Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[Johnd]

"used to be book them a bit to sanitize and soften them up just a little bit." Cmason, is this a typo or is this a term with which I am unfamiliar?

I have an old salad spinner, the three piece type with a bowl, basket and top. I pour K-meta solution in the bowl, put the corks in the basket, place the top in position and let the corks sit for an hour or so while I bottle the wine. If the corks seem too dry, I may spritz them with a fine spray of K-meta.

The way I read / interpreted it was "book" = "soak". I'm with you Rocky, don't want my corks soaking in anything and use the "Corkidor" setup that you described, letting the fumes do the sanitizing for me............

 

[cmason1957]

The way I read / interpreted it was "book" = "soak". I'm with you Rocky, don't want my corks soaking in anything and use the "Corkidor" setup that you described, letting the fumes do the sanitizing for me............

I think you all must have misread what I typed. either that or the edit feature works really well. It has to be one of those two things.

 

[Rocky]

The way I read / interpreted it was "book" = "soak". I'm with you Rocky, don't want my corks soaking in anything and use the "Corkidor" setup that you described, letting the fumes do the sanitizing for me............

I apologize and I should have been able to figure that out for myself. I thought perhaps the verb "book" had a meaning associated with wine making that I did not know. I also kept examining the keys around the b, o and k to come up with a word that Cmason was trying to type. All makes sense now. Blame it on the years...

 

[cmason1957]

I apologize and I should have been able to figure that out for myself. I thought perhaps the verb "book" had a meaning associated with wine making that I did not know. I also kept examining the keys around the b, o and k to come up with a word that Cmason was trying to type. All makes sense now. Blame it on the years...

Sometimes, you have to think like an autocorrect might think, which means no logic applied at all, at least none that I can ever figure out. And I am the worlds worst proofreader.

 

[sour_grapes]

Sometimes, you have to think like an autocorrect might think, which means no logic applied at all, at least none that I can ever figure out.

This is my complaint about autocorrect. It changes what someone types from something that is NOT a word, to something that is. If I read something with a typo, I can generally figure out what word was meant. When I read something that is an actual word, there is not usually a reason to look for a different word that the author may have meant.

Soooo, in most cases, autocorrect does not facilitate understanding, it actively hinders it. I turned off autocorrect on all my devices long ago.

 

[joeswine]

No soak just use decent quality corks,when not in use in an airtight bag.

 

[joeswine]

Always have a good sanation plan.
Let's get back to Tweaking cheap wine kits....

 

[Tnawal]

Starting my fourth wine kit today, WineExpert Island Mist Black Cherry. It got mixed reviews on here, I am hoping with a few tweaks, I can make a good wine that is more than just a cooler style wine. Making a simple syrup now with 3 pounds of sugar, I am also going to add 34 ounces of 100% black cherry juice, and I am thinking a third of the f pack upfront. I have another 34 ounces of black cherry juice I am thinking about adding at the end with the remainder of the f pack. Any thoughts on this?

 

[joeswine]

I made this one taste was ok the body was the problem, thin, what not to add to much to it the flavor with the fpac is ok I used a can of pitted black Cherries washed and sauteed with the base. 1 quart of simple syrup no more with an ABV. 12%0r 1o%nothing more.
If I had to do this again I'd reduced. The volume to 5.5 ,Gallo s and added some glycerin to the back end.

 

[Tnawal]

When you reduce the amount of wine, do you use marbles to take up the space? I know I have read people do that, but not sure.

 

[joeswine]

no add dry nitrogen to your tool box, they also sell a similar product at your wine store. never used anything else or I've racked down ,,to what ever sizes I required.

 

[joeswine]

did you know Tweaking Cheap Wine Kits is on the top of Utube list also ??

 

[RocketBee]

I'm a week away from bottling my Fontana Chardonnay kit and did a little taste test with my lovely bride this afternoon. Her comment was that it is very dry and a bit sour on the finish. Do I leave it alone and let time mellow it out or is it time to jump on the panic button with both feet?

To review: I reduced the volume to ~5.5 gallons, in the primary I added 1 cup of french oak medium toast, 12 oz. peach Fpack (simmered in some store-bought, cheap Chardonnay). pH was about 3.8 which seemed high to me so I added 3 tsp. of acid blend and mixed well before I pitched the yeast. Racked into carboy 10 days after pitching the yeast at 0.998 SG and stabilized. As a part of the stabilizing I also added a tablespoon of tannins and a teaspoon of pectic enzyme. Wine cleared VERY quickly...like two days later. Pretty much everything else was done according to the instructions.

 

[joeswine]

Tannins could give you that sour taste I would let time do it's thing.
Remember this when you reduce the wines volumn everything else reduced in response.
Let time do it's thing see what happens. Keep thinking outside the box.

 

[Steve Wargo]

I volunteer at a vineyard. They also sell wine by the bottle and glass. The woman owner is the winemaker, and vineyard-tender., Ages the White and Red wine in french neutral oak barrels. If I dig hard enough I will notice a hint of the French oak on the nose. The wines present smooth, good body, and fruit-forward on the palate, almost zero tannin. A couple of varieties are made so that some sweetness remains. She is unyielding about her process. Says that's how her customer's like their wine. 90 percent of her customers are women. I think the vineyard processed 20 tons of grapes during the 2018 harvest season, they always sell out during the following year. My humble suggestion, try adding a little table sugar to your wife's glass of wine, dissolve the sugar, and let her taste. Repeat until she likes it. Sometimes oak chips are supplied in the kit as a source of tannin. You might, not add additional tannin powder and use 1/2 the amount of oak chips. When making wine. I think of the words of the professional winemaker. " Are you making wine for yourself or for your customer"?

 

[joeswine]

Actually for the taste of both, understanding your base wines profile and take it from there.
Most professional wine Makers are stick in the traditional mode, moderate wine Makers can at times Think Outside the Box, that's the difference ,home wine Makers can make that transition happen quicker,do to the volume we deal with and the ability to turn on a dime and try something different without caring. Who the person in line is.
With that though in mind, it's also great to take your product and send it coast to coast for blind judging and see if you are making a wine for yourself or a wine that can be enjoyed by others without knowing who you are ,that's the real end result.
To each his or her own..

 

[RocketBee]

@Steve Wargo thanks very much for taking the time to write your thoughtful comments. I shared them with my bride and we'll likely give it a try. I will add, however, to my comments on the initial tasting. I also poured a couple swallows into a glass and stuck it in the fridge for 30 min. That sample, being cold and having opened up a bit did taste much better, not as tart. Maybe not too far off? I keep thinking about what @joeswine said about the white wines...something like "less is more".

 

[joeswine]

Very true,. Less Is More, you can add it in but not take it out

 

[sugar]

Hello Wine Artists,
Has anyone used whole peppercorns in the aging process of Merlot/blueberries to add to the taste palate?
It just a thought I had.
Intend to back sweeten a little.
Age 90 days then bottle.

 

[Steve Wargo]

@Steve Wargo thanks very much for taking the time to write your thoughtful comments. I shared them with my bride and we'll likely give it a try. I will add, however, to my comments on the initial tasting. I also poured a couple swallows into a glass and stuck it in the fridge for 30 min. That sample, being cold and having opened up a bit did taste much better, not as tart. Maybe not too far off? I keep thinking about what @joeswine said about the white wines...something like "less is more".

I've read @joeswine posts and gained some good insights myself. Joe has made much wine and has done much experimenting and is definitely a valuable guide during this winemaking journey. @RocketBee I too made a less expensive tweaked white wine that I like better at refrigerator temp (40's)s muting sour/acidic taste. I don't like my lemonade warm either. The wine is young, and some overbearing flavor will settle out as it ages. I've also turned a couple of bottles of it into sparkling wine by adding the correct amount of sugar to the bottle before corking it. If you do so I recommend making sure you know exactly what you are doing. Also, serve the sparkling wine cold and keep the bottle of sparkling wine on ice or refrigerated between small pours. Everyone liked it, no one spit it out (and they would have) that's all I could hope for. No, it wasn't the best they ever drank. lol