Newbie question:Bentonite

I have noticed that too, and like you my first kit was Spagnols, which says Bentonite after secondary, yet today I am starting a Brew King International Selection which says start with Bentonite being added.

To tell the truth, I have not really seen any difference in the end product either way--but I tend to drag out the process and bulk age the better quality kits as much as I can.

Thanks for the reply. I am surprised that there weren't more posts regarding this. My impression is that most of the regs in this group have already moved beyond the wine kit stage. In the past day I have visited web sites that say to throw away the bentonite altogether (saying that it strips away body and character) and to not use the yeast that comes with the kit, buying custom yeasts instead. One site also says to throw away the oak and buy better oak! I guess its easy to fire off advice when you have no stake in the finished product. Maybe I'll just follow the kit instructions for now and see how they turn out. I'm starting a Vineco Legacy Primo Rosso tonight which features large quantities of oak and calls for bentonite in the primary. And I plan on bulk aging this bad boy until May. Maybe I can finally learn patience in my old age.

I do recommend that you follow the instructions while you are just beginning. The kits are manufactured to produce a wine in a certain way and be fairly foolproof regardless of the knowledge of the person making it.

I make more kit wines now than I used to ( lack of space ) and with more experience you can certainly make changes. Questions like yours are asked frequently on this group and you have only to do a bit of a search and read about it on here.

One of the best things to do is nothing! ie let it age on its own in bulk for about 6 months before you bottle it -- it is by far the easiest and best thing to do to improve your wine.

I do recommend that you read about it all on here and have a look at Jack Keller's web site which contains a huge amount of information!

Thank you Trevor. It looks like a pretty comprehensive resource.

Your idea that the reg's have moved beyond kits is probably wrong. I have made wine for 25+ years and make 80+ gal's a year. I use to never make kits but now I make 3 or 4 a year to go with my wines made from scratch. Kits have gotten much better over the years and the are a great way to try wines when it is inconvenient to get the grapes needed.

My suggestion is to follow the instructions when you first make any kit. If you like it enough to make it a regular, then try modifying it. If you try to modify it without knowing what to expect you are likely to be disappointed.

Ray

International