tonyhibbett
Landlord.
As part of an ongoing review of cabernet sauvignon kits, I took advantage of a special offer on this one.
Once made up as specified, I tested the must. It was grossly deficient in acid, with a pH of 4.9 and the sg was a mere 1075, while the colour looked somewhat artificial. I corrected the deficiencies, at extra cost, by adding a large amount of acid and about 300 ml of grape juice concentrate, plus some tannin and oak chips. The net result was 20 litres of rather rough wine, which took 9 days to produce, rather than the claimed 5 days. I added about 3 litres of Cellar 7 cabernet sauvignon to fill a polypin. After 2 weeks maturing, the wine was still somewhat rough. Apparently the yeast supplied was developed for the production of bio fuel for fast fermentation. My regular supplier, Brew UK, no longer stocks this stuff. I contacted the manufacturer, Hambleton Bard, who said they would check the batch, but as yet have not got back to me.
After my modifications and a further period of maturation, the wine is reasonably drinkable and may well continue to improve, but I will certainly not be buying any more!
Once made up as specified, I tested the must. It was grossly deficient in acid, with a pH of 4.9 and the sg was a mere 1075, while the colour looked somewhat artificial. I corrected the deficiencies, at extra cost, by adding a large amount of acid and about 300 ml of grape juice concentrate, plus some tannin and oak chips. The net result was 20 litres of rather rough wine, which took 9 days to produce, rather than the claimed 5 days. I added about 3 litres of Cellar 7 cabernet sauvignon to fill a polypin. After 2 weeks maturing, the wine was still somewhat rough. Apparently the yeast supplied was developed for the production of bio fuel for fast fermentation. My regular supplier, Brew UK, no longer stocks this stuff. I contacted the manufacturer, Hambleton Bard, who said they would check the batch, but as yet have not got back to me.
After my modifications and a further period of maturation, the wine is reasonably drinkable and may well continue to improve, but I will certainly not be buying any more!
