WineXpert IM Pom Zin tweek

[Jc5066]

Looking to tweak the kit a bit. Definitely going to raise the SG to get around 10% alcohol. Was thinking of adding frozen cherries or blackberries or some other sort of fruit (or juices) to start. Probably some sugar too.

Any thoughts or opinions to take this kit up a notch or two would be appreciated.

 

[Dhaynes]

This is a good kit. We have made it twice with no tweaks other than adding 3 lbs of sugar to raise the ABV. We won a silver metal with it at last year's Winemaker Mag's annual contest with no tweaks other than the ABV and bulk aging for a few months. One thing we did notice is that this IM kit needs to age longer than most. At 4-5 months the Pom flavor is very strong almost over powering. After about 9-12 months it smooths out a lot and becomes very good. I've never tried to tweak this kit. It has a pretty complex flavor to begin with. Tweaking it might do more harm than good. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Jc5066]

I have made this as is before. It is nice and does age well. Maybe I'll just do 4 lbs. of sugar to bump it to 10% and call it a day.

I just finished the raspberry merlot and black cherry Pinot with 4 lbs of added sugar. Can't even tell its higher in alcohol. They are pretty good.

 

[Dhaynes]

We like the black raspberry Merlot a lot. Haven't tried the cherry Pinot but that sounds like a good one as well. I'm with you on the ABV bump. I don't notice the increase in the alcohol as much as I do the change in the body. The first IM kit we did we didn't add any sugar. It tasted good but seem very thin, almost like kool-aid. After that we started adding 3 lbs of sugar. It seemed to really add body to the wine. Don't know what the science is behind it but I like the results.

 

[Jc5066]

Started the kit. Added 4# of sugar and a couple large handfuls of raisins.