Wine kit yield

[Juraj]

Hi All,

Just purchased my third 30-bottle wine kit hoping to maximise the yield as much as possible. I managed 23 bottled from the first one and 26 from the second one.

I have noticed that when I initially top up the fermentation bucket to prescribed 23 litres, I will never be able to get the expected 30 bottles. Between any spills and wastage because of sediment etc, that seems like a lot of liquid lost.

Has anyone actually ever managed to get 30 bottles of nice clear wine?

I was wondering if anyone tried to add a bit more water at the start of fermentation, say 2 or 3 litres more, to account for any wastage like sediment. Would this have any noticeable impact on final taste?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

The 30 bottle kit i make regularly never gives me 30 bottles, if i fill to the 23 litre mark (instructions advise 22.5 litres) i get 28 full bottles and as the cost per bottle is so low i am not bothered about losing two, you could add more water but the finished product will be a bit thinner, if that doesn't bother you go for it.

 

[Juraj]

Hi, thanks. I was wondering if that is something anyone tried doing and what was the actual result.

I was thinking I could add a bit more water and appropriate amount of sugar.

But as you said, given the cost, losing a few bottles is not such a huge problem.

It just seems like slightly misleading advertising as you will never be able to get full 30 bottles. Sediment alone is at least a litre of liquid gone.

 

[LED_ZEP]

I agree that the kit makers should say makes 23l of must not 30 bottles or approx 28 bottles for newbs. Once you've made a couple of kits you know the craic so it's not an issue.

The real pain is you've spent time washing and sanitizing more bottles than needed.

 

[johncrobinson]

I agree kit manufactures should be honest about the quantity of wine made.
That said making up a kit short does seem to lead to richer more satisfying wines.

 

[John Galt]

Yeah you are lucky to get 21litres. This is the sediment left after a 23ltr wineworks. Bare in mind I didn’t rack it! It was made and cleared solely in one stainless steel fermenter in the hope of saving as much as possible. So that’s near enough 2litres of sediment alone.

I bet if I had racked into a secondary I would have lost much more. To be fair I’m not fussed either as even at 20 litre it still works out around £1.40 a bottle.

 

[DocAnna]

If you rack a couple of times to polish the wine then you do lose a fair bit. A hint to minimise the loss is a couple of days (at least) before racking or bottling is to put a book or other wedge to tip up the fermenting bucket to have the sediment collect in one part and then siphon carefully from there. I usually manage 28 bottles from a kit but sometimes the last one is a wee bit murky.

Anna

 

[dearleuk]

I got 25 bottles from my last batch, but I had to rack 3 times because I had a big blob of sediment in the tap!

 

[John Galt]

If you rack a couple of times to polish the wine then you do lose a fair bit. A hint to minimise the loss is a couple of days (at least) before racking or bottling is to put a book or other wedge to tip up the fermenting bucket to have the sediment collect in one part and then siphon carefully from there. I usually manage 28 bottles from a kit but sometimes the last one is a wee bit murky.

Anna

Yeah that’s 21litres for 28 bottles. I have a tap at the bottom of that mangrove jack thing which is great, if you just be careful when near the bottom and tilt it slightly it works a treat. Always a bummer when you get the sediment in your bottle when it’s near full.

 

[damienair]

I just did my first wine. It was a 23 litre kit. Instructions advised to rack twice with clearing etc. I was very careful not to disturb the sediment. I used a auto siphon when siphoning. Plus I have a tap on my bottling bucket with a bottle filling wand. I had previously bottled 2 beer kits so was interested to see how the wine went. I managed to fill 29 bottles of Pinot Grigio. The first 28 were perfect. The last one was a tiny bit cloudy. But not by much. I was lucky. Took my time. I was delighted to get 29 bottles out of it.

 

[johncrobinson]

The first time is always special.
I can remember my first time (in a greenhouse with a grapevine.)