Top 10 mistakes

[John Prince]

I'm a new guy, I've only made 3 kits with 2 kits in the primary stage and 3 homemade gallons in the primary stage.
Mistakes so far.
Not doing the 3 "P's" !
Patience
Patience
Patience

I bottled too soon on the first 3 kits. Time will tell. I did sample the summer wine after 3 weeks. I thought it was pretty good.

I'm sure I made lots of other mistakes. I'm learning, thanks to you and my mistakes.

 

[Tom]

Thats why we are here. We all been there done that ...

 

[ibglowin]

Here's my current big one to NOT do again:

Don't let the wine sit on the fines for more than a month max. Left one on the fines for 5 months and it has a definite problem.....

 

[joeswine]

I'M NOT SURE IF YOU CAN PUT A DEFINITE NUMBER ON THE MISTAKES,AFTER 10 YEARS I STILL FINE ROOM FOR MORE OF THE SAME.....TEPE IS RIGHT PPP,ALSO TASTE TASTE AND TASTE, AND ALWAYS LEARN TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

 

[RickC]

Here's my top mistakes but there are many more.


Hoping for a great wine from a low-end kit. Sorry, it just isn't going to happen. Buy as high a quality of kit as you canafford to buy. You get what you pay for. Price per bottle will not be much higher.


Not degassing well. Not degassing well. Not degassing well.


Forgetting to add more K-meta every 3-4 months during bulk aging.


Putting family pics on the label. Everybody wants one as a keepsake and before you know it, you have 1 case left and haven't drank a single bottle yet. CRAP.

 

[vcasey]

Putting family pics on the label. Everybody wants one as a keepsake and before you know it, you have 1 case left and haven't drank a single bottle yet. CRAP.

Unless the wine is less then you expected - then its a good way to distribute it and they may not want the really good stuff.

 

[Waldo]

My biggestmistake was that one time I thought I had made one..I was wrong though .

 

[ibglowin]

Bwahaaahaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 

[joeswine]

I can make a low end kit taste excellent...if you think about the make up of wine and apply the principles of taste ,texture and aroma,it can be done ....alls it takes is thinking out side the box..........

 

[Rocky]

Joe, there are a number of 10liter kits on sale this month so I would be interested in learning how you can make them taste "excellent." Would you be willing to share your secrets? I have only made one 10 liter kit (a WE Sangiovese) and I was underwhelmed by the results.

 

[ibglowin]

Hehehehehe.....


Lets see if old Joe gives up his little secrets!

 

[Rocky]

Hehehehehe.....


Lets see if old Joe gives up his little secrets!

Dost thou mean to implieth that Brother Joseph wouldst not share the fruits of his knowledge with the flock? Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?

 

[Tom]

Joe is a friend of mine.He dont visit here as most but I'm sure he will enlighten you.

 

[ibglowin]

Took me a while to figure out the "secret" but I finally did......

I could tell you as they say, but then I would have to kill you.....

Dost thou mean to implieth that Brother Joseph wouldst not share the fruits of his knowledge with the flock? Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?

 

[Rocky]

If I guess it, will you tell me?








I made a 10 liter Sangiovese and I thought later if I had to do it again, I would have done a couple of things differently. First, I would not have added so much water and would have started the wine out with an SG of about 1.105-1.108 by reducing the water. I would also have added raisins (maybe two boxes) to the fermenter.

 

[vcasey]

If you start not adding as much water in the 10L kits and adding raisins or even a grape pack - why not just buy a larger kit? And most folks will tell you the kits are balanced to 6 gallons so if you change that expect the wine to be off balance.

Unless of course you are, as Joe & Tepe would would say thinking way outside the box.

Things to add to the smaller kits to enhance include honey (make a pyment), the raisins or add some fruit. I would use the smaller kits to play with and experiment with different ideas.

Play with your food!

 

[Tom]

Joe will come in sometime. BUTT, I would thinkhard of getting some other mfgr kit. I and others here dont like WE

 

[Rocky]

Vcasey, I normally only buy the big kits. The first kit I bought when I got into this hobby was a 10 liter WE kit and I was disappointed in the result. However, a. George has 10 liter kits on sale (and I am a shopper) and, b.Joe says he can makea 10 liter kittaste like the big kits. These two facts led to my question. Also,as to reducing the water, I am not sure I totally buy the "critically balanced" kit idea. In any case,I am not talking about reducing the water by that much. I would only reduce it enough to raise the ISG to about 1.105.



Tepe, I too am not a big fan of WE because of my experience with their Sangiovese. I have read, however, that they do make a couple of nice 10 liter kits and I might try one in the future. For now, I was considering the Grand Crus that George has on sale. My thinking is if I can make these "taste like the big kits" foraround $50 plus some inexpensive additions, why not give it a try?

 

[hannabarn]

The only WE kit I buy is White Zinfandel. I have some friends who say that is the best White Zin they have tasted.

 

[joeswine]

TEPE take a look at when good wines gone bad...