WineXpert Selection International Spanish Tempranillo w Grape Skins

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dorfie

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Hey everyone!
I ordered this kit from the O/D sale and I'm pretty excited for it! we love Spanish Tempranillo wine. As this is my first kit (though not my first batch of wine) i have some questions.
I have heard some good reviews from this kit, has anyone else done this one and what should i expect?
should i tweek the recipe some and add other things oak, berries etc. I am not planning on doing many kits in the future so i want this one to turn out awesome!
what temp should i try to ferment this at? i have been researching this topic quite a bit lately and there doesn't seem to be a solid consensus.
Thanks!
 
As this is your first kit, I would just follow the directions ( leave out the sorbate, why they even ship it with reds is beyond me). I seldom tweek kits, but as I try one and find something i would like to change then I do it on the next kit.
BTW, its shipping today!
 
dorfie said:
Hey everyone!
I ordered this kit from the O/D sale and I'm pretty excited for it! we love Spanish Tempranillo wine. As this is my first kit (though not my first batch of wine) i have some questions.
I have heard some good reviews from this kit, has anyone else done this one and what should i expect?
should i tweek the recipe some and add other things oak, berries etc. I am not planning on doing many kits in the future so i want this one to turn out awesome!
what temp should i try to ferment this at? i have been researching this topic quite a bit lately and there doesn't seem to be a solid consensus.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have done this kit twice and have found the less I try to 'help' it the better. You may want to consider a little more oak but that is entirely according to your taste. I wouldn't even consider that until the supplied oak is exhausted. For my palette, it is great just the way it is. My notes indicate I did nothing to it other than extended aging. Flavors include dark fruit, plum and black pepper (a favorite for me). Doug gives good advice, make it according to instructions but add some bulk aging. Then just try to stay out of it for a year.
 
Brew and Wine Supply said:
As this is your first kit, I would just follow the directions ( leave out the sorbate, why they even ship it with reds is beyond me). I seldom tweek kits, but as I try one and find something i would like to change then I do it on the next kit.
BTW, its shipping today!
Click to expand...

I would love to do exactly that, but I am not really planning on doing a kit again--at least not for a while so i was hoping that i could really nail it with this one. not ideal and stuff i know.

Don't be in a hurry to enjoy it. It takes about 18 months before it gets good.[/QUOTE said:
do you mean 18 months of bulk ageing or 18 months in total?

Now on to the next question, well a thought. I was considering doing a cold soak for a few days before fermenting to pull some goodies out of the skin pack, and then i was wondering on fermenting temp.
With my fruit wines i go for cooler temps a lot to preserve the flavor, and aromatics. i know that some winemakers do run a cooler ferment, while others run it warmer.
I was reading some new info that the large wine vats that are used commercially actually create several temperature areas in the vat.
so to mimic this and preserve some of the softer notes i was thinking splitting the batch and doing half cooler and half warmer and blend them in the carboy. how does that sound?
Click to expand...
 
dorfie said:
I was reading some new info that the large wine vats that are used commercially actually create several temperature areas in the vat.
so to mimic this and preserve some of the softer notes i was thinking splitting the batch and doing half cooler and half warmer and blend them in the carboy. how does that sound?
Click to expand...

I really believe you are way overthinking this. I very well may be wrong, but I don't think you will taste any significant differences between these batches. I hope others chime in to correct me if I am off base.
 
In general, you want to ferment white wines at lower temps (45-60) in order to retain the volatile organic compounds (fruity notes).

With reds that have skins, you want to ferment at higher temps (70-85 degrees) in order to promote extraction of the good stuff from the skins.

For reds without skins, they say the higher temp drives off fruity flavors, which you don't want in reds. I'm not sure about the last part, but that's what they say.

I have that kit in waiting. I'm going to add FT Rouge at the beginning as a sacrificial tannin.
 
richmke said:
In general, you want to ferment white wines at lower temps (45-60) in order to retain the volatile organic compounds (fruity notes).

With reds that have skins, you want to ferment at higher temps (70-85 degrees) in order to promote extraction of the good stuff from the skins.

For reds without skins, they say the higher temp drives off fruity flavors, which you don't want in reds. I'm not sure about the last part, but that's what they say.

I have that kit in waiting. I'm going to add FT Rouge at the beginning as a sacrificial tannin.
Click to expand...

Ok maybe I won't do the two temp zone thing any other opinions on the subject?
By the way, what it this ft rouge I keep hearing about? I understand it's a tannin but is it superior to the normal wine tannin that I buy?
 
I just opened my kit. This thread gave me the push to do this one.

Inside the kit is:
Grape pack
10g (2 packets) of RC212 yeast
60g (2 bags) French Oak (splinters)
60g (2 bags) Oak Toasted (dust)
60g (1 bag) French Oak (cubes)

A lot of oak. Is 2 packets of yeast correct?
 
I had seen others say there were two as well. Mine should be here Monday or so but I wont be able to look at it for a while, maybe two just to ensure that it gets started well? Not sure, you'll have to tell me how yours is going since I will be a little behind you
 
I pitched it Saturday morning. I re-hydrated both packs of yeast prior to pitching. Was foaming that evening. So a nice start.

Starting SG: 1.082 by hydrometer, 20.4 brix by refractometer (implies 1.085 sg).

Foaming nicely after day 1. SG is 1.084 (dissolving of grape pack).

Implied ABV of 12.75%, assuming grape pack added .005 SG.

From quick research, Spanish Tempranillo ABV is around 13-14.5% abv. Adding 1.5 cups of sugar should boost it to 13.5% ABV. Any thoughts if I should do that?
 
Last edited:
richmke said:
I pitched it Saturday morning. I re-hydrated both packs of yeast prior to pitching. Was foaming that evening. So a nice start.

Starting SG: 1.082 by hydrometer, 20.4 brix by refractometer (implies 1.085 sg).

Foaming nicely after day 1. SG is 1.084 (dissolving of grape pack).

Implied ABV of 12.75%, assuming grape pack added .005 SG.

From quick research, Spanish Tempranillo ABV is around 13-14.5% abv. Adding 1.5 cups of sugar should boost it to 13.5% ABV. Any thoughts if I should do that?
Click to expand...

I have observed larger bumps in SG due to the sugars in the grape pack. (My yeast start more slowly than what yours did this time.) I have seen more like 0.015 to 0.020 bumps, although, admittedly, these were on Eclipse or Showcase kits. Nonetheless, I think your assumption of 0.005 is conservative.
 
Ok. assuming a .018 SG bump from the grap pack, that would be and adjust starting SG of 1.10, which if fermented down to .996-.992, would be 14.0 - 14.5 ABV, about right for a Spanish Tempranillo. That is also about the alcohol tolerance for RC212, which is probably why they provided 2 packets. Good thing I re-hydrated before pitching. Give the yeast a good start before hitting the sugars.
 
I've done 3 Valdepenas-Tempranillo's so far and I can attest/concur that the additive with the most pronounced affect would be TIME. 12 months minimum:b
 
In 2.5 days, the SG on 5 gallons is 1.026, down 0.074 from an implied starting SG of 1.100

Added the reserved juice (SG of 1.082), and the new SG is 1.036.
 
Well i finally got around to opening the kit up! i have the same stuff that you listed richmke. looks fun! once my primary opens up ( got a strawberry breeze in there now) I will be starting this one!
I just had a question, the kit comes with bentonite and chitosan. the bentonite for the primary and the chitosan for fining after it is done. do you guys feel that these are necessary? i mean if you were planning on bottling at 8 weeks i get it, i am just wondering if it is worth me not using them, flavor wise?
 
dorfie said:
I just had a question, the kit comes with bentonite and chitosan. the bentonite for the primary and the chitosan for fining after it is done. do you guys feel that these are necessary? i mean if you were planning on bottling at 8 weeks i get it, i am just wondering if it is worth me not using them, flavor wise?
Click to expand...

I skip them. The only plus side is that it helps to clear the wine faster. There are lots of possible little downsides, so I say: "Why bother?". I do bulk age my wine for 9+ months, so that takes care of the clearing.
 

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