My wine is coming!

[Cheesefood]

I just got an e-mail that the Limited Edition Spanish Tempranillo/ Cabernet
Sauvignon wine kit I ordered is finally going to arrive. Woo hoo! My first wine is on its way. I might need to piggy-back another wine onto this one so that I have a quick-drinker, since this one needs 1-2 years.

 

[Yooper]

Oh, I'm jealous. I would LOVE to try that kit. If I'm still around here in a couple of years, let me know how it turns out! I heard that the Island Mist kits are quick drinkers, FWIW.

I'm hoping to try an amarone kit this fall. I love big red wines and I have enough other "stuff" stocked up now to wait before opening.

 

[Evan!]

Just curious: how exactly does a wine "kit" work? Do you get actual spanish tempranillo & cab juice, and all you do is add yeast and possibly oak cubes?

 

[NYeric]

I heard that the Island Mist kits are quick drinkers, FWIW.

The Island Mists are bottle ready in four weeks, and require NO aging can be drinking it the day you bottle.

Of course they are considered a "Wine Based" Drink...I am going to make them my wife loves wine coolers. I may even try and carb some

 

[NYeric]

Just curious: how exactly does a wine "kit" work? Do you get actual spanish tempranillo & cab juice, and all you do is add yeast and possibly oak cubes?

The Kit has the juice. You add oak (some of it is toasted) and you will need some water, possibly up to three gallons. The kit also contains finishing agents, and some other stuff based on what kind of kit

 

[Evan!]

Hmmm...weird! So it's essentially hamburger helper?

 

[NYeric]

Hmmm...weird! So it's essentially hamburger helper?

I guess you could say that....but It saves you from pressing grapes, which is a step that I am not convinced makes better wine

 

[Yooper]

And it comes with all the additives and stuff you need, like clearing agents, etc.

The neat thing about a kit is that it's done to be perfect with very little variables. If you use the kit as directed, adding the "extras" as instructed, etc. , you get a very good wine. The only thing I've heard is that kit wines can be a bugger to degas. When the degassing time comes, some people use a mityvac to suck the co2 out, or a flattened (sanitized) dowel on a drill. Otherwise, I've never heard anything negative at all about them.

 

[rdwj]

Hmmm...weird! So it's essentially hamburger helper?

Funny you say that. I just started drinking my 1st kit and it honestly doesn't feel like I 'made' anything. With extract beer kits, you still have boil and all sorts of process stuff to do, but wine is - add juice - add water - add yeast - add finishing stuff - wait - bottle.

On the plus side, it is REALLY good and doesn't give you a headache. All in all, not bad!

 

[NYeric]

On the plus side, it is REALLY good and doesn't give you a headache. All in all, not bad!

Not to mention the money saved. You can put a decent wine together for a couple dollars a bottle

 

[Cheesefood]

Not to mention the money saved. You can put a decent wine together for a couple dollars a bottle

Yeah, I think my kit came to about $100. Considering that's about 25 bottles of wine, I'm getting a bottle for $3-$4.

Do I have to buy my own yeast, or is it included?

 

[Yooper]

I think they include the yeast in those kits- I'm not 100% sure, though.

I think another reason these kits are better than the fresh grape juice you can buy from wineshops is the ease- they already have the acid (TA) checked and balanced with the right amount of tartaric/malic/citric acids so you don't have to worry about TA and ph at all.

I'm going to have to find out how this comes out, Cheese. I'm looking for an excuse to pursuade my husband that we need to invest in a good kit like this. He's telling me that he only wants wine out of things we grow and/or harvest.

 

[Cheesefood]

I'm going to have to find out how this comes out, Cheese. I'm looking for an excuse to pursuade my husband that we need to invest in a good kit like this. He's telling me that he only wants wine out of things we grow and/or harvest.

So how come you're not planting some vines?

 

[NYeric]

Yeah, I think my kit came to about $100. Considering that's about 25 bottles of wine, I'm getting a bottle for $3-$4.

Do I have to buy my own yeast, or is it included?

Everything you need should be in there, except the water. You will probably need 2-1/2 gal or so. Use bottled water not tap.

You should come close to 30 bottles for a six gallon kit.

 

[rdwj]

Everything you need should be in there, except the water. You will probably need 2-1/2 gal or so. Use bottled water not tap.

You should come close to 30 bottles for a six gallon kit.

I used tap and it turned out just fine.

 

[NYeric]

I used tap and it turned out just fine.

You must have some good water. I have been told that wine is not as forgiving as beer.

 

[rdwj]

You must have some good water. I have been told that wine is not as forgiving as beer.

In general, I think Chicago water is pretty good.

 

[Cheesefood]

In general, I think Chicago water is pretty good.

We get Lake Michigan water, so it has far less natural "flavor". Good blend of minerals in it.

 

[NYeric]

I am on a well. I am not sure if I should risk it. I do drink it though. I have a water purification system, and have some salt in my water...so I am not sure what effect it would have.

 

[Yooper]

I don't know about well water either. I always use tap water for everything- beer, wine, mead, etc. Never a problem at all.

I've planted three grape vines. At this rate, I can make one batch of wine in about 20 years. But the rhubarb is coming up and that's definitely my favorite. Tastes like pinot grigio.

 

[HomerT]

I figure this is as good a place as any for this post. I have been doing beer for about two years or so. My wife and I also enjoy wine quite abit, especially with certain meals. This wine fascination was sealed a few years ago, when we toured some vineyards in Tuscany. We really learned alot and grew a fond appreciation for the Italian "Big Reds" like Barolo, Brunello Di Montalcino, Barbaresco, etc....

Anyway, my B-day is this week and my wife's parents asked her what to get me as a gift. She took me to may favorite local brew supply (Can'N'Cork for my fellow Michiganders) and bought the extras I need for wine (6-gal carboy, 7.9g primary, degasser, etc.) , some bottles/corks and my first kit.

Given our love for the Italians, I picked the Selection International Series: Barbaresco. I plan on pitching it tonight. As someone else said, very simple compared to "kit" beers. But, none the less I am pretty geeked about it.

-Todd