WineXpert Stags Leap merlot

I did the stabilizing,clarifying & degassing. SG = 0.996. I had the wand attached to drill. I expected the degassing to produce a lot of bubbles. Instead it seemed flat and very little bubbles. I continued with instructions. It taste good. A little young as expected. I topped it off.

I'm supposed to wait 8 days and then rack to new carboy.

Question: should I be concerned that there didn't seem to be any gas? Should I continue to degas during the next 8 days?

I just finished a LE WE Meritage and it degassed pretty much on its own as well. I hit it with a vacuum pump as well but not much came off compared to most other kits. Try filling a clean/sanitized bottle about half full. Put your thumb over the opening and shake it up a couple of times and see if you get a big release of CO2. Your wine will not clear if it has a bunch of CO2. You can also try a Vacuvin to degas. Put the stopper into one of the S shaped airlocks and pump it and watch for CO2 to rise.

Id let it sit more like 2 weks with the carboy tilted. That lets the sediment compact more and to one side so you can rack from the other side and at the last minute slowly tilt the carboy to get the last drop.

RCGoodin said:

I did the stabilizing,clarifying & degassing. SG = 0.996.

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I may have waited a little longer, but as long as you did the two day check thing, you should be OK

RCGoodin said:

I had the wand attached to drill. I expected the degassing to produce a lot of bubbles. Instead it seemed flat and very little bubbles. I continued with instructions. It taste good. A little young as expected. I topped it off.

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Not a problem. Likely you have a nice warm carboy, and the CO2 evacuates naturally, as suggested by IBGLOWIN

RCGoodin said:

I'm supposed to wait 8 days and then rack to new carboy.

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Like Wade suggested, leaving it a few extra days at this stage will only make your wine clearer.

RCGoodin said:

Question: should I be concerned that there didn't seem to be any gas? Should I continue to degas during the next 8 days?

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No, you should not be concerned, and no you should not continue to degas.

Thanks wine Eh?

Thanks for the feedback. I did a tasting today and it seems ok. It's like a child. I'll take your advice and keep updating my progress.

You will like this kit, I started mine exactly a year ago, has been in the bottle for only 4 months with a few months bulk aging also. In December the local wine making store had a wine tasting for all of us to bring our bottles and socialize. There was a table of whites and table of reds with the red table having about 13 different bottles there....Everybody was sampling and getting idea what fellow winemakers are brewing. Well, my Stag's Leap merlot was the first bottle to get empty !! Should be awesome in another year !

This is one kit I have had my eye on.....But, being a newbie I think I need to have a few under my belt first....What wonderful feedback and info. thanks, carolyn

Stags Leap Resting

My baby is resting in the carboy. He is sleeping nicely. I'm scheduling bottling in another month and opening the 1st bottle after the first of the year (Jan 2013) and the second bottle Jan 2014. And, with a little patience, the third bottle Jan 2015. After that, it's open season.......

RCGoodin said:

My baby is resting in the carboy. He is sleeping nicely. I'm scheduling bottling in another month and opening the 1st bottle after the first of the year (Jan 2013) and the second bottle Jan 2014. And, with a little patience, the third bottle Jan 2015. After that, it's open season.......

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Any updates on how it tastes. Just started mine this week. Bakervinyard

I am bulk aging my Eclipse Stags Leap Merlot I started in January. On 6 Feb I racked & then added the sulphite & sorbate, stirred with a drill for 5 minutes and then put the Vacuvin wine pumper on it. Got lots of bubbles. Next day I added the Chitosan & continued degassing with the pump. I continued using the pump until 21 Feb when I wasn’t getting any bubbles. Temp was around 72 the whole time. The Merlot is really clear & I’m going to continue bulk aging for another 3 months. The Vacuvin works good for me. Just give the wine some time and continue pumping.

I bottled Stag's Leap District Merlot yesterday (my first Eclipse kit), and it is quite good. I can hardly wait to taste in 6 months.

My Old Vine Zinfandel Stag's Leap was bottled last year in March, so I passed the year mark. I only have 7 bottles left. Two months ago I gave one as a gift to a Canadian friend. He called me last month and said, "I'll pay you $2000 per bottle for all that is left." Those were kind words and of course we opened about 5 bottles to confirm his findings. I can't wait until the last magnificent 7 are two years old.

Just started my Eclipse Stags Leap Merlot this afternoon. I've been reading a number of comments about the starting specific gravity of skins kits being lower than expected, but possibly rising in the first 24 hrs after exposure to the skins. I used some of the water addition to rinse out the skins bag through the mesh in a bowl (to get all of the skins and juice out), squeezing the mesh bag in the water in the bowl, then adding the water and the bag. My starting SG was 1.102. What have some of you had as your starting SG?

RCGoodin said:

My Old Vine Zinfandel Stag's Leap was bottled last year in March,

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Did you mean your Lodi Old Vines Zinfandel, or your Napa Valley Stag's Leap District Merlot? I have the OV Zin percolating right now.

David129 ---- I started my Eclipse Stag Leap Merlot in 19 January. Initial SG was 1.093. By 5 Feb, SG was down to 0.0994, which was when I racked it. I added the Sulphite & Sorbates, stirred with a drill and put the wine pump on it. I continued degassing until 19 Feb, when I wasn't getting any bubbles so I racked again. As of today (29 May) it's still bulk aging. I check it every 2 weeks for CO2 with the wine pump & as of yesterday there were no bubbles. I'll probably bottle it in July. I drew some off this weekend. I'Ts VERY GOOD

Simpsini said:

David129 ---- I started my Eclipse Stag Leap Merlot in 19 January. Initial SG was 1.093. By 5 Feb, SG was down to 0.0994, which was when I racked it. I added the Sulphite & Sorbates, stirred with a drill and put the wine pump on it. I continued degassing until 19 Feb, when I wasn't getting any bubbles so I racked again. As of today (29 May) it's still bulk aging. I check it every 2 weeks for CO2 with the wine pump & as of yesterday there were no bubbles. I'll probably bottle it in July. I drew some off this weekend. I'Ts VERY GOOD

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When you write "wine pump", are you referring to a vacuum pump?

I don't quite understand why you would need to remove the CO2 more than once or maybe one extra try right before bottling.

Robie - I'm using the $9.99 Vacuvin wine saver that can be bought at your local wine store. Put the stopper on a bung and I pump the air out of the carboy. I find that even after stirring with a long handled spoon and agitating the wine with a drill for 5 minutes there is still air inside the wine pleading to get out. Plus when I pump with the Vacuvin it takes the O2 off the wine in those last 2 inches in the carboy. I don't believe it hurts the wine to pump it for 3 - 4 months and it sure gets air out. I know it works pretty good for me. Maybe someone else can provide insight to this.

RCGoodin said:

My Old Vine Zinfandel Stag's Leap was bottled last year in March, so I passed the year mark. I only have 7 bottles left. Two months ago I gave one as a gift to a Canadian friend. He called me last month and said, "I'll pay you $2000 per bottle for all that is left." Those were kind words and of course we opened about 5 bottles to confirm his findings. I can't wait until the last magnificent 7 are two years old.

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I apologize, I screwed up my entire post. I'm actually referring to two different kits. One; the Stag's Leap Merlot, and two; The Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel.

The best response I got from either of then was the Zinfandel, however both are great kits.

Others on this forum told me how great the Zin was going to be, especially after two years of aging. That is the magnificent 7 I refer to in the botched post. I hope they make it to January. Someone said that in order to stay out of the cookie jar, make more cookies. So, I have 6 gallons of Gawartrminer, 6 gallons of oak infused Chardonnay, and 6 gallons of Armarone to bottle. Plus 4 kits still in the box. That should keep me busy until the Zin and Merlot make it to two years.

I hope all you guys are having fun and making great wine. I can't believe June is here already.

bakervinyard said:

Any updates on how it tastes. Just started mine this week. Bakervinyard

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It's been almost 1 1/2 years and I have to tell you, the Stag's Leap Merlot is over the top. It's as good as any commercial Stag's Leap I've purchased. I have to repeat this kit every year.

I'm going to order, from Dave at Brew and Wine, an Eclipse Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel and then an Eclipse Lodi Stag's Leap Merlot. It has to be an every year thing. Man this hobby is great.

I'm starting to find friends that will pay for the kit, I do the processing, and then we each get 1/2 the bottles produced. That's a win win if I ever heard one.

Simpsini said:

I am bulk aging my Eclipse Stags Leap Merlot I started in January. On 6 Feb I racked & then added the sulphite & sorbate, stirred with a drill for 5 minutes and then put the Vacuvin wine pumper on it. Got lots of bubbles. Next day I added the Chitosan & continued degassing with the pump. I continued using the pump until 21 Feb when I wasn’t getting any bubbles. Temp was around 72 the whole time. The Merlot is really clear & I’m going to continue bulk aging for another 3 months. The Vacuvin works good for me. Just give the wine some time and continue pumping.

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How is your bulk aging coming along? Are you keeping oak cubes in carboy throughout the aging process?