Other Cornucopia 2 kits we love SALE priced on Amazon

[chrisjw]

When it comes time to back-sweetening I was going to make 3 gallons with 1/2 the included f-pak. Then I will experiment with reduced pineapple concentrate + coconut f-pak with 1/2 gallon of the wine. I would replace a portion of the coconut f-pak juice with my pineapple f-pak to avoid over-sweetening. I will then decide what to do with the remaining 2.5 gallons of wine based on the results.

Adding some vanilla bean soaked in a small amt of everclear to my experiment sounds interesting.

Clearing? Not sure what I'll do yet but I don't mind if the experimental version is cloudy.

Current status: Slow but steady fermentation. OG was 1.09. Current SG is at 1.034 on Day 6. Patience is the key to making wine. I am estimating a final ABV of 12.2% (used 8.5 cups of sugar) after dilution with the f-pak (assumed to be 2 liters).

 

[chrisjw]

My kit says that it was produced 10 October, 2012. I think that I need to go out and get some newer sorbate. Better safe than really pissed-off.

 

[Sammyk]

chrisjw I don't know for sure but based on another kit I made that is not old for a kit. Of course this could vary from manufacturer to manufacture.

I made a port kit that was just over a year old. Even the yeast was still good and I was prepared to add a new yeast if the one did not take off. But it take off with flying colors using the yeast in the box.

We have only been making wine almost 3 years and is some respects I do still consider myself a newbie. For instance I had no idea that sorbate had to be refrigerated!

 

[Sammyk]

Here is my plan for the coconut when we get around to making it. Because of lifting restrictions we only use 1 gallon carboys ( we have about 50 of them). My plan is to make it as the kit with the extra sugar upfront and the entire fpack. Since we rack to 1 gallon carboys I am fairly sure I will simmer down unsweetened pineapple juice and add that to one gallon carboys first and taste. You can get a pretty good idea sampling how the pineapple will taste. If it tastes good we would add to other 1 gallon carboys. Keep in mind without a couple of weeks aging there will be kind of a different taste initially. A few weeks in a bottle is smooths out quite a bit.

If it is cloudy from the pineapple, we won't mind as long as the wine is good tasting.

 

[SouthernChemist]

My kit says that it was produced 10 October, 2012. I think that I need to go out and get some newer sorbate. Better safe than really pissed-off.

If it is still sealed up, then the potassium sorbate is probably still good.

 

[derunner]

Back from vacation and have ordered the 2 kits you mentioned. The strawberry white Merlot and white coconut frascati. They have went up in price, but less than a dollar. Looking forward to making these.

 

[geek]

what is the liquid in the bigger package that goes to primary?

 

[Sammyk]

Sometime of a grape base that they do not reveal. The fruit pack is what gives the wine the taste with the flavoring they use to make the fruit pack. They don't tell you if it is real fruit or artificial flavoring. To use it does not matter as long as the wine is drinkable with a good flavor.
When we make fruit wine from fresh fruit we make our own fruit pack with the same fruit to used to make the wine. Never anything artificial in our own fruit wines.

 

[geek]

I started mine last night and pitched the yeast. Also added a can of concentrate 100% pineapple juice to the primary; will add another after fermentation when back sweetening....

 

[Sammyk]

geek Please keep me updated. Each wine should be done to suit the maker. And while I am and always have been able to think outside the box, I do not feel I have enough knowledge to experiment with a wine. Some we made did not come out and I sent bottles to others who helped us try to figure out how to fix it. Nor can we afford to buy wine, fruit or kits and throw it out.

 

[chrisjw]

I started mine last night and pitched the yeast. Also added a can of concentrate 100% pineapple juice to the primary; will add another after fermentation when back sweetening....

i am looking forward to reading how this comes out. did you add any additional sugar or other fermentable sweetener besides the juice and what was your OG?.

 

[geek]

yes, I added white sugar, around or close to 4lbs to bring SG up to ~1.090

 

[chrisjw]

what is the liquid in the bigger package that goes to primary?

For the Coconut Frascati, I would assume that it is concentrated Frascati. Who knew? I didn't. Never heard of it before. Frascati is a town near Rome and a white-wine blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia and other whites. Here is a link to a description.

 

[Sammyk]

We very rarely drank wine before we ventured into the hobby. So I don't know one name from another. We have been making wine for almost 3 years. BUT we have made enough to know what we like. Pinot Noir or Pinot Griego we have no idea what the difference is because we do not drink grape wine. I see all the names here, usually don't read the thread because at our age semi retired soon to be fully retired we have no desire to learn the different grape wines. We adore most fruit tasting wines so that is why the "mist" type wines appeal to use.

 

[cimbaliw]

Well SammyK after letting the Rasp/Merlot sit at 0.990 for 5 days I racked, degassed, stabilized and sweetened. I'm becoming a big fan of leaving the wine at dry for a few days to reduce the work of degassing.

BC

 

[ShelleyDickison]

We very rarely drank wine before we ventured into the hobby. So I don't know one name from another. We have been making wine for almost 3 years. BUT we have made enough to know what we like. Pinot Noir or Pinot Griego we have no idea what the difference is because we do not drink grape wine. I see all the names here, usually don't read the thread because at our age semi retired soon to be fully retired we have no desire to learn the different grape wines. We adore most fruit tasting wines so that is why the "mist" type wines appeal to use.

We are the same way. We enjoy the mist kits a lot. We normally have 3 reds, 3 whites and the Peach Raspberry Sangria on hand all the time. At Christmas time we make the CranApple Chardonnay also. We do enjoy the Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Moscato that I make but they are not our everyday drinkers. I have trimmed my list of wines I make down by 3 kinds since I started making it.

 

[Sammyk]

ShelleyDickison did you boost the ABV on the Peach Raspberry Sangria?

 

[ShelleyDickison]

ShelleyDickison did you boost the ABV on the Peach Raspberry Sangria?

Yes. I added 3 pounds of sugar. It came out to 10 something %. I can't remember off the top of my head. I can tell you I need to hide it from my neighbors. They all love it.

 

[Sammyk]

I have 2 Peach Raspberry Sangria on the way, should be here tomorrow. I am excited, raspberry and peaches (no shik) are MY favorite fruits.

 

[ShelleyDickison]

SammyK. It has definitely became one of our favorites. We put some frozen raspberries and peaches in a pitcher with it and I am not sure what was better, the wine or the fruit after we drank the wine. Have you tried the Blackberry Cab yet. It's another good one.