Windchill
Junior
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2012
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 0
Greetings Everyone!
First post here but have been reading for a little over a month now.
Bought my wife the Vinters Deluxe Wine Making Equipment Kit and a Vinters Reserve (Vignoble Du Monde) Collection Sangiovese Italien Wine Kit for her birthday at the end of November. I also bought her a booked called The Joy Of Home Winemaking by Terry Garey.
I'm glad I bought the book because it deals mostly with fruit wines and gave me some basics to look for as I was using the kit. I still cant stop from flipping pages and deciding what to do next. I also found WineMakingTalk real useful for some research too. So Gratz community!
Its the little things like understanding how to back sweeten that paid off for a wine making noob like me.
Wine Kit Summary
The instructions were very clear after reading my winemaking book on terminology and equipment so I had no problem with that.
Took about 30 days to get it bottled from my start date. Living in Michigan made some cooler temperatures in the basement so I think fermentation dragged out a day or two but in general the dates for the instructions were right on the money. Basement is 62F - 65F I'd say.
Bottle two solid cases and an assortment of other 1L bottles and 1/2 gallon jug I had laying around. Yield was as expected.
I back sweetened it to what I'd say is a semi-sweet level and overall at this point I'd say the wine has a smooth flavor without too much bite. Hints of the oak chips from the kit with a slight sweetness. For my first wine ever I'm very happy with it.
Note: The wine kit came with all chemicals bags nicely labeled and sealed. Yeast, Oak Chips, Instructions and Juice.
Wine Log Specifics
06 Dec 2011
- Santized equipment and started following directions
- Added juice and oak chips
- SG 1.078
- Added Premier Cuvee yeast (Did not stir)
- Filled to 6 Gallons
11 Dec 2011 - SG 1.022
12 Dec 2011 - SG 1.016
13 Dec 2011
- SG 1.009
- Racked Wine
21 Dec 2011 - SG .988 (Was busy and dropped Off REAL fast)
22 Dec 2011
- Added Stabilizer
23 Dec 2012
- Back sweetened 2.5 Cups sugar + 2 Cups Water
- Seemed amazingly dry before sweetening
- SG Unknown - Missed writing it in the notebook
- Sweetened to taste
- Mixed (Degassed)
6 Jan 2012
- Bottled
First post here but have been reading for a little over a month now.
Bought my wife the Vinters Deluxe Wine Making Equipment Kit and a Vinters Reserve (Vignoble Du Monde) Collection Sangiovese Italien Wine Kit for her birthday at the end of November. I also bought her a booked called The Joy Of Home Winemaking by Terry Garey.
I'm glad I bought the book because it deals mostly with fruit wines and gave me some basics to look for as I was using the kit. I still cant stop from flipping pages and deciding what to do next. I also found WineMakingTalk real useful for some research too. So Gratz community!
Its the little things like understanding how to back sweeten that paid off for a wine making noob like me.
Wine Kit Summary
The instructions were very clear after reading my winemaking book on terminology and equipment so I had no problem with that.
Took about 30 days to get it bottled from my start date. Living in Michigan made some cooler temperatures in the basement so I think fermentation dragged out a day or two but in general the dates for the instructions were right on the money. Basement is 62F - 65F I'd say.
Bottle two solid cases and an assortment of other 1L bottles and 1/2 gallon jug I had laying around. Yield was as expected.
I back sweetened it to what I'd say is a semi-sweet level and overall at this point I'd say the wine has a smooth flavor without too much bite. Hints of the oak chips from the kit with a slight sweetness. For my first wine ever I'm very happy with it.
Note: The wine kit came with all chemicals bags nicely labeled and sealed. Yeast, Oak Chips, Instructions and Juice.
Wine Log Specifics
06 Dec 2011
- Santized equipment and started following directions
- Added juice and oak chips
- SG 1.078
- Added Premier Cuvee yeast (Did not stir)
- Filled to 6 Gallons
11 Dec 2011 - SG 1.022
12 Dec 2011 - SG 1.016
13 Dec 2011
- SG 1.009
- Racked Wine
21 Dec 2011 - SG .988 (Was busy and dropped Off REAL fast)
22 Dec 2011
- Added Stabilizer
23 Dec 2012
- Back sweetened 2.5 Cups sugar + 2 Cups Water
- Seemed amazingly dry before sweetening
- SG Unknown - Missed writing it in the notebook
- Sweetened to taste
- Mixed (Degassed)
6 Jan 2012
- Bottled