what can I add to my wine kit to make it more full bodied.

[tonyhibbett]

30 bottle Winebuddy kits are not based on apple juice, but 1 litre of grape juice concentrate plus flavouring packs.. This is ok for white wine but woefully inadequate for reds. In both cases, apple juice can be used to improve body, acidity and tannin content with little effect on fruit flavour.

 

[Vinotinto]

Hi!
I use Sainsbury's rgj - less than ��£1 per litre last time I bought some.

3L rgj and 2 tins black cherries sounds good to me.

Naive time. What does the black cherries add? Body? Flavour? Coolour? taste? Etc etc. And are they just thrown in at the start or crushed up. / mashed etc. Thanks.

 

[Bigcol49]

Naive time. What does the black cherries add? Body? Flavour? Coolour? taste? Etc etc. And are they just thrown in at the start or crushed up. / mashed etc. Thanks.

Hi!
I was quoting then recipe from @mancer62
Perhapsd he can answer your question.

 

[mancer62]

I was only quoting some ingredients I seen on this site somewhere that a person said he planned to add tins of black cherries. I myself have absolutely no clue if they would do any purpose or would be waste of money.
For example would you say I would be better adding 3 or 4 litres of grape juice from a supermarket? with or without the addition of 2 tins of black cherries?
or would adding (red grape juice 220g) from wilkos be a better option again with or without the cherries?
I mean what would produce a more full bodied flavoured wine..
one with 3 or 4 litres supermarket grape juice with or without cherries or
220g wilko red grape concentrate with or without cherries?

 

[Tau]

I was only quoting some ingredients I seen on this site somewhere that a person said he planned to add tins of black cherries. I myself have absolutely no clue if they would do any purpose or would be waste of money.
For example would you say I would be better adding 3 or 4 litres of grape juice from a supermarket? with or without the addition of 2 tins of black cherries?
or would adding (red grape juice 220g) from wilkos be a better option again with or without the cherries?
I mean what would produce a more full bodied flavoured wine..
one with 3 or 4 litres supermarket grape juice with or without cherries or
220g wilko red grape concentrate with or without cherries?

You need to check that there's no preservatives in the cherries such as potassium sorbate or sodium metabisulphate or similiar as might slow or prevent full fermentation. Sounds good flavour to add, but remember if you put them in you gotta get them out, plus will have to add some pectic enzyme if using fruit. I wouldn't add aj to a grape wine kit.

 

[cheapbrew]

Forget the cherries, just use red grape juice and red grape concentrate

 

[mancer62]

Thanks for all the help very interesting....i have decided to go along with the grape juice and red grape concentrate. However to a 30 bottle batch what amount of each (ie grape juice? & concentrate?) would you recommend I add?

 

[tonyhibbett]

I added a half price 6 bottle elderberry kit (which included some red grape juice concentrate) to a Winebuddy 30 bottle cabernet sauvignon kit, adding the flavouring pack at the outset rather than at the end. At pH 3.0, the must was overly acidic, so I added enough potassium carbonate to adjust this to 3.4. This was rather bland, so I added 3 teaspoons of grape tannin to supply a little astringency.
Fermentation is complete, but after initial racking, I have not added the stabiliser or finings, as I plan to put it into a 20 litre oak cask to clear naturally and mature before bottling. I used this technique with a Wilco CS kit, which transformed from an alcopop into a quite respectable dry red wine, although nothing like a true cabernet sauvignon.
I am only trying this experiment because the kits were half price. It would not be worthwhile at normal prices, when the next kit up (eg Cellar 7) would cost the same and produce a good wine on its own.