when good wines gone bad

[GaDawg]

Joe, you post and I'll take notes

I did the Cornocopia Chardonnay Kit almost the same way but instead of adding the SS after I reached 6 gals. I added 2 lbs of sugar to the original water and my SG was 1.100. Works for me.


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[joeswine]

Chardonnay continues

although we are still in the fermentation process the pathway is this: establish the ph we don't want it to high at all then in the secondary I intend to add some grapefruit zest to add a Little brightness and bite to the finish, we'll see.

 

[joeswine]

Cornocopia Chardonnay Kit​

This kit we purchased off Amazon for ~$45.00 shipped. This kit is contained the chardonnay concentrate, as well as labels, corks, caps, packets of yeast, sorbate, bentonite, k-met, and chitosan. This kit contains the essentials for any new winemaker (minus the basic equipment that is needed.)What we added:
1 cup American Oak cubes
2 ball jars of simple syrup
Spring Water
The steps:
First, we added the bentonite and ½ gal. warm water and stirred until dissolved.
Next, we added the packet of chardonnay juice and then topped up to 6 gallon mark on our primary fermenter.
Then, we took an SG reading. The kit as is, came to 1.080. We wanted our SG reading to be at 1.10, so we added the ball jars of simple syrup, one at a time (and took readings in between). We ended up using both jars and this brought us up to our desired SG reading: 1.10. We wanted this specific SG reading because we do not want fermented fruit juice, we wanted wine.
Next, we gave the bucket a good stir, added the yeast, and then added our American Oak cubes.
The last step: We document the contents on our tag, hang it on the bucket, and drape a towel over the top. Now we wait.
****Update!!****
We checked the SG tonight (6/20/14) and it is at 0.99. This is dry and ready to rack to the secondary carboy. We racked it to our secondary, marked the SG reading and the date on our tag and hung it on the carboy.
Our wine is coming along!
Stay tuned...

 

[GaDawg]

Joe, keep an eye on these kits. You can get them pretty cheep.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ELJK3M/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20



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[joeswine]

Kits

THE MAIN REASON FOR THIS EXERCISE IS TO TAKE A INEXPENSIVE KIT AND SEE IF I CAN TWEAK IT UP A NOTCH,THESE KITS ARE ACTUALLY KATE'S ,IM JUST A GUIDE ON THIS JOURNEY..IF YOU TAKE IT FOR THE BASE CONCENTRATE THAT IT IS THEN YOU CAN TO A CERTAIN EXTENT MODIFY IT AND MAKE IT ALL IT CAN BE JUST AS YOU WOULD DO A HIGH END KIT.AT LEAST THAT'S MY THEORY.

 

[joeswine]

Adding the blackberries

BLACKBERRY PINO NIOR,THE DEPTH OF BERRIES AND THE FRESHNESS OF PINO A GREAT COMBINATION OF FLAVORS FOR A GREAT WINE.......HAVE YOU TRIED IT?????
UPDATE: THIS KIT IS NEARLY READY TO BOTTLE THEN IT SHOULD SIT TO BE ALL IT CAN BE ..........

Blackberry Pinot Noir​

​

We purchased a medium grade kit (~$80-$90) Pinot Noir Winexpert Kit. We wanted Blackberry Pinot Noir so we purchased 1.5 lbs. of blackberries to go with this.

The Winexpert box includes the following:
· Large bag of juice
· 1 Pack of Red star Champagne Yeast
· 2 Chaptalization Packs (bags of sugar)
· Package #2 (bentonite)
· Package #3 (Metabisulphate)
· Package #4 (Sorbate)
· Package #5 (Chitosan-(Fining Agent)
· Mesh Straining Bag
· 1 package of oak chips
Just for reference, I’m sure everyone knows by now if they have been following the posts, that you will need certain equipment to make this kit. For the newbies, I’m going to put it below so you know what you need:
· Primary Fermenter (minimum 30 Liters/7.9 US gallons capacity)
· Long stirring spoon (Plastic or stainless steel)
· Measuring cup
· Hydrometer and test jar
· Thermometer
· Siphon rod and hose
· Carboy (6 US gallon capacity)
· Bung and Air lock
· Solid Bung (if you are bulk aging)
· Unscented winemaking detergent for cleaning (we recommend One step or any other oxygenating cleaner, including Kmet....JUST NOT BLEACH!)
· Metabisulphate Powder for sanitizing
· 30 wine bottles, thirty corks , thirty seals
· Corking machine (there are various types, we use an Italian floor corker.)
The Process:
· As always, sanitize anything that comes in contact with the wine. Including yourself. J
· Add half gallon of warm water to the primary fermenting bucket with the bentonite packet and stir until dissolved.
· Add the large juice package. (Be careful, it’s heavy!) Rinse out the bag with a little bit of spring water to make sure you get it all.
· Top up your bucket until you reach a 6 gallons. (I marked my primary before hand so I know where 6 gallons are.)
· Now, we took our SG reading and it was 1.08. We added simple syrup to bring the SG up to 1.10. Our logic is: We wanted at least 12% alc. At the finish because we know the blackberries are going to pick up the flavor at the bottom end. (The blackberries will overpower the flavor if we didn’t have a higher ACHOLO. Content. It would just be juice with not much ACHOLO.. This is how we do it, I’m sure others have their own opinion.)
· Next, we added ½ tsp of oak tannin.
· Then we added the oak chips and sprinkled yeast on top of that. Don’t stir, just let it sit.
· Then here comes the blackberry. We created a homemade F-pak out of blackberries. (We are going to write up a separate tutorial for this.) Note: an F-pack doesn’t always have to go at the end of the wine, you can add them to the beginning. An F-pack in the beginning will blend well with the wine but will not usually over-power the taste of the wine. If you add it at the end, the predominant taste of your wine will be the F-pack
· We added the the F-pak to a mesh bag and tied it in a knot then added it to the primary.
· We added bellied-bands because it’s chilly in the winter. It’s about 64 degrees in here. After that, I hung my tag on the side, put a towel on top. And we wait. J

(REWRITE WHAT IS BELOW TO MAKE IT GO W/ THIS WINE.)
Secondary Fermentation:
Now that we fermented dry (SG reading is 1.010), now it’s time to rack it.
Notice the grape skins on top? This is the cap that formed from the grape skin packet that was provided in the Winexpert Amarone Kit, along with the addition of California Raisins (that I added to add more body).
We racked this down to a carboy but it is pretty gassy. I’m going to let this settle out for a few days and degas some on its own. Over the weekend, I will force-gas it (If I have to) by giving it a good old-fashioned stir. Once I feel that it’s de-gassed enough, I will stabilize it with the potassium sorbate packet, K-Met Packet, and packet of Chitosan (clearing agent).

UPDATE:​

We finished bottling our super-awesome, Winexpert Selection International Amarone Kit. We are quite happy with the results. Our end result is a dark, inky-color, rich, full bodied, wine. It has a spicy-earthy, sour cherry aroma, dried fruit, bitter almond, from the huge volume of tannins.

For a kit wine that started just 2 1/2 months ago, the results are quite impressive. (We started this kit on August 22, 2013. We bottled tonight, 10/24/2013. After doing this kit, we would def. recommend this one for any true Italian red-wine drinker.


We are looking forward to our next tutorial now that this one is complete. Please give us feedback and recommendations of what type of wine you would like to learn how to make.

 

[corinth]

When good wines gone baad

Mr. Joeswine,

I am definitely interested in how(your chardonnay ) turns out. I would love all the details as I am a newbie at this. I am the one that posted looking for a "Lazy Mans Wine. I hope you continue to with your details(wonderful stuff) and pictures(great visauls but only as you are comfortable. I also posted a thread on temperature with some interesting info on Chardonnay's that you might find interesting.

Whatever the case, I will eat up or drink up anything you have to say concerning the kit you bought on Amazon( they own me!). I am also very interested in your tweaking methods to improve upon the end product.

a couple of questions:
1. is there an expiration date on those kits since I am ready to put a blueberry and a Pino Noir into a secondary carboy so I do not want to try to do too much.
2. What temperature are you keeping the chardonnay at during the primary fermentation and what kind of yeast did it come with.

I apologize for all the questions but since I am pretty new at this, I am fascinated and full of questions even though I keep reading, taking notes and have already taken everything you posted on this kit and added it to my computer with your name next to it so I can study everything you have printed out.,

OK. I will shut up now
Thank you,
Corinth

 

[joeswine]

Corinth

NO EXPIRATION DATE THAT I CAN SEE,BUT THE JUICE SMELLED FRESH,WERE KEEPING IT AROUND 70/72 DEGREES IN THE BASEMENT.I USED EC1118 FOR TRUER FERMENTATION NOT KNOWING WHAT THE BASE WINE WAS.AND ALWAYS ASK ,I'M GLAD TO HEAR YOU FOLLOW ME,WE WILL PICK UP THE CHARDONNAY IN 7 TO 9 DAYS AND START THE CLEARING PROCESS WE WILL POST THE EVENT,YOURS JP...IT'S A LOT TO FOLLOW DO TO THE FACT WE SWITCH FROM PROJECT TO PROJECT ,BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS ASK.

 

[joeswine]

Chardonnay continues

INEXPENSIVE KITS CAN BE FUN AND TASTY IF YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH YOUR WINE.........CONTINUED



REMEMBER WE BOOST THE ABV ON THIS CHAR, ALSO TO CREATE A MORE BALANCED AND SMOOTHER CHARD WE ARE GOING TO ADD A SMALL AMOUNT OF TANNINS ALSO,PAY ATTENTION.

 

[joeswine]

Chardonnay continues

CHARD. CONTINUED:

Cornocopia Chardonnay Kit​

This kit we purchased off Amazon for ~$45.00 shipped. This kit is contained the chardonnay concentrate, as well as labels, corks, caps, packets of yeast, sorbate, bentonite, k-met, and chitosan. This kit contains the essentials for any new winemaker (minus the basic equipment that is needed.)
What we added:
1 cup American Oak cubes
2 ball jars of simple syrup (THIS IS WERE WE DEPARTED FROM THE FLOW)
Spring Water
The steps:
First, we added the bentonite and ½ gal. warm water and stirred until dissolved.
Next, we added the packet of chardonnay juice and then topped up to 6 gallon mark on our primary fermenter.
Then, we took an SG reading. The kit as is, came to 1.080. We wanted our SG reading to be at 1.10, so we added the ball jars of simple syrup, one at a time (and took readings in between). We ended up using both jars and this brought us up to our desired SG reading: 1.10. We wanted this specific SG reading because we do not want fermented fruit juice, we wanted wine.
Next, we gave the bucket a good stir, added the yeast, and then added our American Oak cubes.
The last step: We document the contents on our tag, hang it on the bucket, and drape a towel over the top. Now we wait.
Update!!
We checked the SG tonight (6/20/14) and it is at 0.99. This is dry and ready to rack to the secondary carboy. We racked it to our secondary, marked the SG reading and the date on our tag and hung it on the carboy.
Our wine

 

[joeswine]

Hello Everyone!
I promised we would give an update on this wine. We were quite surprised with this one. For those of you who are not familiar with this kit that we are currently experimenting with, this is a Chardonnay kit from Cornucopia. We paid ~$45.00 for this kit off Amazon.
On 7-3-2014 we added the clearing agent that came with the kit, the K-Met (Metabisulphate), and Sorbate, then stirred it up and let it sit.
Tonight (7-10-2014) we checked in on this kit and gave it the run down. Here’s our results:
PH: 3.4
Appearance: Not quite clear enough yet. This is most likely because we added the extra sugar/simple syrup in the beginning. We are going to add another packet of clearing agent (super-kleer) and let it sit another week.
Aroma: Fruity
Taste: Again, Fruity, light oak, and def. young but pleasantly its good so far! This is going to be a descent wine when finished
I’ll check back with this kit in another week or so and post an update. Hopefully it will be clear by then!
Cheers!
Joe and Kate

7/14 THE ADDITION OF GRAPEFRUIT ZEST AT THIS PONT IS IMPORTANT TO THE OVER ALL TASTE AND TEXTURE, ADDING IT AT THIS POINT JUST BEFORE BOTTLING AND CLEARRING WILL GIVE IT A CRISP BITE AND=== THIS KIT IS ALL BUT DONE.

 

[joeswine]

Chardonnay continues

GO BACK AND REVIEW THE 7/14 UPDATE AND PRODUCT FLOW............................

 

[joeswine]

C

CHARDENAY CONTINUED ,AT THIS JUNCTURE WE ARE RACKING FROM THE LEES AND THE ZEST AS BEST AS POSSIBLE,WE WILL LET IT SET FOR ONE MORE WEEK THEN BOTTLE,SO FAR THE TASTE PROFILE IS SPOT ON FOR A CHARDENAY WITH GREAT CITRUS BACKGROUND,A LITTLE WOOD AND GOOD ACIDITY IN FACT I TOOK A PH READING AND I WAS BETWEEN 3.4 AND 3.5,NOT BAD FOR A CHEAP KIT THE LEGS WERE EXCELLENT AND THE TASTE JUST RIGHT .THIS IS ONE CHEAP KIT THAT HAS A LOT OF BANG FOR THE BUCK,TRY IT .TO BE CONTINUED AND FINISHED BY NEXT THURSDAY.WITH THE ADDITIONS WE MADE IT MAKES IT ALL WORTH WHILE.............................................................................

 

[LoneStarLori]

I'm glad you did this kit. I have been wondering how bad they were. But it sounds like you turned it into something drinkable. Would you say about an $8 bottle or better?



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[joeswine]

Cheap wine kits

TO BE HONEST ,THE BLENDED KITS BLACK BERRY ZIN,IT'S A 8.99 BOTTLE BUT THE TWO STRAIGHT UP KITS THE CAB AND THE CHARDENAY FINISHED OUT WITH THE TWEAKS IN MY OPPION 8.99 TO 10.99 WITHOUT THINKING AND I HAVE TRIED MANY AT THOSE PRICE RANGES THE TRICK IT TO THINK OF THEN=M AS JUST A WINE BASE AND TAKE THE BASE WHEN YOU WANT IT TO FINISH OUT WITHOUT OVERPOWERING THE BASE.REMEMBER I' DOING THESE KITS FOR SOMEONE ELSE NOT ME(Kate)THE FINIAL TASTE VERDICT IS HER'S ALONE,I HAD MY BUDDY KITO OVER LAST NIGHT TO PICK UP HIS BLACKBERRY PINO NIOR AND HE'S ASK THIS IS A $44.00 KIT AND HOW DIDI I FINISH IT SO FAST,HE'S GOING ON LINE AND BUYING TO STRAIGHT KITS.THE TWEAKS WORK YOU JUST HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST AND MOVE THE BASE IN YOUR DIRECTION.

 

[joeswine]

Cheap kits

OK WELL WE ARE DONE THIS KIT AND IT IS BOTTLED GREAT VALUE AT ANY PRICE IT JUST TAKES PLANNING AND FOLLOW THROUGHT

(Kate didn't like the labels that came with the kit so on a whim, she whipped up a basic one so they are labeled.)

 

[joeswine]

Cornocopia Cocoanut Frascata Kit

​

This kit we purchased off Amazon for ~$45.00 shipped. This kit contained the Frascata concentrate, Cocoanut F-pak, as well as labels, corks, caps, packets of yeast, sorbate, bentonite, k-met, and chitosan. This kit contains the essentials for any new winemaker (minus the basic equipment that is needed.)

What we added:
ball jar of simple syrup
Spring Water
The steps:
First, we added the bentonite and ½ gal. warm water and stirred until dissolved.
Next, we added the packet of frascata juice and then topped up to 5.5 gallon mark on our primary fermenter. (This kit makes 6 gal. but it seemed a bit weak, I didn't want it to be too thin in the end.)
Then, we took an SG reading. The kit as is, came to 1.070. We wanted our SG reading to be a little higher, so we added the ball jar of simple syrup and this brought it up one point. Our SG now is 1.08
Next, we gave the bucket a good stir and added the yeast.
The last step: We document the contents on our tag, hang it on the bucket, and draped a towel over the top. Now we wait.
Update:
Week 2: We racked to the glass carboy and just let it sit.
week 3: Tonight we added the packets or sorbate, k-met, and fining agent, and the cocoanut F-pak. I must say, the F pak is DELICIOUS! I would love to get my hand on another fpak like that to experient with. We wrapped the towel around the carboy and put it to sleep.
Stay tuned for week 4! We plan on racking if all goes well. More to come.
Cheers!
Joeswine and Kate

**UPDATE!!!**
It was almost clear, but not quite. This was a 4-week kit and we are right on the target with the timeline. It's sometimes amazing how accurate these kits can be if you follow the process.
We originally put this in a 6 gal. carboy. we racked down to a 5-gallon and added a bit of dry nitrogen to fill in a little headspace. One more week and this wine will be going into bottles and will be nice and clear.
Stay tuned!!

 

[joeswine]

Caramel port continued

PROCESS CONTINUED ,THIS IS A VERY EASY KIT TO DO AND WITH TIME IN THE BOTTLE IT'S QUITE NICE ......FOLLOW THE PROCESS IN PROGRESS...........................................................

 

[joeswine]

Caramel port

caramel port moving forward, here 'are my tasting notes my original caramel port is 1 year old and the butterscotch flavor is coming through and is outstanding. Follow...............the cap is gone and we racked off to a 3 gallon carboy, we then added the fpac and chems along with the finning agents wait a week take a reading and decide then whether to wait one more week or prepare to bottle, this is a quick responding kit so be prepared to reacted.

 

[joeswine]

zesting in the beginning

WHERE GOING TO TAKE A SIDE STEP AND REVIEW ZESTING CELLOS MAKER GREAT HOLIDAY GIFTS BUT YOU NEED TO START SOON FOLLOW THE PROCESS...

Making Extracts​

All recipes are measured out with one quart Ball Jar.​

Citrus Extract: Consists of The zest of 2 limes, the zest of 2 lemons, and the zest of 2 grapefruits, and the remainder is ever Kleer.
Coffee Extract: fill Ball jar up with roasted coffee beans (your choice), fill the balance of the Ball jar with Ever Kleer.
Cinnemon Extract- ~approx. 12 sticks per Ball jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Lemon extract- The Zest of 12 lemons per jar, top up with Ever Kleer
Orange extract: The zest of approx.. 8 oranges per jar. Valenzia oranges work best but any type will do.
Key Lime Extract: 1 bag of key limes with the limes cut in half.
Vanilla Extract: 6 Madagascar Vanilla Beans, sliced length wise. Put all 6 in a ball jar and top off with Ever Kleer.
At the end of one full year its best to pour the extract through some sort of filter (I strain mine through a coffee filter) and add some additional zest of the same type back to it and top it off with Ever Kleer.

​

Making Simple Syrup​

Basic mix consists of : 2 qt. ball jars of cane sugar to 1 qt. ball jar of water.
Process:
Place measured out sugar into a metal pot. Add the water to the mix (It’s a 2 to 1 ratio-mix). Bring the mixture to a boil, constantly stirring from the beginning of the process to the end until the liquid is clear. Have the ball jars already sanitized and ready for filling. Bring the simple syrup TO the jar and and funnel it into them (make sure your funnel is clean, too!) to fill them up. It will be hot so be very careful. Place the lids and metal rings onto the jars to seal them.
Note: we put the very hot liquid into the jars while it is hot so as it cools it creates a vacuum seal to keep the mixture good. Done this way, your simple syrup will have a very long shelf life.

Zesting Made Simple​

Zesting is the process of the removal of the color of most citrus fruits and other entities that are oil extracted (for their essence). We use a micro plane zester to accomplish our end. See pictures. (If you do not have a micro plane zester you can use a fine cheese grater (Your goal is to get the color off the fruit, not the pitch, which is the "white stuff" underneath the very top layer of the fruit.)