recommendations please

[rhoffart]

Hello, first post and got a newbie question that may have asked many different ways, I’ve checked through some old post and didn’t find exactly what I was looking for.<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />

I don’t know anything about wine making or I didn’t 3 days ago. So I ran down to the local brew store and bought an “Orchard Breezin” and a starter kit and already got it fermenting (I think).

Ok so much for the impulse buy … now I would like to buy another kit or two and a little better quality (glass) items.

Before I pull the trigger on $500 plus order … I’d like to get some feedback on the kits.

My wife and I love drinking the local white wines, living in the Texas Hill Country we are blessed with a dozen or so local wineries. A good Pinot Grigio, or a not so sweet Riesling, or a dry Gewurztraminer is some of our favorites.

I guess I need to start with two questions;

Am I going to get good quality wine from a “kit wine” equal to a $10 - $15 store bought?

Do you have two recommendations on the whites?

Thanks for the feedback and I hope one-day I can return the favor…Rick H

 

[Goodfella]

First off..... WELCOME.


I got into this Hobby (or obsession) less then a year ago. It is a fantastic hobby, with lots of rewards for you, your family, and friends. Anyone who likes wine.


I have tasted some home made wines from kits, and from fruit that are absolutley fantastic. With kits, you really seem to get what ya pay for. As far as quality, If you buy a high end kit (like a Meglioli). It seems expensive at first, But not so bad when you end up with like 27 bottles of premium wine!!!


My advise.....


JUMP IN HEAD FIRST..... it's a great hobby.

 

[Goodfella]

P.S.


I forgot to mention that I have a Meglioli Gewurtz. bulk aging as we speak. I have heard some really good things about it.

 

[vcasey]

For whites wines you will defiantly get a kit that can match most commercial wines. When looking for red wines, all juice kits and kits with grape skins will get an outstanding wine. Also any limited edition kit will be fantastic, but you have to wait to the first of the year for those. A really nice middle of the road kit is Mosti's Renascence Series. Also give George a call tomorrow, he'll get you started in the right direction.
Welcome to the forum.
VC

 

[rhoffart]

Thanks ... yes I want to purchase quality kits, I don't think I'll be bottling or even racking the "Breezin" that is cooking right now ... 6 to 12 months from now I want some good quality wine.






I am enjoying the online videos.

 

[Goodfella]

I would finish the "breezin" if I was you. For the expirience, and it shouldn't be to bad.

 

[smokegrub]

I would encourage you to take a slightly different track. "Play" with a couple of the inexpensive kits first and gain a bit of experience. Definitely finish the kit you have.

 

[rrussell]

My wife is not a big wine drinker, but I made the Wine Expert Yakima Valley Pinot Gris and she is enjoying it very much. I am enjoying it also and I am not a white wine drinker.

 

[RickC]

I echo the WE Yakima Valley Pinot Gris recommendation for a mid levelwhite. I made one about 6 months ago and it is beginning to taste very good. I believe it will get better and is already as good as most $10 commercial Grigio'sthat I have tried. I have been told the Wine Expert Selection Estate New Zealand Sauvinion Blanc is very good but have not tried it yet.

 

[rhoffart]

the thing that tells me to give up on the "Breezin" is the sweetness is rated at: 5 ++


at time of purchase I didn't know this ... the wife and I don't care for sweet wines.


The kits seem to be straight forward ... the common recommendations seem to be "follow the directions" and "do a good job with clean and sanitize step".

 

[vcasey]

I would encourage you to finish the kit you started. You'll get some experience and something to enjoy while the good stuff is getting, well good. Still, call George and he'll guide you to make sure you are happy with the wine. What kit did you buy?
VC

 

[rhoffart]

I would encourage you to finish the kit you started. You'll get some experience and something to enjoy while the good stuff is getting, well good. Still, call George and he'll guide you to make sure you are happy with the wine. What kit did you buy?
VC

It was the Green Apple Gewurztraminer by RJ Spagnols their Orchard Breezin collection.

 

[Jeff D]

The wine is going to ferment dry. I think there will be some kind of sweetener pack to be added after it's done. Just add the sweetener until it fits your taste. If you still don't like there are always the neighbors to experiment on.


Jeff

 

[Brewgrrrl]

Good advice. Also, bottles of this would make great gifts and the holiday season is looming...

 

[vcasey]

Good thought Brewgrrrl! My experience with these type of kits has not been positive. I believe I compared it to cough medicine and the cough medicine won - by a landslide. However, I have had the Green Apple Riesling and it was very good the alcohol level was bumped up to 12% and they added part of the flavor pack to the fermentation and saved the rest for flavoring once the wine was stabilized. Again I think you should finish the kit, actually if its still fermenting you could add sugar to it now to bring the alcohol level up. Others would have to chime in as to how much, but I think its 3-4 lbs.
VC

 

[rhoffart]

Good thought Brewgrrrl! My experience with these type of kits has not been positive. I believe I compared it to cough medicine and the cough medicine won - by a landslide. However, I have had the Green Apple Riesling and it was very good the alcohol level was bumped up to 12% and they added part of the flavor pack to the fermentation and saved the rest for flavoring once the wine was stabilized. Again I think you should finish the kit, actually if its still fermenting you could add sugar to it now to bring the alcohol level up. Others would have to chime in as to how much, but I think its 3-4 lbs.
VC

This got my attention ... I told myself going into this I would not mess with the kits ... obviously I'm not going to get any readings but if someone can give a good guess I would be willing to give this a shot. Are we talking regular table sugar?

 

[vcasey]

Regular table sugar is perfect. I just don't know how much and I've seen anywhere between 7 cups and 3 to 4 lbs. Hopefully someone will chime in soon, I just don't have any experience with this kit style.
VC

 

[Runningwolf]

3-4 pounds would be best. I added five pounds and it was like rocket fuel. We just didn't try it again and drank other wines we have made. Well that was seven months ago and we just tried it again out of the blue and it really mellowed out and tasted fantastic.

 

[wctisue]

We're lucky here in San Antonio to have a company that makes kits wines to sell to the public. A great place to go and sample or buy a bottle of the same kit wines that you can order and ferment at home. Take a look around their store and you'll see lots of wines in various stages of completion.


Wayne


http://water2wine.us/

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<T>
<TR>
<TD style="WIDTH: 245px; TEXT-ALIGN: right" vAlign=top>Park Oaks Shopping Center
16630 San Pedro
San Antonio, Texas 78232
PHONE:210-344-WINE(9463)</TD></TR></T></TABLE>

 

[Bartman]

Like Jeff said, leave out some or all of the sweetener pack, and it won't be nearly as sweet as you may fear. Note that upping the alcohol level by adding sugar for additional fermentation won't directly affect the dryness/sweetness of the wine. The increased alcohol will make it sharper or tarter - a stronger bite.

I just tasted the Blackberry Merlot I made earlier this summer (bottled about a month ago) and it was really sweet - kind of like a strong wine cooler rather than a Merlot wine. Since I generally drink dry reds, that was a little different, but my Mom and I split the cost to see how good/bad it would be. Bottom line, it was not too bad, once you knew what to expect - when chilled it was much better than at 70 degrees.

Bart