Home made grape pack

[WI_Wino]

Has anyone made a home made grape pack from fresh grapes, frozen it, and then use later in the year for kit wines? I did some searching and nothing really relevant turned up. Here are the red varieties I think I can source locally:

• Foch
• Millot
• Frontenac
• Marquette
• St Croix

Was thinking of going to a "you pick it" place, have them destem and crush for me then freeze in 3-5 lb increments for use later. Not sure which varietal would be best as a general additive to kit wines though? I think I typically make a decent variety of wine kits - cabernets, grenache, chianti, etc. Opinions on which of the above would be good in general?

 

[WI_Wino]

No one has input on these grape varieties? Looking for a "mellow" one that can be added to many different kits w/o drastically affecting the outcome. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Rocky]

WI Wino, I don't have a lot of knowledge in cold climate grape varieties but from the little I know and the varieties that you listed, I would avoid the Leon Millot. From the remainder, I would choose St Croix, Frontenac, Marquette or Foch, in that order, and my choice would largely be dependent on the brix reading for the grapes. The more sugar the better for what you plan to do. Given the rather hot year we have had, you should be able to find some really good grapes. Good luck.

 

[seth8530]

You could possibly take the juice from the grapes and freeze fraction it a few times to increase the brix. Of course, this would introduce some interesting things when it comes to adjusting acidity and the such.

 

[WI_Wino]

I'm looking to add in solids, tannins, and stuff as well to increase body, mouthfeel, etc. of kits that do not contain grape skin packs. I would think just adding juice wouldn't be sufficient, no?

I see that Merlot skins are used often for non Merlot kits (for example my RJ Winery Series Old Vine Zinfandel kit had merlot skins). Anyone know why? Also this brings up another question, does anyone know how the grape skin packs are made? They don't appear to be just crushed grapes. The grape skin pack in my zin kit was kind of jammy.