First Wine...and it's a kit. Sorry. Need advice...

[Scots_Pagan]

Righto guys & girls....
Been wanting to do this for so long, but now I've finally made the first leap into the unknown, and bought some kit, I figured it'd be safer to get a rubbishy kit. 1 Gallon Wilko's "Black Cherry" country wine kit has been duly purchased, made up and is already starting to bubble away in the demijohn...

If I can but crave your indulgences for a moment, I've got a couple of really stupid n00b questions:

1) I didn't pay Wilkos for the "brewing sugar" since my knowledge of chemistry, and what I read on here says it's not needed for wine, so I just used cane sugar. That OK?

2) Here's the more concerning bit...I followed the instructions to the letter, and added the 450g of sugar to the 1.8ltrs of cold water (I would have thought warm, but hey ho), and the grape must...but before I chucked in the yeast, I tried taking a SG reading using my shiny newly sterilised hydrometer...couldn't get the thing to work...which is to say when it floats in the test vessel, it's well above the reading marks, like about 1300....is this normal??! Everything I've read says this is wrong, but following the kit, I haven't added the rest of the water to take it up to 4.5l....
Put my mind at ease here...
Been going about 5 hours, and it's already bubbling away about "glurp" every two-three minutes, so fermentation is occurring,...that's good, right?

Thanks for any help you can give me...if only in persuading She Who Must Be Feared that I've not just wasted £30...

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Sugar is fine I never use brewing sugar for wine.

The hydrometer reading is out because you have only used 1.8 litres of water, the sugar to water ratio is far higher than it would be if you had made it up to 4.5 litres.

A word of warning, the instructions tell you to top up on day two (I think) do not do this as it will come out of the airlock, this happened to me and several other members when making this kit, wait until day four or five then it'll be fine.

 

[Scots_Pagan]

Ta...I realised that after I read the review of the kit you guys did....it's bubbling away like a bugger now, so hopefully my first attempt will at least be alcoholic, as long as it doesn't get infested with the no-doubt tons of mold spores my house likely has...

Based on what was said in that kit review (which I should have looked at first), and I commented on there as well, but feel free to ignore it, I think I might get some cherry juice to make up some of that water, since everyone was saying it had no cherry flavour...
Unsweetened if I can tho, since it'll push the sugar content up...I don't mind a stronger wine, but I don't want a syrup! Anyone any good recommendations?

 

[stanglish]

I've made it and it's perfectly nice, but not really loads of cherry going on. Depends how much you want a smash of cherry flavour in it really.

Be careful when adding juices - as you've pointed out if you add Cherry juice it will push the ABV up but it won't turn into syrup or anything. Sugar is eaten by the yeast and turns into alcohol so as long as you're fermenting things out you shouldn't end up with anything but a dry brew.

I think if you could find some Cherry juice with literally no added sugar in and no artificial sweeteners that would be fine but does that even exist? I would be doubtful and as I say just a touch careful because if you add artificial sweeteners that's when you'll get a sweet end product because they don't ferment.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Based on what was said in that kit review (which I should have looked at first), and I commented on there as well, but feel free to ignore it, I think I might get some cherry juice to make up some of that water, since everyone was saying it had no cherry flavour...

I would follow the instructions and see if you like the end result, if it has not got as much taste as you like you could always add something to it once you have stabilised and cleared it.

 

[brianaiton]

Would it even be an idea to chop up some cherries and throw them in for extra flavour?

 

[PD]

no problem....just make sure they are clean and steralised.....

 

[Scots_Pagan]

Yeah, I was thinking of actual cherries, I've got a ton from last year's "tescos reduced" harvest that I stoned and chucked in the chest freezer...

Do you actually need to do anything to them before lobbing in the DJ? I'm guessing putting in bruclean wouldn't be a good idea LOL

 

[oldbloke]

If they've been frozen there's not much you need to do - it sorts most bacteria and also pops some cell walls so the flavours and sugars come out more easily. Just a gentle mashing to let the juices out freely.

 

[Scots_Pagan]

Well, just topped up the water - as recommended, I didn't do it on Day 3, but Day 5...

Took a reading, SG is looking about 1.038...had a wee taste of it and it's tasting like a sweet desert wine...still got about 3-4 days of fermenting at least, as we're getting a bubble every 10s or so...

Thinking I'll leave the cherries this time around; I'll do it as the kit intended, and then maybe do another to tweak....

 

[bobsbeer]

At 1.038 it will be sweet. You are looking to finish around .990-.995 which will be dry. Once you stabilise you could add some cherry juice to slightly sweeten it and give you some more cherry taste. But taste it first before you do this. And preferably age it for at least a month as you will be surprised how the taste changes.

 

[Scots_Pagan]

Right...

So, fermentation was basically done; no bubbling for hours at a time, so got a sample out...SP is reading 0.997-ish (I'm not great at reading that thing, but looks about that. Certainly below 1.00.
So, I add the cherry stuff, swirl it all up (as instructed in instructions) and get a reading now. Up to 1.000, but that's to be expected since I have just added a sugary syrup. Then I had to drink all the stuff in the sample tube (can't go back in after all. Oh well).

Only one problem. There is NO body on this stuff at all. Very Very watery.
I expected the taste to be a bit naff, it's not even clear after all, but there is no way that's going to somehow get more richness & body as it's clearing/maturing, is there?

Fermentation has begun again. Cherry seems to have kickstarted the yeast again, so I'm thinking, I will drain out a litre of it, and add a litre of red grape juice (or cherry juice if I can find some)...

Any thoughts anyone?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Did you stabilise and clear it before adding the juice?

How much was the kit and which is it?

My first kit was a Solomon Grundy White and i thought it was great, now i have tried other kits (not many) and got into WOW variants i realise what it maybe was not as good as i originally thought, i now only make cheap 30 bottle kits to keep a stock going and make Supermarket juice wines for the first bottle of the nightor if i am only going to drink one, as someone here recently said "have a nice bottle to start and after that you don't care what you drink" :lol:

You might find this thread of interest - viewtopic.php?f=41&t=39846

 

[Scots_Pagan]

Its the Wilko's 1 Gallon Black Cherry wine...

No, didn't stabilise before putting the "cherry flavouring" in - was following the kit directions exactly, and it says to put in the cherry for 24 hours before stabilising.

Been almost 24 hours now, and it's definitely not just gassing-out; airlock is going every 5 seconds or so.
got given a 25ltr tank yesterday, so I might make a 30-bottler at some point, but I'd like my first wine to be at least drinkable - think I should boost it with a litre of grape or cherry juice?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I made the same kit a while ago, If i remember right when i added the flavouring sachet it took off again then 24 hours later you have to add finings and stabiliser and wait another week before bottling.

There is no need to boost it it will be fine, i have just reread my review and i said its not very strong tasting but drinkable, at £4 in the sale it was OK but i wouldn't pay £8 full price for it, i now make my own wine out of supermarket juices which work out at 70 pence a bottle and IMHO taste much better than cheap kits.

 

[Scots_Pagan]

Aye, I read that...alas, I did pay £8.50.

I didn't know beforehand. This was my "first attempt".
I might add some juice anyway just to nice it up - I don't drink that much so when I do have a couple of glasses, I'd rather they be nice. If I do boost it, will it interfere/make things worse etc. ?? Assuming I let it finish fermenting again then stabilise etc. I can't see any reason not to..

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Why not bottle it and leave it a couple of weeks, my problem was i didn't mature my early wines i drunk them as soon as they were finished, now i try to make enough so they mature for at least a couple of weeks, i haven't got the space to store much wine so i cannot mature it for months.
You will be surprised what difference leaving it a couple of weeks makes, i wouldn't add anything as you will never know if you liked the original kit.

Why not finish this kit then get a original WOW on, you might never make a kit again -

Couple of videos here -

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpkXCowv2Ys

Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJQQdkS0JAw

Original WOW how to thread here - viewtopic.php?f=48&t=10179&start=0

 

[Scots_Pagan]

Thanks Chippy :thumb:

I had seen the thread before, and I'm planning on raspberry WoW after this one is out the pot...
I have like 2 pounds of raspberries in my freezer, so I'll get them, a litre of white-grape and 2 litres of raspberry/apple juice...
Should make a nice rose I think.

I hadn't seen the videos though, so extra thanks for that. They really help explain a few things I wasn't quite clear on...I guess if I picture paints a thousand words, and you're getting 25 pictures a second....

stabilising and clearing starts today on this cherry water wine...not very strong-tasting, but hey, it'll kill some brain-cells, right?

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Let us know how you get on. :thumb:

 

[Crastney]

when you stabilise it, 24 hours after adding the cherry flavouring, you're drink will be slightly more alcoholic, but it'll be sweater, and have cherry flavour. If you leave it too long, all the sugar will go, and some of the cherry flavour, and it'll be dry again.