Other Do wine kits expire? - old unopened kit

[NovaScotia lassy]

Hi all -- I'm the new lass in town .. I used to make wine (from kits) years ago and now have just started up again. Bought some used equipment and the seller also gave me a wine kit which is obviously very old -- it has a price tag on it of $29.00 (CAD) -- when I googled the kit name I see that the boxing has changed and the price of this kit would now be over $60

I've not opened it yet, but I'm wondering if wine kits and the juice within can expire ?


WESTERN FAMILY - CALIFORNIA WHITE

My guess is the kit is about 10 yrs old.

 

[Rocky]

Hi all -- I'm the new lass in town .. I used to make wine (from kits) years ago and now have just started up again. Bought some used equipment and the seller also gave me a wine kit which is obviously very old -- it has a price tag on it of $29.00 (CAD) -- when I googled the kit name I see that the boxing has changed and the price of this kit would now be over $60

I've not opened it yet, but I'm wondering if wine kits and the juice within can expire ?


WESTERN FAMILY - CALIFORNIA WHITE

My guess is the kit is about 10 yrs old.

You are probably near the end of the kit's life if it is 10 years old. That being said, I would get some fresh yeast, and other chemicals, e.g. Potassium Metabisulfite, Potassium Sorbate, Kieselsol, Chitosan, etc. and make the kit anyway. All you would be out is a little time and about $5-10. If you get 30 or so bottles or wine from the kit, that is good odds, to me.

Take a look at the juice. If it more brown than yellow, don't get your hopes up!

 

[NovaScotia lassy]

Thanks a bunch for your reply. So you think the juice should be ok? I can get all the peripheral chems etc and just use the juice and perhaps some yeast nutrient.

HAAA .. laughing so hard about your signature @Rocky .. I'm also wondering what 'chronologically gifted' means .. ? .. *scratches head

great to meet ya anyway! lol

 

[Rocky]

Thanks a bunch for your reply. So you think the juice should be ok? I can get all the peripheral chems etc and just use the juice and perhaps some yeast nutrient.

HAAA .. laughing so hard about your signature @Rocky .. I'm also wondering what 'chronologically gifted' means .. ? .. *scratches head

great to meet ya anyway! lol

NS Lassy, I think the juice could be okay and I am saying give it a try. Yeast nutrient is DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) which has a shelf life of about 3 years. You may have to replace that too if you need to add it. If you have a strong fermentation, you may not need it.

"Chronologically gifted" is the politically correct way of saying "old." I will have made my 81st trip around the sun at the end of May.

Great meeting you and good luck with your wines.

 

[ceeaton]

NS Lassy, I think the juice could be okay and I am saying give it a try. Yeast nutrient is DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) which has a shelf life of about 3 years. You may have to replace that too if you need to add it. If you have a strong fermentation, you may not need it.

"Chronologically gifted" is the politically correct way of saying "old." I will have made my 81st trip around the sun at the end of May.

Great meeting you and good luck with your wines.

And Rocky, I raise my glass of wine/beer to you! I hope to still be posting at 81!

Thankful you are still around here!

 

[winemaker81]

Welcome to WMT!

I've successfully made kits that were 3 yo, and the concentrate has a long shelf life. 10 years seems extreme ... but I agree with Rocky. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Open the bag and sniff. If it smells good, it's probably ok. The wine will likely be dark, and I'd not expect it to be optimal, but it costs little and you may net 2+ cases of wine.

Good luck.

 

[Shurt1073]

Welcome to WMT ... good luck with the kit. BTW, your wine has aged 10 yrs but that doesn't really count.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT!

I expect that this kit will show characteristics of being oxidized. As long as you are not surprised by this, it could be enjoyable, but it will likely not seem like a "normal white wine."

 

[Rice_Guy]

Thanks a bunch for your reply. So you think the juice should be ok? I can get all the peripheral chems etc and just use the juice and perhaps some yeast nutrient.

From a food industry point of view, there is nothing unhealthy in a sealed wine kit. It will ferment much the same as white sugar from the store, or some of Mom’s jelly that was in the basement twenty years. If the storage has been cool and dry, the chemicals may still be OK.
The issue related to out of code date is that the fresh aromatics decrease with time, similar to old jelly. As an industry person I use the term oxidized mainly for oils that are in the process of changing from “flavorless” to smelling “painty” ,,or tasting liked “cooked oil”.
For where your kit is, I would look at rebuilding the aromatics. This could be via sweetening the finished kit with frozen concentrate apple juice from the grocery, or making a F-pack, or a low level (5ml/ 5gal) of vanilla extract, or make it like a spiced wine, or back sweetening with a Tomes drink mix flavor syrup. ,,, If you had a red I would say oak it.

 

[Rocky]

Lass, before we get too far into the weeds here, is this the wine you have?

Western Family - California White Wine 28 Day Kit

Makes 23L of wine. No sugar required.

www.saveonfoods.com

If so, and if it is in fact nearly 10 years old, I wish to change my recommendation to "give it a decent burial and get a fresh kit." That would eliminate 95+% of the unknowns and much more likely give you a nice, fresh tasting wine. At best, with all of the excellent recommendations above, you will end up with an off tasting, very mediocre wine and that could be demoralizing for your re-start into wine making.

Good luck.

 

[NovaScotia lassy]

I just opened the kit and the juice bottom portion is rock solid....not to mention dark brown.. me thinx this one is unsalvageable..? Erm.. the Kristol & liquid gelatin are crystallized..
Yeast, sorbate & sulphate possibly still good..

 

[winemaker81]

I just opened the kit and the juice bottom portion is rock solid....not to mention dark brown.. me thinx this one is unsalvageable..? Erm.. the Kristol & liquid gelatin are crystallized..
Yeast, sorbate & sulphate possibly still good..

I think you have a really cool paper weight, although it might attract bugs. Looks like it's bound for the landfill ...

Junk all additives, excepting bentonite (if there is any). Bentonite is clay, and AFAIK, if it's still granular, it's good.

Sorbate has a limited shelf life -- in ideal storage conditions it's good for ~2 years, but I bin it 12-15 months after receiving it. If sorbate has gone bad, you won't know it until you use it and corks start popping because it didn't stop fermentation. It's not worth the money to risk losing the batch, or having to unbottle it.

K-meta is good for years as well, but also in good storage conditions. 10 years is beyond that.

Yeast can have a shelf life of 3-5 years ... yup, in good storage conditions.

 

[Jovimaple]

Welcome to WMT! I agree with the recommendations to toss it and start with something fresher. Good luck!

 

[franc1969]

I just opened the kit and the juice bottom portion is rock solid....not to mention dark brown.. me thinx this one is unsalvageable..? Erm.. the Kristol & liquid gelatin are crystallized..
Yeast, sorbate & sulphate possibly still good..

Ditch everything but the bentonite, that's clay as was said. The yeast is probably fine, as E1118 will ferment a shoe, and yeast is recovered from archeological sites frequently. I would say look up 'skeeter pee' on this site, use the yeast, drink while you get a decent kit or grapes.
And welcome!

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Thread 'Life span of a wine kit'
Life span of a wine kit

the cab kit I mentioned in this thread took off just fine with fresh chemicals and yeast. Daughter is still aging it and says it is drinkable. Not a top shelf drinker but it worked. It was kept in a cool cellar for 10 years

 

[Shurt1073]

I had to laugh out loud today when I picked up some used equipment from a family friend who helped me into wine making with the Island Mist kits in 2016. He has not made any wine or kit wine in several years so today he sold me all of his stuff including throwing in a kit from 01-31-1992 he's had in the basement wrapped in plastic.

The juice has not separated and we shall see the inside result in a week or so. I'll replace all the chemicals. Once I open the juice bag, I'll decide if we go any further but thought some of you might get a kick out of seeing a wine kit 32 yrs old.

 

[cmason1957]

Are you sure about the age of that kit? That looks like the kit packaging I remember from when I first started making kits about 2010. I'm not sure they had kits like that back in 1992. We used to have a thread admit interpretation of the date codes on kits, but I wasn't able to find it. It's an old kit certainly.

 

[winemaker81]

Scott sent me the picture of the code, and it does appear to indicate 1992. But I agree, the packaging looks newer.

 

[Shurt1073]

Are you sure about the age of that kit? That looks like the kit packaging I remember from when I first started making kits about 2010. I'm not sure they had kits like that back in 1992. We used to have a thread admit interpretation of the date codes on kits, but I wasn't able to find it. It's an old kit certainly.

No ... I am not sure on the date only what the tag says and I'm NOT sure how to read the tag I've never purchased any of these kits and did not ask the previous owner when it was purchased. If you have any information on the kit it would be appreciated. I did find the kit on Homebrewing.com for $75.99. I'm starting to doubt its from 1992.

 

[Rocky]

No ... I am not sure on the date only what the tag says and I'm NOT sure how to read the tag I've never purchased any of these kits and did not ask the previous owner when it was purchased. If you have any information on the kit it would be appreciated. I did find the kit on Homebrewing.com for $75.99. I'm starting to doubt its from 1992.

One clue for you would be to look at the expiration date on the yeast packet. It is embossed along the edge of the packet.

My bet is that the kit is from January 31, 2016 (or January 31, 2006) as indicated by the "0316." If it is the Julian date as I suspect and depending on how they configure their code, I suppose it could also be the 316th day of 2000, 2010 or 2020, assuming they put the year first and the day of the year following.