Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

SPIKEDLEMON: what I'M saying is in my wine theory of making ,if I add two different flavors in the primary then they become a partnership in flavors, depending on % of each, if you add a enhancement flavor such as BLACK BERRIES to the (secondary ) then it becomes a background flavor..understand?...you'll rarely ever see me back sweeten.Theres no need if you maintain decent balance in your process.

 

[Spikedlemon]

I think I understand. Thanks Joe.

I've got two batches that I can play with.

 

[jdwebb]

OK Joe, started this on 2/23...

Fontana Pinot Noir
1 pound mixed blackberries & raspberries
Mixed to 5 1/2 gallons
BM4x4
Gravity now at 0.998

Its just been sitting in the carboy at about 65ºF. Should I be doing anything with it? I haven't added the sulfites to it that came in the kit either.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

Jdwebb good to hear from you.

first take a sg reading( important).
if the wine is completely dry then re-rack / then add all the chems and the fining agent to the new racking, stir well and let sit for 1 week after that taste and bottle.

What do you think so far??..did you add any enhancements to the base PINO noir

 

[jdwebb]

Jdwebb good to hear from you.

first take a sg reading( important).
if the wine is completely dry then re-rack / then add all the chems and the fining agent to the new racking, stir well and let sit for 1 week after that taste and bottle.

What do you think so far??..did you add any enhancements to the base PINO noir

Just took SG today, its at .998, its been there for over a week. The only enhancement I added was the berry mix at the beginning. I was thinking of adding some oak to it for a little mouthfeel, and right now its just a tad on the hot side, but I think it will calm down with age. It has a very mild berry taste at the end.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

how are we progressing so far....there are 16 of you wine makers doing these kits...''..::

 

[jdwebb]

OK Joe, started this on 2/23...

Fontana Pinot Noir
1 pound mixed blackberries & raspberries
Mixed to 5 1/2 gallons
BM4x4
Gravity now at 0.998

Its just been sitting in the carboy at about 65ºF. Should I be doing anything with it? I haven't added the sulfites to it that came in the kit either.

OK,, so its racked, degassed and stabilized, will add the clearing agent tonight and just let it sit a while.

 

[PhilDarby]

I haven't made any kit wines for years, but, the basic principle is the same as the one I use (this may be a bit controvertial joe so sorry) say u make a wine kit and it turns out bland or not really the flavour you where after.

since you don't want to tweak the kit post ferment, you would have to age the kit a bit then remake it and learn from the exercise, I suspect most kits are fairly consistent meaning u can predict the outcome of future kits.

so say hypothetically you ferment a kit which has no particular flavour and basically is boring or bland, the first time around and here is the controvertial part, I basically add real fruit of the intended flavouring eg real peach or raspberry etc to cheap reds in order to create character, while this might be frowned upon by some it basically produces a flavour that is in the ball park and predictable up to a point, bearing in mind that fruit in general varies in characteristics any how even from the same growing area.

so basically it means you can tweak the recipie to include the missing flavour which you are seeking and again everyone likes their wines in different ways.

personally I make smallish batches so you would have to scale it up if you make larger ones, but I tend to use one pummet (ie) one carton size from the local fruit shop per uk gallon as a rough guide, as a general rule I keep the fruit in contact with the must for 7 days average, if, you leave it longer you tend to get more tannins especially with fruit containing small stones eg raspberries and strawberries, shorter amounts of time result in a mild flavour tweak.

If you google the expected flavour notes, linked to the particular wine variety of your choice and find one element is missing that's how I add the missing flavour basically.

keeping skins and stones present also add to tannins, if the original lacked in tannins, wines left in contact with fruit for long periods tend to age better than ones that don't but aren't particularly nice when young.

here is another controvertial tweak for cheap wine, using wine corks, if your making a cheap wine and have no normal oak to add and also have no oak barrel, get a new wine cork slice it into 4 or 5 slivers at a rate of one cork per gallon and throw it into the primary ferment, cork is actually made from cork oak trees and there is good reasons it has been used for centuries to mature quality wine ;-)

if your new to wine making buy a nice bottle of wine while making your first batch slice the cork into slivers as above, because only the piece of cork inside the bottle has been in contact with the wine voila sorted, fresh cork contact.

ive even added small amounts of raspberry jam in order to replicate a tart taste dissolving the jam in boiling water and letting it cool before adding one heaped teaspoon per gallon in primary, is about right

no wine should ever go to waste.

even a bland wine is a blender.

and blending can be the spice of life ;-)

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

Hi UK ,I think we do the same thing except Ares, are in either the primary or secondary stages of the process, and not a gallon at a time We usually work 5 to 6 gallons, we also I teach to read about the wines profile before we start to add enhancements, some enhancements are just not suitable for all wines also adding flavor to the back end of a wine is common place in some of todays kits we call them flavor fpacs they come in foil packages and are added before bottling process. However you can as you stated add a enhancement to the end of a wines process .I have by adding a hand full of fruit crushed and in the raw state to boost up a wines flavor profile if the wines process proves out not to be that tasty. So you see there is know controversy here just wine makers being creative and enjoying the art, welcome aboard.

 

[Tnuscan]

Hello!
Thought I would post on the Font. Merlot tweeked kit. I know its young started mid February, but I am enjoying this wine. I knew I would start drinking it when I tasted it after stabilizing. I have another kit finishing fermentation in the carboy. I will be ordering another kit Monday. lol. I'm glad I found this forum, and especially glad joeswine is on it. I also started the Malbec with the Merlot I'm drinking at the moment. Will have to taste it next week. I may have said it before but I'll say it again. Thanks Joe, for making wine more fun than it is. And for showing us we can tweek a kit to our own taste .
Cheers!!!

 

[Spikedlemon]

My Merlot hasn't yet been started. It may get attention this weekend if I have a clear day in the calendar to pick up the extras for it.

I'm still thinking raspberries over blackberries for the Merlot. I don't know why but in my head it makes more sense. But I may, instead, grab a bag of frozen mix (raspberries, blackberries & blueberries).

 

[joeswine]

Use the BlackBerry it makes for a better overall finish, if you blend berries sometimes the Finish is confusing that's what you don't want also the balance will be off,has anyone else used mixed berries we ith success?

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine My malbec is still in carboys(been there for 3 1/2 weeks since stabilizing/clearing) going to add some heavy oak chips this weekend and let sit on them for one week then bottle and hope for the best.

 

[joeswine]

in the mix

Have you given it a pre taste? Wineforfun

 

[wineforfun]

Have you given it a pre taste? Wineforfun

Three weeks ago when racking after stablizing/clearing I tasted it. Tasted pretty good. Nice 14% ABV so got quite happy after a few glasses. Like you said, not a $30 bottle, but that is not what we are making either. I think it is going to make a very nice everyday drinker.

I would just like a little more oak in it. Hopefully my "one week" addition works out ok.

 

[Tnuscan]

Three weeks ago when racking after stablizing/clearing I tasted it. Tasted pretty good. Nice 14% ABV so got quite happy after a few glasses. Like you said, not a $30 bottle, but that is not what we are making either. I think it is going to make a very nice everyday drinker.

I would just like a little more oak in it. Hopefully my "one week" addition works out ok.

A little more oak might be a good idea. As I sit here and drink mine (I call it my{ @joeswine Malbec } written in silver perm. marker on the carboy. LOL. I enjoyed some with a little piece of Rib eye at lunch, while testing and bottling a gallon jug. As I read your post I realized this is, "a nice everyday drinker", and I agree. It is also "not a $30 bottle", but I think I would just as soon enjoy this instead of a $30 dollar bottle. Especially when a $15 bottle can't be enjoyed at 46 days after starting, like I'm enjoying this one. I also realized I didn't add the second addition of tannin, at racking to glass, and I may dial back the ABV a small tad. Needless to say, I am truly amazed with what I'm drinking at this very moment. It still needs a little dialing in for my own personal taste, but I have never enjoyed a more near perfect every day drinker like this one at such a early age.
Joe, I hope you are recognized for what you have accomplished with tweeking these kits. It's fun, it's enjoyable early in the process, and it's a blast to do.

So @ joeswine I say CHEERS!!!

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

I am thinking of adding some oak chips to the CabSauv that I tweaked and feel is too sweet for my taste. How long do you think they should stay in the already racked and cleared 5 gallons?

 

[wineforfun]

I am thinking of adding some oak chips to the CabSauv that I tweaked and feel is too sweet for my taste. How long do you think they should stay in the already racked and cleared 5 gallons?

That is personal preference but I am going to add 3 oz. to my 3 gal. carboy and 1 oz. to my 1 gal. carboy and leave them for 1 week. Then it is bottling time.

 

[wineforfun]

A little more oak might be a good idea. As I sit here and drink mine (I call it my{ @joeswine Malbec } written in silver perm. marker on the carboy. LOL. I enjoyed some with a little piece of Rib eye at lunch, while testing and bottling a gallon jug. As I read your post I realized this is, "a nice everyday drinker", and I agree. It is also "not a $30 bottle", but I think I would just as soon enjoy this instead of a $30 dollar bottle. Especially when a $15 bottle can't be enjoyed at 46 days after starting, like I'm enjoying this one. I also realized I didn't add the second addition of tannin, at racking to glass, and I may dial back the ABV a small tad. Needless to say, I am truly amazed with what I'm drinking at this very moment. It still needs a little dialing in for my own personal taste, but I have never enjoyed a more near perfect every day drinker like this one at such a early age.
Joe, I hope you are recognized for what you have accomplished with tweeking these kits. It's fun, it's enjoyable early in the process, and it's a blast to do.

So @ joeswine I say CHEERS!!!

Very well said Dave. I have to admit, and Joe knows this, but I was very skeptical in the beginning of his writings. Didn't understand why you would want to mess with these cheap kits when you could get a higher end one and somewhat be guaranteed with a great product.
But, my curiosity and liking to experiment and create, got the best of me. Again, you just have to know what you are dealing with and all is well. These kits aren't Ferraris, but I like the fact you can tweak the heck out of them and if for some odd reason you completely screw it up, you aren't out much.

 

[Tnuscan]

Thanks! Yes I agree, it's similar to cooking, in a way, most everyone follows a recipe to cook a good meal. A Chef takes the recipe and creates his own unique taste, changing the meal into something exciting and new. Joes tweeking has changed the way I look at winemaking. Like for example taking the kit, splitting it into halves, or thirds, tweeking each to different tastes and abvs, having some fun, while learning the process. Who knows, you may even end up with a Ferrari.
Cheers!!