Hi folks. My wife is a great SB fan, so I bought a Paklab kit to get her off my back. After reading all over the webs for a month, I've arrived at the following recipe and procedure - 1) Start the kit at full six gallons, and take my first SG reading using only the 'stock' ingredients. 2) after the reading is taken and recorded, add three 12oz cans of Welch's Niagra Grape Juice concentrate for extra 'oompf' to bring the ABV up to the 12% range, followed by six bananas (for body) that have 'gone black' and spent sufficient time in the freezer to guarantee a pulpy mess upon thawing.
This is my fourth 'batch' of wine. The previous three were an Island Mist kit and two Paklab Italian reds. I did the reds at 5.5 gallons with 10oz of Zante Currants added to one batch, and a full pound to the other. Both turned out to be drinkable, almost pretty good, with good body in both and the '1#' batch having a bit more alcohol bite. What I'd like to do is to accomplish the same results with the SB without shorting myself a 1/2 gallon of wine.
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Winemaking started with me as a lark, and now I can see it turning into an obsession. My dreams are filled with visions of bubbling must, pristine airlocks, and full racks. This could get serious. Thanks!
This is my fourth 'batch' of wine. The previous three were an Island Mist kit and two Paklab Italian reds. I did the reds at 5.5 gallons with 10oz of Zante Currants added to one batch, and a full pound to the other. Both turned out to be drinkable, almost pretty good, with good body in both and the '1#' batch having a bit more alcohol bite. What I'd like to do is to accomplish the same results with the SB without shorting myself a 1/2 gallon of wine.
Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Winemaking started with me as a lark, and now I can see it turning into an obsession. My dreams are filled with visions of bubbling must, pristine airlocks, and full racks. This could get serious. Thanks!