Finer Wine Kit Finer Wine Kits

[winemaker81]

I received a FWK just a few days ago and it was packed in a styrofoam box inside a heavy FWK box. FedEx here is good - usually 2, no more than 3 days.

FedEx quality is varies a lot, and region makes a difference. All of my FWK arrived in 2 days, even when FedEx said 3 or 4 days. I'm fortunate that I WFH, as in a couple of cases I received an email stating "your package has been delivered", and sure enough, I had a FWK on my porch a day or 2 early. Whatever plans I had for after work were pre-empted.

That said, given the choice of unexpected early delivery vs. 9 days, I'll stop complaining.

 

[wineview]

FedEx quality is varies a lot, and region makes a difference. All of my FWK arrived in 2 days, even when FedEx said 3 or 4 days. I'm fortunate that I WFH, as in a couple of cases I received an email stating "your package has been delivered", and sure enough, I had a FWK on my porch a day or 2 early. Whatever plans I had for after work were pre-empted.

That said, given the choice of unexpected early delivery vs. 9 days, I'll stop complaining.

I have no issue with length of delivery time, just the packaging.

 

[Shurt1073]

I won’t purchase a kit during the warmer months.

Agree .... Kits purchased in Nov - Dec of 2022 arrived cold / frozen but middle of May 2023 temps in the mid 80's, I open both styrofoam boxes and the juice was room temperature. Not hot or cold but room temp. I really enjoy making the FWK. Makes me feel more like a winemaker .... can't explain it correctly but it does make me feel more like a winemaker. I'll keep buying FWK but maybe more selective on the weather.

 

[winemaker81]

My first kit arrived in August (2 years ago) and the temperature was cool. While central NC is typically > 90 F in August, FedEx has delivered each kit within 2 days, and that makes a HUGE difference. That said, for folks that don't get 2 day delivery it's lower risk to order in cooler weather.

 

[idahorevbob]

I'm happy to hear that my sludge will be OK. I hope nobody thought I was bashing FWK. I like their kits and have been very happy with the products. Just wish I still got the Styrofoam/box because FedEx beats 'em up good.

But I still worry......

 

[Brant]

I'm happy to hear that my sludge will be OK.

I viewed the thick (sludgy) concentrate of the FWKs as a pro, not a con. I assume the thickness was due to the kits being more of a grape pulp substance rather than just dehydrated juice. At least to me, it seems like a more authentic grape must- similar to orange juice with pulp included. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Dives35]

There is now a Novello series of Finer Wine kits. Cheaper, simpler.

 

[wineview]

Just read about this new series. No aging? I would love to see the instructions.

 

[ratflinger]

Hmmm, I assume these are like the Vinifera kits that I used to buy from Mosti. Might be good. I moved up from the Vinifera kits because I wanted more body.

 

[ratflinger]

Agree .... Kits purchased in Nov - Dec of 2022 arrived cold / frozen but middle of May 2023 temps in the mid 80's, I open both styrofoam boxes and the juice was room temperature. Not hot or cold but room temp. I really enjoy making the FWK. Makes me feel more like a winemaker .... can't explain it correctly but it does make me feel more like a winemaker. I'll keep buying FWK but maybe more selective on the weather.

Mine come in in 2 - 3 days and even shipping to South Texas in the middle of the summer they were still cool, I've not any issues at all with the kits wanting to go bad. We're talking 100+ outside.

 

[winemaker81]

There is now a Novello series of Finer Wine kits. Cheaper, simpler.

This makes sense, to cover the entire market. Some folks will wait for a heavy wine to mature, while others want more immediate gratification. Both POV's make sense.

 

[Gilmango]

Just read about this new series. No aging? I would love to see the instructions.

The entire instructions are just 4 pages (vs. the 20 pages of text which came with my S. Rhone Forte kit). You can download the PDF of them if you go to the Label Peeler's site: Wine Making - Wine Kits - Finer Wine Kits Novello Reds - Label Peelers the blue link which says "view instructions" will open the PDF.

The 4 page Novello instructions end with a 1 page checklist, just as the 20 page Forte instructions do, but the omit the steps of adding skins, seeds, making a yeast starter, adding yeast nutrient, punching down daily, then squeezing and removing the muslin skin bags. Otherwise the same checklist.

The other 3 pages of instructions are page 1 - tells you about Novello, cheaper, faster, lower abv, enjoy young and fresh, slightly chilled. Page 2 and 3 - more detailed but still succinct instructions geared more towards a beginning wine maker - cut and pasted below.

Instructions
Finer Wine Kits delivers a more authentic agricultural product for a better home winemaking
experience. We have pioneered the use of refrigeration and cold shipping to retain more of the
grape’s integrity bringing you, the winemaker, closer to the vineyard.
Advisory 1: This juice must be fermented or cooked before consumption! It can pose a health
risk like all unprocessed raw agricultural products.
Advisory 2: Finer Wine Kits come with all the ingredients, but not the equipment. If you are new
to wine making and do not have the necessary tools, put your juice in the freezer or refrigerator
and visit www.labelpeelers.com to view the equipment list and packages available. Our juice is
not conventionally pasteurized and must remain cold so it does not spontaneously ferment.
STEP 1: Clean and sanitize all equipment and prepare your workspace
before every step.
STEP 2: Prepare the must
1. Day 1: Rinse the outside of the juice bag and empty contents into primary fermenter. Add
water to reach 6 gallons total volume. Stir vigorously for two to three minutes.
Concentrate should be thoroughly mixed to get a proper hydrometer reading. Original
Specific Gravity should be 1.070 and 1.080.
2. Add packet of oak chips.
3. Add Starter Pack A and stir.
STEP 3: Fermentation (Duration 14 days)
1. Day 2: When juice approaches room temperature, sprinkle yeast but do not stir. Allow
yeast to multiply and spread on their own. Rest cover on fermenter and wait for active
fermentation.
2. Once yeast is active, snap fermentation bucket closed, fit with airlock and do not open
until transferring.
3. Final specific gravity should be 0.998 or less.
Your Novello Wine Kit is designed to ferment cooler and slower. If internal fermentation
temperatures reach 75 degrees Fahrenheit, move to a cooler space.
STEP 4: Racking (two weeks after adding yeast)
1. Day 15: Place fermentation bucket on table or at least 30” above the floor
2. Use books or blocks to create low point to maximize siphoning. Place racking cane or
autosiphon at lowest point in bucket
3. Place sanitized carboy on the floor and siphon wine. Discard leftover wine at very bottom
of fermentation bucket.
4. When wine is transferred proceed immediately to Step 5.
STEP 5: Degassing, Stabilizing and Clarifying
1. If necessary, use autosiphon, racking cane or wine thief to temporarily transfer enough so
your level is at the shoulder of the carboy. Use sanitary container. Do not use containers
that contained fruit juices or milk.
2. Degas wine using mix stir (attaches to drill) for 30 seconds or stir with back of paddle or
spoon for two to three minutes.
3. Add stabilizing packet labeled packet D and stir again. Your stabilizing packet contains
potassium sorbate and the minimum dose of sulfites necessary in conjunction with
potassium sorbate. This is the only sulfite dose you will add to your kit.
4. Add clearing agents labeled Kieselsol and Chitosan. Stir again.
5. Put wine you removed for degassing back in carboy. Top off with commercial wine,
homemade wine or distilled water if needed and fit with airlock.
6. Leave in carboy for two weeks.
STEP 6: Bottling
1. Place carboy on table or wherever you will transfer at least 4 hours prior to allow any
sediment to settle again.
2. Clean and sanitize bottles thoroughly.
3. You can either bottle directly from carboy or transfer to bottling bucket or primary
fermenter.
4. Place book or block under one side to create low point.
5. If using bottling bucket, attach two-foot hose to spout and then attach bottling wand. If
you are using carboy or primary fermenter you can use autosiphon or racking cane with 6
feet of hose.
6. If using autosiphon or racking cane, attach the shutoff valve that came with your kit about
two inches before the end of the hose. Begin siphoning, pinch when wine reaches valve,
attach bottling wand and open shutoff valve. Begin filling and remove wand when level
reaches the top of each bottle.
7. After soaking corks in sulfite solution, begin corking your bottles.
8. If using natural corks, allow bottles to stay upright for three days to allow corks to
expand before storing them on their sides.
9. Your wine is ready to drink. You can serve it either at room temperature, partially chilled
or refrigerated. Novello wine is commonly drunk cold but that depends on your
preference.

 

[Brant]

I bet the novello series are pretty sharp when they are young. Heavy tannins or not, I don't see them being very good in less than 6 months regardless of what's in them. I'd be very surprised if they weren't.

 

[Old Corker]

Bottled my 2022 FWK Tavola Pinot Noir today. No skins, no oak. Just straight up Pinot.
Started on April 4, 2022. Very tasty and light like a Pinot should be. Yielded 30 750 ml and 1 split. I used my AIO pump to bottle for the first time. A little bit of a learning curve but it went well.

 

[winemaker81]

Bottled my 2022 FWK Tavola Pinot Noir today. No skins, no oak. Just straight up Pinot.

I love happy endings!

 

[jgmann67]

A few weekends ago, I bottled two batches of wine. Finally got to capsules and labels this weekend.

Batch 1:

The first was wine from 100 lbs of locally grown Cab Franc that my wife and I picked in 2021. Honestly, I didn't have any hopes that this wine would be drinkable. After fermentation, I had 6 gallons of light bodied, light color cab franc that I planned to barrel age. Problem #2, my barrel is 8 gallons.

Looked around the wine room and it hit me - I bet the FWK Petite Sirah would give this wine sufficient body, color and the added flavor I was looking for. With a 75/25 blend, it went in the barrel for 6 months.

I didn't care for the flavor coming out of the barrel. Given the constant shortage of clean bottles in my basement, I figured I'd just leave it in the 7-gallon carboy for a while. A year later and it was still sitting on the floor waiting. So I decided to give it a taste, figuring I'd probably just flush it and clean the carboy. To my surprise, it was very drinkable.

My litmus test is Mrs. Mann. I never tell her what it is. I just hand her a glass with wine in it and say "here, taste this." I got a, "Hey, this is good. What is it?" Fine, I committed 35 Bordeaux bottles to the effort.

I name my wines after songs I enjoy. With this one - blending Pennsylvania and California wines - I thought a little Beatles was in order. "Come Together."

Batch 2:

The second was the FWK Chardonnay. This was one that came about after Matteo addressed the dark color issue (though I don't recall exactly what he did to address it). Anyway, I started this one between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it's been on a spiral of French oak since New Years. I haven't tasted it since before I racked it and it was good then.

It still had some residual CO2 at the final racking. I was surprised. But, we racked and it made it to the bottle.

I gifted a bottle to friends and suggested it sit for a few months. These folks are big fans of Rombauer Chard and prefer their chard with enough oak to spit splinters. It only got through a few weeks before they pulled the cork this past weekend.

Here's the quote I got this morning: "I'm in love with this chard. Sell me some." Words every winemaker hopes to hear.

I'm an Ed Sheeran fan. "Tenerife Sea," spoke to me while I was bottling... So, who am I to argue?

 

[Swedeman]

No skins, no oak. Just straight up Pinot.

 

[Shurt1073]

Here's the quote I got this morning: "I'm in love with this chard. Sell me some." Words every winemaker hopes to hear.

Like hitting a home run, bottom of the 9th, with two outs, two strikes and bases loaded losing by three runs to win the game for your team. Doesn't get any better than that! Congrats. Nice story.

 

[Bmd2k1]

A few weekends ago, I bottled two batches of wine. Finally got to capsules and labels this weekend.

Batch 1:

The first was wine from 100 lbs of locally grown Cab Franc that my wife and I picked in 2021. Honestly, I didn't have any hopes that this wine would be drinkable. After fermentation, I had 6 gallons of light bodied, light color cab franc that I planned to barrel age. Problem #2, my barrel is 8 gallons.

Looked around the wine room and it hit me - I bet the FWK Petite Sirah would give this wine sufficient body, color and the added flavor I was looking for. With a 75/25 blend, it went in the barrel for 6 months.

I didn't care for the flavor coming out of the barrel. Given the constant shortage of clean bottles in my basement, I figured I'd just leave it in the 7-gallon carboy for a while. A year later and it was still sitting on the floor waiting. So I decided to give it a taste, figuring I'd probably just flush it and clean the carboy. To my surprise, it was very drinkable.

My litmus test is Mrs. Mann. I never tell her what it is. I just hand her a glass with wine in it and say "here, taste this." I got a, "Hey, this is good. What is it?" Fine, I committed 35 Bordeaux bottles to the effort.

I name my wines after songs I enjoy. With this one - blending Pennsylvania and California wines - I thought a little Beatles was in order. "Come Together."

Batch 2:

The second was the FWK Chardonnay. This was one that came about after Matteo addressed the dark color issue (though I don't recall exactly what he did to address it). Anyway, I started this one between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it's been on a spiral of French oak since New Years. I haven't tasted it since before I racked it and it was good then.

It still had some residual CO2 at the final racking. I was surprised. But, we racked and it made it to the bottle.

I gifted a bottle to friends and suggested it sit for a few months. These folks are big fans of Rombauer Chard and prefer their chard with enough oak to spit splinters. It only got through a few weeks before they pulled the cork this past weekend.

Here's the quote I got this morning: "I'm in love with this chard. Sell me some." Words every winemaker hopes to hear.

I'm an Ed Sheeran fan. "Tenerife Sea," spoke to me while I was bottling... So, who am I to argue?

Did you use the Carbon in your Chard?

Cheers!

 

[jgmann67]

Did you use the Carbon in your Chard?

Cheers!

Yes. I did this one by the numbers, except for the added oak in the finish.