WineXpert WE 10L Kit initial S.G. 1.045 ... Whaaat ?!

[Engler]

I started WE Diablo Rojo kit today, following instructions: bentonite, 10L of juice, water to
6G then I measured S.G - 1.045, checking my hydrometer, seems OK, using another hydrometer 1.045, so I dig up the third hydrometer, still 1.045, still way off the required 1.080 min. I am running 2 other wine kits now, and also frozen concentrate wine with no problems. It did not pass a taste test either, after running hundreds of G fruit and concentrate wines I can say how 1.080 S.G. juice feels in the mouth, it is pretty damn sweet!

My Diablo Rojo is in 6.5 G carboy filled to just below 6G mark there is still room for 1+ gallon of liquid, since 6.5 G carboy will take total 7 G + up to neck.
So there is no way of any error on my side.

It appears I have a bad low sugar content kit. I am going to call my retailer tomorrow (LP) for now I just sulphated the juice for 24 hrs.

I do not see any hope for this one, since adding amount of sugar it requires to bring it to min 1.080 will increase volume and this will not be any "Diablo Rojo" for sure.

 

[Johnd]

I started WE Diablo Rojo kit today, following instructions: bentonite, 10L of juice, water to
6G then I measured S.G - 1.045, checking my hydrometer, seems OK, using another hydrometer 1.045, so I dig up the third hydrometer, still 1.045, still way off the required 1.080 min. I am running 2 other wine kits now, and also frozen concentrate wine with no problems. It did not pass a taste test either, after running hundreds of G fruit and concentrate wines I can say how 1.080 S.G. juice feels in the mouth, it is pretty damn sweet!

My Diablo Rojo is in 6.5 G carboy filled to just below 6G mark there is still room for 1+ gallon of liquid, since 6.5 G carboy will take total 7 G + up to neck.
So there is no way of any error on my side.

It appears I have a bad low sugar content kit. I am going to call my retailer tomorrow (LP) for now I just sulphated the juice for 24 hrs.

I do not see any hope for this one, since adding amount of sugar it requires to bring it to min 1.080 will increase volume and this will not be any "Diablo Rojo" for sure.

See below, not that much sugar required to bring it up, and only a couple of quarts over 6 gallons. If they replace it, give the original a shot, maybe add some other fruit to boost up the flavor.

 

[Engler]

Thanks John, I estimated around 6 lb before trying to do any math, however this kit range according to instruction is 1.080-1.097, so 1.080 is a bare minimum, for this kind of wine, giving below 12% alk finish.

I may try to get something out of it, but I hope they replace the kit, cause it is definitely faulty, Diablo Rojo is a blend of a few grapes, perhaps juice dispensing /mixing machine malfunctioned, or something like this.

 

[Ajmassa]

Even if they replace it for you there's no reason to give up "hope" as you say. Why not transfer to a bucket for fermentation and add the sugar needed ? And After primary just put the remainder in a 1.5L or 1/2gal jug and use for topping. And checking ph and TA along the way adjusting as needed since this is not your typical balanced kit.
No harm in seeing this through. Even though it won't be the exact wine WE intended, it still may very well be "worth" it--IF REPLACED this would be a free kit to play with.

 

[salcoco]

buy some red wine concentrate and use that instead of sugar. that should maintain wine intergrity

 

[Boatboy24]

Very strange that your kit would measure up that way, so I'll ask the dumb questions: Did you fully stir? Are you sure you added the correct amount of water? Are you sure all the juice got in there?

 

[Engler]

Very strange that your kit would measure up that way, so I'll ask the dumb questions: Did you fully stir? Are you sure you added the correct amount of water? Are you sure all the juice got in there?

Yes I fully stir

Yes I added correct amount of water, total is 1quart short below 6G mark.

"Are you sure all the juice got in there"

This is the dumbest question I was asked in my 70 years old life.

I assure you:

1. I am not blind (yet)

2. I was not drunk doing this kit.

3. I have hundreds of gallons of wine made under my belt.

If you red my thread from the beginning you would not ask such a dumb and downright offensive questions.

Do you assume any wine kit made by a commercial is perfect, free of errors of mass production?

If so why they want you to check S.G. before pitching yeast?

The logical answer is because they obviously can not check sugar content of every kit they produce.

 

[Boatboy24]

My apologies for offending your delicate ego. As I said, they are dumb questions. Clearly, with hundreds of gallons of wine under your belt, you should be teaching winemaking at UC Davis and not hanging around the likes of us, asking how to fix a wine kit. When you've solved this little problem, I suggest you move on to working on your manners. Amazing that in 70 years you haven't obtained any.

 

[Redbird1]

Yes I fully stir

Yes I added correct amount of water, total is 1quart short below 6G mark.

"Are you sure all the juice got in there"

This is the dumbest question I was asked in my 70 years old life.

I assure you:

1. I am not blind (yet)

2. I was not drunk doing this kit.

3. I have hundreds of gallons of wine made under my belt.

If you red my thread from the beginning you would not ask such a dumb and downright offensive questions.

Do you assume any wine kit made by a commercial is perfect, free of errors of mass production?

If so why they want you to check S.G. before pitching yeast?

The logical answer is because they obviously can not check sugar content of every kit they produce.

Geez. What a hostile response. That was completely unnecessary.

I imagine if you contact the manufacturer (not the retailer) and provide them with the specific info from your kit, they'll probably tell you if they ran into any issues in that particular run. If it is that far off, they likely have heard from others as well. If it wasn't a problem with the kit, I know of only one other place where the problem could have been introduced.

 

[ibglowin]

Well that was a short lived stay. The Tribe has spoken.

 

[wineforfun]

Very strange that your kit would measure up that way, so I'll ask the dumb questions: Did you fully stir? Are you sure you added the correct amount of water? Are you sure all the juice got in there?

Nice going Jim, ask three dumb questions and he is outta here.

 

[Johnd]

Nice going Jim, ask three dumb questions and he is outta here.

I don't think they are such "dumb" questions, simpleton maybe........but this guy joined the forum 6 weeks ago, hasn't made wine in a long time, had never done a kit wine and was just getting started on them. Truncated version of his post below:

"Hi everybody,

I am back in the game after looong hiatus. Been lurking for a while on this board, what's a treasure of knowledge and lots of friendly fellowship here.

I am new to wine kits, in my old days I only made fresh fruit and frozen concentrate wines including some meads and melomels.

Waiting for my 3 wine kits to arrive.

Andrew in sunny Fl"

It's unfortunate for him that he was unable to return the "friendly fellowship".

 

[J-Hat]

His responses on other posts weren't much better, someone was asking for a cherry wine recipe a few weeks ago. He responds within minutes with "Google it!"

 

[ibglowin]

This was not the first issue/problem with the OP.

FYI: If you are a "newbie" asking for help here and help arrives and then you basically chew out the help your gonna be escorted out the door PDQ.

 

[wineforfun]

I don't think they are such "dumb" questions,

Just quoting Jim, John, and trying to lighten up the mood on this thread.

In my world, there are no dumb questions.

 

[Johnd]

Just quoting Jim, John, and trying to lighten up the mood on this thread.

In my world, there are no dumb questions.

I knew that!!! I did quote you to keep the train going, but I was referring back to the post where they were initially called dumb, that was Jim's, and I don't think they were dumb, as the OP was new to wine kits. Sorry for the lack of clarity!!

 

[Ron0126]

.............

 

[Ajmassa]

Well Engler, I'm sure your still reading this from the outside looking in. Hopefully you you learned a little something sir. Because I'm sure when you speak with WinExpert customer service they will be asking you many similar questions in attempting to figure out the problem.
Try not to lose your cool when they do. Because they will. And they can't just take your word for it like you expected here. Since the possibility of human error is a very real thing for the rest of the world.
Also, I'm aware all carboys are not identical, and that the exact volume can differ slightly. But Is 6.5gal to actual 7gal a common thing? A half gallon seems like a very large amount.

 

[SouthernChemist]

It would be pretty ironic if it turned out that the must was not stirred well enough or something! You have to ask the 'dumb' questions, and as Ajmassa5983 said, the manufacturer will ask them, too!