Vino Superior Frozen Must

Any opinions on this must VS. Brehm, Wine Grapes Direct

My LHBS carries this now and I want to try it, and to add the spent pumice to my WE Nebbiolo and Forza kits.

Is the wine from the musts good?

Thanks!

I have the 2013 Sangiovese going through mlf as we speak. I'd have to say they looked very nice when they arrived. Very few stems and almost no leaves. WGD, who I have also ordered from, had a little more debris in the must, but nothing unmanageable. WGD also came with all the yeast, ferm o/k and tannin, oak and TA. However, they don't have Italian grapes. VS is a quality frozen must IMHO, just as long as you have all the additional additives and equipment. TA/Ph tester etc. I used the pressed grape skins (two buckets) in my RJS restricted quantity Aglianico. Best kit wine EVER!! Will definitely need to age like a "real" wine being it had 4 gallons pomace and slaps me in the face with tannins (never before seen in a kit). I think either kit would be greatly enhanced with the skins.
P.S. I tried using one bucket's pressed skins to other kits, but find (duh) two buckets to be much better.

Definitly a quality must! I have purchased the Sangiovese, Merlot, and Barbara. All have been amazing quality. I am blending the Merlot and Sangiovese to make a Super Tuscan. Met the owners at the Wine Makers conference a year ago... Great group! Only problem is they do not pack well so I had some damage in shipping which they fixed right away.

Thanks, guys

Who is your LHBS and in what town? Might be cheaper for me to drive verses paying the shipping if I ordered multiple containers. Plus if I think I know who it is there are other destinations that we could visit on a trip up in your area.

Thanks!

Keystone Homebrew has it in Montgomeryville and Bethlehem. I am sure there are others in PA.

Hmmm, Cabela's is in Hamburg up Interstate 78, so is Bethlehem. Boys have been bugging me for a visit, plus I've never been there, they have. I assume Keystone stocks it all year round as long as it doesn't sell out, so maybe that's a good trip when the boys get their Christmas money from the grandparents...Then daddy can buy his gift, too bad I'll have to use my own cash.

I can put $30 of gas in the Corolla and go 400 miles. That trip is less than 1/2 tank. Thanks Heather.

My local store is the Keystone Bethlehem store. Montgomeryville is the "mother" store and has a lot more in stock. You want to double check Bethlehem has the must in stock before you drive out. They can get it in from Montgomeryville for you.

Let me know how it goes!

Coleman,

Will discuss your process with must and kits?

-Do you follow the kit instrunctions to reconstitute the concentrate?
-Do you use the included grape pack?
-Do you just add the used pumice to the kit loose, or in a bag?
-What size fermenter do you use for two buckets of pomice and one kit?
-Do you press after fermentation or just remove pumice?

Etc?

Thanks

Sure. I work the grape wine as usual. While I am pressing the grapes, I mix up my next kit wine in a regular 7.9 gal fermenter. Mix to 6 gallons, add kit skins right into the juice. I have a 20 gallon fermenter that I usually do the kits plus skins in, but if I don't... I split the pre mixed kit juice between two fermenter buckets and add the pressed skins in equal amounts right into them. The fermentation will begin within two hours usually. This also causes the fermentation to last only about 3-4 days but I tend to leave them on the skins for about 5-6. Press, rack into carboy. Let settle, then either rack off gross lees or fine. My Aglianico with two buckets of pressed skins just barely got me 6 gallons, so I decided to fine. Generally I let time do it for me, but I worry a little more with actual gross lees from skins. I let the chemicals work for 14 days then off to the barrel.

Thanks for your help!

Coleman,

How were the numbers out of the bucket with the Vino buckets? Did you have to adjust PH, TA or Brix?

Thanks

I'll have to get back to you on that. I know the sg was 1.096 but I have not tested the other numbers. I will try and do that this weekend. I just dosed it with sulfite after a 2+ month mlf and the acid is still up there. Great flavor though. So I am very excited for this one.

You might want to cold stabilize a little to soften out.....

Thanks. I don't have much testing equipment, so I'm hoping them come ready to go like Brehm usually does.

I never had to adjust their must....

Do you barrel age yours, sdelli?

Yes! Like I said before... You should also cold stabilize for a few weeks if possible too... Then put in a barrel for aging.

So I tried a SO2 test and realized my room temperature chemicals weren't good any more. Will have to get some fresh stuff this week. Will check the Ph tonight. Waiting for the cold to put my 6 1/2 gallon carboy outside to cold stabilize.

So this has been in the barrel since 3-4-2016 and has really come around. It has a nice graphite nose which I really like, but my French barrel seems to be near neutral. I'm thinking I may have to add cubes to the barrel, maybe after I pull it out. Very impressed with this wine. Cranberry, violets, graphite. Tart, medium plus mouth feel. Will be great in another year.