I used a slurry from a blackberry recipe....It came out OK, but the blackberry was only a 1 gal recipe and I made 6 gal of Pee. It fermented OK, and the color turned pink, but, not really any blackberry taste to speak of.
As far as this being your first non kit batch....DONT WORRY. This should be the cheapest batch of wine you have made yet. The lemon juice is probably the most costly item.
Make sure you have all the additives (acid blend, nutrient, yeast, K meta, etc). If you don't have a brew belt or a heating pad, I would consider some heat source. The temp of the must, will need to be at least 75 degrees.
Some people make up the must according to the origninal recipe (w/o adding the lemon juice). Hydrate the yeast.....add 1/2 teaspoon of nutrientto approx 2 oz of hot water approx 104-109 degree's. Stir to get the nutrient in suspension...waitforapprox 5 mins and then sprinke the yeast on top of the water. Wait another 10 minutes and then stir yeast and nutrient together. Then add to must.....
Fermentation shouldstart in approx12-24hrs....Once started, you can add the lemon juice a bottle at a time.
Key factors
on't adddry sugar to must---simmer sugar on stoveuntil you get a syrup.
Keep temp on must up, especially duringthe begining stages offermentaiton.
stir the must daily----I mean stir itlike itstole something from you
relax...have fun....You have made kits so your all ready a winemaker!!!
this is the fun part.....even if you had todump the whole bucket off yourback porch....you would be out less than 15 bucks!
hope this helps