Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Also if you can VB us a champagne yeast ( red star) if not ec1118 will do.

 

[joeswine]

cheap wine kits

WHO DOESN'T LIKE A DECENT ZINFANDEL THIS ONES A BLUSH ABOUT$51.00 DOLLARS.MY TWEAKS FOR THIS ONE WAS TO CHANGE OUT THE EC1118 FOR A RED STAR MONTRACHET AND A STRAWBERRY /RASPBERRY'S FPAC,SHOULD BE SPRINGTIME IN A BOTTLE WHEN FINISHED,FOLLOW THE FLOW,NOTES:I BELIEVE THIS KITS ARE A LITTLE MORE CONCENTRATED THAN THE FONTANA'S,THAT'S WHY I MADE THE FULL KIT ON THIS SOFT STYLE WINE ADDING THE FPAC WILL INCREASE THE ABV.ALSO SO I WANTED TO PLAY THIS ON CLOSE TO THE CUFF BUT STILL HAVE FUN.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

after a nights worth of fermentation take a look

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine That one looks really good. Is it supposed to be a sweet wine or dry wine when done? Does it have an fpac that comes with it or just the one you added? Yours looks really good.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

should be more balanced than sweet,will see how this kit and my tweaks play out.

 

[ohiowino]

I just finished a fontana chardonnay and cant believe how quickly it cleared. I was worried after stopping it at 1.001 but seems good.

 

[joeswine]

Looks good have you read this thread?

 

[BigSell]

Joe, I thought Zin's were usually in the 14/15% alcohol range. Why did you think the starting SG at 5.5 Gal was too high, because it's a blush?

BigSell

 

[Spikedlemon]

Joe, I thought Zin's were usually in the 14/15% alcohol range. Why did you think the starting SG at 5.5 Gal was too high, because it's a blush?

BigSell

I've only ever seen red Zin >12% while the 'white' Zin are usually <12% (commercially).

 

[joeswine]

I got a lot of boil off on the last one Soto experiment with the next one I decided to make it a full kit,also the berry fpac has a lot of sugars to help bring up the abv,just my thoughts.we' LL see how it works out,time will tell.

 

[johnxbrown]

I've got a bag of frozen currants looking for a wine kit. Any recommendations as to the style of red I should try with it? Also, that zin looks great with those fruit!

 

[joeswine]

Sangiovese/ Merlot should be quite nice.12ozs.fresh raspberries/12ozs. Ripe strawberries,cook down simmered in the base wine mashed a little.(the amount isn't exact) alittle more won't hurt.

 

[BigSell]

I got a lot of boil off on the last one Soto experiment with the next one I decided to make it a full kit,also the berry fpac has a lot of sugars to help bring up the abv,just my thoughts.we' LL see how it works out,time will tell.

Joe, probably out of my league here, but would a lower fermentation temperature and a little yeast nutrient prevented the "blow off" ?

 

[joeswine]

Should need nutrients in a kit,even with an real Fpac,you could be correct about the temperature,my basement was at the temperature not good for yeast at the time using two heater strips is not my norm we'll see what happens.

 

[Zintrigue]

I read the first few and the last few pages of this thread. I wish I had time to go through all 72 pages.

So I'm still a newbie, this will be my third batch of wine ever. I chose a fontana cab, and I ordered some of those dried currants and oak chips.

I have many questions. Sorry

What should my starting SG be before adding anything? How much sugar do I need to add to raise the SG .01? Will the kit come with bentonite or should I order that too? Will I need to clear again later on with sparkolloid? What other flavors could I add (tempted to use cocoa or skip currants and use coffee)? Can I use a mesh bag for the currants and oak chips? Will I need to press the currants even though they're dry? I imagine they'll rehydrate.

I'll be doing a 1 gallon batch. Here's why (dragon blood finishing on right)


All advice is appreciated. Thank you all so much.

-Zintrigue

 

[joeswine]

Okay people,help him out

 

[Zintrigue]

I could pester the newbie forums if my questions are overwhelming.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

Reserve Du Chateau Kit (approx.. $55.00 off Amazon.com)


Kate’s Chilean Cabernet Merlot​

This is an fairly inexpensive kit we purchased off Amazon. We used Amazon Prime and the shipping was free and arrived in 2 days! (Yes!)
Contents of the kit: All the usual suspects
Our tweaks:
Oak cubes in the primary
Homemade blackberry F-pak
1 ball jar simple syrup (brought our SG up to 1.092 from 1.082)
We will be adding powdered oak tannins to the secondary
Please see the pictures below for the process.
Starting date: January 28, 2015
the flow is the same your looking for you can omit the berries if you wish. These kits come basic with all you need to start the wine making process any help??

 

[Mismost]

I read the first few and the last few pages of this thread. I wish I had time to go through all 72 pages.

So I'm still a newbie, this will be my third batch of wine ever. I chose a fontana cab, and I ordered some of those dried currants and oak chips.

I have many questions. Sorry

What should my starting SG be before adding anything? How much sugar do I need to add to raise the SG .01? Will the kit come with bentonite or should I order that too? Will I need to clear again later on with sparkolloid? What other flavors could I add (tempted to use cocoa or skip currants and use coffee)? Can I use a mesh bag for the currants and oak chips? Will I need to press the currants even though they're dry? I imagine they'll rehydrate.

I'll be doing a 1 gallon batch. Here's why (dragon blood finishing on right)


All advice is appreciated. Thank you all so much.

-Zintrigue

Zintrigue....couple of things...

1. get a Fast Rack and sit it on your kitchen counter...empty a wine bottle, wash it, and put it in the rack real handy thing.

2. Read this whole thread and take notes as you go. This thread is a cross between Kit Wine Making for Dummies and the Wine Kit Bible. Too much good info here, you don't want to miss any of it.

3. Other threads by Joe.....you got a lot of reading to do!

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29481

 

[jgnin]

Alright, been a while, bottled the merlot Costco kit a few days ago, to recap, kit was started in November, added tannins, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and a cup of sugar to the kit. I wanted to start some new batches so decided to bottle this one as it sat in the carboy for a little over 4 Months. I am very pleased with the wine to say the least. It came out great. Couldn't be happier with it especially considering the kits run about $30 plus tax each. The kits went on sale again last week at Costco so I grabbed two Shiraz and two Chardonnay kits.....I started all 4 a couple days ago, adding tannins, blueberry, blackberry and redberry (a berry native to Labrador) to the Shiraz kits and just pear to the Chardonnay.......I'm gonna run these kits the exactly like I did the last ones hoping for similar results. Biggest thing I've learned so far, time is your friend.