i'm sure you've heard this wine question before...

Duck,

(Your name IS Duck, isn't it?)

I also started by home brewing, which I've been doing for more than 20 years. Just started winemaking last year. In both cases, I got started by reading several books on the subject then conversing with people who knew. Back then, it usually meant face-to-face conversation with a limited few. Now, It means groups like this one where you have contact with many people of varying degrees of experience.

My suggestion would be to go to one of the on-line wine supplies stores (or to a physical one nearby) and buy a book or two. Not only will you learn the various techniques and the science behind them, but you'll get many recipes that will take you immediately beyond the extract kits. My wines have always been from my own fruit picked in my own fields. There's something special in that.

I actually bought and read about 4-5 winemaking books, but here are the books I used most frequently: Winemaking Anderson, Stanley F. and Anderson, Dorothy, Harcourt, Brace & Co. 1989 Isbn: 0-15-697095-3 (paperback)

First Steps in Winemaking Berry, C.J.J., G.W. Kent, Inc, 1987 Isbn: 0-900841-83-4 (paperback)

John Price

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

Duck Redbeard wrote: Duck,

One of the regulars on this NG, Lum Eisenman, has written a book and made it available online. Here's the link:

Jack Kellar has written another good book too:

FWIW, I wish I'd skipped the potassium sorbate addition in my first wine (a kit). Out of the gate and 12+ months afterward, this wine was horrific and I actually instructed people to dump it. Consider that this was after I'd given it as Christmas gifts (I guess the personalized labels worked because nobody was too PO'd).

About two years ago I dug into the cellar for "older" wines and found the last remaining (hopefully so) bottle of this plonk. I doubtfully opened it and found, to my delight, a wine that had aged quite well and shrug its pot. sorbate characteristic.

To make a long story short, if I would do it all over again, I'd bulk age longer, skip the pot. sorbate pack and bottle 6 months after they told me to. The taste of the pot. sorbate was just too [prevalent for me to enjoy the wine whatsoever.

Patrick

"duck" If this is your 1st venture into winemaking FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS that came with the kit. Once you taste the finished wine then you can make adjustments. Find a local HBS or some local Wine Clubs, ( I have one here in South Jersey) there you will get a wealth of info. If you go to some club mtgs I'm sure you will taste some of their homemade wine. just a thought. Tom

Famous last words!

I have got good results from white wine kits but been disapointed with red wine kits. But that is personal.

Make the wine as per instructions. At least for the first few batchs. Then you might experiment a bit. The only modification I would make is that if you are bottling dry, leave out the potasium sorbate.

Ray