Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Toms wine kits

this is were I'm at with tom's wine

 

[Quicksilver]

joeswine this is a fantastic resource, I've read the first 25 pages and I can't stop. Thanks for your generosity in sharing your knowledge!

I've mostly made fruit wines up to now. Last night I started my first cheap kit wine - a $42 Fontana Pinot Noir. These are the tweaks I made:

Instead of 6 gallons, I kept it to 5 as you advise
I added a can of Welch's grape concentrate to boost the body, as I didn't have currants.
I added a pound of frozen/thawed Great Value blackberries in a fruit bag, with a little pectic enzyme.
Chaptilized with 2 cups of 1:1 simple syrup (this made the SG a bit too high for my liking, the Potential Alcohol now shows to be about 14.7%, but if it tastes hot I'll blend it down when the time comes).
I didn't add any oak, as I don't care for an oaky red. If it needs some oomph I'll add it in the secondary.

I also think I'll add a split vanilla bean in the secondary - IDK enough about pinot noirs to know if this is breaking some terrible rule, but I'll tell you, I had a merlot once that had some great vanilla notes, and I couldn't stop drinking it.

Thanks again - I'd love any input or advice!

PS I pitched the yeast this morning - EC-1118 since that's what I had and I was too busy to go to the LHBS.

 

[Mismost]

Quicksilver....you should be reading with a pad and pen to take notes...lotta note worthy info in this thread.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

Welcome Quicksilver: First: are you in a bucket if so ,NO BAGS, allow full total contact between(fruit to juice )..it might take a little more effort on your part but it adds greatly to the effect. Second, The ABV. might drop a little over the course of time, you should be around 13% ,correct? Third: ec1118 is a good one to use do to it's high alcohol resistance. Looks. like your on your way to becoming a cheap wine maker and having fun at it at the same time.Stay with us and continue your coverage of your wine making ...

 

[joeswine]

Kates Blackberry zin.

this oneh as a sweet finish but balanced with good abv...follow the short flo
this oneh as a sweet finish but balanced with good abv...follow the short flow...
w...

 

[joeswine]

Kates Blackberry zin.

Vino Italiano Blackberry Zinfandel Kit​

This kit we purchased off Amazon for ~$45.00 shipped. This kit is contained the Zinfandel juice, a blackberry F-pak, labels, corks, caps, packets of yeast, sorbate, bentonite, k-met, and chitosan. This kit contains the essentials for any new winemaker (minus the basic equipment that is needed.)
What we added:
• 2 ball jars of simple syrup (each ball jar will bring the SG up .01%)
• Spring Water
• **Oak Tannin** Note: We will add this in the secondary, not primary
The steps:
• First, we added the bentonite and ½ gal. warm water and stirred until dissolved.
• Next, we added the packet of Zinfandel juice and then topped up to 6 gallon mark on our primary fermenter.
• Then, we took an SG reading. The kit as is, came to 1.070. We wanted our SG reading to be at 1.10, so we added the ball jars of simple syrup, one at a time (and took readings in between). We ended up using both jars and this brought us up to our desired SG reading: 1.09. We wanted this specific SG reading because 1. We like nice alcohol in our wine and 2. We wanted it to be well balanced. This kit contains an F-pak so the higher alch. Will balance it out- it won’t be too sweet .
• Next, we gave the bucket a good stir and added the yeast.
• The last step: We document the contents on our tag, hang it on the bucket, and drape a towel over the top. Now we wait.
Update!!
We checked the SG tonight (6/20/14) and it is at 0.98. This is dry and ready to rack to the secondary carboy. We racked it to our secondary, marked the SG reading and the date on our tag and hung it on the carboy.
Our wine is coming along!
Stay tuned...

**Update**
Hello Everyone!
We haven't posted the all-anticipated posts of this economically pleasing wine kit. So tonight is the night! For those who are catching the back end of this tutorial, this is a Blackberry-Zinfandel Kit from Vino Italiano. This kit’s average price is ~$45.00.
On 7/3/2014 we added the Blackberry F-pack, the clearing agent that came with the kit, the K-Met (Metabisulphate), Sorbate, stirred it up, and let it sit.
Tonight we checked-in on this wine and gave it our winemakers check-up.
Appearance: Nice dark purple color
Aroma: Berries, oak, and a slight tar smell (which is indicative of a drinkable dark, red wine)
Taste: Definitely taste the blackberry. It's right on the money. Has a light oak taste. This wine finishes sweet but not overly sickening, which is nice. The higher alcohol content (from adding the extra sugar/simple syrup in the beginning) really balances it out like we thought going into this kit.
Although this wine is definitely drinkable to the average wine drinker, I would let this one sit another month to really let the flavors come together. However, if I was invited last minute to a BBQ, this I wouldn't be ashamed of grabbing a few bottle of this to share.
This was a good purchase. It's a "filler" wine that I can share or drink while the other stuff I have is aging.
Oh, and for the count- we got 27 bottles (plus one that was not quite full- we drank that).
The total cost per bottle: $1.66. Can’t Beat that!

Cheers!
Joe and Kate


: Nice dark purple color
Aroma: Berries, oak, and a slight tar smell (which is indicative of a drinkable dark, red wine)
Taste: Definitely taste the blackberry. It's right on the money. Has a light oak taste. This wine finishes sweet but not overly sickening, which is nice. The higher alcohol content (from adding the extra sugar/simple syrup in the beginning) really balances it out like we thought going into this kit.
Although this wine is definitely drinkable to the average wine drinker, I would let this one sit another month to really let the flavors come together. However, if I was invited last minute to a BBQ, this I wouldn't be ashamed of grabbing a few bottle of this to share.
This was a good purchase. It's a "filler" wine that I can share or drink while the other stuff I have is aging.
Oh, and for the count- we got 27 bottles (plus one that was not quite full- we drank that).
The total cost per bottle: $1.66. Can’t Beat that!

Cheers!
Joe and Kate

 

[nwwoods]

Question on reducing the volume from 6 to 5.5 gal. On paper the volume reduction increases starting gravity quite a bit. For example something that is 1.090 at 6 gal would seem to be 1.18 at 5.5 gal. But anecdotally that seems to not be the case? People end up more in the 1.10 range? I am further confused as it seems hydrometers do not or cannot measure above 1.12? Is it really starting higher and the hydrometer can't measure it?

Searched the thread but don't see too many mentions of gravity. What starting and final gravities are the tweekers here getting with various volumes (5.75, 5.5, 5.0 gal)?

Also wondering, has anyone ever measured the gravity of a big, chewy commercial Zin or a blockbuster commercial cab? Intuitively it would seem that is a target, so if you know that's where you want to land, and you know how far your yeast will go, you have an idea where to try to get it to start.

 

[Johnd]

Question on reducing the volume from 6 to 5.5 gal. On paper the volume reduction increases starting gravity quite a bit. For example something that is 1.090 at 6 gal would seem to be 1.18 at 5.5 gal. But anecdotally that seems to not be the case? People end up more in the 1.10 range? I am further confused as it seems hydrometers do not or cannot measure above 1.12? Is it really starting higher and the hydrometer can't measure it?

Searched the thread but don't see too many mentions of gravity. What starting and final gravities are the tweekers here getting with various volumes (5.75, 5.5, 5.0 gal)?

Also wondering, has anyone ever measured the gravity of a big, chewy commercial Zin or a blockbuster commercial cab? Intuitively it would seem that is a target, so if you know that's where you want to land, and you know how far your yeast will go, you have an idea where to try to get it to start.

The hydrometer, if you have a decent one, is quite capable of the measurement. Most folks wouldn't want to start traditional table wine at 1.12, it would end up at 17%+ if it fermented down to .995.

Most commercial zins, cabs, merlots, pinots, etc., are dry wines and their SG's are just like yours, somewhere around .995, maybe below, maybe above, but dry. These days, your bigger reds have alcohol in the 14% range, a starting gravity of 1.10, finishing at .995, gets you in that same range.

 

[joeswine]

If you have searched the threds then note that almost all my wines start at or around1.10 sg and go from there, sometime I give the raw sg. Right as it comes out of the bag then I adjust and keep adjusting the wine .The correct people to ask are the people who have tried taking a cheap wine kit and there results, thanks for reading this thread and welcome.

 

[Mismost]

just puled the cork on a tweaked Mezza Luna Red bottled about ten month ago....very enjoyable. Thanks Joe! Happy Fourth!!

 

[joeswine]

Orchard breeze peach

something cooling and refreshing for the summer a peack wine kit with a twist follow the flow....................

 

[joeswine]

Orchard breeze peach

SUMMER PEACH WINE CONTINUED....

 

[Zintrigue]

SUMMER PEACH WINE CONTINUED....

Looking nice, makes me wanna try a peach wine.

 

[sour_grapes]

Question on reducing the volume from 6 to 5.5 gal. On paper the volume reduction increases starting gravity quite a bit. For example something that is 1.090 at 6 gal would seem to be 1.18 at 5.5 gal. But anecdotally that seems to not be the case? People end up more in the 1.10 range? I am further confused as it seems hydrometers do not or cannot measure above 1.12? Is it really starting higher and the hydrometer can't measure it?

Searched the thread but don't see too many mentions of gravity. What starting and final gravities are the tweekers here getting with various volumes (5.75, 5.5, 5.0 gal)?

Also wondering, has anyone ever measured the gravity of a big, chewy commercial Zin or a blockbuster commercial cab? Intuitively it would seem that is a target, so if you know that's where you want to land, and you know how far your yeast will go, you have an idea where to try to get it to start.

I am afraid you are doing the math incorrectly. You cannot simply take 1.090*(6/5.5), as you appear to be doing. That completely ignores the weight of the half gallon of water.

You could google and then mess around with a "Pearson's Square" if you are so inclined. Or, you could say that, "on paper," a kit that was 1.090 at 6 gallons would theoretically weigh in at SG = (1.090*6 gal - 1.000*0.5 gal)/5.5 gal = 1.098.

 

[nwwoods]

Thank you sour_grapes. The calculation shown is what I needed to understand it. So reducing the volume by half a gallon increases the starting gravity, but not a lot, so the final ABV may be half to three quarters of a percent higher, assuming the yeast strain used has a high enough tolerance. I wouldn't want it to be any higher, but a fraction of a percent is tolerable.

 

[joeswine]

Orchard breeze peach

lets take it from the top,,the flow is long and pay attention when we shift to the secondary and what happens there..

 

[joeswine]

Orchard breeze peach

MORE TO GO STAY AWAKE PAY ATTENTION TO THE SECONDARY PROCESS....

 

[Ron0126]

Heads up!
Fontana kits are only $38.95 at Walmart.com with free shipping.
https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=fontana wine kit&cat_id=0

 

[Zintrigue]

Heads up!
Fontana kits are only $38.95 at Walmart.com with free shipping.
https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=fontana wine kit&cat_id=0

Order placed for a Pinot. Thank you, kind sir

 

[nwwoods]

Thank you @Ron0126, got the merlot and will make when the blackberries that are otherwise a scourge around here are ripe, and will use them as a free fpack. Yum!