Thanks for the video. You inspired me to buy a French Cabernet/Merlot kit that comes with skins. My very first vintage of home-grown white grapes (Ortega, Auxerrois, and Gewürztraminer) is now in the carboy, so the fermenter bucket is free. I appreciate all of the work that goes into your videos. The information is incredibly helpful to a newbie like me. And, I like your low-key approach. Cheers! ~Mike
I don’t make kits but I watched this anyway just to see how you do it. The annual wine competition I participate in let’s kits compete directly with wine made from grapes, I have noticed that kits are competing better than they used to. You have inspired me to get down to the cellar and rack my Port base wine and begin fining my whites! Klaus
Thanks for all your videos! They are such as great resource for someone like me who is just exploring winemaking. Your explanations are right on and easy to understand. Like that you provide options and alternative ideas.
If the ageing is to be planned to be circa 4 months, would it be feasible to add store bought grape juice rather than wine at the start of fermentation? I admire the way you use a kit as a practical teaching tool to expand my beginner’s horizon - very clever and effective, ta.
Love your Channel! One thing with Premium wine kits, they seem to be powerhouses if you make them at 6 gallons. My last two I made came in at over 25 Brix with the skins added. Also I differ in that I always use the mesh bag. The reason is if I leave the skins loose there is so much trub I end up losing over a gallon of wine. Kits in general lack the tannins regular grapes do, so I prefer natural oak chips during primary and toasted oak in the secondary. What even more fun is "cheap" kits, you can manipulate the heck out of them. If its missing the grape must, just Google "Musto Grape company" they sell those skin bags for $20. They told me the skins are 99% cab and 1% Merlot. You won't get a top shelf wine but they make great everyday drinkers. Let us know how this batch is coming along.
What are the benefit of adding that particular Zin to the kit? If I were duplicating your process, what attributes would I be looking for in a Zin for me to add? And thanks! I love your vids!
I agree, very interested in how this works out. I'm still learning the whole process of making my own wine but have never ventured outside of the instructions. Is there a reason you added the Zinfandel? Why not something else?
You could also use something else but I would keep it in the same family and definitely make sure it is red and vinifera. Some other good options for a cab would be merlot, cab franc, Malbec, or Petit Verdot. I just happened to have an abundance of old vine zinfandel on my hands. If I am blending at before bottling which I will usually do, I will generally do a lot of bench trials/taste tets before deciding the final blend. Almost any California wine you buy at the store will have been blended to some extent to get the taste and balance right. In the US they can blend up to 25% and still call it a single varietal. You will also notice just about everything from Europe is blended also but they are a little more open about the blend.
I'm curious if there's an advantage to fermenting it all the way down to .995 SG before moving it to a carboy. I've always done it when it gets to 1.02 or 1.03 SG, where it's slow enough to not bubble up the airlock in carboy.
You can do that also. The advantage of waiting a little longer is less risk of stalling the fermentation and a little more skin contact time. It is very saturated worth co2 at this point so oxidation isn't really a concern yet but I usually will start being a little more careful towards the end. One a day vs two or three a day stirring, and making sure to churn up the gross lees that are starting to settle at the bottom are always a good idea once it slows down.
I could might do a final update or an update when it goes into carboy. The final update would be about a year down the road though... That is the only tough thing about making step by step winemaking videos. Lol
I don't think it would hurt but I have not tried it. Probably better off to just add the skins to the juice and then add pectic enzyme. There seems to be some simple syrup like mix with the skins that might to too sugary for the enzyme to function. What I really think would get you serious extra bang for the buck is to start a kit as you are pressing wine from grapes, then adding those pressed grape skins to the kit. The volume of skins from 100lbs of grapes (6 gal) is very substantial compared to the bag that comes with kits. In Italy they often reuse the skins and call it "ripasso".
Thanks for the video. You inspired me to buy a French Cabernet/Merlot kit that comes with skins. My very first vintage of home-grown white grapes (Ortega, Auxerrois, and Gewürztraminer) is now in the carboy, so the fermenter bucket is free. I appreciate all of the work that goes into your videos. The information is incredibly helpful to a newbie like me. And, I like your low-key approach. Cheers! ~Mike
The best kit instruction I have ever come across! Thanks!
You are my go to guy , I always check out your videos each new batch of wine . Thanks for all the breakdown in the wine making process . 👍
I don’t make kits but I watched this anyway just to see how you do it. The annual wine competition I participate in let’s kits compete directly with wine made from grapes, I have noticed that kits are competing better than they used to. You have inspired me to get down to the cellar and rack my Port base wine and begin fining my whites!
Klaus
Thanks for all your videos! They are such as great resource for someone like me who is just exploring winemaking. Your explanations are right on and easy to understand. Like that you provide options and alternative ideas.
If the ageing is to be planned to be circa 4 months, would it be feasible to add store bought grape juice rather than wine at the start of fermentation? I admire the way you use a kit as a practical teaching tool to expand my beginner’s horizon - very clever and effective, ta.
Love your Channel! One thing with Premium wine kits, they seem to be powerhouses if you make them at 6 gallons. My last two I made came in at over 25 Brix with the skins added. Also I differ in that I always use the mesh bag. The reason is if I leave the skins loose there is so much trub I end up losing over a gallon of wine. Kits in general lack the tannins regular grapes do, so I prefer natural oak chips during primary and toasted oak in the secondary. What even more fun is "cheap" kits, you can manipulate the heck out of them. If its missing the grape must, just Google "Musto Grape company" they sell those skin bags for $20. They told me the skins are 99% cab and 1% Merlot. You won't get a top shelf wine but they make great everyday drinkers. Let us know how this batch is coming along.
Wine craft has re branded. Would you still recommend then? I’ve watch you tweak a kit and I’m intrigued.
What are the benefit of adding that particular Zin to the kit? If I were duplicating your process, what attributes would I be looking for in a Zin for me to add? And thanks! I love your vids!
Hay I love your videos. Can you make a video on making apple wine please? Thanks
Can you give some examples or brands of the non-chlorinated carbon filtered water from stores?
Have you tried doing an extended maceration in the primary instead of pitching in tannins to get more tannins and mouth feel in the wine?
If the pH would not of came down what were you going to do to get it where you wanted it?
I agree, very interested in how this works out. I'm still learning the whole process of making my own wine but have never ventured outside of the instructions. Is there a reason you added the Zinfandel? Why not something else?
You could also use something else but I would keep it in the same family and definitely make sure it is red and vinifera. Some other good options for a cab would be merlot, cab franc, Malbec, or Petit Verdot. I just happened to have an abundance of old vine zinfandel on my hands. If I am blending at before bottling which I will usually do, I will generally do a lot of bench trials/taste tets before deciding the final blend. Almost any California wine you buy at the store will have been blended to some extent to get the taste and balance right. In the US they can blend up to 25% and still call it a single varietal. You will also notice just about everything from Europe is blended also but they are a little more open about the blend.
@@TheHomeWinemakingChannel are you going to do follow up videos for this kit? I really enjoy your ideas they are so informative!
I used the same knife for the same reasons!
Hello did you ever make a part 4
Will it mess everything up if I didn't put the yest in warm water?
No, it will be fine.
Love the videos. Are y'all from Pittsburgh?
Thanks! Yep, we sure are!
I'm curious if there's an advantage to fermenting it all the way down to .995 SG before moving it to a carboy. I've always done it when it gets to 1.02 or 1.03 SG, where it's slow enough to not bubble up the airlock in carboy.
You can do that also. The advantage of waiting a little longer is less risk of stalling the fermentation and a little more skin contact time. It is very saturated worth co2 at this point so oxidation isn't really a concern yet but I usually will start being a little more careful towards the end. One a day vs two or three a day stirring, and making sure to churn up the gross lees that are starting to settle at the bottom are always a good idea once it slows down.
if i want to make a more sweeter wine, would u recommend i end the fermentation earlier? may be around 1.05SG?
Are you going to be doing more updates on this batch? I'm interested on other tweaks and processes you do that deviate from the instructions. Thanks!
I could might do a final update or an update when it goes into carboy. The final update would be about a year down the road though... That is the only tough thing about making step by step winemaking videos. Lol
Have you ever added pectic enzymes to the bag of skins before adding it to the concentrate?
I don't think it would hurt but I have not tried it. Probably better off to just add the skins to the juice and then add pectic enzyme. There seems to be some simple syrup like mix with the skins that might to too sugary for the enzyme to function. What I really think would get you serious extra bang for the buck is to start a kit as you are pressing wine from grapes, then adding those pressed grape skins to the kit. The volume of skins from 100lbs of grapes (6 gal) is very substantial compared to the bag that comes with kits. In Italy they often reuse the skins and call it "ripasso".