Reducing the water volume

Radiowaves

I am new to wine making having just made beer up until now. I am just about to make my first batch of California Con. Chardonnay/Semillon, but when making beer I am use to reducing the volume of water from 23l to 20l to give the brew more body. Is it a good idea to do the same when making wine or is it unnecessary?

HBO_Staff

With wine it is not advisable to alter the volumes in the same way as beer, sometimes it happens when people put the wrong amount of water in, but we wouldn't recommend doing it on purpose. Wine kits, especially the more expensive ones, have been formulated for best results based on the volumes they make, so instead we would recommend opting for decent ingredients which will easily result in a good wine. By going for wine kits which need no sugar adding you will get good results, and ideally opt for something like a Beaverdale or higher, generally speaking the better the kit the better the quality of grape juice which means better wine, much like buying wines off the shelf. Even the expensive Kenridge kits which cost £90 plus still only work out at £3 a bottle or so.

And the good news is, right now there is a massive 15% off Beaverdale and California Connoisseur, and also the Cellar 7 range, making them really great value and is a good chance for people to try the next range up from their usual one for little more cost;

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/february-special-offer

Radiowaves

Thank you for your swift reply. I can't wait to get going and give my first wine kit a go.

HBO_Staff

There is a general guide on here with some pointers if interested for making your first batch, but as a beer maker you will be familiar with much of the process, the finings and sachets are a little different, but it is straight forward;

http://homebrewonline.vanillaforums.com/discussion/492/just-starting-heres-a-handy-checklist-and-useful-things-to-know-for-wine#latest