Winexpert Classic - Italian Pinto Grigio

[RoomWithABrew]

I started doing those kits in bucket fermenter but it was a 30 litre one. I've moved onto using a non pressure fermentasaurus ( plastic conical).

The frothing is minimal maybe one cm at most.
Conical means I don't need to rack out I just drop the yeast out and then can add the other packets as indicated. Ferment seems quicker than 14 days with the Pinot grigio at 21 celsius. Clearing is much quicker takes about 5 days.
Final plus point for the conical is much less waste. Total loss on a 24 litre ferment is about 750ml which is much less than I got with two transfers using bucket and carboy.

 

[GazzaW57]

Thank you.

I may very well add a little less water for the initial stage, and I’ve got quite a few demijohns, so I could use those.

I’ve done a number of 5 gallon wine kits this year as a departure from beer, I brew in my 30l buckets, but you could hold back 5l of water for a few days if you’re concerned about frothing, just make sure what you top up with is a similar temp so as not to shock the yeast.
I rack into demijohns so as to have negligible headspace, most I’ve picked up for £3 or less off FB marketplace, just need a bit of patience for them to come along at the right price. I leave it months in those to completely clear, then rack again for maturing.
once fermentation is finished it’s recommended to rack into something with a low surface area at the neck to avoid oxidising the wine as it ages. None of my buckets have airlocks these days but I use them for my first racking in the DJs to release any residual gases

 

[ChrisT]

I started doing those kits in bucket fermenter but it was a 30 litre one. I've moved onto using a non pressure fermentasaurus ( plastic conical).

The frothing is minimal maybe one cm at most.
Conical means I don't need to rack out I just drop the yeast out and then can add the other packets as indicated. Ferment seems quicker than 14 days with the Pinot grigio at 21 celsius. Clearing is much quicker takes about 5 days.
Final plus point for the conical is much less waste. Total loss on a 24 litre ferment is about 750ml which is much less than I got with two transfers using bucket and carboy.
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Now I'm tempted down that rabbit hole of the conical fermenter! I've read several other posts agreeing with you about the reduced losses of your valuable product, but not having to clean other FV, syphon, tube, etc thereby reducing the risk of contamination has to be a winner.

Doesn't it?

 

[ChrisT]

My go to (wine) kits are definitely Winexpert, I've done more than half a dozen now from the Classic range, I suppose I should go back and count? Whilst they are drinkable immediately, they definitely benefit from aging, I've tried them after 6 months and they are much improved. Having the strength of will to leave it alone for that long has been a struggle...

A while back I decided to splash out on a Limited Edition kit, Torrontes Muscat, not sure yet if it's worth the additional expenditure? I sampled it after syphoning into demi-johns to age and it's good, lets see what it's like after a few months.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@chirst
I hadn't really thought about the other benefits, there's a big saving in time and cleaning consumables as well. In fact I've repitched a decent slug of the yeast decanted off before adding the pot met and clearing agents that I then saved in the fridge and tipped in about 50ml of thick yeast. Those ferments started up much more quickly so reduced the contamination risk further I suppose.
Do you add the 1.5g of sod met to the batch when you are keeping the wine longer as it mentions in the instructions? I have done.
I am just about to do my first red the pinot noir and will try and keep that until the winter ( so a good 6 months for us). Certainly thought about doing the more expensive kits in the Winexpert range but will keep broadening my experience with the Classics for a few more kits.

 

[ChrisT]

@RoomWithABrew
For ageing, I did add to the first ones, but then forgot for the rest. I've only gone back to 2 demi-johns, one with, one without, both red, and I couldn't see it made any difference to the quality. I age in brown demi-johns with a solid cork and then kept under our house in the dark, it's slightly underground so stays cool all year.

Now I'm browsing conical fermenters

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@ChrisT
Saw this when browsing for my Dad who also finds the buckets a bit of a hassle. Seemed the best price from afar.
https://brew2bottle.co.uk/collectio...ies/products/fermenter-king-gen-3-starter-kit
I like the simplicity of this and you can give the bottle on the bottom a gentle squeeze which helps to encourage the yeast in when it packs down around the neck. The fermzilla has a solid collecting vessel so squeeze is out, but the bigger butterfly valve might negate the need for a squeeze. I really like being able to watch the ferment periodically ( we do have television).
I've been aging in the bottles so have diluted the sod met down so 3ml per bottle, I'm using champagne bottles and crown corks for them which is a lot less hassle and cheaper than corks.

 

[ChrisT]

@RoomWithABrew
That's the second tab I have open... It's usually where I get my supplies.

 

[RoomWithABrew]

@ChrisT
Let us know if you find a cheaper deal.
You don't need all of the pressure transfer stuff that's on the gen 3 starter kit but getting it without doesn't seem to be an option. The earlier models had a butterfly valve in the bottom and a plain lid with an airlock. You upgraded to the pressure transfer system. If you aren't kegging beer you could sell the bulkheads on.
Although you can make sparkling wine ( I made an elderflower fizz) and pressure transferred into bottles worked great.

 

[ChrisT]

@buddsy
Sorry to highjack your thread, but @RoomWithABrew, I'm doing it... Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal ending tonight, Brew2Bottle.

 

[buddsy]

Finished my last bottle from the start of this thread last night. So from Aug 2020.

I had forgotten how nice this wine was. Im now off to buy another from the range.


buddsy

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I had forgotten how nice this wine was. Im now off to buy another from the range.

Funnily enough, I've just today been bottling the WinExpert Pinot Gris (the Private Reserve) - I'm very impressed: really nice wine

 

[GhostDoggyWoofWoof]

Brew2bottle have a bunch of these kits on offer at mo

 

[GhostDoggyWoofWoof]

Brew2bottle have a bunch of these kits on offer at mo

Which apperar to be genuinely cheap compared to LoveBrewing. Hmm, I have a bucket, just need a corking device or do I just crown cap?

 

[RoomWithABrew]

Crown cap it's a lot less hassle if you have the right bottles, or go for wine bags even easier. They are reusable.

 

[matchles1]

Get in your neighbours recycle bins for screw top wine bottles, great wine kit too

 

[An Ankoù]

I'm not a wine kit maker-upper although I make wines from garden or foraged ingredients. Nevetherless, fascinated by the thread so I decided to look up some of these Wine Expert kits. I'm amazed: the Classic runs out at £62, the Reserve at £100 and the Private Reserve at £130! With the time and effort put in, I'd expect the finished product to be at least as good as a £5-6 bottle of supermarket wine standard kit and a £10-15+ bottle for the most expensive kit (2016 prices as I haven't been in a UK supermarket since then). Are they really that good???? I asking out of curiosity as I'm far too tight to buy one.

 

[ChrisT]

In my experience the Classic does equate favourably to £8-10 supermarket wines, when they're left for 6 months or more. If you drink them immediately, then I'd go for £4-6. I'd immediately qualify that by saying that not everything I've done from WinExpert is to our taste.

I've only tried one of the Reserve kits, Sauvignon Blanc, and I'm stuggling to find what the extra expenditure is for. I completed the kit around Xmas and I bottled 6 and left the rest in Demi-johns to mature. So far they're much the same as the Classic. Maybe after bulk maturing they'll be better????

What I would say for every Classic kit I've made and initially enjoyed, the bulk maturing for 6 - 12 months has improved the drinking satisfaction to a new level. When the summer is over I'm getting a Diablo Rojo, or two, on the go, I don't have a fermenting fridge as yet... The only one we didn't enjoy the Gerwurztraminer but that's not a go to for us anyway.

 

[buddsy]

Hi Friends!

Its been a while but yesterday I picked up a WinExpert Classic Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.

Ive got it underway in my fermentation fridge in my Fermentasaurus Snub Nose with the plan to use internal floating tube to siphon off rather than the usual way of pressuring the tank. Hopefully leaving the waste bed behind in the bottom of the cone.

Anyways Im hopeful I might be able to get a few bottles ready in time for Xmas.

Pictures to follow.

buddsy

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[ChrisT]

I made some of this in June last year and bottled the last demijohn earlier this week, so just over a year old. It most definitely improves with keeping. Having said that it's drinkable straight away!

I hope this year I'll make more "for keeping" rather than drinking it straight away, maybe, pehaps????