.... without buying and pressing grapes ?

I just bought and started a "Harvest Select" brand Shiraz wine kit. It
has 10L of juice and you don't add any sugar to it.

I like full body red wines.

Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will make
without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the fermenter ?

Has anyone made a blueberry wine that resembles a good red wine ?

Thanks.

>" Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will make
> without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the fermenter ?"
>

See the following thread about adding raisins to kit wine,
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.c...0c73a08c6d1399

Guy

On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:12:29 -0800, guy wrote:

>>" Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will make
>> without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the fermenter ?"
>>
>
> See the following thread about adding raisins to kit wine,
> http://groups.google.com/group/rec.c...browse_thread/
thread/1b5991f22f8938e8/a00c73a08c6d1399?lnk=gst&q=adding+raisin+kits&
rnum=1&hl=en#a00c73a08c6d1399
>
> Guy


Thanks.

The reason I thought I'd add raisins was to increase the body of the
wine. Raisins are, after all, grapes. I read about doing this somewhere,
but I can't remember where. I think it was in Winemaking by Andersen and
Andersen, but I haven't had time to find the quote.

I guess I will stick to the stock process this time.

On Nov 27, 10:45 am, me2 > wrote:
> On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:12:29 -0800, guy wrote:
> >>" Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will make
> >> without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the fermenter ?"
>
> > See the following thread about adding raisins to kit wine,
> >http://groups.google.com/group/rec.c...g+raisin+kits&
> rnum=1&hl=en#a00c73a08c6d1399
>
>
>
> > GuyThanks.
>
> The reason I thought I'd add raisins was to increase the body of the
> wine. Raisins are, after all, grapes. I read about doing this somewhere,
> but I can't remember where. I think it was in Winemaking by Andersen and
> Andersen, but I haven't had time to find the quote.
>
> I guess I will stick to the stock process this time.

Some of the Amarone kits on the market contain a pack of commercial
(Sun-Maid?) raisins, so it's not always a bad thing to add raisins to a
kit. However, those kits were designed to work that way, and what works
for 1 kit doesn't necessarily give a good result for another, so
proceed with caution. If you haven't made this kit before, why not just
try it first following the instructions to see what the body comes out
like.

Other than raisins, lots of people add some dried elderberries to their
kits, that might be a better option.

Pp

The best way to make a really good red wine is to start with really good red
wine grapes.

But then you want to make it with a kit or fruit. OK, at least start with a
really good red wine kit.

To address you other issues, The best red wine I have ever made from
non-grapes, by far, is dewberry or black berry. Made dry they can come out
very similar to a light/medium bodied Beaujolais style wine. I like to use
5 to 7 lbs of fruit to a gallon.

You mention adding body. Bananas are a proven way to add body to most
wines. They make a nondescript wine so they do not change most wines they
are blended into but they will build up body. Just remember that a lot of
body is great in a wine you are drinking just to drink wine - patio wines,
but it can get in the way of good food if you are having it with a meal.

All my opinions. ;o)

Ray

"me2" > wrote in message
news:vUtah.383900$R63.321941@pd7urf1no...
> ... without buying and pressing grapes ?
>
> I just bought and started a "Harvest Select" brand Shiraz wine kit. It
> has 10L of juice and you don't add any sugar to it.
>
> I like full body red wines.
>
> Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will make
> without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the fermenter
> ?
>
> Has anyone made a blueberry wine that resembles a good red wine ?
>
> Thanks.
>

me2:

I was going to mention bananas too but thought maybe not as the post
that guy referred too discussed possible problems with things like pH.
Since it's out there now - bananas have a lot of potassium so they
could influence the pH of the kit significantly, something that's
definitely better avoided.

Pp

On Nov 28, 2:46 pm, "Ray Calvert" > wrote:
> The best way to make a really good red wine is to start with really good red
> wine grapes.
>
> But then you want to make it with a kit or fruit. OK, at least start with a
> really good red wine kit.
>
> To address you other issues, The best red wine I have ever made from
> non-grapes, by far, is dewberry or black berry. Made dry they can come out
> very similar to a light/medium bodied Beaujolais style wine. I like to use
> 5 to 7 lbs of fruit to a gallon.
>
> You mention adding body. Bananas are a proven way to add body to most
> wines. They make a nondescript wine so they do not change most wines they
> are blended into but they will build up body. Just remember that a lot of
> body is great in a wine you are drinking just to drink wine - patio wines,
> but it can get in the way of good food if you are having it with a meal.
>
> All my opinions. ;o)
>
> Ray
>
> "me2" > wrote in messagenews:vUtah.383900$R63.321941@pd7urf1no...
>
>
>
> > ... without buying and pressing grapes ?
>
> > I just bought and started a "Harvest Select" brand Shiraz wine kit. It
> > has 10L of juice and you don't add any sugar to it.
>
> > I like full body red wines.
>
> > Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will make
> > without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the fermenter
> > ?
>
> > Has anyone made a blueberry wine that resembles a good red wine ?
>
> > Thanks.- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text -

Blueberries! I just bottled 13 gallons of a very good wine made just from
blueberries. Nothing added. It is wonderful. It is very healthy also. A
red wine made from blueberries.

Andie Z


"me2" > wrote in message
news:vUtah.383900$R63.321941@pd7urf1no...
> ... without buying and pressing grapes ?
>
> I just bought and started a "Harvest Select" brand Shiraz wine kit. It
> has 10L of juice and you don't add any sugar to it.
>
> I like full body red wines.
>
> Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will make
> without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the fermenter
?
>
> Has anyone made a blueberry wine that resembles a good red wine ?
>
> Thanks.

I make Blueberry/Cab Sav., dry Blueberry and semi-sweet Blueberry every
year. Make about 23 gallons total. I use 1lb. of raisins and 3.5- 4 lb.
of fresh picked Blueberries per gallon in all of them. For the Cab. Sav
blend, I use 2 cans of juice concentrate but only add 3.5 - 4 gallons (they
suggest 5 gallons) of water to the concentrate and ferment it with enough
blueberry must to make 13-15 gallons total. I also add to the dry wines
powdered French oak prior to fermentation but at a lesser amount (about 70%)
then suppliers suggest. Following fermentation, I then oak the dry wines
in glass carboys for about 2-4 months using medium toast Hungarian barrel
staves. I sometimes lightly oak the sweet, but not usually since most of
those that like my semi-sweet are not really wine drinkers and don't
appreciate the difference. In some years acid blend and grape tannin need to
be added as well. My grandfather (Hungarian) and neighbor (Italian) taught
me to taste every thing at various stages so my amounts tend to change from
year to year because of differences in the berries flavor. All of the wines
are bottled about 8 months after fermentation was started.

Oddly the CAB. Sav. blend is drinkable much sooner then the dry straight
blueberry. Dry wine drinkers really like the Blue/ Cab Sav. The Dry
Blueberry is also very good with aging. The sweet wine is good in about 8
months, the Cab. Sav Blend is very good in about 12 months and the dry
blueberry is very good in about 2 years.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



"pp" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> On Nov 27, 10:45 am, me2 > wrote:
>> On Mon, 27 Nov 2006 09:12:29 -0800, guy wrote:
>> >>" Is there any way to improve the quality of the wine this kit will
>> >>make
>> >> without crushing grapes ? How about adding some raisins to the
>> >> fermenter ?"
>>
>> > See the following thread about adding raisins to kit wine,
>> >http://groups.google.com/group/rec.c...g+raisin+kits&
>> rnum=1&hl=en#a00c73a08c6d1399
>>
>>
>>
>> > GuyThanks.
>>
>> The reason I thought I'd add raisins was to increase the body of the
>> wine. Raisins are, after all, grapes. I read about doing this somewhere,
>> but I can't remember where. I think it was in Winemaking by Andersen and
>> Andersen, but I haven't had time to find the quote.
>>
>> I guess I will stick to the stock process this time.
>
> Some of the Amarone kits on the market contain a pack of commercial
> (Sun-Maid?) raisins, so it's not always a bad thing to add raisins to a
> kit. However, those kits were designed to work that way, and what works
> for 1 kit doesn't necessarily give a good result for another, so
> proceed with caution. If you haven't made this kit before, why not just
> try it first following the instructions to see what the body comes out
> like.
>
> Other than raisins, lots of people add some dried elderberries to their
> kits, that might be a better option.
>
> Pp
>