Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

The reason I use the simple syrup is that I know it’s all soluble

 

[Bill Pet]

In the past my wines never sat around longer than two or three months. I enjoyed them and thought them good ... better than the cheap bottles at Walmart. Then I increased the frequency of my wine making and (for non-alcohol related medical reasons) had to decrease my consumption. The other day I opened an 18 month old bottle from a Wine Lover's Merlot kit. It was unbelievably good. The batch was already good at one month but this was a completely different thing. I had done the regular kit at 6 gallons but added sugar and raisins to bring the abv up to about 15%, added medium toasted French oak and some grapefruit rind (I know, that's supposed to be only for white wine.) I don't know all the wine tasting terminology and distinctions so these are now my own armature observations. It lost the sharpness due to the high alcohol and became very mellow with more body and better mouth feel, and it has much increased fruit flavor as well as a pleasant woodsy taste. It is soothing and relaxing and elicits a sigh of "aahh". I guess it is time to make another merlot kit so I have enough to let it age. Thanks for the tweak suggestions!

 

[joeswine]

In the past my wines never sat around longer than two or three months. I enjoyed them and thought them good ... better than the cheap bottles at Walmart. Then I increased the frequency of my wine making and (for non-alcohol related medical reasons) had to decrease my consumption. The other day I opened an 18 month old bottle from a Wine Lover's Merlot kit. It was unbelievably good. The batch was already good at one month but this was a completely different thing. I had done the regular kit at 6 gallons but added sugar and raisins to bring the abv up to about 15%, added medium toasted French oak and some grapefruit rind (I know, that's supposed to be only for white wine.) I don't know all the wine tasting terminology and distinctions so these are now my own armature observations. It lost the sharpness due to the high alcohol and became very mellow with more body and better mouth feel, and it has much increased fruit flavor as well as a pleasant woodsy taste. It is soothing and relaxing and elicits a sigh of "aahh". I guess it is time to make another merlot kit so I have enough to let it age. Thanks for the tweak suggestions!

Tweaking is thinking outside the box

 

[joeswine]

you know not to put any wine kit down, if you look at those FWK all the structure your required to install in them resembles, tweaking a cheap wine kit, just saying.
don't hate me just from what I see there's a lot to make them decent or good wine??

 

[joeswine]

TWEAKING CHEAP WINE KITS....... 539k views.... thank you all.

 

[winemaker81]

you know not to put any wine kit down, if you look at those FWK all the structure your required to install in them resembles, tweaking a cheap wine kit, just saying.
don't hate me just from what I see there's a lot to make them decent or good wine??

I put no additional effort into a FWK to make an exceptional wine. These are not low-end kits.

 

[joeswine]

all's I'm saying is look at the contents of the kit, look at all the substructures' people are adding.
there are not high-end kits either. it takes as much stuff to make these kits high-end as it does to make an average kit a good kit, it's all subjective to taste, isn't it?

 

[winemaker81]

all's I'm saying is look at the contents of the kit, look at all the substructures' people are adding.
there are not high-end kits either. it takes as much stuff to make these kits high-end as it does to make an average kit a good kit, it's all subjective to taste, isn't it?

No offense, but I'm completely missing your point.

The main reason FWK stands out from other kits, ingredient-wise, is the nutrients are not blended into the concentrate. The winemaker must do that, and it's normal when making wine from grapes or fruits.

A secondary reason for the whites and light fruits is the carbon pack, which is to reduce browning. Again, just a standard winemaking technique. The first picture on my Sauvignon Blanc in Detail blog is the ingredients, which includes yeast, oak, K&C, a finishing pack, and unlike other kits 3 nutrient packs and a carbon pack. There's nothing unusual here.

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/2022-finer-wine-kits-sauvignon-blanc-in-detail/
This is not like the many tweaks listed in this thread to change the flavor of the wine, hence my confusion.

The kits may not be high end, like the WE Private Reserve, but IME they're better than the WE Reserve kits. I've bottled 12 kits and have 2 in production, and am very pleased with all. It's hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison, but I like the FWK reds I've made better than the WE Reserve Australian Cabernet Sauvignon I made for my son's reception. The FWK Super Tuscan and Syrah/Petite Sirah/Merlot blend that I barrel aged are not as good as my 2020 Meritage blends, but they're not that far behind.

At some point I'll do a blind tasting, as it would be useful to see what results that produces.

 

[joeswine]

That's what I'm saying you add to the structure of the fwk and build them, just like another kit on the market.
it also gives the beginner something more to put in their memory banks...
it's all subjective, that s all

 

[nwwoods]

Final gravity question on a tweeked cheap kit. If I've reduced from 6.0 to 5.5 gals, resulting in a starting gravity of ~1.094, should I expect the final gravity to be lower than the kit instructions target (<0.996) or higher?

Since water is 1.000, and I am using less water, I would think it would end up lower. But I am seeing the opposite (0.998 or even more). Help me to understand why? I must be missing something basic. Thank you.

 

[winemaker81]

Final gravity question on a tweeked cheap kit. If I've reduced from 6.0 to 5.5 gals, resulting in a starting gravity of ~1.094, should I expect the final gravity to be lower than the kit instructions target (<0.996) or higher?

Since water is 1.000, and I am using less water, I would think it would end up lower. But I am seeing the opposite (0.998 or even more). Help me to understand why? I must be missing something basic. Thank you.

Nope. You are misunderstanding how SG works.

The original SG is produced by water (in the juice), sugar, and other minor constituents. As the yeast eats sugar and emits alcohol, the SG drops. The final SG is typically below 1.000 because alcohol is lighter than water. The amount of water used to reconstitute the kit doesn't make much difference, except in the case where the SG is too high (too much sugar) and the yeast can't eat it.

IME, most wines finish at 0.998 or lower. Heavier wines (typically reds) often finish at 0.996 due to other constituents in the wine. Light whites and fruits may finish at 0.990 - 0.992, as they have less 'other' stuff in them.

I've also had wines finish at 1.002 for no reason I could identify. Wine is a complex solution so the final SG is not predictable

 

[joeswine]

Peaches are my favorite fruit and wine.

 

[Rocky]

Peaches are my favorite fruit and wine.

Hey Joe, can you tell me what the wine temperature is when you start the process? You seem to get a much faster and healthier fermentation than I do. Mine usually start out in an area with an ambient temperature of 66-68 F.

 

[Rocky]

No offense, but I'm completely missing your point.

The main reason FWK stands out from other kits, ingredient-wise, is the nutrients are not blended into the concentrate. The winemaker must do that, and it's normal when making wine from grapes or fruits.

A secondary reason for the whites and light fruits is the carbon pack, which is to reduce browning. Again, just a standard winemaking technique. The first picture on my Sauvignon Blanc in Detail blog is the ingredients, which includes yeast, oak, K&C, a finishing pack, and unlike other kits 3 nutrient packs and a carbon pack. There's nothing unusual here.

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/2022-finer-wine-kits-sauvignon-blanc-in-detail/
This is not like the many tweaks listed in this thread to change the flavor of the wine, hence my confusion.

The kits may not be high end, like the WE Private Reserve, but IME they're better than the WE Reserve kits. I've bottled 12 kits and have 2 in production, and am very pleased with all. It's hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison, but I like the FWK reds I've made better than the WE Reserve Australian Cabernet Sauvignon I made for my son's reception. The FWK Super Tuscan and Syrah/Petite Sirah/Merlot blend that I barrel aged are not as good as my 2020 Meritage blends, but they're not that far behind.

At some point I'll do a blind tasting, as it would be useful to see what results that produces.

My experience with FWK reds has been mostly positive. However, I made a FWK Forte Zinfandel recently which turned out on the "flabby" side. Very disappointing. One the other hand I made a triple batch of FWK Tavola Zinfandel with two grape packs for each kit, which turned out very good. I have made 5 or 6 other Forte reds which were very good but not better than WineExpert 14 liter Private Reserve kits or RJS 14 liter Winery Series kits.

FWK whites are another matter with me. The "browning," I believe is a euphemism for "oxidation," seems to be a result of something in the process and is not something with which I want to deal. The addition of carbon, purported to be a "standard wine making technique" is in reality a "standard wine making remedy" used when there is a problem with the juice. I have some experience in commercial wine making and I did witness, on an annual basis for six or seven years, the production of tens of thousands of gallons of Vidal Blanc in New York and there was never any carbon involved.

I made a FWK Sauvignon Blanc before the "carbon fix" and it was horrible. I could never get rid of the oxidized taste and I ended up dumping the 6 gallon batch, the first time in my life I had to do so. Later, I tried a Muscat with the carbon fix and eventually was able to get all the carbon out. The resulting wine was fine but no better than another batch of Muscat that I made from a plain juice kit, and which cost significantly less.

 

[joeswine]

Hey Joe, can you tell me what the wine temperature is when you start the process? You seem to get a much faster and healthier fermentation than I do. Mine usually start out in an area with an ambient temperature of 66-68 F.

Around 62 degrees if you take notice I always use a heater strip

 

[joeswine]

This season at the Hammonton wine contest I entered 9

 

[joeswine]

part of my problem was the labeling.
most all the wines had the country of origin on them mostly from Spain, so if you had known ideas about Spanish wines or someone stated there not good, mentally you're out.
the other problem I had all my reds were on one flight in the peoples judging end of this contest, bad move on their part, I was against myself at that point., frustrating. oh well there's always next time.on to the next one

 

[Khristyjeff]

This season at the Hammonton wine contest I entered 9 View attachment 99843

Congratulations, Joe!

 

[AR324]

part of my problem was the labeling.
most all the wines had the country of origin on them mostly from Spain, so if you had known ideas about Spanish wines or someone stated there not good, mentally you're out.
the other problem I had all my reds were on one flight in the peoples judging end of this contest, bad move on their part, I was against myself at that point., frustrating. oh well there's always next time.on to the next one

You might be frustrated. I would be ecstatic. Congratulations

 

[MHSKIBUM]

Tweaking is thinking outside the box

Any suggestions for tweaking the Argentia Ridge Château Private Selection White Zinfandel Wine Kit from Costco? I've had great success with this simply by shorting the water and not adding the sweetener packs. But greedy guy that I am, I want more. I was thinking extended maceration with Muscat grapes, or sour cherries. Any thoughts?