Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[Digger]

I followed the directions except:

added half the zest of a grapefruit to the secondary.

added 1 can of frozen apple juice concentrate and 8oz or so of simple syrup (2 cups sugar to 1 cup water ratio) along with 2 1/2 tsp of potassium sorbate just before bottling.

 

[akron]

Thanks. I’ll do this and lower the water addition to around 5.5 gallons to allow for losses after several. rackings.

 

[joeswine]

Adding the apple juice can be a deficit I detracting from the base flavor sauvignon blanc has very distinctive profile of its own adding the grapefruit yes, choice is yours

 

[joeswine]

Still #1 thread on Face book and Google... thanks guys and gals..

 

[Digger]

I’m glad I found this forum and hope to share my recipes and tweaks as I find new ones that work

 

[akron]

Adding the apple juice can be a deficit I detracting from the base flavor sauvignon blanc has very distinctive profile of its own adding the grapefruit yes, choice is yours

Thanks,Joe.
What else would I do to this kit? The flavor profile talks about lemon, green apple, pineapple, etc. I don’t want to get too carried away with additions! I read about oak, but don’t want to confuse things too much on my first kit of this variety.

 

[joeswine]

There's a saying I often use "less is more"
Keep that in mind when making wine.
If I was making a piesporter ( looking at the profile) what would fit , apples in the end give it a great fresh finish taste.
Making a Sauvignon Blanc calls for less a dash of grapefruit zest ( 1 tablespoon) is enough and nothing more.the wines taste profile is its own.got it!

 

[akron]

There's a saying I often use "less is more"
Keep that in mind when making wine.
If I was making a piesporter ( looking at the profile) what would fit , apples in the end give it a great fresh finish taste.
Making a Sauvignon Blanc calls for less a dash of grapefruit zest ( 1 tablespoon) is enough and nothing more.the wines taste profile is its own.got it!

Thanks, Joe.Look forward to getting my kit in the mail.

 

[akron]

There's a saying I often use "less is more"
Keep that in mind when making wine.
If I was making a piesporter ( looking at the profile) what would fit , apples in the end give it a great fresh finish taste.
Making a Sauvignon Blanc calls for less a dash of grapefruit zest ( 1 tablespoon) is enough and nothing more.the wines taste profile is its own.got it!

Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I assumed you were talking grapefruit zest in the primary, right?

 

[joeswine]

That's correct, cescos in the primary least half a grapefruit.
At least check the taste profile to make sure of what you're adding is part of that profile sometimes we have things that aren't and you dilute the natural taste of the wine itself.
Do you know what I mean by profile?

 

[joeswine]

That's correct in the primary

 

[Digger]

@joeswine have you ever used canned peaches or other canned fruit from the supermarket?

 

[joeswine]

Yes I have , cherries, first I washed them then sauteed them till they soften and install them directly into the primary.
You can do that with peaches and apricots , I prefer to use fresh fruit when in season and if I'm not going to make use of them then freeze them for later in the winter.

 

[akron]

That's correct, cescos in the primary least half a grapefruit.
At least check the taste profile to make sure of what you're adding is part of that profile sometimes we have things that aren't and you dilute the natural taste of the wine itself.
Do you know what I mean by profile?

I think I do, but when I look the profile up there seems to be so many things mentioned it is confusing what I should focus on to add. Can you give some help on that?

 

[joeswine]

Bring it down to this most simplest parts, red wines , mostly berries you find mostly berries in the red wine category correct, in the white one category you'll see an array of herbales correct just pick one pick one and that's what's going to enhance your base so if it's Pinot Noir you might want to use blackberries or raspberries if it's a malbec, blackberries or currents if it's a Amerone you might want to use raisins if it's a white grapefruit zest is always good cause it adds an acidity not too much flavor just acidity then you could always add white grapes crushed to it or apricots,peaches, something simple always remember less is more.

 

[Digger]

I found these at Publix today. Going to add a few pounds in my next Cabernet kit I make.

 

[joeswine]

nice ,remember to sauté them wine 2 cups of the base wine.

 

[joeswine]

This is what I just started for a customer of mine nothing special they just wanted it semi-dry with a crisp finish ,no problem and it was a cheap one at that. BY NOW YOU KNOW THE STEPS.
Like I stated nothing special, you can make these kits do what you want them to do, you just need to plan, organize, control and manage them that's it. .HO, and above all have fun. nothing left to do but process through in 5 weeks I'll bottle., in eight a weeks they'll have drank it all.

 

[joeswine]

Took Best Of Show at winemakers magazine in the desert category

 

[RocketBee]

Question on my tweaked Wine Lover's Merlot kit:

Do I need to add another 1/4 teaspoon of Potassium Metabisulphite?

It's still in the carboy five months after pitching the yeast, four months after stabilization. Likely I won't get to bottling till late October, early November.

More information:
It is a Wine Lover's Merlot kit (ABC Crafted is actually the branding on the package), it's one of their "12% ABV" packages with 10 liter of concentrate. Yeast pitched on April 12th, did most of the tweaks learned on this thread, sprung for the wine raisins which were also added. I racked into glass carboy and stabilized on May 11th with the included packages of Potassium Metabisulphite and Potassium Sorbate. Next day I dropped in the clearing agents according to the instructions. It's been sitting in the cool basement <70 degrees F all summer since. Looks great, tastes pretty good too.