Carafe 21 :::::: 30 bottle :::::: dirt cheap white wine kit!

[NickW]

Hey guys,

Picked this up when I was at wilkos yesterday as I need another basic wine kit to get me through the next month or so: http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0054452

Cheapest thing there, even cheaper than the youngs kits. The carton inside is called "SUPER concentrate" and its only 1litre :lol:

I was planning on just making this kit as it says in the directions:

3.5kg sugar, ferment for 2 weeks, add finings etc...

But do you reckon theres any way to "spruce" this up? - e.g. when someone suggested using apple juice in a cider kit to replace some of the sugar... that kind of thing. -- or, on the flipside, if youve actually made this kit and thought it was perfect, let me know! :grin:

Would be interesting to hear peoples ideas on this :party:

 

[BrewStew]

jesus that is cheap!

but is it any good though :hmm:

 

[percival]

i reckon that simply following the instructions would be a good route to take. With the one exception of giving the wine some months, rather than weeks, to condition. Then you'll be able to compare it with the other uber cheap brews you have done recently, like the one you made from cartons of grape juice for example, and also the more expensive kits like the connoisseurs choice (it was you that made this wasnt it?). This would give you an indication of a good starting point for a cheap brew - kits or cartons - and from there you can make decisions based on your tastes, preferences and experience. Or whether its just not worth going the cheap route if you so much prefer the results from a more expensive kit. Even tho you may be comparing reds with whites you should be able to get a feel for the quality of your product.

When the results come in then you can decide if its too sweet, dry, lacking body, interest etc etc and how you can 'correct' that next time if you need to. Or it may turn out to be a wine you can blend with others. I haven't got into blending myself but you seem to like to experiment so maybe this would interest you? On a trip to the Talisker distillery some years ago they heaped praise on whisky blenders for the complexity of the task and their results. Its a worthy challenge, but homebrewers shouldn't be put off having a go at blending any more than brewing.

 

[falafael]

am going to wilkos this morning, will have a look at that, am going for more strawberry wine kit and lager, and whatever takes my fancy
!!

 

[NickW]

Also - before you go on your strawberry wine adventure again.. have a read through this thread - http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/show ... 0937&t=825

If its possible to make 1 gallon of nice wine from two cans of tinned fruit.. surely its just as possible to make 5 gallons of wine from 10 tins of fruit!

I'm gonna try this out I think.

 

[percival]

The guy who started that thread seems to be pretty serious about his homebrew eh (going by his signature anyway!). Nice to see him suggesting wines like these - definately not a wine snob then - and also still turning to Berry's books.

 

[NickW]

Still smelling like white wine.... all good so far

 

[NickW]

Uh oh..

Ok, I think I have a problem.

I can't remember how much sugar I've put in this wine!

It says:

Day 1: Use 2.0kg sugar

Day 3: Use 1.5kg sugar in 10 pints of warm water, then add to the solution.

BUT... the past couple of days some doubt has been wooshing around my head... and I think I may be missing some sugar!

Day 1: Started brew with 2kg sugar (perhaps!)
Day 2: Fermenting
Day 3: Fermenting
Day 4: Added 1.5kg sugar (perhaps!) with the 10 pints of water.

The gravity on Day 4 was 1.030 (after adding the sugar)

Now, I assume that the initial gravity (if I added all the sugar and water at the start), would have been in the region of 1.090. So after the timespan of 3 days, is it possible to drop to 1.030 that quickly?? If not - it suggests I've missed out (what I think is 1kg of sugar somewhere along the line)... Because I cant see it being 1.030 that quickly.

I know its a long shot but do any of you have any ideas/advice/feelings on this?

Would be greatly appreciated!

:

 

[percival]

The only thing i can suggest is let your taste buds guide you. When fermentation has almost finished then have a sip. You can probably tell if your wine is around 9/10% (or less) or 12/13% from the taste.

 

[Barrington]

Now then percival any chance uve got the recipe for the rosehip wine? cheers

 

[percival]

i'm on it now ... new thread in recipes

 

[NickW]

Well, I pitched on Friday, and its below 1.010 now, the instructions say when its below 1.000 it has pretty much finished fermenting. The fermentation is still quite vigourus even though its below 1.010.

Only thing is I didnt take any bloody hydro readings. But it must have had to be about 1.090ish to make an average 11-12% wine.

Although it says "Under ideal conditions the wine can ferment to under 1.000 in 12 days or less". But by the looks of it the fermentation could be below 1.000 by tomorrow (6 days).

I could try testing by the wine but I dont know whether I'm confident enough to check to see if there has been enough sugar pitched.

Gah!

 

[NickW]

(perhaps when the fermentation appears to have "finished", I can add 200g of sugar per day - and keep adding until the hydromoeter [which is sitting in the FV] stops going below 1.000 ? :hmm: )

 

[falafael]

how has this wine turned out???, was thinking of getting one of these at some point, any updates??

 

[NickW]

Seems fine os far! It tastes strong enough so i think i did add enough sugar in the end :party:

Its just finishing fermenting then im going to add all the lovely sachets of stuff, shake it around a bit.. should be done in less than a week :thumb:

 

[percival]

nice one crE. i'm glad it appears to have turned out ...

let's hear it for taste buds :

 

[NickW]

Just racked it into a pressure barrell (wont be pressurized) which is where I intend to keep it until its drunk

Added the kieselsol and gelatine (researching this tells me they work together to clarify and fine, among other things). Have to leave for two days and then try it out! Although I may try it tomorrow evening as a tester just incase

Just had a taste, seems to taste strong enough, albeit cloudy and yeasty at the minute. Just need to let the finings do their lovely work!

I hope I have good news to report on saturday! :thumb:

 

[NickW]

The finings sprung into action and it was clear as day this morning!

Tastes nice, like a tesco value bottle of wine - which i was i was expecting. Very drinkable and would highly recommend! Especially for the price of 53p a bottle :party:

 

[falafael]

for 53p a bottle, i will be getting one as soon as i have more wine bottles, have got 2 gallon on, but no bottles yet!!!
Thanks for the info along the way cre!!!

 

[NickW]

No worries!

Although you may consider buying a 20litre wine box from your local homebrew shop. I picked one up for jsut over a tenner. Will last you ages if you look after it!