WineXpert Fall Lineup for kits

I was busy today putting on six wines, all WinExpert kits and I "ad libbed" on a few of them.

Triple batch of Sauvignon Blanc, WE Selection
Double batch of Brunello, WE Selection International w/skins
Cabernet Sauvignon, WE Eclipse Lodi Ranch
Valpolicella, WE Selection
Australian Traminer-Riesling, WE International
Malbec, WE International w/skins

I had made grape packs which were about 4 pounds each. They were Cabernet Sauvignon and I had them in the freezer. Took about two days for them to thaw and come to room temperature. I added 4 to the Brunello, 2 to the Cabernet Sauvignon and one each to the Valpolicella and Malbec. My temperatures were marginally low although fermentation has started on all wines.

Busy day!

Ummm, wow! 9 kits in one day. I am impressed.

sour_grapes said:

Ummm, wow! 9 kits in one day. I am impressed.

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I got tired just reading the post.

I am in the process of expanding my wine area. I started out with one corner of the basement and now have expanded to about 1/4 of the basement. The pictures below show a. my new fermentations, b. added a heater to get the ambient up to 74 degrees F and c. my bulk aging area. Incidentally, all of my benches, tables and shelving were made from "repurposed wood."

Today 1/4 of the basement, tomorrow the World!

Oh no, Rocky!! I just started this hobby 11 months ago... Is that what is going to happen to my basement in a few years?? (I'm actually at a meet spot to buy 5 carboys from a guy on Craigslist at this moment!).

TemperanceOwl, that is just how it starts. I had made wine with my grandfather, father, uncles and father-in-law many years ago and when I moved from Rochester, NY to Columbus, OH I sold all of my equipment, thinking I would never make wine again. One day about three years ago, my daughter came home from a trip to Michigan with some Michigan Cherry juice and asked me if I could make her some Cherry Wine. I had made Cherry wine in New York using sour cherries (you pick'em) and she really liked it. Well, I did not have any equipment left so I went to the wine store to pick up some necessities. While I was there, I noticed a Valpolicella kit and I thought, "Why not?" That was the beginning and now 40 or so carboys & demijohns later I am fully engaged in the hobby again.

I think Craiglist is a great place to buy equipment. There are always people exiting the hobby and there are many good buys. Good luck.

Rocky,
So do I assume correctly that you are a Wine Expert fan? I had a thread earlier inquiring about which direction to go next. I have only made two kits, both RJS, which one I believe you recommended(RJS OVZ) and the other a RJS Super Tuscan. With that said, I am looking at one to do this fall. Dry red of some sort.
Any one of yours stick out? I will probably do it according to the box without tweaking.

On a side note, your setup looks awesome. Very envious.

Rocky said:

One day about three years ago.....

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Rocky, you may be 3 years into this chapter of wine making, but you are definitely a valuable asset to our group!

wineforfun said:

Rocky,
So do I assume correctly that you are a Wine Expert fan? I had a thread earlier inquiring about which direction to go next. I have only made two kits, both RJS, which one I believe you recommended(RJS OVZ) and the other a RJS Super Tuscan. With that said, I am looking at one to do this fall. Dry red of some sort.
Any one of yours stick out? I will probably do it according to the box without tweaking.

On a side note, your setup looks awesome. Very envious.

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DJ, I still have very fond remembrances of RJS OVS and Super Tuscan from their Winery Series. They are both excellent kits. I am making more of the WE line because I have been buying a lot from Label Peelers here in Ohio due to great prices and convenience. They only carry the WE line. I find that the WE Eclipse, Selection and Selection International are excellent kits too. That being said, I still think the two best kits I have ever tried are RJS Winery Series Super Tuscan and a Kenridge Showcase Sangiovese-Cabernet Sauvignon. The latter was a limited release but it was outstanding. I have not seen it advertised subsequently.

Rocky said:

I am in the process of expanding my wine area. I started out with one corner of the basement and now have expanded to about 1/4 of the basement.

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1/4 of the basement!!?
Rocky,
I like you started with just a corner, but if my girlfriend were to describe it I am taking over the entire basement!! I only wish I could carve out more room I have to step outside to change my mind
Love the setup you have Rocky.

Steve

Rocky said:

DJ, I still have very fond remembrances of RJS OVS and Super Tuscan from their Winery Series. They are both excellent kits. I am making more of the WE line because I have been buying a lot from Label Peelers here in Ohio due to great prices and convenience. They only carry the WE line. I find that the WE Eclipse, Selection and Selection International are excellent kits too. That being said, I still think the two best kits I have ever tried are RJS Winery Series Super Tuscan and a Kenridge Showcase Sangiovese-Cabernet Sauvignon. The latter was a limited release but it was outstanding. I have not seen it advertised subsequently.

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So what are your thoughts on the comments about the WE kits dropping so much more sediment in primary, compared to RJS, etc.?

I had actually thought about the Eclipse Stags Leap Merlot, as it seems to be well liked from everyone.

Looking great Rocky, nice to have the room to store and work in an area like that. Just keep stealing space an inch or two at a time when nobody's looking!
Mike

wineforfun said:

So what are your thoughts on the comments about the WE kits dropping so much more sediment in primary, compared to RJS, etc.? Frankly, I had not noticed this but I will pay more attention this time and report here. The fermentations are proceeding apace and I think I will do my first racking of the Sauvignon Blanc and Traminer-Riesling tomorrow.

I had actually thought about the Eclipse Stags Leap Merlot, as it seems to be well liked from everyone.

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I have not made the Merlot but I have the Lodi Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon going at present. Looks great so far.

Kraffty said:

Looking great Rocky, nice to have the room to store and work in an area like that. Just keep stealing space an inch or two at a time when nobody's looking!
Mike

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Yes, Mike, it is nice to have more room so I am not tripping over myself every time I turn around. Bev lets me do what I want with the basement. It is large and unfinished. My work shop takes up a goodly portion and so does my wine storage area and the "larder" where we hoard food. I only regret that I left one part a crawl space. It was a stupid decision given the minimal cost saving. The way that space is tucked away under the kitchen, laundry room and powder room would have been a great place for my wine area.

Thanks Rocky.

DJ, here are some pictures from my first racking of the WE wines.

1. Traminer-Riesling
2. Sauvignon Blanc
3. Sauvignon Blanc
4. Brunello (first carboy drawn on the right, second on the left)
5. Brunello (dregs in a 2000 ml flask)
6. Cabernet Sauvignon (rear carboy drawn first)
7. Valpolicella (rear carboy drawn first)

I don't perceive an excess of lees. In fairness, I added homemade grape packs to the reds and that could contribute to the lees. On the whites, I upended the fermenters and poured all liquid into the carboys. On the reds, I upended the fermenters and poured through a sieve and funnel into the last carboy. I racked today and this is the fine sediment that has fallen at this point. I expect to get some more but overall, I am satisfied with the results.

I wanted to find out the original post and about how you made a grape pack about 4 pounds each. What exactly is this? I had seen on another post discussing the use of grapes from one wine kit into another wine kit. Was that what you meant, or were these fresh grapes that were of the same varietal? I have a, CC Walla Walla and a CC Red Mountain Cab, I was thinking of starting together with the same yeast (wyeast 4028 & 4267) and then once those went into secondary, starting a WE LE Triumph and added the grape skins and lees into the, Triumph primary thinking (based on some of my readings here) that it could at least increase the mouthfeel and other interesting additions and hopefully not detracted from the base kit. IF you were speaking of grapes of the same varietal, is there any specific process (other than getting the grapes-LOL)? Thanks!

Lovewinemusic, I made the grape packs from lugs of Cabernet Sauvignon and when I added them to the kits, they were not matched to the kit variety (except in the case of the Lodi Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon). All I did was buy the lugs, remove the grapes from the stems, crushed them in small batches with a potato masher, put them in freezer bags and freeze them. Most of the reds wines I made in this go around (Brunello, Malbec and Cabenet Sauvignon) had their own grape packs (the Valpolicella was the only one that did not) so the packs that I added were in addition to what came with the kit.

Re-using a grape pack from one kit to another is something that I have not tried. I believe that others on the forum have done this and you may find information about their results elsewhere. I don't think it would be something I would do partially because I am unsure of what the results would be and partially because I make a point to squeezing the bags very thoroughly at least once per day while they are in the primary fermenter.

Hope this answers your questions.

Set up

NICE LOOKING SET UP ROCKY...

Thanks Rocky! Yes, that certainly helped with a process. Unfortunately, I am down to, one red kit that does not have grapes, WE Triumph. I did another a month ago and kept thinking, it would be great if I could throw something in to pump up the volume, so to speak. Did you throw the juice from the grapes into the kit? Would that change the balance of the kit in any negative ways? From what I've been reading, it sounds like, Joeswine has been throwing in all kinds of into kits and turning out positive. Just had a window of opportunity to purchase some grapes and was thinking for future kits. Unfortunately, I have several red kits that have grape packs and have been super busy last few months, so they're all stacking up. Thanks for the suggestions!!

Oliver T.