Donna, welcome to the board, I'm just the opposite, I've never made wine from a kit although I have one in the box waiting to be opened now to see what the difference is. There are alot of different ways to go with fresh juice, some companies adjust the acid etc before shipping. If not kept cold enough it may have started fermenting with the natural yeast (which happens to be the way the store owner I get mine recommends) I've done it both ways as far as the yeast goes. You can adjust the acid, add tannins etc it's all up to you. I've never used MLF bacteria like Solstice recommends and I still get a good wine but he has struck my curiosity for my following batches (unfortunately I have 36 gallons going now without it and my wine bunker is full). I believe Regina adjusts their products and Lodi Gold does not but dont hold me to that, go to their sites. I definately would bulk age way more then 4 months before bottling, I rack and age for a year, this way I'm always working on next years wine while drinking this years. Good luck and keep us posted, Ken