Duck Redbeard wrote:
> I am a home brewer (all grain beer) and I am venturing into wine making. I
> doubt I'll go beyond extract kits, but I want to give it a try. What is the
> quality I should expect from a "Vintner's Reserve - Chianti" concentrate
> kit?
>
> I am not new to the fermentation sciences, I have been brewing since '95,
> including 3 years pro. And with my wife's help, I have learned to
> appreciate wine. Is there anything I should do in addition to what the kit
> might direct me to do? Is there a preferred yeast for this wine? Should
> there be oak additions? Extended fermentation periods? Multiple rackings
> (how many should I do for a clean wine?)? Would it be a bad idea to
> reconstitute it to only 5.5 gallons instead of the 6 gallons?

I've heard it recommended that if it's your first wine kit you should
follow the instructions to the letter. Everything is already
pre-balanced for 6 gallons; by concentrating the wine, you'd also be
concentrating all the additives (nutrient, finings, etc.).

The kit will contain all the ingredients you need - wine concentrate,
yeast, finings, etc. The yeast in the pack should be fine.

Vintners Reserve Chianti should already have an oak pack in it. If
there isn't one in the package, return it to your seller for a refund
or get a new pack from him.

The only thing I would change would be in the racking. The first kit I
used instructed me to add isinglass as a fining, wait x number of days,
and then bottle right from that carboy without racking first. I got
some lees (and some isinglass) into some of the bottles. I now rack off
the lees back into the primary and then bottle.

One thing my LHBS recommended was to use a different plastic primary
fermenter for wine. Although the fermenter is of course food-grade
plastic, it will impart some flavour to the must or wort from previous
batches, and often wine doesn't go well with beer or vice versa.

Good luck and enjoy your wine!

wd41