Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Jdwebb..satute them down till you see them soften and opening up use a little sweet red wine as a liquid in the sauce pan about 1/2 cup .then when you feel their done put them directly into the wine, add the yeast cover and walk away.( it should thicken a little )looking like preserves. Use any where from 12 to 16 ounces

 

[jdwebb]

Got it, thanks Joe.

 

[jdwebb]

Started my Shiraz this evening. Sauted 14 oz of fresh blueberries in 1/2 cup sweet red muscadine wine. Kit came with a French Oak pack, and I used the provided 1118 yeast instead of the option I was going to use, D21.

 

[joeswine]

in the mix

JDwebb,look's just fine, stay the course and by the way great pic's how are the rest of you coming along?

 

[Tnuscan]

Still tweeking like crazy down here in Tennessee, I'll be starting 2 more Malbecs, another Merlot a Pinot Noir this weekend. I think I'll go ahead and thaw some strawberries and do a batch of them too.

 

[jdwebb]

More on the Shiraz...

WE Shiraz 23 liter kit
Water to 5.75 gallons
SG: 1.002
14 oz of blueberries frozen for 4 days, then cooked in 1/2 cup of muscadine red sweet wine until just starting to get thick (cooked most of the liquid off, smells great) Be very gentle while cooking, didn't want to pulverize the berries.
Bentonite (per instructions)
1 oak pack (included)
1118 yeast
Fermenting started within 2 hours of pitch
Fermenting at 73ºF (will reduce temp 3º at 24 hour mark to 70º, may take it to 68º depending on activity)
Intend to rack to 6 gallon carboy at 1.110 until it reaches .997
Degas and rack to 5 gallon carboy and stabilize
May add more French Oak cubes or tannin depending on taste
Add clarifier and age for 6 months

...at least that's the plan!

 

[Tnuscan]

I remember the first box of currants I opened, it was around the first of the year when I started tweeking the Font. kits. When I opened the packet the aroma blew me away. It was the same flavor profile from tasting a really nice Red Wine. Exploding with tobacco, leather, coffee, chocolate aromas but it was just from smelling of it. A day later I opened the packet back up and they just smelled like raisins, all the aromas were gone.

Tonight I opened a new (fresh) box and these wonderful aromas weren't there. They were just like regular raisins. This was really a small let down.

It was like the first box held a secret, magical aroma that would impart into all my wines, except it disappeared ,somehow, forever.

Oh well, maybe again someday...?

 

[joeswine]

in the mix

They will be just fine in the mix,taste a few.

 

[BigSell]

Joe,
Love a good peppery Zin, what do you think about adding a few black peppercorns to the mix?
Primary or secondary.

 

[joeswine]

Why not try? That's how we play ! add it to the secondary

 

[Mismost]

Joe,
Love a good peppery Zin, what do you think about adding a few black peppercorns to the mix?
Primary or secondary.

I tried that a while back and didn't get much in the way of results. If I ever do it again I'll crack the peppercorns and put them in a small bag on a string. Then I could monitor and pull them out when I had it where i wanted it.

We opened a bottle of the Malbec tonight. It was good, so we opened another one! Really pleased with this one.

 

[Tnuscan]

I can't stay out of my Tweeked Malbec. lol This has become my favorite to drink even though it is young. Looks like I might need to stay several kits ahead on this one.

 

[joeswine]

cheap wine kits

It's nice when a plan comes to pass, isn't it? Like I stated in the beginning of this thread, plan a little and save a lot. This plays out really well for the red classes of wine the items you have to construct with are expansive. We'll be ready to bottle the Island Mist coconut yuzo very soon, smells delouses.

 

[jdwebb]

Update on my Shiraz..
This is a WE kit that I added 14oz of blueberries cooked down with a nice sweet muscadine wine.
SG 1.010, racked to 6 gallon carboy for the next couple weeks to finish off.

 

[GaryMRees]

I was lamenting the passing of the last bottle of elderberry merlot and not enthused about drinking the Sweet and Sour Cabernet that was disappointing a couple of months ago..
I home roasted some Appalachian white oak strips and put them in the carboys of the cabernet and in the carboys of blueberry Merlot about two weeks ago. Please note that these fresh roasted strips make the
house smell great until the fire
The cherry cabernet was excellent , the oak really added a lot to the "soup" .

BTW oak staves swell up while in the carboys. I now know how to sanitize vice grips and needle nose pliers.

Just racked sour cherry shiraz. Up next are tweaking cheep kits with homewinemaking concentrates
(blackberry and elderberry)

All of the above kits are the Argentia Ridge from Costco. (with the usual suspects). My adaptation of Joeswines method in making the 6 gallon kit to about 5.5 gallons and basically add the ingredients of one gallon of cherry, elderberry or whatever.

Thanks again Joe and everyone- I learned to leave headspace in the secondary to degass.

 

[wineforfun]

Joe's Amarone

So, back from Spain and was able to drink the Amarone Joe sent me. I am going to give my opinions without knowing a. which kit he did, b. the cost of it and c. never having had an Amarone wine before.

Color=Good
Nose=Very Nice
Body=Full

I really liked this wine. My only comment or should I say what I would like even better, if it was more oaky.
It is a 2013 and the most noticeable thing for me was how smooth it was, unlike the "bite" my malbec has. I am hoping time in the bottle smooths it out like this one.
It took me a couple of glasses to put my finger on it but this reminds me of a merlot, somewhat. It is very fruity up front with just a hint of oak on the back end.

Good work Joe and thanks again for sending it.

Now, if you would, could you tell me which kit it is, what tweaks were made and how much it cost?

 

[joeswine]

cheap wine kits

Thanks for the review, never like much oak to start with so as the tannins take a side seat for me I sometimes let the hard oak pass, also that Amarone was a 14% abv. Smooth is the word you used balanced is the pass code. The kit was the one I always use a Winexperts selections,it gives me room to tweak and about a 28 bottle out put.Kit was $80.00..there are other vintages I have yours was the 2013 they don't really do much better the longer you keep them, their designed to be drank reactively you for reds.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

16 wine makers are doing these kits what do you think?
NJBrew,Dentman,Jc5066,ColemanM,Thurhike 00,Bauer,Red rock Girl,MattyC,Bigsell,Dianna,Tnusan,JdWebb and others who we have heard from.

 

[Mismost]

Joe...I just got the Fontana Cabernet Sauvignon delivered...what tweaks do you recommend for it. I figure a couple a cups of medium oak and simple syrup for sure, volume to five gallons.

Pulled the cork on a bottle of Fontana Wildberry Shiraz last night....the very berry flavor is receding and it is a little smoother. Thin, I overshot my volume. Still, I think in 6 months it'll be a much nicer wine.

 

[joeswine]

How about making a decent cab,decrease the volume, increase the ABV, add 8 ozs. Blackberries, 1 cup French oak,or heavy toasted oak.In the secondary add 1 tablespoons of tannins. The idea is not to have a berry wine but to help build the structure nothing more,fermentation to dry and let it sit.foot notehen you get the blackberries place them in a zip lock bag and crush them, then place them directly into the primary fermentation.