Mosti Mondiale Raisin and Grape pack test

[tonyt]

I am starting a Mosti Mondaile RenaissanceRosa D'Avola. It is a 16 Ltr kit. I am going way off directions with kit, really feeling brave. Below are the changes I am making in order of appearance.
Added 4 grams of untoasted American oak dust (gift from Joseph)
Added 1.6 Ltr Syrah grape pack w/enzyme purchased from FVW
Added 1 pound Organic Red Flame Raisins from Whole Foods
After clearing I will add one Med Toast French Oak spiral, after 6 weeks will decide to either add another spiral or give it 3 months in Vadia barrel. Barrel aging will be determined by what ever other wines are in line for the barrel. Bottling will be either Feb. 2012 or May 2012 depending on carboy or barrel availability.

 

[ibglowin]

Should be interesting to see what the Syrah brings to the party. I made this and only added the raisins. Have had both splits and it is showing some nice promise, still pretty young at the moment but drinkable now. I will hold off until this Winter to really start easing into them.

Keep us posted!

 

[tonyt]

I did this kit last October and added raisins and French oak spiral back then. At bottling I blended a few bottles with 50% Sicilian Syrah and thought it was terrific at bottling. So I thought the syrah grape pack would somewhat mimic that. I have begun drinking the one from last October and it is wonderful.

 

[patc]

I am starting a Mosti Mondaile RenaissanceRosa D'Avola. It is a 16 Ltr kit. I am going way off directions with kit, really feeling brave. Below are the changes I am making in order of appearance.
Added 4 grams of untoasted American oak dust (gift from Joseph)
Added 1.6 Ltr Syrah grape pack w/enzyme purchased from FVW
Added 1 pound Organic Red Flame Raisins from Whole Foods
After clearing I will add one Med Toast French Oak spiral, after 6 weeks will decide to either add another spiral or give it 3 months in Vadia barrel. Barrel aging will be determined by what ever other wines are in line for the barrel. Bottling will be either Feb. 2012 or May 2012 depending on carboy or barrel availability.

This sounds awesome!as nero d avola seems to marry well with syrah and i have had a couple of commercial bottles and it is amazing! the only thing i would want to be aware of is one renaissance kits start off with a high specific gravity to begin with so it would not suprise me if you started at say 1.108 or higher then the grape pack, well how much higher will that bring it to? then adding a pound of raisins you might have to keep an eye on the fermentation as that might put you into the 16% range or higher and youwould not want to 1 risk a stuck fermentation or 2 have such a high alcohol rating itmasks the flavour of the wineI would definately use the grape pack but would check S.G first without and then after adding grape pack and reallly massaging or mixing the heck out of it and then retest S.G. and i bet you willbe more than satisfied

but being a fly by the seat of my pants kinda guy

if you do both which i certainly am not saying not to i would love to hear how it turns out because if it rocks then i will try bit as well

Oh the other thing the ec 1118 yeast it comes with will ferment up to 18% so i would use that as the highest S.G to start with but it will be hairy

. Good luck!!! and keep us posted

 

[tonyt]

This morning after 16 hours in primary with juice and grape pack, fermentation has started. SG is 1.102, just slightly higher than 16 hours ago which was 1.000. Fermentation was obvious but not what I call vigorous but certainly average. I will check SG again when I get home, that will be 24 hours after pitching yeast. If SG is still about the same and fermentation is more vigorous I will add the pound of raisins. I'll post later tonight.

 

[rhoffart]

This morning after 16 hours in primary with juice and grape pack, fermentation has started.  SG is 1.102, just slightly higher than 16 hours ago which was 1.000.  Fermentation was obvious but not what I call vigorous but certainly average.  I will check SG again when I get home, that will be 24 hours after pitching yeast.  If SG is still about the same and fermentation is more vigorous I will add the pound of raisins.  I'll post later tonight.

What is your target ending SG? .996?
Do you have a ph meter?

 

[tonyt]

What is your target ending SG? .996?

Do you have a ph meter?

Yes, .996

 

[tonyt]

We are now 24 hours into fermentation with grape pack.  As you can see the fermentation is vigorous . . . yea! SG is 1.090.  So unless someone stops me in the next hour I will add the pound of raisins that are now soaking in water. 

 

[rhoffart]

We are now 24 hours into fermentation with grape pack.  As you can see the fermentation is vigorous . . . yea! SG is 1.090.  So unless someone stops me in the next hour I will add the pound of raisins that are now soaking in water. 

1.102 = 14.4%
a total rookie question ... how much higher will the raisins add ???

 

[tonyt]

1.102 = 14.4%
a total rookie question ... how much higher will the raisins add ???

being a rookie myself I don't know but I'll bet someone will offer an educated guess.  My hope is that the fruit outshines the alcohol.

 

[PeterZ]

I typically add 0.4% ABV for a pound of raisins.

 

[joeswine]

GREAT EXPERIMENT

I myself would of waited until the wine has stop fermentation( moving in to second)then added the raisins,reason being the wine will be at its peak as far as the abv., with the wines base flavor,by adding the raisins as a second fermentation you infuse the raisins .in what I like to call a slow( mlf )type of re- visitation to the wine,this is what I have found to be the most affective way of doing this,however if this works out for you then my hats off to you for THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX.....

I also like the layering of the oak and the addition of the powdered oaks this will smooth out the mouth feel as well...nice job...

 

[tonyt]

my hats off to you for THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX.....

So I guess I'm thinking outside the HAT BOX

!

 

[tonyt]

Tonight the SG is 1.056. Tomorrow morning I will add the yeast nutrient and give it a stir. Then I will snap down the lid and add air lock. Will let it go dry in primary. I might remove the grape pack Saturday and leave the raisins in until dry. BTW fermentation is still going quite nicely.

 

[joeswine]

Smooth Operator

yes ,by leaving the raisins in they will go through a tradition of their own,that's why I usually do them after primary ...nice job..

 

[rhoffart]

cool, keep the updates coming

 

[tonyt]

SG is now 1.010. I removed the skins, twigs and stems grape pack, all the sugars and juice have dissolved into the wine. Seems like other grape packs had more solids than this one did. The muslin sock had very little left in it.

I left the raisins in the wine. I will not remove the raisins until I rack to carboy, below 1.000. I expect to rack on Thursday but who knows.

I do have a question though. I have been squeezing the raisins every two or three days. Now on closer reading of the Mosti instructions it says If your kit came with raisins (I added my own) after you rack the raisins will be left and will still be whole and this is the time to squeeze them. Would the juice inside the whole raisins still contain sugars and not be fermented? Or would that juice have fermented inside the raisin. If they wanted the raisins left whole the juice could be sweeter and Mosti may have wanted that. Could my squeezing have a negative effect on the flavor of the wine.

 

[v1rotate]

I suspect the instructions are written that way because it is easier,
Tony. I seriously doubt that you harmed your kit in any way.

 

[joeswine]

TO squeeze OR NOT TO SQUeeeZE ?

REMEMBER I stated above they will go into a kind of fermentation on their own.draining them of juice shouldn't have done anything wrong ,however I would definitely make sure all fermentation is completed before moving on...jeep going ,THINK OUT SIDE THE BOX...

use your hydromenter..

 

[PeterZ]

When I have raisins in a kit I try to squeeze every one, popping them to get the most flavor from them. Squeeze away.