First ever batch and my first Boo Boo!

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jellyhemp

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Hi guys,

So i started my journey into the art of homebrew wine last night. I thought id start off easy and bought a cellar 7 (7day wine kit) thinking i couldnt go wrong with that one. That was my first mistake! Second mistake was misreading the instructions. It states to add the grape juice and TOP UP to 21 litres, however, i ADDED 21 litrrs thus making a total of 26 instead of 21.

My question is, have i ruined it or is there a way to rescue this batch and prevent any permanent mental scarring?

Some other info as i think it may be of help, i attempted to read the hydrometer, it hovered around .65 (assuming i read it correctly). I'm guessing this is far too low? Have i just made 26 litres of alocohol free grape flavoured water? :-)

I appreciate any advise you can offer and if I've posted this in the incorrect section then i do apologise!

Edit: I read the hydrometer completely wrong, it is 1065 and not .65
 
You have not ruined your brew. You have added to much water which will result in a weaker wine with slightly watered down taste. With a OG of 1.065 you can expect a wine of about 9.3% abv.

I have never done a wine kit but it may be possible to add in some grape concentrate to increase the abv and also the taste and mouth feel. Hopefully someone that is more experienced can say whither this is a good idea or not.

But whatever you do dont chuck it out, it will still be good
 
It'll be fine, I recently made a wine that ended up about 9.5% abv and it's perfectly drinkable, although maybe a little weak on taste but it's fine. As pp said you could add extra grape concentrate if you can get it, this will add extra flavour and sugar, but I haven't done wine kits before so not sure how it would affect the taste of the intended finished wine, maybe with a little sweetning when it's done will help, but it's upto your personal taste. Having not done a wine kit before I'm not sure how they live up to their names with regards to how long they take, but it could probably be more than 7 days so don't worry if it takes longer.

Good luck!
 
I did something similar and added a small can of grape concentrate from Wilkinsons to bring the S G back up. It was a while ago but there is none left so must have been ok.
 
Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for your reassuring comments! I was close to reordering the kit and starting again..

I do however have a few questions on the use of concentrated grape juice:

1) Given I'm about 1.5 litres out of the original grape juice, how much concentrate would I be required to use if I were to go down this route? I see Wilkinsons do a 250ml of white concentrated grape juice.

2) It's very hard to locate smaller quantities of the original grape juice (Pinot Grigio), would a generic grape juice be sufficient? (though I'm worried about affecting the taste too much in doing so)

3) Excuse the ignorance here but this is completely new to me at the moment, but would there be any associated issues with stirring the wine once fermentation has begun or should I follow any strict steps in doing so (obviously sterilsation of the equipment to be used is a must)

Thanks again for your help and advice!
 
Sterilise everything that comes into contact with the must!

Just be aware when adding more concentrate you are also adding more water, and your gravity readings won't help as some of the sugars will have converted to alcohol already.

As far as I know, the concentrate cans are fairly generic in taste, so mostly add body and sugar. The 250ml concentrate will probably be of a similar strength to the original concentrate from the kit, so consider the expense in adding 1.5L of the stuff! I believe the concentrate may also have added glucose (but don't quote me on that!).

Probably not ideal, but perhaps a mix of sugar and regular grape juice or sugar and concentrate may be better from a cost perspective.
 
Advice noted! In the end I decided to air on the side of caution and went for 3 x 250ml bottles of concentrate (£2.50 each). I didn't want to risk spoiling any original flavours too much. Sterlised everything, added, stirred and now the OG reading is now 1.073, however, as you mentioned, this may have reduced given some of the sugars may have already reduced due to the fermentation already taken place.

Well, time will tell but I'll be back to let you know how it goes! :-)

Appreciate the help so far

Jelly...
 
Why not purchase another Celar 7 kit add the juice and split into 2 fermenters and top up to the original 21 lt? Then nothing is spoilt and you get twice as much. Believe me you are going to drink it. This method also ensures that whatever fermentation has taken place you end up with the kit wine you wanted. Wilkos or any other small can concentrate is poor quality grape juice and will not on its own make a good wine. I make mainly red kit wine and often slightly under dilute to raise the SG. If you do go down this route I would top up to 20lt.
 
Just thought I'd give un update considering all the advice given. Main fermentation ceased after 5 days and with a FG of .992. Racked twice so far. Wine is clear and surprisingly nice considering the events... Have left under the stairs and will revisit in a few weeks.

Thanks again for your advice!

Jelly...
 
You've racked it twice already?

For what it's worth, I tend to leave my wines in the primary for 3-4 weeks before racking, then stabilise and rack for at least 1, usually two months for further clearing.

I don't do much in the way of degassing and don't bother with finings and most of my wines have come out pretty good. The extended period in the secondary will help aging and the wine will (to an extent) slowly degas to. I once left a wine for 6 months (Easy White) and it was absolutely spot on after that time (when I got around to bottling it).
 
Yeah, it's one of those 7 day wine kits. My first attempt at wine making so went for an easy one to start with. I merely followed the instructions and contents, albeit the first step which landed me here pleading for advice :oops:)

The next batch i'll be taking more time with and will opt for a different kit and i'll be reading on various processes.

Any Red wine kits that you've tried that would be worth giving a go? Ideally i'd like one that i can leave for quite a while (1/2 years) so any examples you can throw my way i'll certainly take a look.

Jelly...
 
The Beaverdale or Calif connoseur Barolo is a top kit - I bottled some up late last year and it really is superb now.

I've done most of the Beaverdale kits now - the Merlot was good but not outstanding.

One thing I would always advise - chuck the Beaverdale kit yeast away and use a Lalvin (appropriate to the wine) yeast instead. The Calif Con kits come with Lalvin yeast so good to go.
 
Aha! I was looking at purchasing 2 x Californian conossiour Barolo earlier today. Worth getting some French Oak chips to add a natural barrel taste or are the flavours sufficient already? I've got a couple of demijons coming tomorrow so ill be ready when I pick up the Barolo kits.

Thanks for the recommendation Eric_S :cheers:

Jelly...
 
I think they come with some oak, although I quite like them as they are - might be worth (on the first try?) to keep it basic, then try little additions here and there.

Are you getting the 6 or 30 bottle kits - 6 bottles is a safe place to start with the more expensive kits :-)
 
I was planning on 6 but seeing 30 is only 39 quid, it makes sense to get the latter. Question: how long can you leave these red kits to age for? Once it's been racked and bottled, can you leave for several years or is that not recommended?
 
I believe the better kits can be left for quite some time! Although how much you enjoy them will factor in how long you keep them for!

I tend to make the smaller kits so I can have a variety to hand as storing lots of bottles can quickly eat up space...
 
Worth getting either pectolase (to aid fermentation), campden tablets (to kill off any bacteria) or potassium sorbate (to prevent any refermentation once bottled)? I'd prefer to get this brew right first time if im going to age it for a lengthy period of time.

Thoughts?


Jelly...
 
The kit will have everything you need (and some you may not - such as the oak, finings etc).

Worth getting some campden, pot sorbate, pectolase, yeast nutrient and citric acid etc in any case when you start making your own brews.
 

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