"Ray" > wrote:
> What about buying some table grapes from the store, white or red, pressing
> them for juice which could be drunk or used for wine, and adding the skins
> to the must. I am not sure what it would do to the flavor of the kit,
that
> would depend on the kit as well. But then any skins are going to change
the
> kit and I guess that is what you are after.

In my experience, there isn't a lot of tannin in table grapes, so I doubt
there would be a significant amount left after a press. I think the flavour
(of a kit) would change for the worse.

> Just a thought. If people make decent wine out of frozen grape
concentrate
> from the store, why not fresh grapes.

They do. Frozen grape concentrate is usually Concord juice, which does make
a good wine. Table grapes sold in stores are usually Thompson (green) or a
variety of Ruby (red). Occasionally you will see black Midnight Beauty's. A
reasonable wine can be made from any of these (with sugar addition and acid
correction), and occasionally the grapes will be outstanding and make a
really good wine. It's important to taste the grapes before purchasing, as
quality can vary substantially. There isn't much colour in the skins of the
reds, so they produce a blush wine. The MB's produce a Concord-like colour,
but much lighter flavour. Even so, they will produce a second run almost
indistinguishable from the first. I wait for table grapes to go on sale, and
then buy a few cases for winemaking.