Some advice before I start

[Goaty]

Hi

I had finaly decided to go ahead and try it again. I bought:

1 Australian style Blend, Merlot 7 day wine kit - 23L
1 Cantina Gold Pinot Grigio Wine Kit - 23L

Now finding a forum and starting to research a bit more.. consenus seems to not favor these types of wine kits :/

Now I have them in there boxes still ... is it worth changing the yeast they come with, tweak the mixture .. or just learn from my newbie first buy and go ahead and just do as they say on the tin.

It would be nice to redeem my first buy mistake by being open to suggestions. Once these kits are done I shall use the equipment in future to buy better quality kits or not go the kit route at all ? suggestions ?

 

[RobWalker]

don't worry about kits not being favoured. i'm sure you'll love them!
a good quality yeast is just as important as good quality ingredients. you wouldn't cover a 21 day aged steak in value mayonaise - everything you do to boost quality will be significant. tweaking the mixture early on isn't really necessary unless someone here can supply some personal experience, the best home brews are often the most simple ones.

you could also check out the orange and vimto wine threads, it's great fun to see people's faces when you tell them the wine they're enjoying was made from squash

 

[Moley]

Welcome to the forum :

Go with the kits as they stand, it's all good practice, but don't follow the instructions to the letter with regard to time scales, especially with the “7-day” kit.

You may also wish to consider reducing the water by a couple of litres to end up with slightly less wine but slightly more body.

 

[Goaty]

I am also curious about the water used in brewing wine. I did see a mention of de-chlorinating the water before use with 1/2 Campden tablet. Not sure of measurements like 1/2 tablet to 5 gallons or 5 litres etc. Is this used as a practice at all?

Not sure whether to wait till I have a load of questions then fire it in one post. Nothing like being new to a hobby like this. I am trying to search/research as much as possible before blabbering on.

 

[BrewDan]

You could get some bottled mineral water, I tend to brew using the Caledonian stuff from tesco rather than tap water

 

[Moley]

I never pre-treat water for winemaking because, a), I figure CTs are always going to be used at some later stage, and b), our tap water actually tastes quite acceptable if I was ever forced to drink it neat.

However, half a tablet to 5 gallons can do no harm at all and isn't going to suppress yeast start-up, so go ahead if you feel inclined.


And further to BrewDan's post, I quite often use mineral water and then use the 5 or 15 litre bottles as fermenters.

 

[ingypingy2]

Welcome to the forum! :) My best advice..........listen to Moley!!! He's the man who can lol!! :) :