Hi Rocky, I'm interested in taking advantage of your experience here. I just received a package today with a Sauvignon Blanc 11.5% Wine Lovers kit. I'd like to mimic your process and tweaks and I have a few questions: Did you reduce the volume at all? Is there anything you think was key to the success in your process? Is there anything you would do differently if you were to do over? Thanks!
Hi Rocket Bee, I am pleased to share my experience on this wine.
1. As for the volume, what I did and what I tend to do on all of my wines is to pick a target ABV. assume a final SG in the 0.992-0.994 range and work backward to determine what the initial SG should be. For this wine, because I was looking for an easy drinking white to enjoy in the afternoons with cheese and crackers, for example, I was looking to keep the ABV at or near 12%. So taking (12/131) + 0.993 = and ISG of about 1.085. So after making the bentonite solution, I poured the wine into the fermenter and added a few gallons of water (recall that I was making 4 kits in the fermenter), took an SG reading and kept adding water until the SG fell to 1.085.
2. To me, the grapefruit is the real key in this process. Following Joe's method, which is to add the zest of 1/2 grapefruit for a 6 gallon batch, I zested 2 grapefruit. Now, there is no "standard" size grapefruit and they can range from 4 to 5 inches in diameter. I should have either weighed or measured the amount of zest but I did not. If anything, I wish I had used 2 large grapefruit instead of one large and one small, as I did. So if you are making a single kit, I recommend getting a large grapefruit and zesting half of it or zesting a whole small grapefruit.
3. As far as doing anything differently, I cannot think of anything. However, I am intrigued by citrus additions and I may, in the future, try other citrus, perhaps lemon or lime. In cooking down the grapes (I bought seedless white grapes at the market and used almost 4-5 pounds) I believe I would concentrate them even more, perhaps reducing them by 50% instead of 30%.
I am very pleased with the outcome and have since made two batches, one a South African Chenin Blanc and one an Australian Sauvignon Blanc, both from juice buckets. I added grapefruit to both.
Good luck with your project and keep us up to date on your progress.
![[Upgraded] 9Pcs Tree Root Growing Box with Drain Holes, Half Transparent Plant Rooting Propagation Ball & Metal Core Twist Ties, for Fast Propagation Plants (Size M)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/514MWQxtWOL._SL500_.jpg)
