity high. My next batch I am thinking I will add some grapefruit zest to it (Suggestion from the tweaking thread) to put some crispness at the end. Curious if you are finding the finish to be a little flat, or if the acidity in your batch is high?

 

[Boatboy24]

@Doug’s wines You can also try simply adding tartaric acid. Grapefruit zest will certainly add flavor, but the acid will give you more 'zing'. Maybe do some tests with each (or a little of both) to see what you prefer.

 

[Doug’s wines]

Thanks @Boatboy24 , I appreciate the suggestion. I was thinking about TA and it might be better to go that route to avoid flavor impact. I guess I need to invest in a TA test kit.

 

[salcoco]

try some of the on line recipes for fruit, visit Jack Keller's web page winemaking.jackkeller.net for a number of one gallon recipes.

Also the latest Winemaker Magazine listed the top 100 wine kits that should give you a list of diversity in wine.

 

[Elizajean]

Btw @Elizajean i see you have the eclipse nz sav in carboy. It’s one of our favorite recent batches. I have however had trouble with keeping the acidity high. My next batch I am thinking I will add some grapefruit zest to it (Suggestion from the tweaking thread) to put some crispness at the end. Curious if you are finding the finish to be a little flat, or if the acidity in your batch is high?

I'll taste it again tomorrow and focus on crispness. It has been in the carboy since 10/13, so not long. Last taste on 11/13 and it was fruity, mellow but I did not consider the SB crispness. Good reason to check again, tomorrow and will let you know. My Eclipse Chard was, in contrast, still harsh.

 

[Elizajean]

try some of the on line recipes for fruit, visit Jack Keller's web page winemaking.jackkeller.net for a number of one gallon recipes.

Also the latest Winemaker Magazine listed the top 100 wine kits that should give you a list of diversity in wine.

Good suggestion, I have that issue and will look more closely. Unfortunately, at first glance they were mostly sweet wines.

 

[Elizajean]

Another vote for RJS en primeur. I like Eclipse, but think the En Primeur has a little more differentiation. I was also getting a little bored so I recently ordered a few cheap kits and have begun “tweaking” them as per @joeswine thread on the topic. Having a really good time with that and looking forward to creating some “different results” while building knowledge that should help me decide how to differentiate with the more expensive kits as well.

I am thinking about this as well. I'm a good cook and would not make the same old recipe over and over either....hence my boredom. Thanks

 

[joeswine]

Ha, Yes thinking outside the box is fun, tweaking cheap wine kits can be very interesting and When good wines gone bad how to correct them, it's all about learning have fun