Wines I can drink young and aged.

[Yoshi]

Howdy! Been brewing beer for a bit and would now like to start making wine. Being used to a quick turn around with beer, I know it'll be tough to transition to the long wait of drinking good wine. So, I was wondering what wines I can make that can be drank young and also let alone for a few years to mature?

An initial guess would be: beaujolais, chianti, pinot noir, gruner, riesling... What else would you suggest? We know the standard varieties, but would be interested in others to.

Thanks

 

[bkisel]

Hi Yoshi,

I sugest you start with a kit with about a 10L concentrate (e.g. https://www.rjscraftwinemaking.com/grand-cru/ or https://www.rjscraftwinemaking.com/grand-cru/. These kits will be halfway decent in a few months and most, the reds in particular, will improve nicely with more aging.

.... or ....

A an easy to do fruit wine like Daragon's Blood. Ref: http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41825&highlight=dragons+blood.

Good Luck!

 

[Johnd]

Howdy! Been brewing beer for a bit and would now like to start making wine. Being used to a quick turn around with beer, I know it'll be tough to transition to the long wait of drinking good wine. So, I was wondering what wines I can make that can be drank young and also let alone for a few years to mature?

An initial guess would be: beaujolais, chianti, pinot noir, gruner, riesling... What else would you suggest? We know the standard varieties, but would be interested in others to.

Thanks

I have done the Gamay (Beaujolais) kit, it improved a little after a few months, but doesn't improve much beyond that, at least not for my taste. If you buy a nice Pinot, aging is probably in order. Try some of the lower end kits as your early drinkers, and do some of the uppers for aging.

 

[Yoshi]

Thanks Bill and John! After your replies I did some searching... How does RJS compare to Vintners Reserves or World Vinegar (Wine Expert)? Basically the same?

 

[Jc5066]

If you like sweet wine; Winexpert Island Mist kits are pretty good, and are ready to drink in 4-6 weeks.

 

[Yoshi]

If you like sweet wine; Winexpert Island Mist kits are pretty good, and are ready to drink in 4-6 weeks.

Like wine cooler sweet? Maybe give it a try if I can get a smaller batch. Are all set wines quick drinkers? I remember a colleague of mine talking about a chocolate raspberry wine one that didn't take to long.

 

[the_rayway]

I only do the Mist style wines with the girl's co-op these days. If you're a red drinker, I'd go with a cheaper cheeky Monkey kit ($65ish here in Canada), and drink that while you wait on a more high-end kit.

You could do a low alcohol melomel/skeeter pee/ fruit wine as well. They will likely smooth out quickly if you want something quick. I'd definitely second the suggestion of a dragon's blood or variant.

 

[Johnd]

Thanks Bill and John! After your replies I did some searching... How does RJS compare to Vintners Reserves or World Vinegar (Wine Expert)? Basically the same?

Yoshi:

I can't point you to it from memory, but someone recently provided a listing of every major manufacturer and the lines they sell ranked from highest to lowest quality. It would be a good place to start looking as you compare pricing for your kits. In general, the more water you have to add, the lower the quality, as they contain a lot more concentrate than pure juice. That's not a 100% rule, but generally true, there are exceptions.

If you find something you think you might like, do a search for it in the kit forum and see if there are already threads / posts about it. If not, start a thread and ask about it, someone has probably done it.

 

[vernsgal]

My vote for early drinker would be RJS grand cru as well.As for an ager if you like bold reds I would vote RJS super Tuscan.It's now EnPrimeur winery series but I'm sure it's about the same.

 

[heatherd]

Dragon's Blood and Skeeter Pee are recipes on the forum. They are fruit wines that are excellent for quick drinking.

Island Mist kits are typically things like cranberry Malbec or lemon sauvignon blanc. They tend to be sweet. They are designed for early drinking. You can age them but it's not necessarily their purpose.

My suggestion would be to make two kits at once. One an early drinker and the other an ager. Make them according to instructions but store the ager for a year. If you keep doing that, two kits at once, you'll build your stock quicker and have stuff to drink right away.

 

[NorCal]

I did a batch of skeeter and dragons blood to start my winemaking education. Low cost and very early drinker. Good time to start a batch to get ready for summer.

 

[Yoshi]

Thanks all! I like the double fermentation idea... I have two Fast Ferments that I used for beer and will be converting to wine duty since I've gone to 1 gallon batches for the hoppier drinks. I'll do the Dragon's Blood in a regular fermented while the others age. Thanks again.