Recent content by calmingapple

Not sure if anyone wants or cares for an update but the Paklab Onyx Pinot Noir kit was a real winner. My dad just called to tell me it was my best wine to date and rivals a more expensive brand we were ordering with a local homebrew shop. Friends & family have asked for more bottles...

Well I followed instructions and I added half the F pack along with the sulphite/stabilizer. I will use the other half for a blackberry wine I hope to make soon. So far it's quite good. I expected the flavor to taste extremely fake and overly sweet but I got the wildberry chianti and it's the...

Thanks for the replies. I decided to with-hold half of the F pack and let it clear for 5 days. Took a taste and it is perfect. I think adding the entire thing would have made it way too sweet for my liking (or family's liking). And it gave a touch of body to an otherwise VERY thin wine. Next...

Isn't the F-pack made of non-fermentable sugar and potassium sorbate? I could be wrong, I just read somewhere it was (back of box does not list all ingredients). I made this to the 5 gallon mark. I heard to reduce the water but did not heard 3 gallons being recommended. Good to know though for...

Bump. Anyone? I was thinking of storing the F-pack liquid in an air-tight container and use it only a bit at a time. They give you a lot of liquid in the packs, so it would be nice if I could make it stretch and use it when I come across kits needing more fruit flavor.

I hope nobody minds my two cents. I am a fan of oaks in the deep red wines now (from a lot of taste testing haha) and so far I am quite happy with adding 30 grams of oak cubes in 5 gallons of red wine. I find, so far, that is does not over power but is there enough to add complexity. 60 grams...

Hi! I am looking for advice from those who have experience with the Cornucopia Fruit packs or packs in general and if I should only use half of the pack to start? Myself and family enjoy wine dry for the most part with a touch of sweetness. This is my first Cornucopia kit intended for a...

I am making a Cornucopia fruit kit right now. It is called Wildberry Chianti (a sweet red) to be specific. If you are in the States, check Amazon.com for it. You might like the sounds of it :-) Keep us posted!

Haha! Good try ;-) I would love to ship you a bottle but I am in Canada. It would cost me the equivalent of a nice bottle of merlot to send to you ;) Too bad we weren't closer to one another! Yes I think it was caused by the daiquiri mix. It just just one gallon and was meant for...

As per another individual's advice I cold crashed this (it's only one gallon and fit nicely in the fridge) and whatever it was, it dropped nicely to the bottom. Though this wine never clarified the way the others did (after clarifying agents were added). I am beginning to think it was...

So I posted awhile back about doing a Zinfandel wine kit. I made the kit according to directions (never failed me yet) and kept up to snuff with extremely good sanitizing practices (what I do is probably overkill even, so this is why I am reluctant to call this an infection, but it is weird...

Sorry to interrupt this thread. Humangarbage, I tried to send you a direct message via the forums but it stated you either had that feature turned off or something was askew. Just noticed you were in the same hometown as me (Surrey. Was looking at the Canadian homebrew subsection). Anyway...

Ah! This makes sense. Too much K-Meta dumped into your batch and floating unmixed will definitely produce a foul taste in the wine. Good point.

Hello! I love meeting people who are new to kit wines because I am only on my 4th or 5th kit but really having fun and already learned a lot. So I am going to take a stab at this and guess that you bought a two-in-one Paklab kit? Merlot and Malbec you say? I have exclusively made Paklab...

Texconsinite is right. If you just want to get started and get a decent 'kick' from it then skeeterpee will be a good place to start. I started out by making a basic apple wine. Bought myself a gallon of 100% apple juice (check the label to ensure it is pure juice). Follow one of Yooper's...