Hi,

Since I've started brewing meer about 18 months ago, the Mrs. has been
asking on numerous occasions if I would like to use my fermenters to make
her some decent wine. As she is more of a white wine then a red wine
drinker, I am looking at making her a Chardonnay that will have a commercial
quality.

The BK brochure describes several different Chardonnay's but I would like
the opinion of a knowledge base like this forum which one would be better
then others.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Arjen

"Arjen" > wrote in message
...
> The BK brochure describes several different Chardonnays but I would like
> the opinion of a knowledge base like this forum which one would be better
> than others.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Buy the most expensive one and use StaVin oak cubes (medium+ toast, French)
in the fermenter, and save them when you rack and put them into the
secondary. Be sure to maintain the sulfite after fermentation and keep the
carboy topped up. How much oak to use is strictly a matter of taste, but a
heaping handful won't kill 5 gallons of juice.

Tom S

Personally, I don't care too much for Chardonnay's. I prefer Reislings,
myself.


"Arjen" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> Since I've started brewing meer about 18 months ago, the Mrs. has been
> asking on numerous occasions if I would like to use my fermenters to make
> her some decent wine. As she is more of a white wine then a red wine
> drinker, I am looking at making her a Chardonnay that will have a
commercial
> quality.
>
> The BK brochure describes several different Chardonnay's but I would like
> the opinion of a knowledge base like this forum which one would be better
> then others.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Arjen
>
>
>

Arjen,
It doesn't sound like you have much experience with wine and
if your real interest is with beer then you may not want to
spend alot of time researching the pros and cons of a variety
of techniques used here.

Depending on how discerning you wife's tastes are I would say
that you should buy a good quality but not the top of the line
white kit. BK would definitely be one of the lines. Follow the
directions to the letter except perhaps let the wine sit under
protection of an airlock until it is definitely dry and then
toss the potassium sorbate packet away.

After doing a middle of the road kit, which your wife will
almost definitely appreciate after 3 months in the bottle,
go on to a higher end kit.

If you go into the Google groups search utility you can pick
up alot of answers to any questions you might have by searching
this newsgroup.

Don

>
> Since I've started brewing meer about 18 months ago, the Mrs. has been
> asking on numerous occasions if I would like to use my fermenters to make
> her some decent wine. As she is more of a white wine then a red wine
> drinker, I am looking at making her a Chardonnay that will have a commercial
> quality.
>
> The BK brochure describes several different Chardonnay's but I would like
> the opinion of a knowledge base like this forum which one would be better
> then others.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Arjen

Don,
I have been following this thread and am interested in the "toss the
potassium sorbate packet away",. Would you please elaborate on this and
perhaps "defend" the statement. I am always interested in new ways to
improve my wine making.


KB
St. Charles, MO





"Don S" > wrote in message
om...
> Arjen,
> It doesn't sound like you have much experience with wine and
> if your real interest is with beer then you may not want to
> spend alot of time researching the pros and cons of a variety
> of techniques used here.
>
> Depending on how discerning you wife's tastes are I would say
> that you should buy a good quality but not the top of the line
> white kit. BK would definitely be one of the lines. Follow the
> directions to the letter except perhaps let the wine sit under
> protection of an airlock until it is definitely dry and then
> toss the potassium sorbate packet away.
>
> After doing a middle of the road kit, which your wife will
> almost definitely appreciate after 3 months in the bottle,
> go on to a higher end kit.
>
> If you go into the Google groups search utility you can pick
> up alot of answers to any questions you might have by searching
> this newsgroup.
>
> Don
>
> >
> > Since I've started brewing meer about 18 months ago, the Mrs. has been
> > asking on numerous occasions if I would like to use my fermenters to
make
> > her some decent wine. As she is more of a white wine then a red wine
> > drinker, I am looking at making her a Chardonnay that will have a
commercial
> > quality.
> >
> > The BK brochure describes several different Chardonnay's but I would
like
> > the opinion of a knowledge base like this forum which one would be
better
> > then others.
> >
> > Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> >
> > Arjen

> I have been following this thread and am interested in the "toss the
> potassium sorbate packet away",. Would you please elaborate on this and
> perhaps "defend" the statement. I am always interested in new ways to
> improve my wine making.

KB,
This has been discussed many times in this group and a Google
Groups search on potassium sorbate will give you alot of reading
to collaborate. Basically, sorbate has a slight but definite
taste that many find discernable and slightly disagreeable.

Kit makers include the chemical (and others) in order to help
make their kits more fool proof and to hold to the time periods
outlined in the instructions ie. 4 or 6 week kits. Should the kit
not truely be fermented out to dryness then the sorbate will
ensure it will not referment in the bottle.

If you leave the kit for another couple of weeks under the
protection of an airlock before stabilizing with potassium meta
and using a zero'ed hydrometer to check that it is dry, then the
sorbate is not needed.

From Jack Keller's site:

"A few words of caution about potassium sorbate are in order.
It does impart a taste to the wine, however slight, and you
might want to avoid it if you intend to enter your wine in
competition. Also, avoid sorbate if you intend to keep your
wines a very long time. The "slight" taste tends to get stronger
over time and after several years can be quite disappointing."


Don

> I have been following this thread and am interested in the "toss the
> potassium sorbate packet away",. Would you please elaborate on this and
> perhaps "defend" the statement. I am always interested in new ways to
> improve my wine making.

Also KB, Jack also has this new page with extended kit
instructions posted on his web site:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/extended.asp

Don

Thanks for the reply and the link to Jack's Extended Instructions- I learned
not to use distilled water from the site. I was using water i bought at
Wal-Mart- I believe it was RO water. Anyway, thanks again for the reply and
link.


--
KB
Missouri




"Don S" > wrote in message
m...
> > I have been following this thread and am interested in the "toss the
> > potassium sorbate packet away",. Would you please elaborate on this and
> > perhaps "defend" the statement. I am always interested in new ways to
> > improve my wine making.
>
> Also KB, Jack also has this new page with extended kit
> instructions posted on his web site:
>
> http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/extended.asp
>
> Don

In article >, "K. B." > wrote:
>Thanks for the reply and the link to Jack's Extended Instructions- I learned
>not to use distilled water from the site. I was using water i bought at
>Wal-Mart- I believe it was RO water. Anyway, thanks again for the reply and
>link.
>
Just one problem: the advice to avoid distilled water is nuts, just plain
nuts, as is the reason given for it (because it doesn't contain trace minerals
needed by yeast).

The reason this is nuts is that you don't know what's in tap water, well
water, spring water, or anything else. The minerals that they contain may or
may not be beneficial to the yeast; in the absence of a detailed analysis of
the mineral content, you have no way of knowing. Well water and spring water
are often high in iron, which is definitely harmful to the taste of the wine.

The *only* way to *know* what you're putting in your wine is to use *pure*
water (i.e. steam distilled), then add yeast nutrient if you want to make sure
that the yeast have the minerals they need.

Don,

You're correct, I don't have any experience with wine (yet!). My main
focus has always been beer over the last 18 months, purely for selfish
reasons. But I must admit reading this newsgroup over the past few weeks has
fuelled my interest. That is why I finally accepted my wife's plea and
promised to make her a wine. I do enjoy homebrewing as a hobby so I suppose
having wine in the fermenter instead of beer for a change can't hurt and who
knows, I may start to enjow wine more in the process as well

Thank you for your feedback, I'll give the BK Australian Chardonnay a go
and see how it tastes in 6 months time.

I will keep in touch with this group

Arjen


"Don S" > wrote in message
om...
> Arjen,
> It doesn't sound like you have much experience with wine and
> if your real interest is with beer then you may not want to
> spend alot of time researching the pros and cons of a variety
> of techniques used here.
>
> Depending on how discerning you wife's tastes are I would say
> that you should buy a good quality but not the top of the line
> white kit. BK would definitely be one of the lines. Follow the
> directions to the letter except perhaps let the wine sit under
> protection of an airlock until it is definitely dry and then
> toss the potassium sorbate packet away.
>
> After doing a middle of the road kit, which your wife will
> almost definitely appreciate after 3 months in the bottle,
> go on to a higher end kit.
>
> If you go into the Google groups search utility you can pick
> up alot of answers to any questions you might have by searching
> this newsgroup.
>
> Don
>
> >
> > Since I've started brewing meer about 18 months ago, the Mrs. has been
> > asking on numerous occasions if I would like to use my fermenters to
make
> > her some decent wine. As she is more of a white wine then a red wine
> > drinker, I am looking at making her a Chardonnay that will have a
commercial
> > quality.
> >
> > The BK brochure describes several different Chardonnay's but I would
like
> > the opinion of a knowledge base like this forum which one would be
better
> > then others.
> >
> > Any suggestions would be appreciated.
> >
> > Arjen

Arjen,
Having grown up in a mining town in Canada's north, I'm a beer
swiller from birth but I've grown to appreciate wine, especially
with food. Not that I'd admit it in rec.crafts.brewing but I
sometimes now prefer a glass of wine to a beer. I'm actually
approaching both of these hobbies from the opposite direction
from you - wine first and brewing next. Wine kits are easier
than beer but truely great wine pressed from grapes is more
difficult than all-grain brewing. My opinion of course.

Don

> You're correct, I don't have any experience with wine (yet!). My main
> focus has always been beer over the last 18 months, purely for selfish
> reasons. But I must admit reading this newsgroup over the past few weeks has
> fuelled my interest. That is why I finally accepted my wife's plea and
> promised to make her a wine. I do enjoy homebrewing as a hobby so I suppose
> having wine in the fermenter instead of beer for a change can't hurt and who
> knows, I may start to enjow wine more in the process as well

I never liked white wine at all and I made reds for years. Then I was
talked into trying some of the new white wine kits. I love them. My
favorites are the Rieslings and Gewürztraminer though I just made a Symphony
and it is very nice. Just use a good quality kit, BK and Spagnols are good,
and I think you and your wife will be pleased.

Ray

"Arjen" > wrote in message
...
> Hi,
>
> Since I've started brewing meer about 18 months ago, the Mrs. has been
> asking on numerous occasions if I would like to use my fermenters to make
> her some decent wine. As she is more of a white wine then a red wine
> drinker, I am looking at making her a Chardonnay that will have a
commercial
> quality.
>
> The BK brochure describes several different Chardonnay's but I would like
> the opinion of a knowledge base like this forum which one would be better
> then others.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Arjen
>
>
>
>

"Don S" > wrote in message
m...
Wine kits are easier
> than beer but truely great wine pressed from grapes is more
> difficult than all-grain brewing. My opinion of course.
>

I would say state of the art beer kits (eg BrewHouse) are now easier than
wine kits, and will produce a better product (relatively speaking) to boot.
IMO the process of making wine kits (at least the current technology used in
North America) is injurious to the quality of the wine whereas that is not
the case with ready-to-pitch worts. There are certainly factors to take into
account in preparing a concentrated wort for dilution, but the process is
basically the same as when you brew beer from scratch.

As to the grapes vs all-grain matter, you will have to expand on your
reasons. First of all, we have to be comparing apples to apples. Truely
great wine vs truely great beer. Both require knowledge, attention to
detail and access to top quality materials. I don't think there is any doubt
that accessing top quality grapes in peak condition is a challenge for many
people, although it is still a problem that can be solved by throwing money
at it. ;-) Does cost prohibitive (for many) mean more difficult? I wouldn't
use that as a criteria.

Brian

> As to the grapes vs all-grain matter, you will have to expand on your
> reasons.

I think I was just trying to do a seat-of-the-pants comparison of kits
vs fresh product for both beer and wine. My experience with beer kits
has been with all-extract ones and some extract/sugar ones that friends
have done. I generally put them down as OK swill but definitely not
good. A mid range wine kit is definitely OK table wine. It's not
a real apples to apples comparison and I don't think you could really
do one between beer and wine in kits or otherwise.

Don