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Lidl Merlot grape juice

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  • Lidl Merlot grape juice

    Lidl selling 75ml bottles of merlot not from concentrate grape juice - 2 for £2. I've made two gallons using two bottles and carton red grape juice. Currently sitting in the garage waiting to be degassed. Someone on another forum has also used the stuff but used twice as much. His post below:

    "Sure enough, I found 4 bottles and bought them, along with 3 litres of the generic red grape juice at 95 per litre.
    My refractometer says 18g per 100 ml and my jug says 800 ml of juice per bottle. So 4 bottles = 3.2 litres. To turn this into a gallon of wine of 12% abv would require 1.5 litres of syrup with enough sugar in it to bring the sg to 1090, or slightly lower if a dry wine is intended, about 500 g. 6 bottles of merlot juice with 200 g sugar would be the ideal, and not really that expensive at £1.50 per bottle of wine. However, considering that the Cellar 7 kits are only 50% grape, only some of which is pure varietal stuff, yet still produce a decent 'merlot', it's worth considering an alternative recipe. Substituting merlot juice with generic red grape juice concentrate doesn't work out much cheaper, but using generic carton red grape juice does, at 95 per litre. Therefore I propose to make a 2 gallon batch, using the 4 bottles of merlot and the 3 litres of generic juice, topped up with sugar and water, about 500g in 3 litres, plus 12 g oak chips, which would work out at about £1 per bottle."

    There was no follow up so I don't know how this tastes. Can I use just merlot grape juice and regular red grape juice to make something decent? Also would the oak chips make a real difference? If so i'll get some. The fella reckons tartaric acid may be necessary to adjust the PH. Any help here appreciated.

  • #2
    When you say decent are you looking to flavour or strength?
    Its not million miles away.
    Have a go!
    Tartatric acid can be added AFTER fermentation.
    I would forget the oak chips at this stage.
    Use a good yeast K1V-1116.

    Make good notes on everything - ready for next time!
    Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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    • #3
      Thanks. I'm looking for flavour and body with this grape juice. The batch I made with just two bottles definitely has more of a "wine" nose so doubling it could be even better. It's only £1 a bottle so not a massive investment. I was planning on using the yeast suggested as well.

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      • #4
        Keep us posted as to how it goes..
        Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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        • #5
          Originally posted by halfastory View Post
          ...However, considering that the Cellar 7 kits are only 50% grape, only some of which is pure varietal stuff...
          I wonder where this other poster is getting his information. Is there an ingredient list on the box? I'm not by any means an expert on European labeling law, but it seems to me that the manufacturer would not be able to call it a Merlot wine kit unless it contained a sizeable percentage of Merlot grape juice. Here in the US it has to be at least 75% of the stated varietal (and you wouldn't be allowed to add non-grape juice), and I wouldn't be surprised if the law were even more stringent in the UK.

          By "red grape juice", are you referring to a breakfast drink, and if so, is it 100% grape juice? Or does it contain some grape and some apple like many do?

          Also, if it's only £1 per litre, why not just use pure Merlot juice? It wouldn't cost that much to make up an entire 23 litre batch. Less than the cost of a kit.

          Sorry for the questions, but I'm just trying to understand things a little better.
          Last edited by NorthernWiner; 20-04-2014, 03:41 PM.
          Steve

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          • #6
            Original thread is here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/sh...ad.php?t=44840. The red grape juice is 100% not from concentrate in cartons. As for making a 23 litre batch....i'm tempted but thought i'd dip my toe in the water with a 2 gallon sample to see what it tastes like. Also, they don't seem to stock in in huge quantities where I live. A box here and there. Labelling laws in the UK seem a little flakey......http://www.tesco.com/direct/winebudd...skuId=208-3426. Check the "ingredients" on the front of this box. Apple and elderberry concentrate! Any grape juice is in a flavouring pack. Nice.

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            • #7
              Hi there! I've made a 1/2 gallon of this (juice from Rewe in Germany) and it was a decent wine. A little thin, but it was one of my better ones. I would probably not make a pure merlot from this, but add a bit of red concentrate to make it a bit more multilayered.

              Virtual Wine Circle & Competition Co-Founder
              Twitter: VirtualWineO
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              • #8
                Originally posted by halfastory View Post
                Original thread is here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/sh...ad.php?t=44840. The red grape juice is 100% not from concentrate in cartons. As for making a 23 litre batch....i'm tempted but thought i'd dip my toe in the water with a 2 gallon sample to see what it tastes like. Also, they don't seem to stock in in huge quantities where I live. A box here and there. Labelling laws in the UK seem a little flakey......http://www.tesco.com/direct/winebudd...skuId=208-3426. Check the "ingredients" on the front of this box. Apple and elderberry concentrate! Any grape juice is in a flavouring pack. Nice.
                Ok, that makes sense. I know what you mean about a box here and there. Every so often I make cherry wine from store juice, and end up scouring half a dozen different markets just to collect enough ingredients to make 3 gallons.

                Quite funny that WineBuddy ingredient list is! I'm surprised they can call it Cabernet Sauvignon. But the finished result is wine, regardless.
                Steve

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                • #9
                  Found this thread interesting. I got 6 bottles of the Merlot juice from Lidl a few months ago when it was £1.38 a bottle. I just added some yeast and let it ferment out in a demijohn. Original gravity was 1080 and it finished on 998. I tried one bottle this week and it was, well, just like any Merlot you would pay a lot more for. Will keep the rest until about Xmas, or until I can't resist the temptation to drink it!

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