Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[wineview]

I don’t use strips. I use a ph meter.

 

[joeswine]

items on the menu , 3 for my clients, and the. WE for me going to add a great fpac for this on , love Dosnish wines .
Grape kits , a little grapefruit zest for the Pino. And a standard wine on the red

 

[joeswine]

8hrs caps are starting to form , smells wonderful

 

[Christopher Anderson]

To All: I finally got around to making my Costco Cab Sauv (2 - 6 L Bags of Grape Juice Concentrate). To one I added two pounds of thawed frozen blackberries, crushed and with the juice. To the second, I added 8 oz Currants and the skins of black table grapes, but not the juice. These were placed in disposable coffee drawstring filter bags. The oak chips included was also put in other filter bags. Both have plenty of room for the juices to flow. I upped the SG of both from 1.075 to 1.095 using turbinado sugar for the blackberry and regular white sugarcane sugar for the currants/skins.
Observations after 3 days: The fermentation in the blackberry fermenter is twice that of the the currant/skins. lots of bubbling. The mesh bags of all are bloated and full of air. I have punched down the bags twice daily and stirred the must. I have the fermenter lids on loosely with folded paper towels to hold the lids up. I would use towels, but my cats have in the past pulled them off and spilled some wine :<{
Anything else to do in this modification of a cheap kit?

​

Update: 1.31.24. Moved wines to carboys. 0.992 both. BlackBerry "seemed" to be slightly "thicker". The taste of the BB has wife stating. "This taste really good". The skins/ grapes are good but not like BB. Now we wait 3 months.

 

[joeswine]

no not really
let nature and the process do the rest, did you add any tannins to the red?

 

[GretchenR]

Now for a slightly off topic question, has anyone taken home made wine in checked baggage? Anyone have any problems with TSA on taking our wines on flights? I know commercial wines are OK, but couldn’t get a clear answer from TSAon Home made wines.

Did you ever get an answer to this question? There's a thread from 2006 that talks about flying with homemade wine, but I couldn't find anything more recent except your question. I'd love to know about someone's recent experience with bringing homemade wine in checked baggage on a domestic US flight.

 

[TurkeyHollow]

Did you ever get an answer to this question? There's a thread from 2006 that talks about flying with homemade wine, but I couldn't find anything more recent except your question. I'd love to know about someone's recent experience with bringing homemade wine in checked baggage on a domestic US flight.

We take homemade wines in our checked luggage every time we fly. We kind of like telling friends how many states and countries in which our wines are served (even if we're serving ourselves). Never an issue.

 

[GretchenR]

We take homemade wines in our checked luggage every time we fly. We kind of like telling friends how many states and countries in which our wines are served (even if we're serving ourselves). Never an issue.

Thank you so much for the info.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

Did you ever get an answer to this question? There's a thread from 2006 that talks about flying with homemade wine, but I couldn't find anything more recent except your question. I'd love to know about someone's recent experience with bringing homemade wine in checked baggage on a domestic US flight.

Have a really nice label and bottle cork cover. Never had an issue.

 

[Mekpdue]

Did you ever get an answer to this question? There's a thread from 2006 that talks about flying with homemade wine, but I couldn't find anything more recent except your question. I'd love to know about someone's recent experience with bringing homemade wine in checked baggage on a domestic US flight.

I fly domestically (US) from Ohio to Florida and usually take a case down to my sons. I package it in reused wine cartons with as much padding as I can get. Up to this point I’ve reused specific wine shipment boxes that the wineries ship in. Never had an issue and only once was questioned about breakage and the airlines concerns. This questioning was overridden by another employee.

I tell them what’s in the box and haven’t had a bottle break. Yet. Maybe one day I’ll buy the specific wine bottle suitcase, but they are expensive.

 

[Rocky]

I tell them what’s in the box and haven’t had a bottle break. Yet. Maybe one day I’ll buy the specific wine bottle suitcase, but they are expensive.

Yikes! I guess so. I just checked Amazon and a carrier for 12 bottles could approach $400! I'd pack and ship the "marinade."

 

[Jrose92]

First time poster here. I've spent the last couple days reading through this thread, awesome amount of information.

I'm a first time wine kit maker. I've done several batches of fruit wine, blueberry, blackberry and mixed fruit batches. That said, I've done it all with my 85 grandfather in-law, and although we've made good wine, I'm still not confident on the science and process. We keep it real simple with him, fruit-sugar-yeast-time. Old recipes passed down over time. I'm trying to understand SG, degassing, clarifying, ect. If anyone has suggestions or places to read further on that, I'm all ears.

I've bought a Costco Argentina Ridge Pinot Noir kit, the double kit. From what I've read, the suggestions are to reduce these to 5gal each. I only have access to 6 gallon carboys for now, i'm worried about that much open space. Would I be better to keep them full, and add some extra f-packs or sugar? Planning on adding flavor packs, I'm thinking blackberry to one, blueberry to the other. Maybe some tannins in the primary.

SG, I'm thinking to shoot for 1.09 to start, maybe 0.998 to end?

Other than that, should I just follow the timing and chemical steps as outlined in the kit?

Sorry if this is a lot of questions, as I said, still working to wrap my head around this. Open to all suggestions and advice.

 

[Christopher Anderson]

First time poster here. I've spent the last couple days reading through this thread, awesome amount of information.

I'm a first time wine kit maker. I've done several batches of fruit wine, blueberry, blackberry and mixed fruit batches. That said, I've done it all with my 85 grandfather in-law, and although we've made good wine, I'm still not confident on the science and process. We keep it real simple with him, fruit-sugar-yeast-time. Old recipes passed down over time. I'm trying to understand SG, degassing, clarifying, ect. If anyone has suggestions or places to read further on that, I'm all ears.

I've bought a Costco Argentina Ridge Pinot Noir kit, the double kit. From what I've read, the suggestions are to reduce these to 5gal each. I only have access to 6 gallon carboys for now, i'm worried about that much open space. Would I be better to keep them full, and add some extra f-packs or sugar? Planning on adding flavor packs, I'm thinking blackberry to one, blueberry to the other. Maybe some tannins in the primary.

SG, I'm thinking to shoot for 1.09 to start, maybe 0.998 to end?

Other than that, should I just follow the timing and chemical steps as outlined in the kit?

Sorry if this is a lot of questions, as I said, still working to wrap my head around this. Open to all suggestions and advice.

#1. Welcome. I will let WM81 make the expert recommendation. I would follow the process recommended for your first batch. 6gal. Get your feet wet.

 

[Khristyjeff]

First time poster here. I've spent the last couple days reading through this thread, awesome amount of information.

I'm a first time wine kit maker. I've done several batches of fruit wine, blueberry, blackberry and mixed fruit batches. That said, I've done it all with my 85 grandfather in-law, and although we've made good wine, I'm still not confident on the science and process. We keep it real simple with him, fruit-sugar-yeast-time. Old recipes passed down over time. I'm trying to understand SG, degassing, clarifying, ect. If anyone has suggestions or places to read further on that, I'm all ears.

I've bought a Costco Argentina Ridge Pinot Noir kit, the double kit. From what I've read, the suggestions are to reduce these to 5gal each. I only have access to 6 gallon carboys for now, i'm worried about that much open space. Would I be better to keep them full, and add some extra f-packs or sugar? Planning on adding flavor packs, I'm thinking blackberry to one, blueberry to the other. Maybe some tannins in the primary.

SG, I'm thinking to shoot for 1.09 to start, maybe 0.998 to end?

Other than that, should I just follow the timing and chemical steps as outlined in the kit?

Sorry if this is a lot of questions, as I said, still working to wrap my head around this. Open to all suggestions and advice.

Welcome to the forum. Glad you're jumping in to the hobby. I agree with Christopher. Stick to the instructions on your first kit. You can confidently tweak later.

 

[winemaker81]

Welcome to WMT!

Asking questions before you start is wise. It's far easier to point you to a good path than it is to fix problems.

I agree with the advice to make the kit as-is. Get used to the process and build understanding first.

Kits from reputable vendors are balanced for acid. When you short the water, you make the wine more acidic. This may work out ok, but it can make a wine unpleasantly sharp.

In your situation, 1 gallon of headspace will result in an oxidized wine.

Instead of taking away (e.g., shorting water), add to the wine (e.g., add Zante currants or raisins) to improve body and flavor.

 

[joeswine]

Hi , glad you like my thread, it’s been around for a while .
Here’s what I think. , adding or deleting water , adding currents , grapes , rasins etc.
it all comes with trial and error best bet follow the instructions on the first kit , let your hydrometer be your guide and don’t be afraid to fail the first time .
It’s the learning curve that makers a home wine maker better .
Getting to know how to use enhancements is easy and home wine making isn’t Rocket Science, have fun .
Remember we’re all here for you

 

[SteveM]

I am thinking about splitting a batch of Blueberry Pinot Noir (a Sweet WinExpert Island Mist) and add 3 fresh Red Hot Chili Peppers to 3 Gallons and let it set 3-5 days... Anyone have an experience or thoughts on this?

 

[joeswine]

I am thinking about splitting a batch of Blueberry Pinot Noir (a Sweet WinExpert Island Mist) and add 3 fresh Red Hot Chili Peppers to 3 Gallons and let it set 3-5 days... Anyone have an experience or thoughts on this?

She minds like a plan just remember my old saying ( less is more ) on the peppers. You can always add

 

[joeswine]

Here’s my thoughts on adding wines to top off your kit or homemade wine
Think about this for a , you’re creating a Pino Noir , from a WE KIT.
The kit concentrate already has a flavor the mfg. wants ( your not adding enhancements ) . Got it ?
Your adding a finished wine with its own says and means .
This could change the original intent of the wine kits taste just enough to throw it off .
When doing anything different to a kit or juice always ask your self does it conform t the original structure of the flavor profile in most cases ( YES).

 

[winemaker81]

This could change the original intent of the wine kits taste just enough to throw it off .

You make a good point -- some high end commercial blends have as little as 3% of a wine added, which the winemaker believes makes a difference. That's roughly 1 bottle in 30, so topping a 23 liter carboy with 1 to 2 bottles of wine may change the original profile.

OTOH, do I care what the original profile was, as long as I produce something I'm pleased with?

It's a good question each of us needs to answer for ourselves.