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- Mar 28, 2011
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The Winexpert chocolate and raspberry port kit comes as a large, satisfyingly heavy box. It contains everything that you need to brew 15 bottles of port, all you need is a 3 gallon fermenter.
The majority of the kit is made up of one large catering bag of dark grape juice. A second, much smaller bag, contains the flavoured, fortified juice to be added after stabilizing at a later date. (Although it tastes great just licking any left-overs!) A final, small bag contains a comprehensive set of instructions (in English and in French as belies it's Canadian origin, giving instructions for all their different wine types) and all the small packets of yeast and nick-knacks needed to begin (and then complete) your brew.
The box is shaped to fit the main juice bag to make it easier to pour, I'd recommend that you keep the shrink wrap around the box for increased stability, and the instructions clearly explain what extra packages need to be added. It even contains a sticker to add to you instructions explaining which type of wine you're making. The instructions also contain a series of target gravity readings for each phase of the process, backing up the rough timings given.
After a week, you are required to add some brewing sugar (contained within the kit) to continue the fermentation and rise the alcohol content to that befitting a fortified wine.
After a fortnight, its time to rack, degas and stabilise. This is the point when the final bag of juice is added, giving it the chocolate raspberry taste. It is recommended that you give it a further fortnight to clear before checking the final gravity and bottling.
Winexpert prepare their wine kits without any sulphites and they recommend adding some if you wish to keep any beyond 6 months.
I crushed a single campden tablet into a demijohn and racked first into that prior to bottling and my port has kept well for over a year.
You can get 16 and half bottles out of this kit with careful syphoning, but due to the large amount of gunk (grape bits and oak chippings etc) your final few bottles will generate a layer of sediment.
My favourite bit about the kit was the large number of labels that were provided, giving your port a very professional finish - perfect for giving as a gift.
Now, you can drink your port at this point, at which you'll be presented with an okay, if slightly sweet port which is quite nice, but not really rewarding the nigh on £80 price tag.
However, if you can resist, time is your friend. After three months, the taste is much fuller and more refined. After six months, its downright tasty-gorgeous. The final few bottles which have survived the year rival any late-bottled vintage!
The chocolate provides an initial hit as you drink, but this blossoms into raspberry with a lovely aftertaste. Mmmmmm!
It has proved so popular that I have made a second set this year and am now willing it to age asap.
As previously mentioned Winexpert is a Canadian company and this is a limited edition kit, available around late September/early October (although the poor weather delayed its release this year by a few weeks) and its only really available in Homebrew specialist shops, further adding to the price tag.
So, if you like port, or just want to give it a try, I would heartily recommend this kit.
They have recently released a chocolate and orange version, which I now have fermenting away and will report back once tasted properly!
The majority of the kit is made up of one large catering bag of dark grape juice. A second, much smaller bag, contains the flavoured, fortified juice to be added after stabilizing at a later date. (Although it tastes great just licking any left-overs!) A final, small bag contains a comprehensive set of instructions (in English and in French as belies it's Canadian origin, giving instructions for all their different wine types) and all the small packets of yeast and nick-knacks needed to begin (and then complete) your brew.
The box is shaped to fit the main juice bag to make it easier to pour, I'd recommend that you keep the shrink wrap around the box for increased stability, and the instructions clearly explain what extra packages need to be added. It even contains a sticker to add to you instructions explaining which type of wine you're making. The instructions also contain a series of target gravity readings for each phase of the process, backing up the rough timings given.
After a week, you are required to add some brewing sugar (contained within the kit) to continue the fermentation and rise the alcohol content to that befitting a fortified wine.
After a fortnight, its time to rack, degas and stabilise. This is the point when the final bag of juice is added, giving it the chocolate raspberry taste. It is recommended that you give it a further fortnight to clear before checking the final gravity and bottling.
Winexpert prepare their wine kits without any sulphites and they recommend adding some if you wish to keep any beyond 6 months.
I crushed a single campden tablet into a demijohn and racked first into that prior to bottling and my port has kept well for over a year.
You can get 16 and half bottles out of this kit with careful syphoning, but due to the large amount of gunk (grape bits and oak chippings etc) your final few bottles will generate a layer of sediment.
My favourite bit about the kit was the large number of labels that were provided, giving your port a very professional finish - perfect for giving as a gift.
Now, you can drink your port at this point, at which you'll be presented with an okay, if slightly sweet port which is quite nice, but not really rewarding the nigh on £80 price tag.
However, if you can resist, time is your friend. After three months, the taste is much fuller and more refined. After six months, its downright tasty-gorgeous. The final few bottles which have survived the year rival any late-bottled vintage!
The chocolate provides an initial hit as you drink, but this blossoms into raspberry with a lovely aftertaste. Mmmmmm!
It has proved so popular that I have made a second set this year and am now willing it to age asap.
As previously mentioned Winexpert is a Canadian company and this is a limited edition kit, available around late September/early October (although the poor weather delayed its release this year by a few weeks) and its only really available in Homebrew specialist shops, further adding to the price tag.
So, if you like port, or just want to give it a try, I would heartily recommend this kit.
They have recently released a chocolate and orange version, which I now have fermenting away and will report back once tasted properly!
