Negative opinion of WoW?

[tonyhibbett]

Spot on, sister!

 

[Crastney]

the wonder of WoW is that it's a general place to start from.
everyone's taste is different, and we all want different things from our drinks.
the thing to do is to alter it to your tastes - if it's got too much tannin, then use less next time. too watery? use concentrated WGJ, not strong enough - more sugar, too strong - less sugar. etc, etc.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Spor on, I have made many different versions and at the moment regularly make apple/raspberry and WGJ as we both like it, I do experiment with other juices but always come back to the apple/raspberry.

 

[tonyhibbett]

It has one major limitation: white wine. As yet, I have found no acceptable equivalent red wine recipe which is as cheap easy and quick to produce.

 

[graysalchemy]

Welch's purple red grape juice is just to expensive and you may as well by a Beaverdale kit for a similar outlay and have a better tasting wine as well. Having said that the Welch's red I did was ok after a couple of years but nothing to write home about and certainly not as good as a beaverdale kit. :thumb:

 

[Tim_Crowhurst]

It has one major limitation: white wine. As yet, I have found no acceptable equivalent red wine recipe which is as cheap easy and quick to produce.

I've said before that blackcurrants (if you use the whole fruit) can produce a very acceptable red WOW. Per gallon you need 2L RGJ (or two bottles of concentrate) 550-700g blackcurrants (depending on personal taste) 700g sugar, plus the usuals - oak chips, nutrient, tannin, acid, glycerine, and a suitable wine yeast. Drinkable in six to eight weeks and, assuming you grow your own blackcurrants it should cost less than £1/bottle, about half the cost of a Beaverdale kit.

 

[Aleman]

Do any of you dislike Wurzel's Orange Wine?

I've got to say that I tend to be very disappointed by wines (Juice and hedgerow) that don't contain a decent amount of grape juice . . . and by grape juice I mean the concentrate that you get in a LHBS. Supermarket juice is completely unbalanced for making wine being made from dessert grapes and pressed rather than sitting on the skins, which explains the low tannin levels and acidity.

Most of my wines tend to get 1/2 a pint of grape concentrate per gallon, or 8oz of Sultanas or raisins per gallon. If its sultanas then they are fermented on the pulp extracting the tannin.

The only reasonable tannin supplement I have found is Ritchies Grape Tannin which is a liquid which gets thrown into my turbo cider.

 

[bobsbeer]

It was youngs active yeast + nutrient. I think I probably wanted more nutrient TBH.

I've started using other specific yeasts instead, I'll probably culture them on or just drop juice wines onto the lees of maybe a fruit wine...

I can't understand why people use generic yeast compounds in their wine. When making beer most people would shudder at the thought of using generic ale yeast and opt for expensive slants or smack packs and the like, for the style they are making. In the sure knowledge it will make better beer. The same applies to wine. Make bread from the generic compounds and use a decent yeast in your wine. You will notice the difference even in a basic WOW. Gervin, Lalvin, Red Star and even Youngs are decent yeasts to use. Just not the All Purpose ones. As the saying goes jack of all trades and master of none.

 

[tonyhibbett]

Pressed black grapes produce white juice. When making red wine, the skins are fermented with the juice. It is the alcohol which extracts the colour. To make red juice, both skins and juice are heated to 60 c. to extract the colour. The process does not extract much of the tannin from the skins, unlike fermentation. This is one reason why the juice is less suitable for making red wine and also accounts for the paler red colour. Elderberries can supply both tannin and a deeper colour. The process is also used in the production of concentrate.

 

[oldbloke]

Do any of you dislike Wurzel's Orange Wine?

I've got to say that I tend to be very disappointed by wines (Juice and hedgerow) that don't contain a decent amount of grape juice . . . and by grape juice I mean the concentrate that you get in a LHBS. Supermarket juice is completely unbalanced for making wine being made from dessert grapes and pressed rather than sitting on the skins, which explains the low tannin levels and acidity.

Most of my wines tend to get 1/2 a pint of grape concentrate per gallon, or 8oz of Sultanas or raisins per gallon. If its sultanas then they are fermented on the pulp extracting the tannin.

The only reasonable tannin supplement I have found is Ritchies Grape Tannin which is a liquid which gets thrown into my turbo cider.

I know what you mean, but if you can make your mind take a step back and think of it as a drink the same strength as wine rather than an actual wine, your perspective changes.
Having said that, there aren't many I make now that don't have either raisins or sultanas or grape juice, or at least wine tannin, or at the very least blackcurrant.

 

[Boatbrewer]

The original was pure pressed grape juice, not apple, and orange juice. The orange would overwhelm the apple, but not the grape. I love good orange juice and drink it every day, but as a wine ingredient? Only in small quantities. Orange zest, grated peel, on the other hand, is a great component in white wine.

You are quite right. That was a typo. I meant Grape and Orange.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Do any of you dislike Wurzel's Orange Wine?

I've got to say that I tend to be very disappointed by wines (Juice and hedgerow) that don't contain a decent amount of grape juice . . . and by grape juice I mean the concentrate that you get in a LHBS. Supermarket juice is completely unbalanced for making wine being made from dessert grapes and pressed rather than sitting on the skins, which explains the low tannin levels and acidity.

Most of my wines tend to get 1/2 a pint of grape concentrate per gallon, or 8oz of Sultanas or raisins per gallon. If its sultanas then they are fermented on the pulp extracting the tannin.

The only reasonable tannin supplement I have found is Ritchies Grape Tannin which is a liquid which gets thrown into my turbo cider.

I know what you mean, but if you can make your mind take a step back and think of it as a drink the same strength as wine rather than an actual wine, your perspective changes.
Having said that, there aren't many I make now that don't have either raisins or sultanas or grape juice, or at least wine tannin, or at the very least blackcurrant.

Spot on as usual, I like the juice wine I make because I make it to the way I like it, when you buy cheap wine from supermarkets it is exactly that, I prefer the taste of my own wine to the stuff they sell for four pounds a bottle and mine costs fifty pence and is much stronger.

 

[Grand gris]

I'm quite surprised at some of the negative comments. All of the wow variations I have made have been drinkable - I personally think the OJ version is least acceptable.

I know make a white with mixed juices and a rose Apple juice WOW which, after 3-6 months are as good as plenty of £5 supermarket wines.

I always use tbags as tannins and add 1 teaspoon of glycerine. I don't usually add nutrient and have only had 1 come out as a medium but even this was an acceptable Rose?

Aging is definitely key - many people on here love Pineapple WOW - I made one and after 2 months it was disgusting :sick: :sick: . I am planning to try another bottle next week as it is now 7 months old. If its still not right it will be the first undrinkable WOW I have made :pray: . I'd like to see more discussion on this to assess whether it is taste or technique. Many people have tried different versions of my homebrew - The only negative feedback I have had on the wines I have made, was a cellar7 kit and TBH it is was the worst wine I have made

My 2 penneth worth :

 

[Kinleycat]

I look at it this way the WOW I make the wife is worth much more than double what it costs me to make, most bottles I have bought in the supermarket are worth exactly what you pay for them.
I think I costed my last batch at 47p per bottle for the White and 45p for the rose, none of its chateau neuf de pape but it's all very drinkable, goes down well with the visitors and keeps the good lady off my back when I'm making a mess in her kitchen and brewing beers, as she feels included.

 

[Grand gris]

I look at it this way the WOW I make the wife is worth much more than double what it costs me to make, most bottles I have bought in the supermarket are worth exactly what you pay for them.
I think I costed my last batch at 47p per bottle for the White and 45p for the rose, none of its chateau neuf de pape but it's all very drinkable, goes down well with the visitors and keeps the good lady off my back when I'm making a mess in her kitchen and brewing beers, as she feels included.

:thumb: :clap: Totally agree, It amazes me just how much she puts up with the mess I make and taking over the kitchen for a day

 

[graysalchemy]

I'm quite surprised at some of the negative comments. All of the wow variations I have made have been drinkable - I personally think the OJ version is least acceptable.

I know make a white with mixed juices and a rose Apple juice WOW which, after 3-6 months are as good as plenty of £5 supermarket wines.

I always use tbags as tannins and add 1 teaspoon of glycerine. I don't usually add nutrient and have only had 1 come out as a medium but even this was an acceptable Rose?

Aging is definitely key - many people on here love Pineapple WOW - I made one and after 2 months it was disgusting :sick: :sick: . I am planning to try another bottle next week as it is now 7 months old. If its still not right it will be the first undrinkable WOW I have made :pray: . I'd like to see more discussion on this to assess whether it is taste or technique. Many people have tried different versions of my homebrew - The only negative feedback I have had on the wines I have made, was a cellar7 kit and TBH it is was the worst wine I have made

My 2 penneth worth :

Depends on your palate. I personally could get them to ferment out dry so I gave up. As for cheap wine kits a lot of them are full of apple juice anyway. :thumb:

 

[tonyhibbett]

To put things into perspective, 'It's wine, Jim, but not as we know it,' is the right approach. I have just struggled with a mix of grape, apple, pineapple, tinned gooseberries, mashed bananas and passion fruit. The end result does not resemble any commercial equivalent that I have tasted, but is nonetheless excellent in its own right.

 

[Nicchick]

I've had varying degrees of success with many WOWs and herbal teabag wines but all were drinkable and some LOVELY with even my mother proclaiming a rose type hippyjuice as lovely - praise indeed! I blended two together as one was sweet and one a bit sharp and that was fab!

I think a lot comes down to expectation and experimentation - you can't expect a lot for 60p a bottle! Going to try my first TC with some of the bargain XXL cartons I snuck in the trolley the other day at Lidl next!

The forum is fab because you can avoid making some blunders which may put you off brewing for life...

Nx

 

[tonyhibbett]

I totally agree. Since joining this forum, I have experimented far more with wine and have come up with splendid results, particularly with white wine. I have associations with English wine producers, who seem focused on beating the Champagne producers at their own game and seem to be doing quite well at it, but it's expensive stuff and the vineyard owners can't even afford people to pick the grapes! I wouldn't expect people to buy my excellent birch sap wine, even if it were legal to sell it, but I would be more inclined to buy it than English bubbly because it's more interesting.

 

[aamcle]

I tried a Pineapple and WG juice, tannin, nutrients, it fermented out fine and cleared well.

I broke a bottle and it had much the same effect on the garage floor as the xenomophs blood had on the Nostromos deck plates.

Unless I need some paint stripper I won't bother again, I may eventually try some fruit tea wine or some fruit wine.

Atb. Aamcle