Wine kits on sale

[Jim Welch]

Anyone measure the SG bump ya get from a bag (or 2) of grape skins? I did Not...with my recent Forte Bordeaux. :-/

I have on every single FWK (about 16 reds w/skins iirc) and have seen zero increase in gravity in every one. I’ve noticed the skins are “dry” compared to other kit’s skin packs which do increase must gravity. Not complaining even one iota, just relating my experience.

Edit: correct the autocorrect!!!

 

[Gilmango]

Label Peelers has FW Tavola kits on sale for 35% off.

Big fan of FWK and Label Peelers. Just to clarify a little, the Tavola FWKs are currently on sale for 35% off the MSRP/Retail prices. But normally the Tavola FWKs, just like the Forte FWKs and their fruit FWKs are 25% off the MSRP/Retail. So the sale on Tavola's is a great deal, but it is only 10% more savings off the MSRP than usual. Not complaining at all, but just clarifying the magnitude of the sale.

The most expensive Tavola kits show an MSRP/Retail of $139.99. But they are only sold by LP and LP discounts every kit they sell (thankfully), so they have never sold at that Retail price. Normally they sell for 25% off (which is how all the Forte and Fruit FWKs are discounted), $102.74, but now at 35% off they are $89.04. The cheaper Tavolas MSRP is $127.99, normally sold at $95.99 (25% off), now $83.19 (35% off sale). Great prices whether 25 or 35% off.

As someone who posts in the popular Post a Meme thread here on WMT, I appreciated this too in the email announcing they were discounting beer kits 35% off as well:


With the Forte kit vs. Tavola you get the two skins packs, the seed pack, the two muslin sacks to keep those separated, extra oak cubes for secondary (1 or 1.5 oz I think), and a more concentrated concentrate. Both the Forte (listed at 13.5-14 ABV) and Tavola (listed at 12-13 ABV) seem to regularly over deliver on promised ABV, but I do find the Forte to go higher, so much so that I was able to water down the Forte Zin I'm making, in order to target 13.5%, and as a result should get over 6 gallons into the secondary (as I have 6.5 in the primary).

 

[Vlabruz]

How long will these kits stay refrigerated for?

 

[Jim Welch]

How long will these kits stay refrigerated for?

I’ve kept the juice bladders in a rarely opened fridge for over 4 weeks with no apparent change, I.e. swelling, with the skin packs in the freezer. This fridge remains at 32-34 F since one, I’ve set it low and two, it has is a spare fridge and is rarely opened.

 

[Vlabruz]

I’ve kept the juice bladders in a rarely opened fridge for over 4 weeks with no apparent change, I.e. swelling, with the skin packs in the freezer. This fridge remains at 32-34 F since one, I’ve set it low and two, it has is a spare fridge and is rarely opened.

I just emailed labelpeelers, they said in the fridge for a few months and freezer for a year at -10 or better.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I just emailed labelpeelers, they said in the fridge for a few months and freezer for a year at -10 or better.

Not many home freezers can sustain-10

 

[Vlabruz]

Not many home freezers can sustain-10

Unless its Celsius maybe

 

[winemaker81]

I just ordered a Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Noir (no skin packs). Looking forward to them!

 

[Vlabruz]

I just ordered a Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Noir (no skin packs). Looking forward to them!

I want to order the super tuscan. Not sure if I should get skins or not. Im assuming, based on everyone's input that even with out skins they will blow away a winexpert classic cabernet kit?

 

[winemaker81]

I want to order the super tuscan. Not sure if I should get skins or not. Im assuming, based on everyone's input that even with out skins they will blow away a winexpert classic cabernet kit?

The Super Tuscan will blow your mind. Regarding skin packs, it depends on what you want the wine to be.

We need another quick drinker. Last August I purchased a Tavola Barbera without skin packs and aged with 1 oz oak cubes. I bottled it in January and at this point, it's very good. I ordered the Pinot Noir without skin packs for the same reason.

We have 16+ cases of grape wines from 2019 and 2020 -- the 2019 is getting good, and the 2020 is just bottled. We have 6 FWK Forte kits in barrels now, which will be bottled next November-ish. We have lot of longer aging wine and need something to drink while these are aging.

BTW -- my son & I topped barrels tonight, and we follow a very strict quality control protocol (AKA "sampling the barrels") -- the Super Tuscan and our home-built Rhone blend (Syrah, Petite Sirah, & Merlot kits) are both VERY good at the 4 month mark. They are honestly drinkable at this point, although they will be outstanding in 2 years.

So ... depending on what you want the Super Tuscan to be, get 0, 1, or 2 skin packs.

 

[Vlabruz]

The Super Tuscan will blow your mind. Regarding skin packs, it depends on what you want the wine to be.

We need another quick drinker. Last August I purchased a Tavola Barbera without skin packs and aged with 1 oz oak cubes. I bottled it in January and at this point, it's very good. I ordered the Pinot Noir without skin packs for the same reason.

We have 16+ cases of grape wines from 2019 and 2020 -- the 2019 is getting good, and the 2020 is just bottled. We have 6 FWK Forte kits in barrels now, which will be bottled next November-ish. We have lot of longer aging wine and need something to drink while these are aging.

BTW -- my son & I topped barrels tonight, and we follow a very strict quality control protocol (AKA "sampling the barrels") -- the Super Tuscan and our home-built Rhone blend (Syrah, Petite Sirah, & Merlot kits) are both VERY good at the 4 month mark. They are honestly drinkable at this point, although they will be outstanding in 2 years.

So ... depending on what you want the Super Tuscan to be, get 0, 1, or 2 skin packs.

When you say 4 months, does that include from day 1 or after fermentation?

 

[winemaker81]

When you say 4 months, does that include from day 1 or after fermentation?

Day 1. Crazy, huh?

The Forte kits were not made according to instructions, as I made triple batches and had no way to seal the Brutes I used. So no EM. Next time I do this, I intend to get a couple more primary fermenters so I can ferment them individually and do the 2 week EM.

That said, we're highly pleased so far.

 

[Rocky]

When you say 4 months, does that include from day 1 or after fermentation?

I usually count from the date of stabilization, i.e., when I add the first dose of K-meta. In any case, it is only a difference of 10 to 14 days.

 

[jgmann67]

Got my second Petite Sirah yesterday and prepped to drop the yeast tonight. New packaging (shorter box, soft cooler bag for the juice and skins instead of the styrofoam) was a surprise. Looks and smell perfect.

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

The soft shell cooler bag will be a welcomed change on the West Coast for sure! Styrofoam is banned in most of the major markets out here (it's considered EVIL! And evidently kills all the animals or something, Lol ). FWK is evolving and setting a gold standard for their industry imo.I think it's great that they always look to improve their products.

 

[jgmann67]

The soft shell cooler bag will be a welcomed change on the West Coast for sure! Styrofoam is banned in most of the major markets out here (it's considered EVIL! And evidently kills all the animals or something, Lol ). FWK is evolving and setting a gold standard for their industry imo.I think it's great that they always look to improve their products.

i think it’s probably that it’s winter time and they switched to the soft bag because the ULine Boxes are expensive. But sure… save the truffula trees. Or whatever.

 

[Brant]

Day 1. Crazy, huh?

The Forte kits were not made according to instructions, as I made triple batches and had no way to seal the Brutes I used. So no EM. Next time I do this, I intend to get a couple more primary fermenters so I can ferment them individually and do the 2 week EM.

That said, we're highly pleased so far.

Bryan,
You've been very helpful in the past so I was hoping you might give a explanation on the 2 week EM process and how you do it exactly. I'm trying to get a better understanding of EM, the benefits and how to incorporate it into a future FWK. If you would be kind enough to breakdown in some detail how you modify the primary/secondary processes, this would be very helpful!

 

[Vlabruz]

The soft shell cooler bag will be a welcomed change on the West Coast for sure! Styrofoam is banned in most of the major markets out here (it's considered EVIL! And evidently kills all the animals or something, Lol ). FWK is evolving and setting a gold standard for their industry imo.I think it's great that they always look to improve

Bryan,
You've been very helpful in the past so I was hoping you might give a explanation on the 2 week EM process and how you do it exactly. I'm trying to get a better understanding of EM, the benefits and how to incorporate it into a future FWK. If you would be kind enough to breakdown in some detail how you modify the primary/secondary processes, this would be very helpful!

Whats EM?

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

Whats EM?

Extended Maceration- once fermented to dry, you then leave the skins and wine in the primary for an extended amount of time, usually another 2-8 weeks

 

[Brant]

Whats EM?

Extended maceration. There are plenty of discussions about it on here but my understanding of it is very limited. I'd rather follow someone's tried and true recipe rather than experimenting on a $150 kit and waiting a year to find out that it didn't get the results I intended.