Dark Rock wine kits

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I‘ve just been looking at the Dark Rock website and noticed they’re doing their own wine kits and I wondered if anyone has any experience of them. It costs £39.99 for a 30 bottle kit and if it’s half as good as their beer kits, then they’ll probably be worth a punt, it I just thought I’d check if some one on here has tried them.
 
“No” to Dark Rock kits but The Range do superbly drinkable Red Wine and Rosé Wine. At the moment I have a White Wine kit fermenting and the OG sample tasted superb.

All the MYO Wine Kits are 23 litre kits that currently cost £19.99 (Rosé & White) or £24.99 (Red). Check out the following links:

https://www.therange.co.uk/search?q=Wine Kit#in_stock_f=true&sort=relevance&page=1&lpp=24
https://makeyourowndrinks.co.uk/shop/wine.html
Note: They may not suit a Wine Buff but personally I brew them with less sugar and chill them for a summer drink! The result is very “Moreish”!
:hat:
 
“No” to Dark Rock kits but The Range do superbly drinkable Red Wine and Rosé Wine. At the moment I have a White Wine kit fermenting and the OG sample tasted superb.

All the MYO Wine Kits are 23 litre kits that currently cost £19.99 (Rosé & White) or £24.99 (Red). Check out the following links:

https://www.therange.co.uk/search?q=Wine Kit#in_stock_f=true&sort=relevance&page=1&lpp=24
https://makeyourowndrinks.co.uk/shop/wine.html
Note: They may not suit a Wine Buff but personally I brew them with less sugar and chill them for a summer drink! The result is very “Moreish”!
:hat:
Thank yo. I’ll take a look at them.
 
Thank you. Just out of interest, what’s the abv of the final product?


Tasting NotesA light, fruity, medium-sweet rosé with a peachy-orange hue. Well balanced sweetness and acidity, with subtle apple and strawberry notes.
Average ABV11.8%
ColourPeachy Orange


Tasting NotesA light-bodied, fruity, easy-drinking dry red wine. Well-structured and lightly oaked, with intense, ripe berry fruit flavours.
Average ABV11.5%
ColourDeep Cherry
 
Tasting NotesA light, fruity, medium-sweet rosé with a peachy-orange hue. Well balanced sweetness and acidity, with subtle apple and strawberry notes.
Average ABV11.8%
ColourPeachy Orange


Tasting NotesA light-bodied, fruity, easy-drinking dry red wine. Well-structured and lightly oaked, with intense, ripe berry fruit flavours.
Average ABV11.5%
ColourDeep Cherry
Thank you.
 
Thank you. Just out of interest, what’s the abv of the final product?
The ABV is what @Chippy_Tea said …

… but that’s only if you put in the 3.5kg of sugar recommended in the recipe!

Personally, I like to brew wine that I can drink in copious amounts in the summer so I always “brew light” and use sugar to regulate the ABV.

As a general rule, I use only 1.5kg of sugar for Rosé and Red Wine (‘cos I add Cassis to it before drinking) and 2.0kg for White Wine. This gives me about 6% to 8% ABV.

BTW, being a true peasant, I chill all of my MKO Wines before drinking!

Enjoy.
:hat:

PS
Rather than use bottles, I use the 5 litre bottles that the Spring Water used for brewing the wine comes in! I then decant this into 2 litre bottles as required for chilling. (I said I was a peasant!)
athumb..
 
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I’ve now bought the Range Red Wine kit and I’ve also got a 32 litre FV in which to do it. The only thing is that this FV has neither a tap nor a hole for an airlock and I have to ask….does this matter? I should think not, but I’d be interested in any views on this. Thanks, Gaz
 
The Instructions for The Range say to just leave the lid on the FV resting on top.

Personally, I use a blow-off bottle ‘cos I use the FV for everything!

If you have doubts, stretch a length of cling-film over the top of the FV, puncture it with a small knife and then rest the lid on top.
:hat:
 
The Instructions for The Range say to just leave the lid on the FV resting on top.

Personally, I use a blow-off bottle ‘cos I use the FV for everything!

If you have doubts, stretch a length of cling-film over the top of the FV, puncture it with a small knife and then rest the lid on top.
:hat:
Thank you. I hadn’t thought about using cling film. I’ve just read the instructions and it advises using either granulated sugar or dextrose. Which would you use?
 
They weren’t exaggerating when they said the fermentation could be vigorous! Good grief! I am now so glad I bought a 32 litre FV. The starting hydrometer reading was 1082 so we’ll see how it ends up.
 
The wine came out at 11.0% and I managed 26 (and a bit) bottles out of the kit. There’s a lovely depth of colour to the wine and I decided to try the ‘bit’ left over, just for quality assurance purposes you understand. I have to say, it wasn’t half bad, and I’m sure that 4 to 6 months in the bottle will improve the flavour no end. Its exactly as stated on the box, being light bodied and fruity with an oaked finish. I’m deeply impressed with this kit from the Range - especially given the cost of doing it, and I will be doing other 30 bottle kits from there. A few years ago, I tried one of the Winebuddy 6 bottle Merlot kits, and whilst it was ok after a long time in the bottle, this kit from the Range, knocks spots off it.
 

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