I have not made the particular kit that you did but I think you just made
something where you did not really know what to expect. Thier kits are what
I would call Picknick Wines. They are good when it is hot or you just want
to drink a lot rather than savor a good wine. Non wine lovers love these
wines.

The Peach/Apricot Chardonay is good as soon as it finishes clearing. I made
the Blackberry Merlot and did not care for it when it first finished but it
improved a lot over the next 4 months.

Give it time. I would suggest 3 months in bulk aging and then bottle and
leave it for another month or two. Then when guests are over who say they
don't really care for wine, bring out a bottle of it. I bet they will think
you are a genious.

Ray

"KD" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all:
>
> Fairly new to the craft here. My first batch of wine was a Vinters Reserve
> savignon blanc. Being a regular white wine drinker, I was very pleased
> with
> it. I decided to try something different with the next batch, and got a
> black raspberry merlot Island Mist kit. Why'd I do something different
> when
> I liked the first batch? I dunno.
>
> Well, it's been sitting to clear on the basement floor for about the past
> week. I took a small glass to look at clarity and taste tonight. Overall,
> I'm sort of disappointed. OK, maybe I didn't have a good idea of what I
> was
> in for. But it's a lot sweeter than I had hoped for, and still a lot of
> sediment floating around, even taking a sample off the top half of the
> carboy with my thief.
>
> On the cloudy question, time will probably help. But do I need to give it
> a
> good stirring to whip the chitosan up to get it clearing better? Or am I
> better off to just leave it be for anther week?
>
> Next question is, what can I do to save it in the flavour department? I'm
> thinking I could leave it in the carboy for now, would it be bad if I were
> to leave it in the carboy for the next month while making something to
> save
> it? Maybe if I were to make another savingnon blanc and cut it half and
> half
> with the merlot while bottling, it would make something acceptable to my
> palate.
>
> Help please! I also bought a strawberry merlot at the same time (darned
> impulsive nature!), and I'm afraid I'm going to end up with more of this
> mildly alcoholic Kool-Aid.
>
> KD
>
>