Vintner's Reserve Pinot Noir

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Jacukel

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OK, bought this and started 4 days ago. First kit. Would love any feedback, answers to the questions below.

First impressions, the juice was very sweet. Based on my limited knowledge of chemistry, i would assume this will make a fairly alcoholic wine. Yes? No?

I'm following the instructions pretty much to the letter, except I found some other tips that suggested using the airlock in primary fermentation. Which I am. Right now, there's a strong fermentation smell (heavy, kinda rotten fruit/yeast) and some condensation between the water in the airlock and the tub. The temp. is about consistently 70-74.

The kit says that the wine is best drunk between 2 months and one year, which just seems a bit odd to me as I'm used to drinking wine that's typically 1-5 years old. I bought a bit of extra sulfite which I am thinking about using at bottling to allow the wine to bottle age a bit (at least some of the bottles). Good idea? Bad idea?

I also wanted to be on the safe side as far as sanitization and added a bit of ascorbic acid before sealing the primary (the kit doesn't call for it, and ascorbic acid is listed as an ingredient on the juice). But . . . i'd say I added maybe a half ounce to an ounce. Will that effect anything?

I am thinking about topping off the secondary with wine from a nice $50 pinot that I love. Is this worth it at all?

One last thing, there was a little black rubber gasket on the lid of the primary (a ring about the size of a pencil eraser) that fell into the tub and sunk when I started the wine. Obviously, I'll leave it behind when i rack it into the secondary. Will this affect the batch, or should I not worry about it?

I like my pinots balanced and complex (fruit vs. tart) and smooth, a little alcoholic is OK. What can i do to get that flavor?

What can i expect with this kit and the circumstances I've described?

THANKS
 
Jacukel:

I haven't done this exact kit, but I would expect about 12 - 12 1/2 %. Did you take an initial specific gravity (sg).

Some primaries are designed to use an air lock, others aren't. The 46 litres ones I use do not need an air lock.

This is a lower end kit wine and will have less sulphite than the typical commercial wine. Thus a lesser shelf life. Adding a little metabisulfite will extend the shelf life.

AFAIK, ascorbic acid has nothing to do with sanitation. I don't know what affect it will have when added to the primary. One chemist for a different kit company recommends adding ascorbic acid to un-oaked whites prior to bottling, but not to reds.

Top off with a $50 pinot? Gee, I wish I could afford one. :p

It sounds to me like you should be considering a better quality kit. The Selection brand comes from the same company, so you might want to check out their Pinot Noirs.

Steve
 
Thanks

Yeah, based on some things I've read, I'll save my $50 pinot for a special occasion. Sounds like a 1.5 litre Redwood Creek will do the job just as well!

Thanks. BTW, BC is a favorite stomping ground of mine. Beautiful place.
 

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