Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

in the mix

Ño,shouldn't be necessary, clearyas usual.having fun yet

 

[joeswine]

in the mix

No not necessarily, having fun yet?

 

[Mismost]

Always having fun...life is too short to frown!

Wild Berry Shiraz...is just sitting in glass now....to it I added a big jar of homemade Elderberry jelly and only 1/2 half of the included Fpac....your tweaks with the French Oak...over shot my volume and it is a lighter thinner wine...nice color and clarity...kinda hot right now, but very flavorful. Had a wino friend try a little glass last night...she asked what it was and I told her it was "wine"...she sniffed and swirled and sipped and snorted all with a puzzled look on her face...her remark as she finished the glass was "well, I don't know what I would call that wine, a bit fruity for me, but I want a bottle of it!".

She also tried a small glass of the Selection Pinot Gris that I tweaked with Apricots, it's ready to bottle. That one got a big WOW out of her and she called it a Pinot Gris and she was fumbling around trying to figure out else was in the taste....I wasn't going to tell her...but, my wife said is that the one with Apricots?? Then my wino friend went crazy, she loved that one. She also loved the Cellar Classic Chard...with the added grapefruit zest.

The Malbec is sitting on more oak and is stored way in back of my "cellar" ( cellar looks exactly like my desk for some reason). It's hard to get to, which may actually be a good thing. I just thought it needed a little something/something. You guys have to remember, I am not much of a wine or beer drinker....I just like making the stuff. So, I AM COMPLETELY UNENCUMBERED by the knowledge of a particular wine's style and thus free to do what ever I please until I (meaning me and the red head) like the taste! Ignorance can be bliss.

Also have a Mezza Luna Red, second batch of that one, following the flow from the first one that was greatly influenced by Joe's tweaks...this one will get degassed much better this time....another lesson learned on a cheap kit. My wife's favorite to sit, sip, and watch the sun go down.

Right now I need about 300 empty bottles...that's my bottle neck. The Pinot Gris will be filtered and bottled this week end....a lot of racking to do also....a play date with my All-in-One pump! I need to scrape up more bottles, it's big bass season, and I wanna go bust some clay targets too. Yepper, life is to enjoyed and this is fun stuff to me.

 

[Spikedlemon]

Things are getting promising. The excitement is building, that's for sure, to bottle it and start tasting it.
The fun was the wine volcano when degassing.

I've got 8 gallons of other wine to bottle now another 5 that could bottle anytime and then in two weeks: this one should be ready. That's ~100 bottles of wine: I think I should look at getting a floor corker.

I just started the missus' Peach Chardonnay yesterday. I added some of the Fpack to the base - maybe half (more than I expected to). She and I aren't big fans of very sweet drinks anyway. That's really the only mod I plan to do on that kit. The rest'll be by the book.

 

[Mismost]

I caught a good deal on a used floor corker...THE BIG RED ONE! Really looking forward to trying it out this week end. It looks fast just sitting still in the shop all red and shiny...Think I should wax it up like my old '67 Camero?

 

[joeswine]

premium Fontana wine kit

The last week before I went on vacation I received a bottle of MALBEC from wineforfun,these are my findings ,always remember being nice on your replies doesn't make for a better wine maker or a better wine, so I'm always trying to be spot on with my critiques.

BODY: thin but smooth
AROMA: what do you know there was a nose to this one something I became use to not having.
TASTE:good fruit on the front end, decent wood on the back end not over powering .
ABV. good alcohol lets you know your drinking a balanced tasting wine.

cost;$2.25 per bottle, great job on the process, would you share your process with us, what is the difference between the basic kit and this one, I know you get a discount but lets say you didn't and take it from there.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Well, I thought I'd enter the "playroom" since so much fun was being had by all. I went with a Fontana Malbec as my first cheap-kit tweaker. I added 1 cup oak, 1 cup currants, 1 tblsp tannin and 1qt simple syrup.

I pulled a sample of this this morning. Mentally comparing it to the sample of a very young Super Tuscan we sampled last evening. The ST compared favorably to a commercial Sangiovese-blend ($18) we had on hand. I found the Malbec lacking the variety/complexity of the previous evening sample(s). Currently in the secondary and dry. Slight taste of tannins. Possibly an fpac with blackberry and plum? Dare one star anise and/or a few peppercorns? More tannin and/or oak? I am a bit hesitant to "tweak" :: because my wife tasted it and she liked it . I expressed my concerns and she said let the ST be what it is and let the Malbec be what it is. I feel I want the Malbec to stand on its own for sure but feel it could be more (possibly) than what it currently is. Y'all's thoughts.

(From the web) Malbec flavor profile:
Malbec is characterized by its deeply hued purple color, often described as inky red. The flavors of Malbecs tend to be very lush and full of ripe, juicy berries and purple fruits (i.e. plums), often with herbal, licorice/anise, or purple floral notes (i.e.violet). Malbecs are generally bold and earthy with an intense, full bodied mouth feel. Renowned wine expert Jancis Robinson once described Malbec as being the more rustic cousin of Merlot.

 

[Spikedlemon]

I think I need to find a local friend who'll be willing to swap back and forth with me bottles of experiments.

The Argentia Ridge Merlot is degassed, fined and sitting waiting for me. I'll be racking to another carboy tonight (i'll pull a sample) and, if it's fully degassed, I'll bottle this weekend. The last sample I snuck out was, light, but good.


That being said: I've got master plans to bottle the Magnotta Chardonnay as well... Hoping that age will bring some beauty to that wine. Maybe even the Zin if I get adventurous.
I might be getting in over my head here.

 

[joeswine]

In the mix

you stated your in the secondary what I would do to build the structure just a little more is cook down 8 /10 oz.s. of blackberries and add the to the mix, in the end your not going to taste blackberries but pick up the mouthfeel and body of the mix.

 

[WalkingWolf]

Wii do. Thanks Joe

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine
So, I pretty much made the Malbec according to your recommendations. Started off with just over 5 gal. in the primary instead of the 6 that Fontana recommends. SG 1.100 Added 1 Tbsp. tannin and 1 cup oak that did not come with the kit.
Ran it dry to .993. Racked to a 3 gal., 1 gal., and 1/2 gal. carboy. Added clearing agents.
After clearing, racked off lees and ended up with 3 gal., 1 gal. and 750ml bottle. Let sit for 4 weeks, then added 1 oz. per gal. of American heavy toast chips(that is what I had on hand) as it tasted good, but was lacking some oak for my liking. After two weeks on the oak, bottled.
Definitely looking forward to doing another one of these cheap reds.

Next up is a Fontana Green Reisling, sweet wine for my wife. Only tweaks for now will be cutting volume down to 5 gal. and adding some lime zest.

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine
So with the Malbec having a thin body, what would you do or what could I have done to give it a fuller body?

And yes, I appreciate the honest feedback. I am not looking for a "participation award". That is exactly why I sent you a bottle. I knew you had a lot of experience in wine, and especially with these lower end kits.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

wineforfun; understand this, having a wine who's body is being described as thin isn't a bad thing ,just the state of the viscosity of the wine, ways to improve it is always in the beginning, with either a grape pack or berries, some item that is normally apart of the wines profile which will add to the structure, like making a sauce you start with the base then add the extras to round it out..

 

[jdwebb]

Yo, Joe, I'm back. Was on vacation for a few weeks, about to bottle that Pinot Noir I did, I think it needs to sit a while in bottles, still a bit tart. Next project may be another PN, but will not use the mixed berries. It's just too tart.

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine
Ok, that is what I thought you may have meant. So with the Malbec, I probably would have added some blackberries to it up front, or what do you recommend?

Also, with the Reisling Fontana, what tweaks would you do? Add a Thompson grape pac? Add zest? Looking for some direction as I have never made a wine like this.

 

[joeswine]

wineforfun

all the above along with boosting the abv. or not for your wife's taste. Add the fpac green grapes to the primary add the zest of a half grapefruit to the secondary. The clearing process may take a little longer, but it will be worth the effort.

 

[joeswine]

In the mix

look what I got from WALKING WOLF

 

[WalkingWolf]

Glad to see it made it.

 

[Bauer]

Just opens a bottle of my Fontana Cab. At 4 months I have to say it's pretty good! I even had to open a second bottle just to make sure. [emoji6] Next up Fontana Pinot noir. Any suggestions @joeswine? These cheapies sure do make wine making fun!!!

 

[Tom]

I would suggest adding Blueberry F-Pac. I have used this and Blackberry F-Pac. Then you can call it Blueberry Pinot Noir.