3 x 3 in 3 Kit Wine Making by William Forsch

Winemaker’s Academy is built on members helping each other make a better bottle of wine.  One of our members provided a very helpful presentation for the beginning kit wine maker.  As the title states you only need a 3′ x 3′ space and 3 hours of time to start your wine making experience.

Bill has been a kit wine maker for 9 years and has completed over 150 kits including all styles – red, white, and dessert.  He has also conducted full kit wine making classes for four years including almost 100 students.  After retirement five years ago, he began making wine from grapes.  Bill is an avid golfer, tennis player, chef/cook, and supporter of the Orange County Wine Society – Winemaker’s group and a member of their “leadership team”.  Bill’s Home Wine label is:  Lolita’s Claw Wines, named after the nasty calico cat that resides with him that tends to claw everything and everyone!

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Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 2

WineKits2

Winexpert kits from smallest to largest. Each kit makes 6 gal. of wine

In part one of this article  (Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 1 Overview)   we discussed the characteristics that differentiate one size/price range of kit from another.  In part two we are going to look at how each of the product lines in the Winexpert family compare to each other using these characteristics.  Just by way of reminder, the aging times provided in this article are based on our experience, numerous customer reviews of various wines and a great deal of online research. However, many people are comfortable drinking their wines earlier than we recommend. Ultimately it’s your wine.  It’s up to you to decide when it’s ready to drink. Continue reading “Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 2”

Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 1 Overview

Selecting a wine kit can be a little daunting especially if it’s you’re first one. A lot of factors come into play including the type of wine, cost, kit complexity, processing time, minimum aging time and feedback from other kit winemakers. In this two-part series I’ll try to demystify the process. In this first article we’ll start by identifying the key characteristics that separate one product line from another. In part two we will use these key characteristics to analyze each product line and compare the different categories of kits. Then we’ll finish up by discussing how to select your first wine kit and how your kit choices can help build your wine cellar.

I’ve used the Winexpert product line for examples because those are the kits I am most familiar with. However, the same basic guideline should apply to other kit makers product lines as well as long as they start out with approximately the same number of liters per kit. Continue reading “Choosing a Wine Kit – Part 1 Overview”

The Great Riesling Yeast Experiment (Part II)

The saga continues with the racking of my experimental Riesling fermented with two different yeast strains. Read this if you missed part one.

Fermenting the same Riesling with two different yeast strains.Up to this point the two batches of Riesling have been fermenting separately.  One in a primary fermentation bucket and the other in a six gallon carboy. Little could be observed of the two wines.

However, I recently got a chance to see, smell, and taste the two Riesling batches when I racked them into their respective carboys. Here’s what I found. Continue reading “The Great Riesling Yeast Experiment (Part II)”