Suggestions for kits

[Griffster]

Hey you WineMakingFolks -
Wanted some suggestions. I picked upthree Heron Bay wine kits from my local wine and brew store. They are the 4 week, 8 liter kits.Two are Shiraz andthe other is Cab/Shiraz.They were on sale because the experation date was Nov for one and Dec for the other two. Only paid $50 each.Seemed like a good deal. I contacted Heron Bay and was told their kits are good for 6 months after exp date. Thought I'd get them to play with and learn with.
Was thinking of adding raisins to one(?).Also, read some place Zante Currants (by SunMaid) works well(?). Maybe adding more juice to one(?).Oak chips or wine skins(?). Could I combine two 8 liter kits to make one 16 liter kit batch? Any other suggestions? Want to see if I can increase the body. I'm new to this and not sure how much to add or when to add different stuff to the wine.
Would appreciate any suggestions or comments or thoughts. This is how I'm learning. Really enjoy the Forum.

 

[grapeman]

Well you have a few kits to experiment with. I can't make any specific recommendations for those wines since I have never made a Heron's Bay Kit. I can tell you that the 8 liter kits are made to be early drinking for a reason. They are thin bodied, low alcohol and reduced tannin wines. As a result they are less harsh early on than a good quality kit with more juice. Just doubling the amount of juice in the kit isn't a good idea. They have been balanced for sugar and acidity already to make 23 liters of finished wine. If you double the kits up, the sugars and acids will be too high and the end results unpredictable. Adding the raisins would be a better option. You could also add a couple bottles of the Winexpert concentrates(come in a plastic bottle) to help the body in the wine. Good luck with them. I hope you have fun making them and enjoy them after a bit of aging.

 

[Wade E]

Maybe add some tannin and a better oak. In my opinion, I would have spent that money on 1 really good kit but since you probably dont have much wine in your inventory I fully understand. After these cheaper kits do yourself a favor and do a high end kit to age and try.

 

[Griffster]

Appreciate your feed back. I am planning on buying better kits in the future. I figure, if nothing else, I'll get some education out of these kits and, maybe some ok wine.
How much tannin and oak do you suggest? On one of the kits I'm going to use some raisins - about a pound I guess. What do you think?

 

[Wade E]

1 lb should give you a medium tannin which is about what you would want for 1 of these kits. As far as tannin, 1/4 tsp per gallon is typical but read instructions on your product to verify as concentrations vary from manufacturer sometimes.

 

[Griffster]

Thanks Wade.

 

[joeswine]

GRIFFSTER/// HI GUY,expermenting is a good thing as long as your prepared for the out come ,good or not so good,I think you have the right idea if thats your thinking,theres a lot of help here and good insite,I ,am not one for taking notes,but if your going to do what you want to, I'd keep them for future guidence,I like thing out side the wine box and trick out some of my wines ,just because I can,creating a different taste a finger print thats mine,thats what makes this hobby fun

keep an open mind to all the ideas out there and remember there's more than one way to get to the finished ,listen and apply what you think is more appliable to you,HAVE FUN//////

Edited by: joeswine

 

[Griffster]

Thanks Joe. I do plan on keeping notes as I keep a journal now of wine I've started making. I know also that I'm going to have patience which is going to be the most difficult part. It will be fun and interesting. I'll keep you posted.

 

[joeswine]

PATIENCE IS A VERY HARD ELEMENT TO COME BY WHEN MAKING WINE AND SO IS QUAILITY THEY BOTH COME WITH TRIAL AND ERROR,SO DON'T BE AFRAID OF LOOSEING A LITTLE JUICE EXPLORE,AND HAVE A WINE TIME

 

[geocorn]

I can't remember the last time I had an out of date kit. We have found that kits up to 18 months old will be fine. After that, the results have been mixed. My advice is to never buy a kit more than 18 months old.