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  • Tweaked Beaverdale Rioja

    One of my choice slurping reds is the Beaverdale Rioja. The last one I made was in November and already I find myself down to the last few bottles. I bought another and decided to try to "enhance" the kit a little by adding a few extras. The kit comes with a packet of oak dust, I like oak so in went a 30g packet of French oak chips as well. I also added 500g of chopped sunmaid raisins and 1tsp of tannin. Anyway, I am at the de-gassing stage now so I thought I would sneak a taste (as you do ) and all I can say is YEEEEEEHAAAAAW!!!! Me thinks it's gonna be good.
    National Wine Judge NGWBJ

    Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

    My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

    Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

  • #2
    Am I right in thinking that you can re-use the wood chips that you put in wine? (I assume it was a 5 gallon kit you refer to?)

    Either way this sounds like a plan, and I think I will try it next time i do a Rioja - I just bottled up 30 bottles of it 2 weeks ago, so it may be a few months until I start another one... then again...

    I've got a 5 gallon Beaverdale Cabernet on the go at the moment - I'm trying to increase my stocks of "ready to drink" wine ready for Xmas, and as I'm off work sick at the moment, I've got plenty of time on my hands to pester you all on this forum and ferment things
    HRH Her Lushness

    Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Her Lushness View Post
      Am I right in thinking that you can re-use the wood chips that you put in wine? (I assume it was a 5 gallon kit you refer to?)
      Yes it is a 5 gal kit and no to re-using the chips. The oak was £2 from the local hbs so no great loss. Keep 2 or 3 bottles of Rioja back for topping up your next kit with.
      National Wine Judge NGWBJ

      Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

      My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

      Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

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      • #4
        I wouldn't re-use the oak chips either

        regards
        Bob
        N.G.W.B.J.
        Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
        Wine, mead and beer maker

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        • #5
          Looking forward to a slurp of this one Richard

          just a word of caution if you are new to winemaking, doing this will make your kit warranty void, its something for later in your winemaking, once you have your techniques nailed down.

          regards
          Bob
          N.G.W.B.J.
          Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
          Wine, mead and beer maker

          Comment


          • #6
            As ever, thanks for the suggetions and advice guys, I'm defo going to give this one a go next Rioja I do.
            HRH Her Lushness

            Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by lockwood1956 View Post
              Looking forward to a slurp of this one Richard
              Me too but it will be a while, it tastes great on bottling day then goes into hiding/bottle shock for a bit. I will keep a couple of gallons in demi johns so I can keep an eye on progress better.


              Originally posted by lockwood1956 View Post
              just a word of caution if you are new to winemaking, doing this will make your kit warranty void, its something for later in your winemaking, once you have your techniques nailed down.
              Good point, I know this kit rather well and know that these additions won't do too much harm. Could be a good way to enhance a Barolo.
              National Wine Judge NGWBJ

              Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

              My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

              Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

              Comment


              • #8
                Good point, I know this kit rather well and know that these additions won't do too much harm. Could be a good way to enhance a Barolo.
                Or the Cabernet I've got on the go right now?
                HRH Her Lushness

                Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Her Lushness View Post
                  Or the Cabernet I've got on the go right now?
                  These additions should be made at the beginning when you are starting the kit off. Should be ok to try with most red kits but make a few first. Get to know the flavours, smells, amount of body and then ask yourself "what do I want to change, why do I want to do this and by how much"?
                  National Wine Judge NGWBJ

                  Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

                  My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

                  Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Her Lushness View Post
                    Or the Cabernet I've got on the go right now?
                    I'd be careful about trying to add much to a cabernet, its pretty big stuff anyway
                    N.G.W.B.J.
                    Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
                    Wine, mead and beer maker

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Richard_S View Post
                      These additions should be made at the beginning when you are starting the kit off. Should be ok to try with most red kits but make a few first. Get to know the flavours, smells, amount of body and then ask yourself "what do I want to change, why do I want to do this and by how much"?
                      Okay, and thanks again for the advice, it's due for degassing now anyway, so it's way too late to add anything else to it.
                      In the world of commercial wines, I like the heavy, full bodied, full flavoured oaky wines - hence my asking about adding more okainess to a kit wine.
                      I'll start making notes on what I drink, and why I like it and see what I come up with.

                      (Hmm... sounds like an excuse to open another bottle!)
                      HRH Her Lushness

                      Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I took a bottle to Karl's on Sat night but by the time we got round to drinking it, it was probably too late (we had no idea if it was any good).

                        Me and Mark have just had a bottle and we think that it is the best kit wine that I have made to date. It should be way too young to drink but it smells and tastes just right, big oak profile, big tannins and a nice fruity finish.

                        I am going to repeat these kit tweaks on a Magnum ultimate Merlot or Cab Sauv to see if a cheap kit can be turned into something more medium range.
                        National Wine Judge NGWBJ

                        Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

                        My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

                        Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          A mere 3 months after buying the kit, I started my version today.

                          Added 1tsp of liquid grape tannin, 250g of Sunmaid raisins, 250g of Tesco raisins (because I forgot to get a 2nd bag of Sunmaid) and 30g of Brupaks heavy toast French oak.
                          Pete the Instructor

                          It looks like Phil Donahue throwing up into a tuba

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                          • #14
                            Bring a bottle to Grapefest Pete, I will swap it for a bottle of my plonk.
                            National Wine Judge NGWBJ

                            Secretary of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Society

                            My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine....... Lyrics from Solsbury hill by Peter Gabriel

                            Member of THE newest wine circle in Yorkshire!!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by goldseal View Post
                              A mere 3 months after buying the kit, I started my version today.

                              Added 1tsp of liquid grape tannin, 250g of Sunmaid raisins, 250g of Tesco raisins (because I forgot to get a 2nd bag of Sunmaid) and 30g of Brupaks heavy toast French oak.
                              Hi there. Just stumbled accross this thread. I'm interested to know how this turned out? I've did the Beaverdale Red Rioja kit last year (sans tweaks) and its very drinkable now (sadly, i've only got 11 bottles left which i need to hide somewhere!). It took a good 6 months to get any character, but was drinkable.

                              With the addition of the extra tannin, oak and raisins, how is it? Juicy, thicker, fuller-bodied?

                              Cheers. Owl.
                              A day without wine is a day without sunshine!

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