Orchard Breezin' Blueberry Shiraz

Just picked this kit up for half price. I couldn't pass it up for $30. Just wondering if anyone has any experiences with this kit or any Orchard Breezin' kits in general. I am expecting a sweet low abv wine. Prolly gonna add a little dextrose to kick it up a percent or two.

Keep us updated on how it turns out. I'm looking at a couple of those Orchard Breezin' kits and Island Mist kits, trying to figure out what to buy.

I have done a few Island Mist kits in the past. They actually turned out great. I make these for the SWMBO while she is waiting for the good stuff to age properly. These wines only take about a month in the primary before you can bottle. As long as you follow the directions EXACTLY how they are written, everything will turn out fantastic.

So far I have made the Cranberry Chianti and the Orange Seville Orange Sangria and both have turned out great! These only come out to be around 5% alcohol by volume but I think they are worth it. Like rsmith said follow the directions. One thing I like to do is keep it in the carboy a little longer because after you add the fruit some fermentation takes place. With my Chianti I had one or two bottles that had wine start to seep through the cork so for the sangria I left it in the carboy for a month and have had no problems with the Sangria.

Thanks for all the responses. After its all fermented out I am gonna taste test a little and try to fortify it with something tastless(vodka/everclear). I guess it all depends on how fruity/sugary it is. Guess we will find out in a month!

I make these for the wife all the time and add 3 1/2 lbs of sugar to it up front to up the abv to around 10% It balances nicely with the sweetness of these and gives a little better shelf life also. It will void the warranty on these kits though and make it take a little longer to ferment out the extra sg but in the end its better.

Wade E said:

I make these for the wife all the time and add 3 1/2 lbs of sugar to it up front to up the abv to around 10% It balances nicely with the sweetness of these and gives a little better shelf life also. It will void the warranty on these kits though and make it take a little longer to ferment out the extra sg but in the end its better.

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That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I was gonna fortify so the fermentation was guaranteed to go smoothly but if you have proven it can be done then I think that's what I am gonna do.

I run the forum for the sister site of this one and lots of people do this!
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/

Wade E said:

I run the forum for the sister site of this one and lots of people do this!
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/

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THANKS!

I have been there before but I could never remember the name. I tried googleing everything from winebrewtalk to winehomebrew to whatever.....lol. I even think I am registered there