Hi Gang--

Long time homebrewer (been a few years since I've
been able to brew, tho), but a first time winemaker.
Considering I like my wine as much as beer, I figure
that it's past time that I started trying to make wine.

Anyway, I decided to start slow and try one of
the 7.5 liter kits, and went with a Vintner's Reserve
Riesling. Things have gone well so far, although my
2yo son nearly dunked his head in the reconstituted
juice during the initial stirring process. (It's a longer
story than that, trust me.)

My questions don't really focus on things like bulk
aging so much as how the wine is coming together.
I made a point of topping off with a commercial
riesling so I didn't thin things out too much, and as
I near the end of the clarifying stage (per the instruction
manual), the wine is starting to taste much more like
a riesling. That said, the wine does taste a bit thin
with little aromatics. Typical at this stage (the 4 week
point), I presume??

In a VR kit, will bulk aging allow the wine to age better,
or is bulk aging more beneficial to the VR reds and the
15-16 and whole juice kits? My assumption is that it
would help some, but what would be a good rule of
thumb for a VR 4-week kit?

Second, from my homebrewing experience, matching
the right yeast to the type of beer being brewed can
be rather important. I'm wondering that if I had replaced
the Red Star yeast (Premier Cuvee, I believe) with one
from Wyeast/White Labs/Lalvin geared toward a
riesling style whether it would have had a dramatic
improvement in the outcome of the wine.

Third, if one would use a Wyeast or White Labs yeast,
do you use a starter amount of fresh juice or concentrate
to get the yeast going before adding to the must?? I've
used that successfully many times with homebrewing,
but in that case, the default extra-light malt extract will
fit in with most homebrewed beers, as opposed to a
varietal for wine.

Thanks in advance,

--Mike L.