Thinkin' about wine

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flyangler18

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I was flipping through the NB catalog with the missus, and the wine kits caught her eye. Thinking about doing a Riesling, as it is one of her favorites.

Like I need encouragement. :D

Any recommendations re: juice kits?
 
I just got their winemaking catalog for the first time, and was thinking of making a wine also. The Selection Speciale Riesling Icewine was a gold medal winner @ 2008 international amateur winemaking competition.
 
The Ice Riesling caught my eye as well - I can see winemaking being an occasional venture, just for special occasions.
 
I LOVE the wine kits! If she's willing to experiment with different ones, that's great.

There are many different price ranges, and in this case, you get what you pay for. I've seen the Winexpert kits as low as $52 or so on sale. I've made quite a few of them, and the wine is ok. Kind of like a $5-$7 bottle, if I had to compare. The thing is, these kits are 4 week kits, so they're quick. They taste as good as they are going to get in about 4 months, and last a year or two without losing quality.

The most expensive kits I've seen are in the $150 range. Those not only have way more juice in them, they include crushed grape skins for the ferment, and usually oak spirals instead of sawdust, for the oaking. These kits are best after at least a year or two, and make a really nice bottle of wine, probably comparable to a $30 bottle. I've made a terriffic tannat/merlot blend with a "crushendo" kit that is going to be great in another year.

There are kits in the middle, too, and those have all been ok as well. The kits all make 6 gallons of wine, which is around 30 bottles.

There are even "Island Mist" kits, which are low ABV wine cooler type kits.

Maybe you can borrow or rent a floor corker from a friend or a LHBS, until you know if this hobby will last. Hand corking is a huge PITA for more than a couple of bottles.

Wine kits are fun, and produce nice table wines.
 
I've tried most of the Riesling kits and the Selection Estate Washington Columbia Valley Riesling is a GREAT kit though it's pricy.... Austin Homebrew has it for $131. I'm planning on doing this one, and when I do I'll use the Wyeast 4783 with a small starter. I'd say it is as good or better than the $25 bottles of reserve Riesling I've had from a few wineries in WA.
 
One thing to remember about Riesling kits is that they tend to ferment to dry. Lots of people like Rieslings to be of the sweeter versions, so you may have to backsweeten, not a big deal, but its another step.
 
One thing to remember about Riesling kits is that they tend to ferment to dry. Lots of people like Rieslings to be of the sweeter versions, so you may have to backsweeten, not a big deal, but its another step.

Can't you just add camden to stop fermentation at the desired gravity?
 
Good tip about them finishing dry. My wife prefers some sweetness over dry crispness.

The kits come with campden and sorbate, so once it's dry, and you stabilize, you can sweeten it if you'd like.

Some kits that are sweeter have an "F pack" with them, which includes some sweetened juice (I think that's what's in them- I don't know for sure!) and the stabilizers so that it doesn't referment.
 
You really don't want to try to stop fermentation with campden/sorbate. You want it to stop on its own, kill the existing yeast, then sweeten back up.

it works better, and is more accurate for hitting desired sweetness.
 
You really don't want to try to stop fermentation with campden/sorbate. You want it to stop on its own, kill the existing yeast, then sweeten back up.

it works better, and is more accurate for hitting desired sweetness.

How does one "kill the existing yeast"?
 
campden is the common method. I think malkore is suggesting it's more controllable to let the fermentation peter out and then back-sweeten.

Well, campden doesn't kill yeast. In fact, wine yeast strains are very tolerant of sulfites, that's why they are used in wine.

What you can do is let fermentation finish. Then, use campden and potassium sorbate (both!) in the finished wine. Neither kill yeast, but sorbate inhibits yeast reproduction, so they aren't dead but can't reproduce to cause refermentation. Sorbate works best in the presence of campden (sulfites), so they are used together (plus it prevents a geranium odor in possible malolactic fermentation in susceptible wines, which is a different story). Anyway, neither chemical actually kills yeast but it is pretty effective in keeping fermentation from restarting when sweetening is added.

You add the stabilizers to a new carboy and rack the wine into it. Then, you wait about three days and then sweeten the wine. Wait a couple more days, to ensure fermentation didn't restart, and then you can bottle.
 
good to know. I thought that campden kills all kinds of microbes while it is active, but leaves behind nothing that kills yeast after the sulfur dioxide subsides. good thing I haven't tried using it like that!
 
I'd completely forgotten about this thread, and I'm afraid that I haven't a single update. I never managed to get a batch going, although it's been a topic of conversation again.

My wife sampled the excellent raspberry melomel that Firebrewer has in process, and I'm now on the hook to produce one. :D
 
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