WineXpert South African Viognier/Chenin/Roussanne shipped today!

[byathread]

South African Viognier/Chenin Blanc/Roussanne shipped today! I saw little to no mention of this kit in the popular LE Kit thread. Anybody else order this? I'm pretty excited, but then I'm a sucker for unique blends and aromatic whites in general (viognier, torrontes, dry muscat).

Cheers!

 

[byathread]

The kit arrived today. It contains the yeast K1-V1116, which I suppose is pretty well suited (it is recommended for Chenin Blanc at least). I've done several yeast subs recently, but this one I'll roll with. Looking forward to starting it in the next couple weeks and opening my first bottle in mid-summer!

 

[hstern]

How did yours turn out? Mine had a stale beer bottle smell to it that filled the room when I did the first racking. I stabilized and fined it this evening and it seems to have subsided a bit, so maybe everything will turn out alright. The final gravity was 0.993.

 

[byathread]

Well, I haven't actually started it yet. Life managed to get in the way of my production schedule, again. Should be started in the next week, but I've got two batches that need bottled first. Will let you know.

 

[byathread]

How did yours turn out? Mine had a stale beer bottle smell to it that filled the room when I did the first racking. I stabilized and fined it this evening and it seems to have subsided a bit, so maybe everything will turn out alright. The final gravity was 0.993.

Just racked to secondary a few days ago. Mine had an equally unusual, if more appealing, aroma of lime Jolly Ranchers. I did ferment mine cool (60F) mostly because limited space has me fermenting in a cool back closet these days, but I skipped the FermWrap because I know K1V can handle it. I got down to 1.000 in 7 or 8 days. I'll warm her up for degassing in a few weeks. I have high hopes. Keep me posted on how yours comes along!

 

[ibglowin]

This should be a great wine to go with food. I did a CC LR Showcase (Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier) blend several years ago and it turned out incredible. Not a great "sipping wine" as it is bone dry but the mouth feel provided by this blend is quite amazing. I still have around 5 bottles left and only open one about every 6 months or so.

V1116 is NOT my favorite yeast either. It came with the Eclipse Pinot Gris and I do not like the bouquet or flavor profile it produced. I have been using BA-11 for all my whites lately and am very happy with the outcome.

 

[byathread]

Yeah, I'm hoping this will be an excellent food wine. It seems like one that should age well too.

I used BA11 on my Pinot Grigio and like the results so far. Its a great mead yeast as well.

 

[hstern]

I'm glad that you guys have had better luck than me. I think that our final verdict here is "brettanomyces infection." We went to bottle it today and what we pulled out with the thief tasted like a barn yard. It came about really suddenly. It smelled fine when I checked the gravity 2 days earlier. I have no idea how an infection could have happened and we haven't seen it in any other batches since.

So sad.

 

[byathread]

Bummer. Did you taste the must prior to fermentation? Have you contacted WineXpert? Perhaps they can at least help you narrow down the issue and help avoid future problems.

 

[byathread]

Started degassing/clearing a couple days ago. It still smells (and tastes) largely of lime, but has lost that candied edge. Also, I think I detect something floral and aromatic lurking deeper, its Viognier bones perhaps. I'm excited. I'll try to wait until fall to crack my first bottle.

 

[cintipam]

Total kit newbie here, but I think I read once that beer smell in wine is due to a too fast fermentation. I have never experienced this, and I won't swear to it, but thought it worth a mention as a possibility. I guess it should be cooled down to slow down.

That kit sounds amazing. I have Chenin Blanc and Voignier waiting on board from Home Winery. And a couple Luna Blanca that I'm quite excited about.

Pam in cinti

 

[hstern]

Bummer. Did you taste the must prior to fermentation? Have you contacted WineXpert? Perhaps they can at least help you narrow down the issue and help avoid future problems.

I can't recall if I did or not, but I wish that I had so that I would know if it had happened before it was pasteurized and bagged or afterwards in my fermenter. The latter seems really unlikely because K1 is a fast yeast with positive competitive factor, but it's difficult to tell now. I'm glad that everyone else's seems to be going okay.

 

[hstern]

Total kit newbie here, but I think I read once that beer smell in wine is due to a too fast fermentation. I have never experienced this, and I won't swear to it, but thought it worth a mention as a possibility. I guess it should be cooled down to slow down.

It's possible, but I fermented this one at 15C which is on the lower end of the temperature range for K1.

 

[byathread]

Bottled this today which was a breeze thanks to the All In One wine pump. Had a leftover glass and its got citrus and white flowers and some apricot kicking now. Seems fairly full-bodied for a white and with good acidity. I bottle my "splits" in 187ml bottles. I marked my calendar to try my first of four splits in three months.

 

[JerryVA]

I just bottled 29 bottles (2013) today; looks and smells great. i will wait a few weeks before trying the first bottle.

 

[byathread]

I just bottled 29 bottles (2013) today; looks and smells great. i will wait a few weeks before trying the first bottle.

Cool. When did you start this batch?

 

[byathread]

I tested a split the other day. Lots of citrus and a bit of apricot on the nose. On the palate it is medium-bodied with good acidity and flavors of citrus, apricot and some peach notes with more air time (a bit more floral on the nose too). The fruit seems somewhat subdued and I can tell right away that it is not ready (was only born 6 months ago). I think I'll wait another 6 months before testing again but I'm excited about where it will go.

 

[francois_du_nord]

Thanks for the update BAT. Sounds like a winner for sure. I've got this in stock and ready to ferment, I'm just waiting to get into the fall a bit more so my basement cools down a bit. I'm shooting for a lower ferm temp.

 

[byathread]

Did I wait 6 months for another test? No. I sampled a split last night (almost 10 months since pitching the yeast). Is it ready? No. However, this has fantastic potential. Here are my tasting notes. Nose: Apricot and lime, orange blossom and floral notes, smells absolutely lovely. Palate: Full-bodied with apricot, citrus and other fruity and floral flavors coming through, It has a slightly oily texture on the palate (presumably from the Viognier), however the excellent acidity cuts through its weight on the palate and really cleanses things.

I sampled this on its own and it definitely seems to beg to be paired with food, I'm thinking shrimp tempura, oily fish, sushi, and spicy foods like Indian or even Mexican. This is a big white and I think it'll handle pork, turkey, duck and other flavorful and spicy foods better than most whites. It'll be hard, but I'll try to wait at least a couple more months before breaking into a full bottle. This is going to be a lovely wine that I think will really shine as it ages!

 

[knockabout]

Thanks for your updates. I just started this kit this week so I was so excited to read your tasting notes!