Kit vs. Non-kit Aging

[brottman]

I just bottled 3 batches today that were all about 6 months old, as well as a kit wine about 1 1/2 months old. Yet, it is the kit that seems most mature. How is this possible? What do the kits have that make them age so much quicker? It was an Island Mist kit.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Island Mist is NOT wine, it is a wine-like drink. Thats why. That and half a gallon of flavoring that you added after fermentation.

Nothing wrong with a wine-like drink, but it will never do what fermented juice can.

 

[Jc5066]

Island mist do have a lot of flavor added post fermentation. They can be drank in about 4 weeks after starting. Not all kits are this way.

 

[Dhaynes]

We love Island Mist kits. We've made 10 or so. They are early drinkers for two reasons. 1) As others have said, the sugar and the fruit flavors in the flavor pack mask some of the harshness of the base wine and 2) Unless you add a lot of sugar up front, they have about half the alcohol content of a regular wine. The higher the alcohol content the longer the wine needs to age. We usually add about 3 pound of sugar upfront to boost the ABV a little. We then let them age at least 3 months before starting to drink them.


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

 

[GaDawg]

Without upping the alcohol they will not keep as wine does.

 

[LeChat]

What were the other batches? Wine from grapes? If so, the tannins are still fairly harsh at that age (and the near future).

 

[brottman]

Juice bucket Shiraz, juice bucket Moscato, raspberry country wine