Juice red wine from scratch?

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RobWalker

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How can you do it? I've done a few kits but would like to make my own red wine using the WOW method. Could I do something like 4L red grape juice (or other dark juices such as blueberry, cherry, cranberry?) and then mash in some skins too for the colour? Morrisons do a dark fruits mix for £2 at the moment, and a good portion of frozen blueberries for £2.

Chuck a good yeast in, sugar to 13-14%, bobs yer uncle?
 
In a word not going to happen unless you want a rossie, carton grape juice or any other fruit juice just won't give you the depth you require for a red wine.

The closest I have got is using Welch's red grape juice which is made from a red wine grape variety. However it is expensive and for what it has cost you may as well buy a beaverdale kit. The resulting wine I made was reasonable but not as good as the Beaverdale and thinking about it was only reasonable after 18 months.

I am using mine now as cooking wine as the Beaverdale I brewed is far better.

You other option is to perhaps use a combination of red grape juice and elderberry, but though I like elderberr wine it takes a long time to mature and isn't a full bodied Cab Sauv at the end of the day :( :(
 
Just a thought. Azda do a cordial based on shiraz grape juice concentrate which could be included. Alternatively a bottle of your preferred red wine could be added afterwards. Many kits use a combination of generic grape juice concentrate and pure varietal juice to get a more 'authentic' character.
 
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