Wineworks Wine kit is this normal.

[Flan]

I’ve just done my first wine kit, a wineworks red wine (rioja supposedly), made to 23l i got 28 bottles out of it, which came with the equipment kit, i bottled it 3 weeks ago after 2 weeks fermenting and around 10 days clearing and conditioning at 12°c. The kit had 5litres of juice and 500ml of concentrate as well as oak chips and the finings solution, I added all as instructions said and de gassed with a wand after I’d syphoned from fermenter to demijohn. I thought I’d try a bottle yesterday to see how it’s doing as it says ready to drink after 3 weeks in the bottle, first impressions are it’s pretty weak tasting almost watery, there is definitely a dry red wine taste the more you drink but that initial sip tastes pretty watery. Is this normal, is this what would be described as a young wine, it certainly isn’t full bodied at the moment, will that come with more time in the bottle? I plan on trying a bottle every 2 weeks from now to see if it progresses to a more rounded fuller wine. Don’t get me wrong it doesn’t taste nasty and it’s definitely drinkable now but definitely wouldn't compare it to a rioja, I’m hoping that will come with more time in the bottle or am i expecting too much from a kit wine.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

There have been many posts about Red wine kits over the years and the general advice is buy the most expensive kit you can afford the cheaper end of the market usually disappoint.

 

[Flan]

There have been many posts about Red wine kits over the years and the general advice is buy the most expensive kit you can afford the cheaper end of the market usually disappoint.

It was the kit that came with the starter kit i think it’s about £35 to buy the wine kit on its own. Im just wondering if it will develop into a fuller wine in the bottle or is that as good as it’ll be.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I am not a big red wine drinker but am sure someone will advise.

 

[johncrobinson]

It might, Just might improve some with keeping.

Chippys right though its the white and rose kits that members here seem to approve of the most.

Red wines of commerce are made by fermenting whole grapes.The alcohol and yeast react with numerous compounds in the skins and grapes during fermentation.
They are also normally oaked over long periods.
Its hard to replicate that. (I know some kits come with a small portion of skins and oak chips but its not the same.)

 

[John Galt]

I made the same kit a month or so ago, but they have a superior version with a wee bit extra juice. Anyways:

I made it to 20ltr instead of 23ltr, definitely more flavour and less watery than other wineworks merlot etc I have made.

The white wineworks kits are brilliant such as the sav blanc and Pinot Grigio, but as folk have said it’s hard to get a red great. I reckon they are the same as beaverdale and made from same company, so a few folks on here have always made the reds short on beaverdale and got good results, so experimented with this one.

For me the Rioja is nice, but more sweet than I would have expected. I think maybe if I made it to 21 or 22 it might still have been nice without being as sweet or to watery. My thinking is the more expensive kits have more juice to water ratio- but I’m not sure it really works out like that as the kits have obviously been tested by professional wine makers prior to giving instructions.

anyways I’m going to stick to making the wineworks kits a bit short to add flavour, but I would maybe only short it by a litre or 2 max as when I shorted by 3 it’s a bit to sweet.

 

[John Galt]

Forgot to say I got a wineworks merlot kit with the starter pack back in October. As you said a bit watery, but after 5-6 months it tasted brilliant.

 

[Flan]

Forgot to say I got a wineworks merlot kit with the starter pack back in October. As you said a bit watery, but after 5-6 months it tasted brilliant.

Thanks John, good to know, I’ll leave it a good while yet then. This is my first ever wine so I didn’t know what to expect. I’m not really a white wine drinker so any reds that are decent I’d be really interested in doing

 

[John Galt]

Thanks John, good to know, I’ll leave it a good while yet then. This is my first ever wine so I didn’t know what to expect. I’m not really a white wine drinker so any reds that are decent I’d be really interested in doing

I got some expensive wine expert nebbolio on the go that came with grape skins. Shall let you know how that turns out, been bottled since February so just a waiting game.
Also had another wine expert chateau nuff de pap style. To be fair for the extra £20 it wasn’t much better. I reckon you need to be going for the expensive ones for red and age for a year to get it amazing. But I’m happy with wineworks superior kits, they are fine for me. You just get used to the fact the reds are a bit different from what you get in the shops. I’m hopeful the nebbolio shall turn out good as was over £120 for the kit.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

The Winexpert kits have grape pulp and a lot more juice. Take about 6 weeks, more expensive but meant to be better. Did watch a you tube video where a very knowledgable guy tweaked a simple kit to get the max from it. Can't remember the name but worth searching.

 

[johncrobinson]

Making the red kits a bit short does seem to pay dividends.
A small price to pay for a few liters it would seem.

Have to admit though i do love red wine i have only made white kits (with great results)

 

[Flan]

I made the same kit a month or so ago, but they have a superior version with a wee bit extra juice. Anyways:

I made it to 20ltr instead of 23ltr, definitely more flavour and less watery than other wineworks merlot etc I have made.

The white wineworks kits are brilliant such as the sav blanc and Pinot Grigio, but as folk have said it’s hard to get a red great. I reckon they are the same as beaverdale and made from same company, so a few folks on here have always made the reds short on beaverdale and got good results, so experimented with this one.

For me the Rioja is nice, but more sweet than I would have expected. I think maybe if I made it to 21 or 22 it might still have been nice without being as sweet or to watery. My thinking is the more expensive kits have more juice to water ratio- but I’m not sure it really works out like that as the kits have obviously been tested by professional wine makers prior to giving instructions.

anyways I’m going to stick to making the wineworks kits a bit short to add flavour, but I would maybe only short it by a litre or 2 max as when I shorted by 3 it’s a bit to sweet.

I was wondering if anybody had tweaked the cheaper kits by adding more juice, maybe supermarket juice, or oak chips or something else, i know the superior wineworks kits have 5.5ltrs of grape juice and I’ve been looking at the Vine co kits which have 8l and 10l for classic and estate kits, comparing prices with the wineworks at around £35 and the Vine co at around £53 for classic and £79 for estate i just don’t know what is worth going for.

 

[ChrisT]

Over the last few months I've done a few 23l WinExpert Classic kits, both red and white and I have to say I'm quite impressed with the quality straight out of the demiohn. I've put a demijohn of each to one side and will go back to them after 6 months to see how they fair. I've tried the On The House and VineCo and the whole family prefers the WinExpert. Although the instructions for each appears to be exactly the same?

For £50 and at least 25 bottles it's the current go to, just need to stop giving so much away to family!

P.S. I did make one of the On The House to 20l instead of 23l and it did improve the immediate drinkability, didn't last to see how it aged though!

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@Flan
Tracked this guy down and he is tweaking wine kit.



Have to say just tasted the WineExpert classic pinot grigio I made a few weeks ago and I'm impressed. I make the wine for my wife and hadn't tried it, but after a few weeks of her testing it realised it was safe for me!

 

[Cwrw666]

Red wine kits - I've only made the Beaverdale ones, which are forty odd quid a go. I've always made them short to about 20L instead of 23. However the latest one I bought has quite a bit less juice than previous ones. I made it up to 20L as usual but it's only going to be about 11% instead of 12.5% previously.
All the previous ones have been excellent but I'm dubious about this one.

 

[johncrobinson]

You can "tweak" the kits with good results.
The problem is causing confusion to newcomers.

Making red kits short in order to improve the result (It seems to work) is a classic,The poor newcomer however wont know which side his bread is buttered.

Us old hands can probably make good wine out of sweaty socks,But we should keep in mind those that have never made wine before. The internet seems to confuse more than enlighten in this regard.

 

[John Galt]

It’s nice to experiment a bit when your first trying out kits. It has taken me about 6 kits to get to a decent confident level.. after that I decided I want a easy life and just use one mangrove jack stainless steel FV, no secondary and short the cheaper kits as they don’t need to stay to long before bottling.

With regards to winewxpert classic, mine came out okay but a tinge of rubber taste as reckon I over cooked it it at the start of fermenting.. it’s still nice but ya know when it’s not ideal eh. I’m pretty happy with the wine works superiors, really easy to make and come out just as good as beverdale. You get oak chips with them too.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@John Galt
Thanks for the advice. Only on my third Winexpert classic and decided to change to a ferment in a spare fermentasaurus to reduce the transfer losses. Not sure it fermented as quickly but that could be a temp issue. Getting cooler in my brew room now it says 20 - 25 celsius. Do you think there's a sweet spot to aim for on my next one. White kit only.

 

[John Galt]

@John Galt
Thanks for the advice. Only on my third Winexpert classic and decided to change to a ferment in a spare fermentasaurus to reduce the transfer losses. Not sure it fermented as quickly but that could be a temp issue. Getting cooler in my brew room now it says 20 - 25 celsius. Do you think there's a sweet spot to aim for on my next one. White kit only.

Probably around 22 mate when adding the yeast. I’m finding better results with lower end of the 20s and letting it ferment a bit longer. I think as long as it’s not hitting above 25 when you drop the yeast in. Mine was over 26 and the fact it started bubbling like mad straight away says it was to hot. Think yours shall be grand at the 25 range with it actually fermenting.

Defo finding that if after 24 hours it’s bubbling a wee bit and gradually building up pace in days 3-4 , the results are quite remarkable. Obviously the fermenting adds temperature so as long as not started too high it’s been good results. A lot to be said for the fermenting temperature and end results, suppose it’s trial and error.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Thank you @John Galt I'll work on that a bit more closely for the next one.