Hi. I have a lower end Chateau Classico Amarone kit I just started. I want to try to make it better and asking for suggestions. I may add some tannin and definitely some oak when aging. I am thinking of Chaptalizing as some Amarone kits suggest. I was wondering if I do, how much sugar should I use and when to add it. I do not have corn sugar so I will have to use regular sugar. I think I will do an invert sugar I guess. What do people think? It is a cheaper kit so too worried about messing it up that much, but I dont want a real sweet wine either. I like mostly big dry reds. Any other suggestions for improving the kit. This is about my 6th kit so I have a little experience. Thanks.
Other Should I Chaptalize Amarone kit
- Thread starter ramfan13
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Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Amarone tends to come in around 15% ABV. Given that this is a lower end kit, it might not stand up to the high alcohol. But there's nothing wrong with bumping it up a bit. Maybe target an SG of 1.095-1.100, which would put you in 13.5-14.0% territory. You could also add some tannin and raisins to the secondary. Oak is an absolute yes for me.
bkisel
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FYI... I started an RJS CC WS Amarone this morning. The kit came with a bag of raisins but without instructions as to whether to put the raisins in primary or secondary. Long and the short of it was that an RJS CSR said to add it to the primary along with the grape skins and oak chips.
BTW, my staring SG was 1.110 so I did not add any sugar.
Also, I made a lower end Italian Valpola that was tweaked with raisins in the secondary and reused grape skins in the primary. The result was a $75.00 kit wine that tasted more like a $125.00 kit wine.
BTW, my staring SG was 1.110 so I did not add any sugar.
Also, I made a lower end Italian Valpola that was tweaked with raisins in the secondary and reused grape skins in the primary. The result was a $75.00 kit wine that tasted more like a $125.00 kit wine.
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I recently made a WE SI Amarone, following Joeswines protocol to a "T": http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f6/when-good-wines-g-ne-bad-29481/#post510141. This involved adding extra tannins, and chaptalizing it with sugar, and adding raisins (which is also a form of chaptalizing).
I just racked it from the clearing stage to bulk aging. Naturally, I had a little sip for quality control. It was kinda harsh. Obviously, this wine is very young, but still, it seemed kinda hot (with alcohol). I hope it mellows as it ages, and others have reported that the Joeswine recipe results in a delicious wine. Still, I would be wary of chaptalizing too much.
I just racked it from the clearing stage to bulk aging. Naturally, I had a little sip for quality control. It was kinda harsh. Obviously, this wine is very young, but still, it seemed kinda hot (with alcohol). I hope it mellows as it ages, and others have reported that the Joeswine recipe results in a delicious wine. Still, I would be wary of chaptalizing too much.
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