advice for a newbie

[iannowi]

hi guys, Im after some advise/tips.I am fairly new to winemaking and stumbled across this site last night. Ive been making wine using the Youngs range, bought from local Wilkinson store..The whites and rose's all turn out ok, but the reds lack colour, body and flavour[6 and 30 bottle kits]
Yesterday after reading up on kits, I ordered 4 x red wines in the Beaverdale range [6 bottle kits] what advise can you give me in order to get a deeper colour, fuller bodied,better tasting wine...any advise would be greatly appreciated

[lockwood1956]

The beaverdale range produce decent quality wine....

You may wish to consider changinf the yeast...

which kits did you buy?

regards
Bob

[lockwood1956]

Welcome aboard by the way

[iannowi]

thanks for the welcome Bob...the Beaverdale kits ordered are as follows...Cabernet Sauvignon....Barolo....Californian Red and Shiraz . I have also ordered LALVIN K1-V1116 WINE YEAST PACK off ebay.
Ive read here somwhere that adding sultanas or raisins and a bit more sugar would improve the wines...another question ..how do the 6 bottle kits compare to the 30 bottle kits....is the end result just as good [not the case with Youngs range]...regards Ian

[Rich]

The 6 bottle kits are the same I believe, Just smaller.

I'd make them as they are to start with (With the better yeast, K1V is a good choice)

They will be better with a month or two in the bottle once they're all finished.

Get your technique right, and make sure you're happy with the 6 bottle kits, and get the gear together for a 30 bottle kit.

[RTPFUN]

Hi I've done a few Beaverdale reds but I'm sorry to say that they were all very poor in their early stages. The missing ingredient in the box, patience. Some came good after 6 months the Merlot however didn't come good until a year after bottling. I've made the Rioja with K1v and it comes out very fruity light and quaffable I've also made it with Rc212 and it does come out a little darker and heavier over time it was the better result for the Rioja but it took longer to get there ( 9 months ) in the initial stages the one made with K1V was an earlier easy drinker. I've got another Beaverdale Rioja on the go now with Lalvin RC212 started it December I'll not even try a bottle until August and it was made so that it should be drinkable the following Christmas.
There are two traps we fall into with the red v's white issues. Firstly we are prepared to pay more for a red from a supermarket so we should be prepared to pay more for a red kit too. White wines can be drunk young and so can the kits. Reds we look for aged reds in supermarkets so we need to do the same with our kits and age them too.
We all need to cut out teeth as you are doing but eventually you get the confidence and you can just blow the budget and get something like a Selection Luna Rossa kit. It still works out at a little under £3 a bottle and 12 months later you have a very big red. And when the guests have drunk too much of the good stuff they get the Beaverdale Rioja.

[Emeraldclaire]

Until recently, I hadn't made wine from kits for years, but I have just started again (I offer them as tastings on my homebrew stall). The Youngs kits are, IMO, a great way to start off - you don't spend much, and you get a feel for the whole process. However, when I offer them, they are at least a month old, because I don't think they are good when drunk young. Not that a lot of people care - they just want a 'quick' kit. I used to add a litre of unsweetened red grape juice to the reds, and some of my customers add concentrate, but by the time you've spend the money on that, you might as well buy a better kit. I think the Beaverdale and the California Connoisseur kits are pretty good; the CC kits are pure grape juice, named grape varieties, and you don't need to add sugar. They don't recommend topping up after racking, so you won't get 6 bottles, but I open a "here's one I made earlier" bottle and top up with that (and drink what's left). As RTPFUN says, the important ingredient is PATIENCE!!! So get several kits on, then you will build up a rolling stock and not be in a hurry for the current one to finish so you can drink it. I have 25 DJs maturing and about 80 bottles ready to drink......

[iannowi]

thanks for the advise guys...imo the Youngs 30 bottle red wine kits are rubbish...not much colour, body or taste...I now have 4 different Beaverdale 6 bottle,red wines busily fermenting. Once the fermentation is complete I will do a quick taste test, then make a 30 bottle wine kit with the best tasting of the four....Quick question..does the Beaverdale 30 bottle kit have 5 times as much grape juice as the 6 bottle kit?

[RTPFUN]

The 30 bottle Beaverdale kits come with 5 times as much juice so that's 7.5 ltrs of juice. However for an extra £5 the Kenridge Classic kits come with 10 ltrs of juice, labels for your bottles and Lalvin yeasts.

[iannowi]

ok...Kenridge classic it is then...can you recommend any kit in particular [red]

[Joshua Norris]

ok...Kenridge classic it is then...can you recommend any kit in particular [red]

no nothing .............

[lockwood1956]

no nothing .............

Interesting first post!

[lockwood1956]

ok...Kenridge classic it is then...can you recommend any kit in particular [red]

What sort of Red wine would you normally buy to drink? this would be a good start point.

regards
bob

[iannowi]

Interesting first post!

it can only get better...hopefully

[RTPFUN]

Hi. the Trilogy I made last year was very nice indeed. And i've got a Barolo that's starting to come good at 6 months old. Both big reds give them a try.