Ericphotoart
Senior Member
I think it’s a good time for peach kit and one of the forte. I’m not sure which one yet.
Finer Wine Kit New Fruttas!!
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A fair number of the Forte are out of stock.
Last April/May they had what I called a "clearing out the warehouse" sale, so it may make sense to wait for a sale. However, the run on kits was FAST -- I looked in the morning and thought to order a couple of kits -- 4 hours later everything I wanted (Forte) was gone. I ordered a pair of Frutta, so it worked out, but it wasn't my first choice.
THAT is a good question. I have 4+ cases of wine that is nearly a year old, so it's a point of concern for me, who doesn't drink a lot of wine other than heavier red wine.
Since the Frutta are apparently red wine based, higher in ABV than typical fruit wines, and the RS is 5% (in my wines), I suspect 3 to 4 years is a reasonable expectation. I am not saving mine for aging, as I'd much rather drink wine too young than too old.
YMMV
Ericphotoart
Senior Member
Frutta Peach and Sirah Forte ordered yesterday. Several items already out of stock.
Guessing I'll wait until the end of the year. My wine making area is crowded and I need to be more choosy as to what I'm going to make in the future. I have three FWK bulk aging and could see myself with three more FWK - Cheri, Black Currant, and Riesling Tavola. For now .... I will continue to read everyones post and live through you!
Purchased a Black Currant in early March and am ready to start. Problem is when I got the kit I removed the yeast put in the refrigerator and put the rest in the freezer, now I can't remember which yeast came with the kit. I think it was K1-V but was hoping for confirmation. I can call LabelPeelers tomorrow but wanted to make the starter tonight.
Ericphotoart
Senior Member
Yes. I had black current and it came with k1-v1116
Thank you! Members of this forum are the best.
I have the peach frutta still to make and thinking about mixing it with one of my Sauvignon blancs in a 50/50 blend. I'll test before I mix the whole thing.
Ohio Bob
Senior Member
Consider that a 50/50 blend is likely to be dominant towards one or the other. Find that balance where you taste SB but something else as well. Conversely, this peach taste likes peach but it’s got something different.
My peach is about ready to be racked out of primary. Hubby was disappointed to learn it'll be a couple months before it's ready, although we will definitely sample soon.
Ready to pitch the starter in my Black currant but the SG is 1.090. (1.090 by hydrometer and 1.088 by refractometer, both read 1.000 with distilled water). Kit says it should be 1.070-1.080, I am already to the bottom of the last ring in my bucket, that should be slightly over 6 gallons. Would you just accept the higher ABV or dilute it more?
Ohio Bob
Senior Member
Your perfect, don’t dilute it. Yes, diluting will bring down the ABV, but also the flavor. You may not not notice the change in ABV, but more likely would notice a flavor change.
Great. Thank you. I am good to go!
My peach starting SG was higher than the directions mentioned, too. It is what it is.
Last year I bottled Blackberry and Strawberry at 4 months. I was going to wait until 6 months, but the wines were clear and small samples didn't change in the last 2 months, AND I needed the space. They were both great a month after bottling.
I agree with Bob & Joni -- leave it. In a different context @NorCal said to never chase a number, and I've added it to my list of winemaking sayings.
We want a certain minimum SG (need sufficient ABV to preserve the wine) and a certain maximum SG (don't want jet fuel), and different wine types are best within certain ranges, but the exact SG is not important. 1.090 is estimated (by the table I consulted) 12.3% ABV, which is good for a wine of that type. 11% would be fine, but as Bob said, you don't want to dilute the flavor. Besides, you'll backsweeten and that will reduce the ABV a bit, probably just under 12%.
Also, I assume you're doing an overnight starter? Stir the must in the morning before inoculating and then check SG again. IIRC, I've had the SG change by at least 1 point about 90% of the time. Concentrates are thick, chaptalization sugar doesn't always mix evenly, and fresh fruit are not homogeneous. The melding process takes time to complete.
Ericphotoart
Senior Member
2 weeks after adding superkleer and 1 bag of conditioner I racked again, tasted and I decided 1 bag of conditioner is quite enough for my taste. I intend to age it for about 2 months or longer. It has a lot of flavor and body. Amazing deep dark color and I don’t want to ruin it with sweetness. I think it’s going to be a little sweeter after tartness mellows.
I got the peach frutta on order today. I am looking forward to a "harvest" wine for late September or early October. My in laws like the sweeter wines, so that should go over well with them.
When I racked my FWK peach to two 3 gallon carboys a few weeks ago, I had too much head space in one of my carboys even after adding both wine conditioner packs. So today I racked them both into one of my fermenter buckets to mix both carboys together, and then hubby and I sampled to see if the sweetness was where we want it.
The FWK strawberry and blackberry kits I have made both could have used more sweetening, for our tastes, so I wanted to make sure we tasted this one after the addition of the included conditioner packs, and add more if needed.
We both agreed it could use just a little but more, but it's very close. So I decided to leave it where it is and then sample again before bottling.
I ended up racking it into a 5 gallon plus two 750 ml screwtop bottles, which aren't going to last long - we both really like this one!
I have a 3 gallon carboy of pure peach, made from Washington and Colorado peaches. I plan to sweeten that in August or September. I am interested to see how that compares with the FWK peach!
The FWK strawberry and blackberry kits I have made both could have used more sweetening, for our tastes, so I wanted to make sure we tasted this one after the addition of the included conditioner packs, and add more if needed.
We both agreed it could use just a little but more, but it's very close. So I decided to leave it where it is and then sample again before bottling.
I ended up racking it into a 5 gallon plus two 750 ml screwtop bottles, which aren't going to last long - we both really like this one!
I have a 3 gallon carboy of pure peach, made from Washington and Colorado peaches. I plan to sweeten that in August or September. I am interested to see how that compares with the FWK peach!
