WineXpert WE IM Blackberry Cab

[BobF]

I'll be starting this within the next few weeks. My first kit. I've read all of the mod threads and I'm planning to add 1/2 of the fpac up front and sugar to 1075 or so.

Here's my question:
Once bottled, how long do these mist kits really take to be pleasant to drink?

The instructions say 4-5 weeks to the bottle and ready to drink right away ... I'm a skeptic and want to wait long enough, but not too long

What has your experience been for modded IM kits?

 

[MN-winer]

They are ready to drink pretty much right away. I noticed no bottle shock or anything and I was drinking as I bottled. Enjoy

 

[BobF]

They are ready to drink pretty much right away. I noticed no bottle shock or anything and I was drinking as I bottled. Enjoy

THAT is what I wanted to hear!!

Thanx

 

[MN-winer]

The funny thing about those mist kits is that I have a variety of kits I've made and the Mist is the cheapest. Its a favorite among non-wine drinkers and my wife chooses one over some of our expensive reislings.

 

[jdeere5220]

I would be careful about adding half the F-pack up front. If this is your first, you might try just adding some sugar up front. It's up to you of course, but my favorite recipe is now 1.070 initial SG with no F-pack at the start.

 

[ffemt128]

I've made 3 of theses. First one I added sugar to abt 1.080 fermented dry then added all of the fpac. Second one 1/2 fpac up front sugar to abt 1.080 remainder of fpac at end. Last one pretty much the same as the second. All immediately drinkable. I honestly think the first one was the best even though it was the sweetest. All were very good and I would not hesitate to do another.

I liked this IM kit better than the Green Apple Reisling or the Black Raspberry Merlot.

 

[BobF]

MN, jdeere, ffemt ... thanks for the input.

The reason I want to mod is two-fold; crank the abv up a bit and prevent over-sweetness. I've been told more than once that these kits straight-up are VERY sweet.

If none of the fpac is added up front, then the risk is that adding it to taste later will leave some of the flavor out altogether.

Was the problem adding part of the fpac up front that you didn't have enough later to sweeten with, or was some of the flavor lost b/c of being fermented?

When adding all of the fpac at the end, did the increase in abv help balance the sweetness better?

 

[ffemt128]

MN, jdeere, ffemt ... thanks for the input.

The reason I want to mod is two-fold; crank the abv up a bit and prevent over-sweetness. I've been told more than once that these kits straight-up are VERY sweet.

If none of the fpac is added up front, then the risk is that adding it to taste later will leave some of the flavor out altogether.

Was the problem adding part of the fpac up front that you didn't have enough later to sweeten with, or was some of the flavor lost b/c of being fermented?

When adding all of the fpac at the end, did the increase in abv help balance the sweetness better?

In my opinion adding 1/2 at the end was good, but wasn't as sweet and only minor difference in flavor. I think the entire fpac at the end did exactly as you said, it balanced out the increase in ABV. Don't get me wrong, both ways were very good, I personally as did my wife, thought the first was the better of the 3 batches we made so far.

 

[jdeere5220]

Agree with the above. These are intended to be sweet, and I think by raising the ABV it overcomes the "too sweet" notion, but of course this is preference and others might disagree. If you do add 1/2 up front, and it's not sweet enough in the end, you can always sweeten a little more. I think I've made 6 of these (1 Blackberry Cab, 2 Black Ras Merlot, 1 Wildberry Shiraz, 2 Pom Zins) and tried all combinations, and they ALL came out good so no worries. My Shiraz was a little hot, but I found if you chilled it enough it was still very good, didn't stay on the shelf for long!

 

[BobF]

Thanks guys. Sounds like they're good any way you do it, so I guess the best approach will be to pick one and do it. If it's good, then I'll need to do several dozen more to make sure I cover all the possible ways to pick my favorite!! ;-)

 

[MN-winer]

I added about 3lbs of sugar initially til SG was 1.08, then added all the Fpak after it fermented dry. I made the Exotic Fruit Zin and it was, and still is fantastic. We will have to wait until next year to make another batch, cuz we still have 50+ bottles of Reisling we need to drink.

 

[JakeSnow]

I did the wildberry shiraz by WE instructions. I found it too sweet (bit corn syrupy) and not enough alcohol. Second kit i did was GA Reisling and added sugar then added 3/4 of the f-pac at the end. Turned out awesome but still little too sweet. Next time I'll try half up front and half at the end.
They are drinkable right away, but I found the flavor of the wine comes out more after a month or two. I have bottles that are a year old and they are a bit better than after the 2 month mark but not that much. With the higher alcohol content they can keep longer, otherwise I think WE recommends drinking them within a year.