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I made the Eclipse Yakima Pinot Gris, by the book (except for the sorbate). At for months, it may be the best of any wine I've ever made. Good call.

I just popped and poured this tonight. It was made in 2018 with Lalvin Barolo BRL97 yeast, yeast nutrient, and with extra oaking. The nose is nondescript. The color is fairly deep. It is pleasantly dry, with mildly gripping tannins. The mouthfeel is okay. Alcohol is substantial, but not...

I decided to go by the book this time. I even used both supplied yeast packs. Other than skipping the sorbate, I was a fundamentalist. (Although I'm partial to reds, when I try the red kits, I find I never get the big, tannic, dry, old world taste I want. I use the grape skins in and out of...

If it's 18 months, I overshot by 8. I am not incredibly discerning, so I may never know, and I swapped yeasts and added extra oak, so it's not a controlled experiment. The Trio Red appears a bit too sweet, but fermented to 13.5%. I don't think I would ever choose to buy a kit that old: I just...

I thought of it. I have some, but I've never done it, wasn't sure what stage was best, and ended up passing. The only thing left to do now is to let the bottles do their work... I just stuck the labels on and put them in the rack.

Review at bottling of En Primeur Trio Red. I followed directions on this 26-month old kit, except for adding a toasted French oak stave for 5 weeks during racking. The SG went to .996, and there were no off flavors. It appears very extracted, in a good way. My only concern is that it seems...

Funny, I just bought a commercial boxed wine and it tasted off. Interestingly, it was (only) 5 months past the "Best By" date.

It looks fine. The taste on day 15 is slightly sweet, but the SG has dropped nicely. Onward!

That's encouraging.

Thanks!

I have just started a kit that, according to the date sticker, is 26 months old. It is an En Primeur Trio Red. I bought it and kept procrastinating. I bought new yeast, and will follow the directions pretty closely, except for some extra bult aging, and maybe some extra oaking. I'll try to...

I've just bottled an Eclipse kit. I swapped for BRL97 yeast (recommended for Barolo) and gave it 4 weeks on a French Oak medium infusion spiral, in addition to the 5 (!) packs of oak included in the kit. I added extra metabisulphite per the kit directions for extra aging. Didn't bulk age. At...

I just started a new Nebbiolo kit. I'm substituting a Lalvin Barolo BRL97 yeast, hopefully to heighten the authenticity of this wine. I'm using Go-Ferm & 2 doses of Fermaid as per directions from More Wine. The kit actually comes with 5 packs (!) of oak. I'll use the first three in the...

:bI tasted it at bottling. The oak was expressive but pleasant, and the wine was very nice. I could have used a bit more tannin, but the softness and fruitiness kept it approachable. Several tasters agreed, so I'm relieved. I plan to rest the bottles now for a year. High hopes.

Well, yesterday I bottled the wine from my first Winexpert Bergamais kit. The main tweak was that I went with Vinter's Harvest CR51 wine yeast, and added yeast nutrients. The only other thing I did was to whip it twice at 5 minutes, instead of twice at 2 minutes, per kit directions. (I really...

Thank you Sour Grapes and Bernard for your generous responses. That is interesting and persuasive, and you both agree. I hope that you're right about the batch not being too "hot". That's my batch for everyday drinking, and it would kind of screw with the intent if its tasting all alcohol...

I just made a Winexpert Bergais wine kit. I substituted CR51 yeast for what was supplied, and used Goferm and Fermaid. I have a subjective impression that the resulting wine is "hot", higher in alcohol than I would like. 1. Is it possible that by using the Go-Ferm and Fermaid that it...

Spagnols Spanish Cabernet I bottled this in January. They were going so fast, I boxed up 10 bottles and put them away. I agree: delicious. Nice acidity, nice fruit. Tannins are good, too. I really want to see if there is any change with age. If I was going to do it over, I'd modify the...

I'm making a Spagnols Rosso Grande Eccelente kit. Spagnols describes it as "full-bodied" and "medium-oak". I thought it could probably get away with extra oak. If I remember right, the kit came with 3 bags of oak chips (along with skins, etc.). These all went in during fermentation. I...

I'm making a Spagnols Rosso Grande Eccelente kit. Spagnols describes it as "full-bodied" and "medium-oak". I thought it could probably get away with extra oak. If I remember right, the kit came with 3 bags of oak chips (along with skins, etc.). These all went in during fermentation. I...