WineXpert Island Mist Kit.....F pack

[Danml]

For those making the mist kits......do you use the entire f pack. I thought that my last Strawberry kit was to sweet. Your thoughts ?

Thanks, Dan

 

[Wade E]

Some use 1/2 up front to get a little more abv out of it and then the other 1/2 to sweeten just a little but still get all the flavor due to still using the whole F Pack. I myself use almost the whole f pack afterwards but up the starting sg up front by adding about 3 lbs of sugar. Some of these arent as sweet as others though so I advise you to make the kit first before using 1/2 the f- pack up front or ask us as many have made most of these kits. I can say the green apple riesling and the peach chard's arent as sweet as the others and may require using the whole f pack afterwards to get a nice balanced kit. I think the blueberry shiraz and blueberry Pinot noir are the same to. Some of the others are way to sweet and some taste really fake.

 

[BobF]

I do mine (BB-Cab) the same as Wade ... I add sugar up front to bump the ABV up to the point that the alcohol is in better balance with the sweetness of the full fpac later.

I've done 3# of sugar and will be trying 5# next time to get a bit more kick out of it.

 

[jdeere5220]

I'm not sure how many lbs it is, but I add sugar up front to get an initial SG of about 1.068. I think 3 lbs sounds about right. Then I add the entire F-pack per instructions. Adding half the F-pack up front is common also, just try different combinations till you find what you like.

 

[robie]

3 to 5 pounds of sugar to bump up the ABV. I like my summer wines to be at about a 10% ABV. Test SG as you add sugar, being careful not to end up with too much water being added.

You can add only a portion of the F pack, but just understand that it will also have less of the flavoring, like the strawberry.
It is hard to add the F pack to taste, because W.E. has you add the F pack before all the less and sediment have been removed.

I guess you could hold off on adding the clarifier right after the F pack ---
Try this:
Stabilize; add half the F pack, let it settle on its own for 24 hours, taste it for sweetness and repeat all after stabilize, until it tastes about right. The lees and sediment will still be in the wine, so that is why it needs to settle for about 24 hours.

Also understand you will be tasting green wine, but the more you sample green wine, the more you will become a good judge as to the final result... gotta get around the green taste.

Once it is about right, add the clarifier, stir it up really well, and let it clear.

I have never tried this myself, so move at your own risk.

 

[mxsteve625]

The last WE Green Apple Reisling kits I made I added half the F-Pack up front and the remainder at the end. Both batches were well liked and didn't last long. The Peach Apricot I used the whole F-pack at the end. It too was liked by all but the ABV was low (whch isn't ALWAYS a bad thing)