Winebuddy cabernet sauvinon tips required

[dollo12345]

Have just bought tesco £16.50 30 bottle 7 day kit :razz:
reading reviews people recommend adding grape juice :hmm::hmm:
is this expensive as some say add 6 litres might as well buy a bottle of whisky
or as any one got a solution to add a nice flavour to it
Any tips will be welcome if you add grape juice what kind surely not ordinary grape juice in the cartons I am lost on this please help.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have made a few WineBuddy kits, i made them as per instructions and they were all fine, You are not going to know if you have improved the kit by adding more juice if you don't know what the original tastes like so i would recommend making them as instructed first, you might find you like them so much you don't want to change them.

My WineBuddy kit review - http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=49224

 

[dollo12345]

Thanks again for reply will do as it says.
and thanks for help on my pinot ginot advice it finished after about 5 weeks and it was worth the wait thanks again :thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

[engineer]

That may have been me :)
I have made several of the Cab Sav and Merlot kits and the results for me at least were not what i expected. i found them both a bit thin so add 4 litres sainsburys reg grape juice (£2.50) in place of water. To me this helps improve the taste significantly but of course taste is a very personal thing and you may like it as supplied. It does improve with time as well but leaving it alone is always a challenge :whistle:

Same story with the merlot. These are however budget kits so even with their limitations i think they are good value at the sale price.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have made a couple of the WineBuddy Sauvignon Blanc Kits and was impressed. :wink:

 

[dollo12345]

thanks for replies and telling me what the juice was very grateful.
brewing tomorrow thanks.

 

[engineer]

I have made a couple of the WineBuddy Sauvignon Blanc Kits and was impressed. :wink:

Thanks, i have not tried any of their white kits, when my stocks are low i will give that one a go.

 

[tonyhibbett]

The Winebuddy reds no longer have any grape juice in the main concentrate, just elderberry and apple, so adding red grape juice will improve it, but the best bet is to move up to the Youngs Cellar 7 reds.

 

[engineer]

That explains a lot thanks. I still have two merlot and one cab sav kit so i will play around with them a bit, got them cheap from tesco so can't complain.

I recently ordered a Cellar 7 and Harris premium kit, so looking forward to trying those out in due course.

 

[nicksimpson66]

If you add red grape juice would you need to decrease the amount of sugar?

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

Asda red grape juice (for instance) is 160g sugar per litre. So you could just take that much off the added sugar?

 

[nicksimpson66]

Thanks for the reply, I'll try following the exact ingredients first then I'll use the red grape juice method after for comparison purposes.

 

[johncrobinson]

If you are just starting out on this wonderfull hobby,Make your kit as is,following the instructions.
I say this cos you will learn without having to do any studying the basics of winemaking.
Learning and confidence will come automatically.
A couple of kits under the belt and you will soon feel confident to start tinkering to your own taste.

I was lucky I got my grounding by helping my father make wine as a kid.
Many of his "old school" methods I have now abandond,But the basics are still valid
Even though I am 63yrs old now I am still still learning.Often from members of this forum who are willing to share tips and experiance.
I try to reciprocate.

 

[Mr_S_Jerusalem]

My dad bought me my equipment and 2 Youngs Definitive kits for Christmas one year back when I was in university.

Brilliant way to start.

(especially the blackberry one)

Before that I used to watch him make wine quite often.

 

[nicksimpson66]

Hi, me again. So the wine has gone through the first fermentation and lve now added the remaining ingredients, however does it still need to be kept warm or should l turn the heat mat off, it doesn't mention this in the instructions ?
Regards.

 

[johncrobinson]

If the fermentation is finished keeping the wine cold will speed up the clearing process so is better.

 

[nicksimpson66]

Thank you John

 

[johncrobinson]

BTW Dont forget to give it a good "Degas" the instructions how do do this should be in your kit.
I only learned about this from doing a Solomon Grundy wine kit about 20 yrs ago.It really does speed up clearing.
So will chilling the wine as well.

I hope it turns out well for you,I remember tasting my first wine,Its a great feeling.