Wine Kit Woes

[Grandma72]

I have made a few Wine Expert kits and am thinking that my wines are not as full bodied as they should be. For instance my Merlot tastes more sour than full bodied, although the alcohol content seems ok. My Piesporter is not as sweet and mellow as I had anticipated. What am I doing wrong? My next attempt will be an Old Vine Zinfandel and I’d like to get it right!

 

[pillswoj]

What quality kits are you doing? For the reds if they are Eclipse Kits they take a long time ~ 2 years to get really good, even the lower end kits need 6 months or so.

 

[salcoco]

I always do taste bench trials on my wines. not sweet enough add some sugar syrup, if sour to acid, sugar syrup will balance. do in small samples then compute additions to bulk quantity

 

[LouisCKpasteur]

The Old Vines Zin is a Eclipse kit. If your others were Selection 6 week kits and that's when your tasting and drinking it's most likely what pillswoj said...more age. I thought some Old Vieux Chateau was sour early on in my kit making experience and it just needed some aging...same with the French Merlot I did.

 

[AZMDTed]

All above, plus, if it's not fully degassed a kit will taste somewhat harsh.

 

[Grandma72]

All above, plus, if it's not fully degassed a kit will taste somewhat harsh.

Oh, I think it was sufficiently degasses. I believe after all the input that I need more patience! I haven’t waited anywhere close to six months!

 

[Arne]

Lol, you might try drawing a glass and add a bit of sugar to it anyway. Add to your taste. Might not take very much. At least you get to try it again. Arne.

 

[Loghousewines]

Let them sit. 18 months they really start to mature nicely.

 

[Donatelo]

Patience is a virtue is certainly true in winemaking. It is one of the hardest lessons. I'm still learning that lesson.

 

[Zintrigue]

Oh, I think it was sufficiently degasses. I believe after all the input that I need more patience! I haven’t waited anywhere close to six months!

Yeah I have the same problem. I bulk age for a 3 month period to make sure all sediment gets dropped, but then on bottling day I want it now! Needless to say I don't think I have a single bottle that's made it to a year. Maybe that means I need to start making more so I can't possibly drink it all? Haha

 

[4score]

Yeah I have the same problem. I bulk age for a 3 month period to make sure all sediment gets dropped, but then on bottling day I want it now! Needless to say I don't think I have a single bottle that's made it to a year. Maybe that means I need to start making more so I can't possibly drink it all? Haha

That's exactly right. Make a 60-gallon barrel of wine. That will give you, hopefully, enough to last into the next season (300 bottles). That's how I "solved" the problem.

 

[pillswoj]

Yeah I have the same problem. I bulk age for a 3 month period to make sure all sediment gets dropped, but then on bottling day I want it now! Needless to say I don't think I have a single bottle that's made it to a year. Maybe that means I need to start making more so I can't possibly drink it all? Haha

Make more kits, every kit put 1 case away and don't touch it until 18 months 24 would be better. Once you realize how good your wine can be it is easier to age it all.

I personally will make the RJS grand Cru kits knowing I will drink them too early while the en primeur and eclipse kits are aging, currently have over 300 bottles not ready to drink and about 50 that are ready to drink, half of which are premium skin kits ( reds only)

 

[Zintrigue]

Make more kits, every kit put 1 case away and don't touch it until 18 months 24 would be better. Once you realize how good your wine can be it is easier to age it all.

I personally will make the RJS grand Cru kits knowing I will drink them too early while the en primeur and eclipse kits are aging, currently have over 300 bottles not ready to drink and about 50 that are ready to drink, half of which are premium skin kits ( reds only)

If only I had that kind of storage space! I have a box in my coat closet and a box on my pantry floor. Gonna have to start renovating this place for my drinking problem hobby.

 

[ceeaton]

Oh, I think it was sufficiently degasses. I believe after all the input that I need more patience! I haven’t waited anywhere close to six months!

Over time, you will perceive more body in the wine as it ages. Once I bottled a few kits early and had some residual gas (in the wines, not me), I decided to try and "ignore" them for some time to let them age in bulk. I just bottled a 24 month old Pinot Noir and not too long ago an 18 month Brunello. Time is your friend as long as you add some Kmeta every three months or so. Just make some quick aging wines, then once you have some stock try to make some that you'll age at least half of it for a couple of years or longer. Eventually you will have too much wine and it will age by default.

BTW, welcome to WMT, happy you are here!

 

[GaDawg]

Wine making is the only hobby I know where procrastination is a vartue!

 

[bstnh1]

Oh, I think it was sufficiently degasses. I believe after all the input that I need more patience! I haven’t waited anywhere close to six months!

I generally wait at least 2 years on my reds. I had a French Cabernet Sauvignon that was OK after 2 years but absolutely amazing after 4 years. I won't even think about drinking reds or even whites in 6 months!