winebuddy merlot 30 bottle kit

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ilikesabeer

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Hi I have just purchased this kit. Some people say to add more grape juice for a fuller bodied wine. What juice is best to add, how much do I add and how do you work out the reduction in sugar if any?
I don't brew much wine so if answers can be for a simpleton I may understand them
 
Why not make it as per instructions then you will have a benchmark for future reference, you may find you like it as it is, if you mess with it you will never know.
 
Thanks Chippy_tea, sounds like a plan I think I worry too much. I do usually follow instructions but bought this before reading up on it. There seem to be more people dislike, than like it:pray:
 
I'll be watching eagerly. I was warned off this wine as being only suitable for 'necking' and was advised to go for a kit double the price. So if you get good results I may just have to try for myself :)
 
If you're looking for a full-bodied red, in my experience you need to get the kits containing at least 10litres of grape juice which cost around £50+

I like the Selection kits albeit they cost in the region of £70 (at around £2 a bottle they are more than a match for £8+ supermarket wines for me)

Some of the cheaper kits are quite nice, but I'd be surprised if it comes out full bodied.
 
Check the ingredients. The cabernet sauvignon version now contains no grape juice concentrate in the main pack (just apple and elderberry, plus colour) and a just a small amount in the flavouring pack. Sometimes you can get pure merlot juice from Lidl, which I have used with good results. This would be the ideal addition to the kit.
 
To answer the sugar question look on the carton and it will tell you how much sugar is in it. I personally think its a good idea to add some grape due to the cheaper kits and as long as its red any is fine for a few litres but if you can get merlot even better.
 
The Lidl merlot juice comes in a 75 cl bottle. The sugar content is about 120 g. When in stock, it can be found in the luxury items, not with the juice cartons.
 
Cheers for that however my local lidl has non in stock they do have vitafit premium red grape jiuce not from concentrate though. if i were to add 2 ltr of this how much would i need to reduce the sugar by?
 
Ah well, here goes Winebuddy 30 bottle merlot kit with 2ltrs of Lidl's vitafit premium red grape juice not from concentrate added. Reduced sugar by 350g and fv filled to 22 litres. Not sure if the 5ltr of boiling water to start as per instructions is a little too much as when the cold water and juice is added the mix is coming in at about 28+ degrees and I believe this may be too warm for the yeast. However this was added with the wood chips prior to taking a heat reading, (fingers crossed I haven't spoiled it):doh:. Leaving now for 6 days as per instructions:whistle:
 
This is one lively fruit juice and I would recommend some form of overflow pipe as discussed on one of chippy-tea's posts. I have had to remove the airlock several times to clean out the over froth and decided to lift the lid slightly to allow excess gas out. After 2 days this has now settled down and is just bubbling nicely through the air lock.

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At a reading of 0.094-0.096 all finings and stabiliser have now been added as per instructions. I'm not sure only a single minute of vigorous stirring with a long spoon after adding the stabiliser, is enough to remove the majority of the gas from the liquid as stated in the instructions. Gave it several good stirs and the froth almost came over the top of the fv. The day after some of this froth is still on the surface so I will be leaving it now for 48 hours before siphoning into a second fv after clearing. once in second fv I am tempted to give it another good agitation to remove some more gas prior to bottling. The colour as most comments have said is that of a week Ribena however the taste, (one dessert spoon full) was quite fruity and dry with a warm feeling at the back of the throat. The taste stayed on the pallet for a good time after the sample test without any chemical after tastes and I don't think I will sweeten this any further. Can't wait to try a glass full at the weekend:-P. If this does improve with time (weeks/months), it can only be good.
 
I have just made this and it works a treat, air bubbles as per pic are now much finer. I only have a single speed drill so I had to trigger on and off to prevent the wine from swirling out the fv. I will now leave a further 24 hours before bottling to ensure any sediment that may have travelled through the siphon tube has a chance to settle again.:whistle:


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