Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Thompson seedless grapes are a good Fpac to add you might also need pectin enzyme for clearing
Herse some tips to follow when selecting fruit enhancements.
SOFE FRUIT LIKE APRICOTS ,PEAHES ETC. ADD SOFTNESS TO THE FINISH.
APPLES TARTNESS, PEARS CAN BE VERY SOFT TO TART DEPENDING ON THE TYPE.
GRAPES, ADD BODY AND CAN ADD FLAVOR LIKE A GREAPE FPAC OR Fresh grapes of the same type wine.
It's always good to have a plan wine enhancements less is more .

 

[Ole]

You can add glycerine to increase body.

How much glycerine would you recommend?

 

[joeswine]

Start with 1/2 of a cup add it to the mix let it sit an hour then taste it again for texture ,you be the judge.

 

[Darrell Hawley]

Thompson seedless grapes are a good Fpac to add you might also need pectin enzyme for clearing
Herse some tips to follow when selecting fruit enhancements.
SOFE FRUIT LIKE APRICOTS ,PEAHES ETC. ADD SOFTNESS TO THE FINISH.
APPLES TARTNESS, PEARS CAN BE VERY SOFT TO TART DEPENDING ON THE TYPE.
GRAPES, ADD BODY AND CAN ADD FLAVOR LIKE A GREAPE FPAC OR Fresh grapes of the same type wine.
It's always good to have a plan wine enhancements less is more .

Joe, would adding a can of Welches white grape juice add much to a white wine (taken into account the added sugar from the can) ?

 

[joeswine]

I've never done it , you can try, I personally never had to add sugar after the fact I've always let my plan be my guide and my hydrometer my best friend.
If you add sugar as a backsweetner then make sure you do the chemistry as per the MFG. and do bench trial's.

 

[Darrell Hawley]

I've never done it , you can try, I personally never had to add sugar after the fact I've always let my plan be my guide and my hydrometer my best friend.
If you add sugar as a backsweetner then make sure you do the chemistry as per the MFG. and do bench trial's.

I was going to use the Frozen grape juice(thawed of course) to the primary and adjust added sugar as needed to what the hydrometer would say. Thanks, I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[joeswine]

sounds like you have a plan,HAVE FUN.
having a plan,knowing your base wines profile that's all apart of wine making the rest is CAKE. Never try to over think the process, its really a simple one.

 

[joeswine]

404k views and it keeps growing ,thanks

 

[Bill Pet]

Regarding "best wine kit of america" on Amazon...I haven't tried it but I can't even find it on Amazon. Can you post the exact link? I'm curious to look into it. We are currently making two cheap Fontana kits we got on Amazon and I'm looking into buying another cheap kit by a different company for comparison.

I didn't see your reply until now. Sorry. Here is an amazon link. Look up amazing wine kit. Also, I found a company site.

https://www.amazon.com/Cabernet-Sau...4454562&sprefix=amazing+wine+,aps,253&sr=8-21

https://www.bestwineamerica.com/ama...abernet-sauvignon-style-amazing-wine-kit.html

 

[Khristyjeff]

More than 404k views--impressive.
I've just started another cheap kit today. It was a Fontana kit from Amazon, Merlot Medium body (11.5%). Apparently Fontana is made by the same company as Wine Lover's--both ABC Craft. No big deal.

Here's what I've done and the plan I'm following. If you see any adjustments I should make, feel free to let me know:
--Bentonite, juice, water up to the 5 gal. mark for a 6 gallon kit.
--Added 16 oz. Blackberry fpac, with 2 Cups Zinfandel as base. That smelled good sautéing.
--Checked SG after adding blackberries and it was right at 1.100.
--Used a mixture of hot and cold water plus the hot fpac so temperature of must was 77.3 F.
--Added 1 Cup of French Oak chips, pitched the yeast, and covered pail loosely with lid and airlock

When SG gets down to around 1.020, I plan to move to secondary and add 1 tsp of wine tannins. I also read on this forum that you can add a Tbs of Instant coffee for the cheap Merlot or Cab Sauv kits but wasn't sure if you'd do that instead of tannins or in addition to (I know less is more).

Look forward to any comments. Thanks.

 

[Khristyjeff]

This is one I did based off of @joeswine suggestions. I asked my wife what she wanted for her birthday, and she asked if she could have a glass of this coffee dessert wine I made.

 

[Bohemiana]

I didn't see your reply until now. Sorry. Here is an amazon link. Look up amazing wine kit. Also, I found a company site.

https://www.amazon.com/Cabernet-Sauvignon-Amazing-makes-6-U-S-Gal/dp/B08K3Q4YYD/ref=sr_1_21?crid=IW90M3HEAYBN&dchild=1&keywords=amazing+wine+kit&qid=1614454562&sprefix=amazing+wine+,aps,253&sr=8-21

https://www.bestwineamerica.com/ama...abernet-sauvignon-style-amazing-wine-kit.html

Wow! Thanks! There's an interesting Italian Valpolicella grape kit for $42. We might try that! Those are really good prices! We've never made a kit that doesn't have everything in it to stabilize, etc. The instructions say you need to add sugar. I would have no idea how much to add. What did you do?

 

[Bohemiana]

Questions about adding glycerin...

#1-- We have a good shiraz ready to bottle. It's good as it is but has anyone filled one bottle and added just a touch of glycerin to see how it would improve it? Is there any way that adding 1/4 cup of glycerin to the 6-gallon carboy could turn a good wine bad?? If so, we don't want to risk it. If not, then it would make a good wine better. Thoughts?

#2--We found a 6 oz. bottle of Equate pure vegetable based glycerin (99.5% anhydrous) in the pharmacy area at Walmart for $3.88. It doesn't say "food grade" but it seems like it's exactly the same as the "food grade" glycerin on Amazon. Is this ok to use in the wine?

 

[sour_grapes]

Wow! Thanks! There's an interesting Italian Valpolicella grape kit for $42. We might try that! Those are really good prices! We've never made a kit that doesn't have everything in it to stabilize, etc. The instructions say you need to add sugar. I would have no idea how much to add. What did you do?

I think it is worth noting that in this world, you rarely get what you don't pay for.

The little pictogram that tells you what to add says that you need 4 kg sugar: Valpolicella style - BESTWINEAMERICA

 

[my wine]

Wow! Thanks! There's an interesting Italian Valpolicella grape kit for $42.

AB Cork makes Fontana and Winelovers wine kits so I'm assuming they are similar. Wilelovers has a Valpolicella also and it has all you need to get wine except it doesn't include the "extras". Extras like oak chips, fpacs, etc. The price does include shipping to your door and they get them delivered to me in about a week. They carry light-, medium- and heavy-body kits in that. May be worth considering.

https://wineloversonline.com/collections/red-wine-kits

 

[highmileSly]

Just to follow up and document our adventure.

Winexpert- Sauvignon Blanc Classic; 4 week kit
Made fpac out of 3 small peaches; Washed, sliced, and sautéed with 1-1.5 cups SB. let cool in pan
started with the Bentonite and warm water and dissolved the best I could
added juice and rinsed bag
Added fresh water to get to ~5.75 gallons
Added fpac + 1 tsp of pectic enzyme and waited 1 hour
2 TBS grapefruit zest
Pitched EC-1118 yeast
S.G. = 1.092-ish

Just following up--

Last time around with EC-1118 on a WE Cab Sauv it powered through and finished in ~9 days. This batch has been more like the little engine that could.... SLOW and steady, just chugging along constantly @ 72 degrees F. I popped the lid to get a better smell and look and there is still a nice thick head of foam on top. Since its sitting at 72-73 degrees F I havent used my heating belt yet.

Any concerns about the head of foam after a week? Should I be stirring and punching down daily like I would with skins? Didnt take a SG reading today, I suppose I still can.

 

[three_jeeps]

I am fairly experienced making red wine from fresh fruit - been doing it for >10 years. Covid cloistering has gotten the best of me so I figure I'll try a white wine kit, in a small batch, specifically Winexpert Classic California Chardonnay 1 gallon. (I did say small batch - if I screw it up, not a big loss)
If there is a better quality small batch kit, please let me know)

I am looking for some (proven?) advice about recommended doctoring approaches to make the final product better (besides letting it go longer before drinking).
Are there any doctoring recipes to follow that have been published here (or elsewhere?)
Thanks for any guidance!
J

 

[Khristyjeff]

I am fairly experienced making red wine from fresh fruit - been doing it for >10 years. Covid cloistering has gotten the best of me so I figure I'll try a white wine kit, in a small batch, specifically Winexpert Classic California Chardonnay 1 gallon. (I did say small batch - if I screw it up, not a big loss)
If there is a better quality small batch kit, please let me know)

I am looking for some (proven?) advice about recommended doctoring approaches to make the final product better (besides letting it go longer before drinking).
Are there any doctoring recipes to follow that have been published here (or elsewhere?)
Thanks for any guidance!
J

Hi J. -- Having just read the entire thread, I can tell you the most common tweak for Chardonnay is Grapefruit zest. The recommended quantities varied from 1T zest/6 gallon of wine to zest of an entire small grapefruit (again for 6 gallons). I'm not familiar with the Winexpert kit you're planning to use, but if it is light in body, you could add an fpac (homemade) in primary of Thompson seedless white grapes. If your kit is medium or full bodied, I wouldn't add the grapes.
One other option mentioned for Chardonnay, is to add 2 lemons zested/6 gallon; 20 grams oak chips/6 gal all in primary.
Depending how crazy you want get with this experiment, one person had back-sweetened with a small can of frozen apple juice and 8 oz of simple syrup (again per 6 gal). Good luck!

 

[joeswine]

Both of lemons zest and the grape fruiy zest will add lightness and brightness as well as acidity to the wine used in the primary just remember less is more less is more..
Could actually add where's this before bottle keep that in mind, good luck happy winding.

 

[three_jeeps]

Hi-thanks for the reply...don't quite understand the sentence. what kind of grape juice and how much juice and zest?
lastly, are you saying to add this to must just before bottling?
Thanks
J