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Making wine from old kits

Hello. Recently I was the recipient of 6 old wine kits. Three whites and three reds. They are Western Classics 45 day kits and are from RJSpagnols, probably the same as their Ancient Vines. The kits are 2 to 3 years old. They will be ready to bottle in 2 weeks. So far smell and taste is ok. Two of the reds are a bit brownish and the whites seem ok except maybe a little dark in color. Normally I would age my wine in carboys for 6 months min. and I wouldn't add extra sulphite beyond what the kit provided. Then I would try to bottle age for an additional year or 2. However in this old wine scenario I would expect to drink them immediately as I think they are oxidized somewhat. My question is should I add extra sulphite other than what is supplied and/or add bentonite (which I never do) to help strip some of the color. A further sulphite question is would the extra sulphite if added protect the wine and allow me to keep it a little longer. I've posted twice on other ng's with no reply so just maybe someone here has had a similar experience. Or suggestions from people like Lum or Tom would also be appreciated. I would expect to filter them as well with the MiniJet using # 2 filters. Thanks. Kevin

Reply to
Kevin
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I am not sure about extra sulfite protecting the wine better at this point. I don't think it would but let someone else answer that. I agree with drinking this young if they taste good. I would use the betonite as it will clear the wine faster so it can be drunk young. I don't think it will strip any of the off color due to oxidation.

Ray

Reply to
Ray

I had 3 kits that had expired. I made a red and a white. the white is a deep gold colour and has a bit of a bite to it (bitter) it mellowed a bit with age in the carboy but I only bottled 10 bottles for cooking. The red fermented and remained quite thick and had a kick on it like a mule. It went into the sink. The 3rd kit went to the landfill. It wasnt worth the effort.

The moral of the story is use your kits before the date on the box!

Sean

Reply to
Sean

I wouldn't bother changing anything, especially using more sulfite. As I just responded in another thread, in my experience the kit manufacturers already include far more potassium metabisulfite than is necessary. If you think they've already aged to a detrimental point, I would ferment them with a yeast that is more conducive to early consumption (like Red Star Pasteur Red), following the manufacturer's instructions (using their timeline and the fining agents) and then consume/share them as aggressively as is both enjoyable and healthy :-)

Cheers! Richard

Reply to
Richard Kovach

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