Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[sour_grapes]

I fill them as full as I can with the bottling wand. Guess I never thought of it as a problem.

After you fill with a bottling wand, and then withdraw the wand, you can add a little more liquid to the bottle by pressing the tip of the wand against the inside of the neck of the bottle. I agree with Rocky that you have more ullage than I would be comfortable with.

 

[joeswine]

If your using a bottle filler it should stop automatically when completed. That's the way it works.

 

[oppyland]

After you fill with a bottling wand, and then withdraw the wand, you can add a little more liquid to the bottle by pressing the tip of the wand against the inside of the neck of the bottle.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks.

If your using a bottle filler it should stop automatically when completed. That's the way it works.

I use a wand - tube with a valve on the end. I don't think it'll stop until I pull it up from the bottom of the bottle.

 

[picerno_suzanne]

I made my own for a batch of rhubarb I just bottled. I have a color laser printer, so the cost was pretty minimal. View attachment 59706

Beautiful!

 

[joeswine]

Tools of the craft. This little item will fill to the correct level every time and isn't expensive. Just a couple of examples.

 

[oppyland]

Tools of the craft. This little item will fill to the correct level every time and isn't expensive. Just a couple of examples.

Got the Ferrari filler on order, only 10 bucks - thanks for the heads-up!

Beautiful!

Thank you!

 

[cmason1957]

Got the Ferrari filler on order, only 10 bucks - thanks for the heads-up!

Thank you!

An excellent way to fill bottles.

 

[joeswine]

well in these days of pure BOR-DUM...hers my work space full again with wine and no place to go>

 

[RocketBee]

Also try this use the ec1118 inconjunction with a red star or champagne yeast ,yes that's correct 2two types of yeast to create a robust and very tasty wine.

Hey @joeswine , I'm planning on adding the Red Star Premier Rouge to the EC 1118 unless you think something else would be better.

 

[joeswine]

No problem put them both in at the same time.fo not stir, cover and let time do its thing.

 

[RocketBee]

16 ounces of blackberries sautéed in 2 cups of base wine for the Fpack...is there a rule of thumb that you use to determine how many additional points of S.G. this will add?

I'm targeting 14% ABV for my Wine Lovers Merlot kit (I purchased the 12.5%ABV kit and it has 10L of concentrate). I'm projecting a finished S.G. of ~ 0.994 so I figure I need the O.G. to be somewhere just north of 1.100.

 

[sour_grapes]

16 ounces of blackberries sautéed in 2 cups of base wine for the Fpack...is there a rule of thumb that you use to determine how many additional points of S.G. this will add?

I'm targeting 14% ABV for my Wine Lovers Merlot kit (I purchased the 12.5%ABV kit and it has 10L of concentrate). I'm projecting a finished S.G. of ~ 0.994 so I figure I need the O.G. to be somewhere just north of 1.100.

I would think that it will LOWER your SG. Blackberries do not have much sugar. Think about eating a blackberry vs. eating a table grape. Now realize that wine grapes have far, far more sugar content than table grapes.

 

[joeswine]

What the blackberries add is first flavor and then tannin's.
Use your hydrometer to get you were you want to go.
Adjusting the water volume is how, 12 to 13% finished is exceptable. Balance is what your going for , remember that.

 

[RocketBee]

I would think that it will LOWER your SG. Blackberries do not have much sugar. Think about eating a blackberry vs. eating a table grape. Now realize that wine grapes have far, far more sugar content than table grapes.

Thanks for the info @sour_grapes , I never considered that blackberries would lower the S.G.

Duh!​

If I start with an S.G. of ~1.100...anything added that has a lower S.G. than 1.100 (which is just about everything) would be lowering the S.G.

 

[joeswine]

Well I finally got a kit to mfg.. for a customer of mine ,cheap kit .Ive done about 60 of them for her this is the 3rd chardonnay .simple and to the point that's how she likes it no frills

 

[Denis whalen]

Do you make your own labels? I’m not opposed to as I like the option of personalizing them for gifts etc. if you do make your own, how can you do it without going thru a ton of printer ink? On the other hand, if you purchase the labels, can you get them one at a time for personalization? And finally, for wine corking using a hand wine corker what type cork do you recommend? I’ll be using wax over the cork as I love the look. Thanks

For labels ive always used bottleyourbrand .com they seem ok price wise, well cheaper than burning through your personal printer ink. I always do something different this batch im about to bottle is for my wife and our family so i put my kids on it. The options are limitless.

For a corker i bought the Portuguese floor corker even though im not mass producing it still makes life easier.

 

[Denis whalen]

well in these days of pure BOR-DUM...hers my work space full again with wine and no place to go>

Wish joe was my neighbor

 

[Manny FRIAS]

well in these days of pure BOR-DUM...hers my work space full again with wine and no place to go>

Thanks for sharing Joe , that's a beautiful work space, love the art work on the wall too .

M

 

[joeswine]

Carol's chardonnay 8 hrs. later......................

 

[RocketBee]

I started my Wine Lovers Merlot kit yesterday evening--the 12.5% ABV kit which is 10 liters of concentrate. I decided that I wanted a target original gravity of 1.102. In the primary fermenter, after dissolving the bentonite and adding the concentrate, I carefully added water, stirring thoroughly, till I got to 1.102 on the hydrometer. This turned out to be 20 liters or a little more than 5.25 gallons. I added 2 ounces of medium toast french oak and the wine raisin package I bought with the kit. I then created a blackberry fpack as I sautéed 16 ounces of organic blackberries in 2 cups of base wine (took longer than I expected for the fruit to break down). I pitched the yeast and 10 hours later it is bubbling away nicely. I used a combination of the EC-1118 yeast that came with the kit and Red Star Premier Rouge that I picked up a the LHBS.

I've read that the Red Star PR yeast can tend to be a bit more foamy, so I'm concerned about it foaming up and over the side of my 8-gallon primary. In the meantime, I just have the lid loosely (sans the gasket) laid atop the primary bucket with the airlock hole in the lid open. It will be easier to keep an eye on things since I'm working from home these days.