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I finally got my daughter interested in wine making so I gave her a Winexpert Malbec and a Winexpert Riesling kit. I offered to help starting the kits, but she wanted to go alone. She started 2 weeks ago and I visited after she had racked into carboys but something did not look right. It...

I should really post this in the beginner’s forum. I just bottled 18 gallons of Pinot Noir that had been aging for 3 months in 3 carboys. I racked the wine and added some Meta bisulphate to each carboy before bottling. My usual steps are that I fill a bucket with water as I do not have a...

I have always used a bung with an airlock for the 3 - 6 months of aging that I do, for the all the kits I have made. I still occasionally glance at the instructions that come with the kits, and as I was racking the Winexpert Lodi Cab Friday I noticed for the first time that the instructions...

Anyone tried the Winexpert (Selection) Vieux Chateau du Roi. I was thinking of adding it to my list of wines to make.

Hi, I have been making kit wines for a couple of years now, but I have finally decided to try my hand at making wine from a juice bucket. I have been reading some of the forum threads with great interest and I was hoping to find a sticky or thread that explains the steps, or the differences...

I currently use Star san to sanitize my wine bottles, but I am thinking of switching to potassium metabisulphite. Like many people I use the Vinator Bottle Rinser on top of a bottle tree. If I were to change to using potassium metabisulphite could I use the same method for sanitizing? I would...

I am making a Winexpert Malbec, and was about to use the bag of Chitosan that is included, as per the instructions, and noticed stringy pieces in the bag. I have not seen this before so I decided not to use this bag and found another bag that I had spare. From wine maker Magazine Oct/Nov...

I have made about a dozen Winexpert kits this year. Some are still aging in carboys and the rest have been bottled. They are all really clear and taste great. I started a new kit several weeks ago and decided to re-read the instructions again this morning before the stabilizing and clearing...

I started a another kit last week, a Viognier, and stirred it every couple of days during primary fermentation. I checked the SG this morning and it read 0.998. Great, time to rack for secondary fermentation. So instead of transferring to a carboy right away I accidently stirred the wine...

I have recently read some threads giving opinions about when to transfer fermenting wines to secondary. Example 1: “Some folks move to secondary around (1.010)” Example 2: “Some ferment to dry (1.000 to .990) in primary” What I have not been able to discover is, what is the difference in...

Hi, I started a Winexpert, World Vineyard, Italian Sangiovese on Feb 2 2014. It was ready for bottling the middle of April, so I racked to a carboy and let it “age/rest etc” for approx 3 months. I decided to bottle it this morning, but to my dismay I noticed that the bung in the carboy was...

I am thinking of making a Winexpert Shiraz as my next wine. Their web site shows that they have the following kits available. BAROSSA VALLEY SHIRAZ WITH GRAPE SKINS AUSTRALIAN CABERNET SHIRAZ AUSTRALIAN GRENACHE/SHIRAZ/MOURVÈDRE AUSTRALIAN SHIRAZ CHILEAN MALBEC SHIRAZ WITH GRAPE SKINS...

Hi everyone, I have decided to start making larger batches of wine soon, and I am quite happy using kits as they are convenient. I intend fermenting them together in 1 20 gallon fermenting bucket. If I make 4 kits (24 gallons) at a time, do I use all of the included packets in each kit such...

So the time is approaching to bottle 4 of the WinExpert kits I have made, 2 red and 2 white, that I started in February. They have been aging about 3 months in a carboy, but now I need the space the carboys are taking up to make some more wine and I feel it is easier for me to store cases of...

Hi everyone, I started a Win Expert Chardonnay approx. 2 month ago. I degassed for approx 10 - 15 mins using a wine whip and drill. It looked like all the bubbles had stopped rising at the time. I have also racked several times. I went to bottle the wine yesterday and noticed that there was...

Hi, Anyone know what the fruits are in the Island Mist, White Zinfandel with exotic fruit? Thanks

I know this topic has been covered before but I would like to get some additional answers to questions that I have. I have made several red and white wines from kits, and I am now ready to bulk age my red wines for probably 6 – 9 months in 5 gall carboys along with filling some wine bottles...

I have been reading some of the posts on adding raisins during secondary fermentation, but have not seen why. Why would I add raisins, and what is the expected outcome? Thanks

I thought I was having a problem with a couple of kits I started 2 weeks ago. I took an initial SG reading with a hydrometer reading of 1.090, just what I was hoping for. I borrowed a refractometer from a friend to take subsequent reading, as it is a lot easier to check the SG with a...

I started my third kit, a Vintners Reserve Mezza Luna Red on Feb 1. The Brix/OG reading was 21/1.087. The fermentation started approx 24 hrs later on Feb 2 and the temperature of the must was 70 degrees. I checked the fermentation (made sure that the airlock was releasing CO2) and temperature...