RJ Spagnols Adding Sugar to Orchard Breezin'?

[mpt1123]

Hello:
I see where some people are adding sugar to their Orchard Breezin' wine kits. I'm about to begin a Raspberry White Zinfandel. There's nothing in the instructions about adding sugar. Is this optional? Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Mike

 

[vcasey]

It is optional and will void the warranty. Most recommend that if you choose to add sugar try to shoot for an SG of about 1075 for 10% alcohol.
VC

 

[LittleLeroy]

I have done two of these kits and go for a SG of 1.085. Yes I do think it is too high. The wine comes out with a little jet fuel taste. 1.075 is a good sugestion. When I make another I will add sugar to boost it up.

 

[Wade E]

I go around 1.08 and find i perfect but I also let it age a little more thenmost people do with a Mist kit of this type due to the higher abv.

 

[mpt1123]

If you choose to add sugar, at what point int he process do you add it?

 

[vcasey]

Right up front when you start so you can get an accurate SG reading.
VC

 

[LittleLeroy]

I go around 1.08 and find i perfect but I also let it age a little more thenmost people do with a Mist kit of this type due to the higher abv.

That is a good point Wade. I have only made a few kits and can keep my hands off them. I am hoping asi make more than one kit at a time i will be able to let some age.

 

[First250]

OK. I have been thinking about making one of these kits ( peach chardonnay) for my wife, as she loves the peac-chard flavor,but she prefers dry wine.
By increasing the ABV with more sugar, does not counter the sweetness? (I take it '10' is pretty sweet) How can I make this kit as dry as possible without sacrificing flavor ( e.g. using only part of the f-pac?)

 

[grapeman]

One thing you can do is to add half the f-pack at the beginning. Add sugar to bring it up to 1.085 and ferment dry. Finish up the kit to directions, adding the remaining f-pack at the end. That will add the flavor and keep out some of the sweetness, and the ABV will be higher like you want. Optionally you could try adding the remainder of the f-pack at about 1.020. It should still be active enough to ferment out the extra sugars in the f-pack while getting all the flavor. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THOUGH THAT THE REMAINDER OF THE F-PACK WOULD HAVE ENOUGH SORBATE TO STOP THE FERMENTATION BEFORE COMPLETION. Because of that I would add the remainder at dry like I first said.

 

[Wade E]

Be careful with a few of these kits as they arent as sweet as some of the others. I find the Peach Apricot by W.E. to not be that sweet at all so bumping up the abv or adding 1/2 the f-pack on that 1 might not be that great. That is one of the only ones I would leave alone or only bump the sg up a tiny bit and not use any f -pac up front. I have not tried the RJS or Mosti kit of this flavor though so dont know what they are like.

 

[First250]

Thanks for the suggestion, Wade. I did buy the Orchard Breezin peach chardonnay and started it Dec 5th. SSG was 1.059, and checked 1.000 yesterday and was unchanged after 24 hours, so I racked it today . For my first try I decided to follow the directions exactly. If it as a bit sweet for her taste, I'll try your method next time. Thanks again for the suggestion.

When I racked today, I did so through the spiqot of the primary fermenter and accidently transferred some lees to the carboy. After all the ingredients were added and stirred, I have about 1/2" of lees in the 6GL carboy.

Should I be concerned with the lees with this kit? I have read here that for higher end kits some transfer all the lees, while others do not. Do I need to rack again? Instructions say about 28 days in the carboy before bottling , if I remember correctly, so that would be 28 days on the lees if I do not rack. Thanks.

 

[vcasey]

Don't worry the wine will be fine.

 

[cpfan]

First250:


I expect that your wine will be fine. Although you have given me another reason not to use a spigot on a primary.


For an OB kit, I would expect the sg to be down around .995 at 14 days. What temperature was the wine at? If it was low, then the ferment might havestalled, and more importantly you will haveprobably not degassed fully.


The ingredients that you added included some fining agents (Kieselsol & Chitosan, unless they've changed in the last two years). This causes more sediment to be created.


Just be very careful when preparing to bottle. You want to have a nice clear wine. So you may wish to rack to another carboy a week before bottling, and perhaps again at bottling time.


Steve

 

[Wade E]

I would never bottle a wine with a sediment in the carboy, wait for it to all settle again, rack off and then bottle.

 

[First250]

I hadno plans to bottle for a few months , only after it is perfectly clear. Just curious about sitting on sediment. Looks like it will turn out OK. Thanks, Jim.

 

[Runningwolf]

I agree with Wade on racking as soon as all of the lees settle. I would also tip your carboy at this time to assist in your racking. Rack from the high side and then as your wine gets close to the bottom you can tip your carboy in the opposite direction and get most of the wine out before the rest of the lees slide over.

 

[First250]

Thanks for the advice, Runningwolf. Nice setup.

 

[Fly*guy]

Gee Dan, you and I are making about the same things... COOL!

Got Niagara going in Primary along with Guwurtraminer and a Red Zin, with a cranberry in glass clearing and bottled my Wash Riesling a few months ago.

Love that wash Riesling by the way, one silver with it at the county fair

.
Along with my Acai Rasberry Cab Sauv(Silver)and a Viognier (Bronze).

 

[First250]

Update: I bottled this over the holidays and was pleasantly surprised.

This did not turn out as sweet as I had thought it would. My wife thinks it is the 'best' wine I have made yet, and she doesn't care for sweet wines. Maybe the intense flavor hides it, I don't know. I can see how this wine could win a medal.


I can't imagine this wine tasting any better than it does already, so I am really curious to see what ageing does for it.