I’m a seasoned homemade wine maker with over 40 years of experience making wine from grapes. I tried a kit from these guys and I can honestly say the wine came out stellar. No mess no fuss easy to read instructions. If you don’t have the equipment or time to put into making wine from scratch I highly recommend buying a kit. You won’t be disappointed!!
The instructions state that the grape skins should be punched down twice a day. The instructions also caution not to open the bucket until Day 15. I hope that means I can quickly open the bucket, punch down the skins, then quickly close the bucket.
Great Video even for those of us who have been making wine for a long time. The kits are aquantum leap over the ones available back in the early 70's. I'm going to order one of these kits asp.
Name of Kit should have been identified as the kit I have has a packet that according to instructions should have been added at this point. This packet was not mentioned at all.
Awaiting my first kit and my first wine attempt. These videos are very helpful and take much of the stress of trying something new away. Only thing I could think of is I wish you spent a minute or so discussing fermenting temperatures in this video, highlighting the dos and don'ts regarding temperature control. Maybe it isn't a huge deal, but even saying "don't worry too much about it" would be helpful. I have made many beer batches and temperature is pretty critical during fermenting so drawing upon that experience (rightly or wrongly) makes me wonder about it with wine.
Started two kits recently. The wine juice bag caps could not be opened (even with vice grip pliers used on the pull tab). The pull tabs broke by hand and by pliers. Had to cut the end of the bags open. Otherwise, everything went well into the primary fermentations.
So my Merlot kit came today and I can answer some of the points raised below. First the skins and concentrate were both nice and cool inside a Styrofoam box. The instructions are actually a spiral bound book. The steps are numbered and all the additive packages other than the yeast are numbered to match the instruction steps, a nice touch. Adding the concentrate to my sanitized fermenter and flushing the bag not so easy because the bag has a seal in it that was impossible to remove. The pull ring broke off immediately so I sanitized a knife and stuck it through the seal and tried to pry it out with no luck. After a few tries I cut the neck off and poured the contents into the fermenter. Topped it to 6 gals. Added the skins, oak and a package mysteriously labelled Packet A which purges wild yeast, adds nutrients and balances pH and then stirred. NOTE: The instructions do not give a target gravity for this step that I could find!!! In the video Matt says 1.080 - 1.100. Mine hit 1.100 at 56 deg F I had a single skin pack so only one bag comes with it. The skins are easy to handle but the amount of skins really fills the bag making it hard to tie off. They should use a larger bag Now comes the answer about the yeast which is not explained in the video. The juice is quite cold so they want you to rehydrate it and let it sit and warm to room temperature while the yeast starter also sits. The yeast is the Lalvin RC 212. Finer's instructions tells you to rehydrate it at room temp overnight with a "special sauce" (packet B) added rather than the using 95-98 deg F quick rehydrate given on the yeast package.They want it pitched in 18-30 hrs Will post again as I progress
Jim, We really liked the safety of the Pull Tabs so that nothing got tampered with and were worried about leakage in transit. We spoke with the FWK juice bag supplier about the issue with the Safety Tabs breaking off and they informed us that there is an arrow on the Safety Pull Tab and if you pull backwards on it, it can break off. I am sorry that you had to do so much work to get your juice out of your bag. We will inform customers in the future Productions Runs about this issue so that it does not happen for them. You are also correct in that the Original Specific Gravity range should be 1.080 to 1.100. We will include this in future Production Runs. Yeah, I’m kicking myself about the sock issue. I’m an Engineer and am OCD about details and during the R & D, we really felt the extra skins added to the overall flavor profile but used the original sock when we put the add packs together. That’s all on me.
@@mattpruszynski6435 in the first of four video, they show 2 muslin bags and utilize both. Are the kits now shipping with just 1 ? I just received notice my 2 kits w/ double skins have shipped. Do I need to get Additional bags for the skins ??
Do you recommend distilled water only? I purchased two a couple months ago and about to start one of them. I am going through your videos again so, I am prepared . I am excited to tastes these kits. I have read lots of responses in the wine making talk forum.
informative video...I did not order skins with my kits, planning to use skins from my small vineyard...would this be a mistake? Are there any precautions I should take? Thanks
I've got a question that is kind of worrying to me. I purchased a Finer Wine Kit (Super Tuscan) and followed the instructions to the letter in this video. The only variable is that my house is fairly cold, in the room where I ferment the wine about 65 degrees or so. So, my kit is still in the primary fermentation stage on top of a warming pad made for winemaking. It is in the exact bucket in this video. I started the kit on the 13th, and everything was going fantastic, until the 18th. Every time I punched down the skins, I would take an SG reading, and the morning of the 16th at 8:00am, I had an SG of 1.020, and that evening around 7pm I had SG of 1.010. As I understand the instructions, I was to wait 48 hours and then add the second nutrient. However, when I checked the morning of the 18th (about 36 hours later) I caught a wiff of hydrogen sulfide (SG of .998). So, I added the nutrient right then, so about 12 hours early. I punched down again and mixed in the nutrient really well. Today, the 20th I still smell the hydrogen sulfide. Any suggestions or ideas about what I can do before I ruin this kit? Thanks in advance.
Hey, nice videos. I want to give these a try but have been hesitant. But I will hook into a pre-order when I use up the other kits I got from you. 2 comments. It sounds like these ship in Styrofoam. I hate Styrofoam. Its a landfill disaster. Any thoughts about a re-use plan? Send it back for reuse/recycle etc. Second in a few of the videos you say the links are below. No links to be found.
I have one question concerning the yeast. You said you like to let it set for 18-24hrs. When I buy kits I like to start 6-8 at a time, I share with neighbors plus we live a couple hours from Label Peelers. I know Matt will come up with a solution, he always does and that is why we appreciate him so much. I don't have refrigeration to keep that many kits cold for 24 hrs. other than this time of year they could be left outside. I guess if we took them out of the box and planned ahead and spread them around to neighbors, not really an ideal solution but possible. Any other ideas? Tim
What I would do is take the juice and skin bags out , label them for each kit (piece of tape with a marker which kit it belongs to) and keep in refrigerator until needed .
Tim Good Question. In general wine yeast suppliers such as Lalvin tell you to make yeast starters be adding the yeast to warm water (95 to 100 deg F) and letting sit for awhile and then pitching. Not sure why they want to sit for 24 hrs except maybe they are doing it at room temp. But you are right that their info is contradictory in that they say to make the wine as soon as you get it but wait 24 hrs to let the yeast start
Thank you for the kind words Tim. To clarify, you would let the juice sit outside the fridge to come to room temperature while you make your yeast starter. The Juice Concentrate (prior to the addition of water to hit the 6 Gallon mark in your fermenter) can be stored at room temperature and not ferment for a few days since it is so high in sugar content. On a side note, if you are not able to make the kits right away for any reason, the juice and skins bags can be stored in the fridge or freezer. They were stored at minus 10 degrees F prior to shipping with no issues.
Two criticisms: First, maybe it is just me but the music distracts from the video Second, I watched all the videos. In this one you specifically mention two additions of yeast nutrient but nowhere in the videos do you do this. Would have helped if they were in the videos but I assume the directions will clarify this Finally, as other posters and I have commented, you tell us to make the wine right away but you want to wait 24 hrs to make a yeast starter. The wine yeast companies such as Lalvin make starters in a few minutes with warm water. I have done this for over 20 years with no apparent problem. Why the difference in your advice? I know that beer yeast starters take a day for liquid yeasts but dry yeasts can typically be started right away
Jim, Yes, the second addition of yeast nutrient was mentioned but not demonstrated during the video presentation but was mentioned in the instructions. As I mentioned in my reply to your other comments, we will clarify in future Instructions that the Juice Concentrate should be allowed to warm to room temperatures while the Yeast Starter is being made at room temperature. You are correct in your assessment of Dry Yeast Manufacturers' Instructions but the FWK staff wanted to make this process fool proof for the many beginners that might be doing a Yeast Starter for the first time.
I’m a seasoned homemade wine maker with over 40 years of experience making wine from grapes. I tried a kit from these guys and I can honestly say the wine came out stellar. No mess no fuss easy to read instructions. If you don’t have the equipment or time to put into making wine from scratch I highly recommend buying a kit. You won’t be disappointed!!
The instructions state that the grape skins should be punched down twice a day. The instructions also caution not to open the bucket until Day 15. I hope that means I can quickly open the bucket, punch down the skins, then quickly close the bucket.
My kits (Tuscan and Zinfandel) will arrive today, can't wait to try these new kits!
Great Video even for those of us who have been making wine for a long time. The kits are aquantum leap over the ones available back in the early 70's. I'm going to order one of these kits asp.
Thank you!
Name of Kit should have been identified as the kit I have has a packet that according to instructions should have been added at this point. This packet was not mentioned at all.
Awaiting my first kit and my first wine attempt. These videos are very helpful and take much of the stress of trying something new away. Only thing I could think of is I wish you spent a minute or so discussing fermenting temperatures in this video, highlighting the dos and don'ts regarding temperature control. Maybe it isn't a huge deal, but even saying "don't worry too much about it" would be helpful. I have made many beer batches and temperature is pretty critical during fermenting so drawing upon that experience (rightly or wrongly) makes me wonder about it with wine.
Started two kits recently. The wine juice bag caps could not be opened (even with vice grip pliers used on the pull tab). The pull tabs broke by hand and by pliers. Had to cut the end of the bags open. Otherwise, everything went well into the primary fermentations.
So my Merlot kit came today and I can answer some of the points raised below. First the skins and concentrate were both nice and cool inside a Styrofoam box. The instructions are actually a spiral bound book. The steps are numbered and all the additive packages other than the yeast are numbered to match the instruction steps, a nice touch.
Adding the concentrate to my sanitized fermenter and flushing the bag not so easy because the bag has a seal in it that was impossible to remove. The pull ring broke off immediately so I sanitized a knife and stuck it through the seal and tried to pry it out with no luck. After a few tries I cut the neck off and poured the contents into the fermenter. Topped it to 6 gals. Added the skins, oak and a package mysteriously labelled Packet A which purges wild yeast, adds nutrients and balances pH and then stirred.
NOTE: The instructions do not give a target gravity for this step that I could find!!! In the video Matt says 1.080 - 1.100. Mine hit 1.100 at 56 deg F
I had a single skin pack so only one bag comes with it. The skins are easy to handle but the amount of skins really fills the bag making it hard to tie off. They should use a larger bag
Now comes the answer about the yeast which is not explained in the video. The juice is quite cold so they want you to rehydrate it and let it sit and warm to room temperature while the yeast starter also sits. The yeast is the Lalvin RC 212. Finer's instructions tells you to rehydrate it at room temp overnight with a "special sauce" (packet B) added rather than the using 95-98 deg F quick rehydrate given on the yeast package.They want it pitched in 18-30 hrs
Will post again as I progress
Jim, We really liked the safety of the Pull Tabs so that nothing got tampered with and were worried about leakage in transit. We spoke with the FWK juice bag supplier about the issue with the Safety Tabs breaking off and they informed us that there is an arrow on the Safety Pull Tab and if you pull backwards on it, it can break off. I am sorry that you had to do so much work to get your juice out of your bag. We will inform customers in the future Productions Runs about this issue so that it does not happen for them.
You are also correct in that the Original Specific Gravity range should be 1.080 to 1.100. We will include this in future Production Runs.
Yeah, I’m kicking myself about the sock issue. I’m an Engineer and am OCD about details and during the R & D, we really felt the extra skins added to the overall flavor profile but used the original sock when we put the add packs together. That’s all on me.
@@mattpruszynski6435 in the first of four video, they show 2 muslin bags and utilize both. Are the kits now shipping with just 1 ? I just received notice my 2 kits w/ double skins have shipped. Do I need to get Additional bags for the skins ??
I noticed that, unlike other kits, Bentonite is not the first item in the bucket. Curious why it's not needed.
Do you recommend distilled water only? I purchased two a couple months ago and about to start one of them. I am going through your videos again so, I am prepared . I am excited to tastes these kits. I have read lots of responses in the wine making talk forum.
informative video...I did not order skins with my kits, planning to use skins from my small vineyard...would this be a mistake? Are there any precautions I should take? Thanks
I've got a question that is kind of worrying to me. I purchased a Finer Wine Kit (Super Tuscan) and followed the instructions to the letter in this video. The only variable is that my house is fairly cold, in the room where I ferment the wine about 65 degrees or so. So, my kit is still in the primary fermentation stage on top of a warming pad made for winemaking. It is in the exact bucket in this video. I started the kit on the 13th, and everything was going fantastic, until the 18th. Every time I punched down the skins, I would take an SG reading, and the morning of the 16th at 8:00am, I had an SG of 1.020, and that evening around 7pm I had SG of 1.010. As I understand the instructions, I was to wait 48 hours and then add the second nutrient. However, when I checked the morning of the 18th (about 36 hours later) I caught a wiff of hydrogen sulfide (SG of .998). So, I added the nutrient right then, so about 12 hours early. I punched down again and mixed in the nutrient really well. Today, the 20th I still smell the hydrogen sulfide. Any suggestions or ideas about what I can do before I ruin this kit? Thanks in advance.
Hey, nice videos. I want to give these a try but have been hesitant. But I will hook into a pre-order when I use up the other kits I got from you. 2 comments. It sounds like these ship in Styrofoam. I hate Styrofoam. Its a landfill disaster. Any thoughts about a re-use plan? Send it back for reuse/recycle etc. Second in a few of the videos you say the links are below. No links to be found.
I have one question concerning the yeast. You said you like to let it set for 18-24hrs. When I buy kits I like to start 6-8 at a time, I share with neighbors plus we live a couple hours from Label Peelers. I know Matt will come up with a solution, he always does and that is why we appreciate him so much. I don't have refrigeration to keep that many kits cold for 24 hrs. other than this time of year they could be left outside. I guess if we took them out of the box and planned ahead and spread them around to neighbors, not really an ideal solution but possible. Any other ideas? Tim
What I would do is take the juice and skin bags out , label them for each kit (piece of tape with a marker which kit it belongs to) and keep in refrigerator until needed .
@@monitortop5077 He said he does not have enough refrigeration to keep 6-8 kits
Tim Good Question. In general wine yeast suppliers such as Lalvin tell you to make yeast starters be adding the yeast to warm water (95 to 100 deg F) and letting sit for awhile and then pitching. Not sure why they want to sit for 24 hrs except maybe they are doing it at room temp. But you are right that their info is contradictory in that they say to make the wine as soon as you get it but wait 24 hrs to let the yeast start
Thank you for the kind words Tim. To clarify, you would let the juice sit outside the fridge to come to room temperature while you make your yeast starter. The Juice Concentrate (prior to the addition of water to hit the 6 Gallon mark in your fermenter) can be stored at room temperature and not ferment for a few days since it is so high in sugar content. On a side note, if you are not able to make the kits right away for any reason, the juice and skins bags can be stored in the fridge or freezer. They were stored at minus 10 degrees F prior to shipping with no issues.
Was that s Single pack of skins or a double?
That was a Single Pack of Skins in the Demonstration Harold.
Two criticisms:
First, maybe it is just me but the music distracts from the video
Second, I watched all the videos. In this one you specifically mention two additions of yeast nutrient but nowhere in the videos do you do this. Would have helped if they were in the videos but I assume the directions will clarify this
Finally, as other posters and I have commented, you tell us to make the wine right away but you want to wait 24 hrs to make a yeast starter. The wine yeast companies such as Lalvin make starters in a few minutes with warm water. I have done this for over 20 years with no apparent problem. Why the difference in your advice? I know that beer yeast starters take a day for liquid yeasts but dry yeasts can typically be started right away
Jim, Yes, the second addition of yeast nutrient was mentioned but not demonstrated during the video presentation but was mentioned in the instructions. As I mentioned in my reply to your other comments, we will clarify in future Instructions that the Juice Concentrate should be allowed to warm to room temperatures while the Yeast Starter is being made at room temperature. You are correct in your assessment of Dry Yeast Manufacturers' Instructions but the FWK staff wanted to make this process fool proof for the many beginners that might be doing a Yeast Starter for the first time.
I second the comment about the music.
@@kilroy07 I third the thoughts on the music! Music is OK, but maybe not lively Jazz? Maybe something a bit less distracting!