Fresh juice buckets....

[Wild Duk]

There is a brew store here in the Atlanta area that is offering 6 gallons buckets of pure varietal grape must....They say they have California and Italian juice.....And its prett cheap at $75 to $85 a bucket.

The juice arrives cold, and has the yeast already added.....You just warm, stir, and go....


I was wondering if anyone here had come across any similar offers. I'm not sure what to think about this deal.....


I ordered a white kit, but am hesitant to order a big red, as they don't come with any skins, just juice.....


Any ideas......

 

[ibglowin]

Without any skin contact during fermentation a red wine will be pretty thin IMHO. You can help it out with some post fermentation finishing tannin but nothing will beat that skin to ethanol extraction.

 

[Rocky]

Prices seem a little steep to me. Take a look at what we pay in Ohio.

California Juice: http://www.luvabella.com/pdfs/LuvaBellaOrder2011.pdf
Italian Juice: http://www.luvabella.com/pdfs/MostaBellaOrder2011.pdf

Also, what Mike say is correct, of course. You can buy a grape pack from The Winemakers Toy Store or add a box of raisins to the wine to give it more mouth.

 

[djrockinsteve]

We pay 40-50 bucks

 

[Runningwolf]

I think you need to find a new supplier. Check your wine supply stores and ask them for places.

 

[Flem]

I just wonder if they're not getting their buckets from L'uva Bella and adding a tidy profit.

 

[Wild Duk]

Well I just figured with a kit costing well over $100, this was not a bad deal....

 

[Rocky]

Well I just figured with a kit costing well over $100, this was not a bad deal....

That is very understandable. Atlanta is a very big city. Do you have any wholesale produce vendors? In many cities, they deal in both wholesale wine grapes and wine juice. Check that out. Retail stores bounce the pricing all over.

 

[ugh]

I paid 60 each for two 6 gallon buckets of Chianti in Florida..Ct same thing I use to pay in the 48 range.

 

[Wild Duk]

I'm picking these buckets up tomorrow.....

Having never done one, only kits, should I treat it like a kit.....

Should I add bentonite first, same fermentation and racking schedule?

Thx

 

[Rocky]

WD, there may be instructions on the bucket. Some suppliers do, some don't. I do not add anything except the yeast to my buckets in the primary stage. I take the initial SG and let it cook until the SG gets to about 1.020 and then rack into a carboy. Keep it there until SG is well under 1.000 and then rack again. You can decide at that point if you will need fining agents in the future.

BTW, where are you in Atlanta? I went to that "trade school" out there on North Avenue, just west of I75. Long time ago (1960).