All,

I just bottled my second batch of kit wine. Both so far have been dry reds.
I wanted to do a wine that I could give to folks that have been giving me
bottles. A lot of those bottles have been reisling so I thought I would try
some for myself. I find it quite sweet and not really to my liking.
Anyway, I bought a BK kit and am going to start it this evening. I read
through the directions and was a little supprised. I expected that I would
need to stop the fermentation early in order to obtain the sweetness
inherent in this wine. Instead, the instructions read much like the dry
reds I have done. Looks like you pretty much let the fermentation run to
completeness. Also, there does not appear to be packet that will add
sweetness later. What am I missing here? Will this turn out sweet like
many commercial reislings?

Thanks,
Michael

Riesling does not have to be sweet. I have made kit Riesling that came out
dry or just off dry and it was very much to my taste. Sounds like that is
the type of kit you have.

Ray

"Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message
...
> All,
>
> I just bottled my second batch of kit wine. Both so far have been dry
reds.
> I wanted to do a wine that I could give to folks that have been giving me
> bottles. A lot of those bottles have been reisling so I thought I would
try
> some for myself. I find it quite sweet and not really to my liking.
> Anyway, I bought a BK kit and am going to start it this evening. I read
> through the directions and was a little supprised. I expected that I
would
> need to stop the fermentation early in order to obtain the sweetness
> inherent in this wine. Instead, the instructions read much like the dry
> reds I have done. Looks like you pretty much let the fermentation run to
> completeness. Also, there does not appear to be packet that will add
> sweetness later. What am I missing here? Will this turn out sweet like
> many commercial reislings?
>
> Thanks,
> Michael
>
>

Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have purchased the
wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what some
folks like.

You could try reserving some of the reconstituted
concentrate for addition at the time an f-pack would
be added. I've never done it, but the BK VR Riesling
kit I did turned out rather nice.

--Mike L.


"Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message
...
> Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have
purchased the
> wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what
some
> folks like.
>
>

Kits are not designed to finish dry or sweet. That's up to the winemaker.
Arrest fermentation at about 1.005 or ferment dry down to .990 and add 200
ml of wine conditioner.
anything else is just a marketing ploy by the manufacturer.
"Michael Lawson" > wrote in message
...
> You could try reserving some of the reconstituted
> concentrate for addition at the time an f-pack would
> be added. I've never done it, but the BK VR Riesling
> kit I did turned out rather nice.
>
> --Mike L.
>
>
> "Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have
> purchased the
> > wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what
> some
> > folks like.
> >
> >
>
>
>

"Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message >...
> Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have purchased the
> wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what some
> folks like.

You can always stop the fermentation before it's completely done by
sticking the carboy in a fridge and then stabilizing with potassium
meta and sorbate.

Alternatively, you can add wine conditioner or grape juice concentrate
to finished dry wine - that might be simpler overall.

Pp

The VR Reisling kit produces a dry wine. You can finish the kit and
add sugar after the last step. You will already have stabilized the
wine and it should not ferment any more.


On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 11:14:16 -0400, "Michael E. Carey"
> wrote:

>All,
>
>I just bottled my second batch of kit wine. Both so far have been dry reds.
>I wanted to do a wine that I could give to folks that have been giving me
>bottles. A lot of those bottles have been reisling so I thought I would try
>some for myself. I find it quite sweet and not really to my liking.
>Anyway, I bought a BK kit and am going to start it this evening. I read
>through the directions and was a little supprised. I expected that I would
>need to stop the fermentation early in order to obtain the sweetness
>inherent in this wine. Instead, the instructions read much like the dry
>reds I have done. Looks like you pretty much let the fermentation run to
>completeness. Also, there does not appear to be packet that will add
>sweetness later. What am I missing here? Will this turn out sweet like
>many commercial reislings?
>
>Thanks,
>Michael
>

I sweeten my Riesling with corn sugar, bought from the brew shop. Sweeten to
taste, at bottling time, using a sample, then calculate how much to add to
your batch, Add it in intervals and taste test as you go. Sugar has worked
fine.

--
Karl Borum




"pp" > wrote in message
om...
> "Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message
>...
> > Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have purchased
the
> > wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what some
> > folks like.
>
> You can always stop the fermentation before it's completely done by
> sticking the carboy in a fridge and then stabilizing with potassium
> meta and sorbate.
>
> Alternatively, you can add wine conditioner or grape juice concentrate
> to finished dry wine - that might be simpler overall.
>
> Pp
>

If you are really aiming at a sweeter wine, you might try one of the
Gewürztraminer kits that are designed to be sweet. I think you will really
like them. I like them and I do not normally care for sweet wine. My
favorite is the Spagnol's kit but you can use any good quality kit.

Ray

"Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message
...
> Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have purchased the
> wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what some
> folks like.
>
>
>

I think I would like to stop fermentation at about 1.020. This should give
me about an 8% alcohol where the potential on my first SG reading was 10.5
(SG 1.080).

Question is, I cannot put my primary fermenter in a fridge. It is a 12
gallon stone crock. Do you think the Sorbate will be enough to arrest the
fermentation once I get to 1.020?

Thanks for all the comments.

"pp" > wrote in message
om...
> "Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message
>...
> > Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have purchased
the
> > wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what some
> > folks like.
>
> You can always stop the fermentation before it's completely done by
> sticking the carboy in a fridge and then stabilizing with potassium
> meta and sorbate.
>
> Alternatively, you can add wine conditioner or grape juice concentrate
> to finished dry wine - that might be simpler overall.
>
> Pp

"Michael E. Carey" > wrote in message
...
> I think I would like to stop fermentation at about 1.020. This should
give
> me about an 8% alcohol where the potential on my first SG reading was 10.5
> (SG 1.080).
>
> Question is, I cannot put my primary fermenter in a fridge. It is a 12
> gallon stone crock. Do you think the Sorbate will be enough to arrest the
> fermentation once I get to 1.020?
>
> Thanks for all the comments.

Michael,
Yeast can metabolize sorbic acid when it is added to an active fermentation.
So, you may be feeding your yeast rather than stopping fermentation.
Good luck,
Lum
Del Mar, California, USA

In article >,
Michael E. Carey > wrote:
>Bummer. If I have a kit to produce a dry wine, then I have purchased the
>wrong kit. I was shooting for sweet because that seems to be what some
>folks like.

I wouldn't worry. My wife prefers sweet wine, but she loved the BK
reisling. It appeals to both dry- and sweet- folks; it's perfect for
your purpose.

hawk
--
Richard E. Hawkins, Asst. Prof. of Economics /"\ ASCII ribbon campaign
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These opinions will not be those of X and postings.
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