Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[Gilmango]

Yesterday I bottled my Spanish Cabernet
Did a tasting I’m impressed, of course I added my enhancements, grape kin pack , tannins in the primary and oak and tannins in the secondary , great structure and it’s young .
Oh well we’ ll move on to the ne t one

Thanks for the update Joe! Could you taste the other grape varietal in there, the Bobal? I'd really like to make a Bobal wine but am on the fence with this one as it sounds like the Cabernet might dominate the less tannic Bobal.

https://winefolly.com/grapes/bobal/ This under-the-radar grape happens to be the 3rd most planted red wine in Spain. Wines are loved for their fruity flavors, soft tannins, and velvety finish.

https://www.simplyspanishwine.com/blogs/spanish-wine-grapes/bobal In terms of flavours, well you can expect lots of fruit flavours like raspberry and cherry, but you might also pick up some floral elements like violets, or perhaps sometimes even a touch of chocolate. Bobal grapes produce beautiful, rounded red wines with plenty of flavour, but not too heavy.

 

[joeswine]

That’s for the info, traveled to Spain and some of the wineries are still old school

 

[joeswine]

With these additions makes a difference

That’s for the info, traveled to Spain and some of the wineries are still old school

 

[joeswine]

Well heres why I do .
Primarily fermentation in buckets then just short of finishing I transfer to 6 gallon carboys even if it has head space .2 weeks there to help settle out and finish fermentation .
Now here’s the trick.
After 2weeks you can either add your clearing chemistry or transfer to the proper size carboy .
Or wait 2 more weeks and bottle to be sure .
Always let your hydrometer be your guide, it’s not rocket science have fun with this craft. I use nitrogen as a cap also.

 

[joeswine]

old world Spanish winery amazing how tall these tanks were.

 

[joeswine]

591k not bad for a cellar dweller thread??

 

[Kev6]

I just started an amarone style kit from Argentia Coast (Costco). It's a 14l juice concentrate for a 6gal yield. I had a 128g dry grapeskin pack that had lost vacuum. I put that in a muslin bag, 8oz Zante currants and the 90g oak blend that was included in the kit also in bags. I soaked all in 1 gal water with 1 camden tab. Just wasn't sure about the grapeskin. I made a yeast starter with RedStar premier rouge. I'll reserve the ec1118 for the end of fermentation if needed. Day 2 bentonite per kit. Combined juice pack, my oak/skin tea, 1tbs tannin and water to 6gal. I know "thin" but I'm believing the skins and currants will make a difference. Sg 1.090 ph 3.35. Chaptalized to 1.100 and dropped the yeast. I plan on fermk in a couple of days and syrup feeding to bring the total brix to 26, 14+ abv.
Anything I'm missing or should do differently?

 

[joeswine]

A bit like chemistry 1,01, .
I wouldn’t have used a grape skin current sound good I was going to use the graves it’s been a new package I would not need you don’t know mold has gotten.
The secondary I would add and cannons again likely take a really appreciate it should be around 3.5 to 4 .
Try not to overthink once you’re done secondary is done



Can you

 

[wineview]

I’m going to make a DB in a few weeks using frozen fruit packages containing blueberries strawberries and cherries. Would adding a box of raisins add any value or throw off the flavor balance. I’ve never used raisins in any wine before.
Also, has anyone made DB exclusively using frozen blueberries?

 

[joeswine]

I’m going to make a DB in a few weeks using frozen fruit packages containing blueberries strawberries and cherries. Would adding a box of raisins add any value or throw off the flavor balance. I’ve never used raisins in any wine before.
Also, has anyone made DB exclusively using frozen blueberries?

What does DB STAnd FOR

 

[wineview]

What does DB STAnd FOR

Dragons Blood

 

[Jovimaple]

I’m going to make a DB in a few weeks using frozen fruit packages containing blueberries strawberries and cherries. Would adding a box of raisins add any value or throw off the flavor balance. I’ve never used raisins in any wine before.
Also, has anyone made DB exclusively using frozen blueberries?

I can't answer your question about the flavor profile being affected by the raisins, but they will raise the SG so you may want to mix all of it together with the lemon juice and water, let it sit for a few hours, then measure the SG to see how much additional sugar to add to reach your target starting SG so you don't overshoot your target ABV.

I have not done a DB with frozen blueberries, but I have done a strawberry and a raspberry DB. The raspberry was my favorite- the lemon really made the raspberry flavor pop! I still have a bottle or two of that left from 2021 and it has really smoothed out. It was much better than my pure raspberry batch I did, although THAT batch was my very first batch of wine and I made a few mistakes, like topping off with water, that definitely made the final product just mediocre and flabby.

I made a DB from Costco Kirkland frozen blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry mix. I didn't care for it at first, but I still had a couple bottles a year later and they were wonderfully smooth and delicious! I know SP and DB are designed to be quick drinkers but if you can hide a few bottles for a year or so, it's worth it!

 

[joeswine]

Dragons Bloodnever got into that

 

[wineview]

For the record. I didn’t say “never got into it”. Somehow it looks like that on this post.

 

[joeswine]

Curious about that Bobal / Cabernet limited edition wine from WE, sort of wish it was single varietal Bobal as that is so rare. Have you sampled it yet and, if so, what are your impressions?

 

[joeswine]

I’m waiting till the end of April then I’ll taste it needs time to blossom at least thss mybplan