Pinot Grigio tastes watery

Posted by: mikeleh, Monday, January 30, 2012

I just bottled a Vino Del Vida Pinot Grigio Kit and when I tasted it, it tasted dilluted/watery.

Will letting it age in the bottle improve its flavor?

The SG readings were all in accordance with the kit instructions and I feel this may have occurred when I topped up the Carboy with water as instructed.

Since then I am currently about to make a Cru Select Pinot Grigio Kit and I don't want this to happen again if the watery taste in not normal and something was wrong.


Posted by: cpfan Wednesday, February 01, 2012 10:45 AM The wine will probably taste better with aging. How much water did you add to top up? The wine from a Cru Select kit should be better, more full bodied, etc than from a Vino del Vida kit. On the other hand, I don't think of Pinot Grigio as particularly full bodied. Steve Reply to this Comment


Posted by: mikeleh Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:33 PM I added about 2 liters. 1 liter per during each racking.(1 liter when I racked off sediment from primary to carboy & 1 liter when I racked off sediment from carboy to another carboy) Reply to this Comment


Posted by: cpfan Thursday, February 02, 2012 6:54 PM OUCH, that's a lot of water, and that may be part of your problem. When racking from primary to carboy, don't be too fussy about leaving all the sediment behind. That should cut down a bit on the amount of top up required. Steve Reply to this Comment


Posted by: mikeleh Monday, February 06, 2012 1:15 PM If I had to top up, would using a commercial bottle of pinot grgio be ok or should I just rack into a 5 gal carboy. I read somewhere that wine kits make the juice stronger because of the topping up part and adding water. Reply to this Comment


Posted by: Diane Sunday, February 12, 2012 12:56 PM 2 liters too much water. I always top with another wine. Reply to this Comment


Posted by: whiterock Thursday, March 15, 2012 2:47 PM I read somewhere that wine kits make the juice stronger because of the topping up part and adding water.(mikeleh) My understanding is that Winexpert makes their kits overstrength by 4% which calls for up to a liter top up to bring the wine back into balance. My guess is that Spagnol's does the same. Does anyone know for sure? I make mostly dry whites(cru select or better) and in the past I topped up only with wine and my wife complained that the taste was a little on the strong side. That wasn't a problem for me but I see her point. My current wines on the go have an average total water topup of about 25 oz. Hopefully they won't taste weak. Reply to this Comment


Posted by: Canadian Friday, March 09, 2012 6:40 PM 4 weeks kits will always have alot less flavour than their 6 week counterparts...IMO atleast but i do have a silly question... are you tipping the fermenter and then the carboy when you are racking so you get the majority of the wine out... Reply to this Comment


Posted by: mikeleh Saturday, March 10, 2012 2:45 PM yes I tip each when racking Reply to this Comment