Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Toms wine kits wine lovers blush

this kit finished out just excellent,really great color and decent flavor...just reduced the volume and standard process,it's a little bit long but i included the bottling process down to the labels so sit back ,tip a glass and follow the flow....we're nearing 200,000 views... Must be doing something right..

 

[joeswine]

Toms wine kits wine lovers blush

FOLLOW THE FLOW DON'T GO TO SLEEP ,,, THE PICTUREAT THE END IS MY FRIEND TOM...

 

[Cher]

I'm thinking of making a Fontana Pinot Noir kit and wonder if anyone can suggest appropriate tweaks. Reducing the volume to 5 gallons and chaptalizing, I know. Would it be appropriate to add zante currants? I added blackberries to the Fontana merlot kit and it is very good, but wondered if a different fruit would work for Pinot noir? We have lots of nice frozen blueberries, but raspberries seem to be mentioned more often in the Pinot noir flavor profile. And what about oak and tannin? Should I add those in the primary as I did for the merlot? Anything else I should consider as I make a plan?

Thanks for this thread and for all the helpful experiences shared here.
Cher

 

[Zintrigue]

I have a fontana pinot noir on the counter now, letting it bulk age for 3 months before bottling.

I downsized to 5 gallons, added oak and a pound of raspberries to primary. Sauteed raspberries in pinot juice. Will be able to give tasting notes in a few weeks. Smells great, strong aroma of chocolate, for some reason, but I dig it. Blackberries would probably be really good, too. Really it's whatever makes you happy, just have fun with it.

 

[joeswine]

cheap wine kits

Cher, PINO nior does well with all the berry types,just go slow and stick to the process and the plan adding the tannins in the secondary is the route i would take,keep us informed and place a pic if you would like..

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine How did your Fontana Shiraz turn out? I just ordered one and was going to follow your blueberry addition and change yeast to the Cotes. Were you happy with both changes? Also, I assume you reduced the 12oz. of blueberries down in the pan with some wine?

 

[joeswine]

Believe it or not Carol and her daughter drank it all she said it was very good, I'll bet next on tap Tom,s trilogy,Black berrypino nior, pino Gris with grapefruit zest and last but not least Merlot with deep tannins and French toast oak.

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine Looks like you used 12oz. of blueberries in it? I am thinking of using 6 oz. blueberry/6 oz. blackberry since they are both in a Shiraz profile. So you reduce them down in a pan with wine then just dump in primary?

 

[joeswine]

Yes,that simple the heat won't effect the yeast ,dump stir add yeast in 8 hours you should be in fermentation.. happy Tweaking.

 

[joeswine]

tweaking cheap kits

this is a trilogy of 3 cheap wine kits Tom's wife Carol asked me to make for her and their daughter the first is a blackberry PINO nior then a PINO Gris with grapefruit zest and finally a MERLOT the tannins and French toasted oak...straight up... so follow the flow on the blackberry pino nior...

 

[joeswine]

tweaking inexpensive kits

this is the balance of TOM'S BLACKBERRY PINO NIOR...

 

[wineforfun]

@joeswine did you add the 2 Tbsp. of tannin to the Shiraz, like you did the Malbec?

 

[joeswine]

Not to the sharaz yo you would want to keep it fruity however. If
I did it would be in the secondary.

 

[wineforfun]

Ok, thanks. I may just add 1 Tbsp. in the secondary and skip the primary.

 

[wineforfun]

Fontana Chardonnay has been sitting in carboy for the last three months. Added zest from 1/2 grapefruit last night and will rack off it tomorrow night, add kmeta then bottle next week. Thinking that little bit more of zest should give it some more character.

Fontana Shiraz should be here this week. Will add some oak, tannin and blueberries and blackberries to it.

 

[joeswine]

Have you sampled the chardenay ? If it's a little hard dpash rack it and let it sit a little longer. Sharza sounds good I rather have it more fruit forward than oak however tannins in the secondary will balance out the need for wood structure.

 

[wineforfun]

Sampled last night. Tasted pretty good. I am not a big Chardonnay fan but it was ok. Maybe just a little flat, but good nonetheless. That is why I am not going to let the zest sit in more than two days.
Live and learn, right? If it turns out too much, I will make a note for next time.

Yeah, I hope the Shiraz turns out well.

 

[joeswine]

Sounds like a plan

 

[Mismost]

Tweaked another Fontana Malbec.
2 TBS tannin
2.5 TBS yeast nutrient
1 quart simple syrup
1 cup med french oak chips
RC 212 yeast
Then I may have gotten carried away...
added one can each of Oregon Specialty Fruit...Dark Cherry, Blackberries, and Purple Plums 24 hours with peptic enzymes
Overshot my SG...again...increased volume to almost six gallons still at 1.12

I have got to slow down and let those sugars settle/blend in...they just seem to keep going up and I over shoot my SG.

Side note....this was the VERY BEST tasting must I have started....freaking awesome. One of these days I am going to buy this kit, tweak it, and then make Malbec Jelly outta the whole batch....man, that would be one killer PBJ sandwich!

 

[Ron0126]

Side note....this was the VERY BEST tasting must I have started....freaking awesome. One of these days I am going to buy this kit, tweak it, and then make Malbec Jelly outta the whole batch....man, that would be one killer PBJ sandwich!

Mmmmm ....