Mosti Mondiale All Juice merlot

[CassieV]

The all juice merlot is on sale this month & I'm thinking about ordering it. Does anyone have tasting notes on this kit?

 

[Wade E]

I also see the Masters Kit is new and with grape skins, cant get much better then that!

 

[robie]

Yep, for a merlot, I'd prefer making it on skins. Consider this - you can order the all juice kit from George and also order the Cellar Craft Cab/Sav skins from him. Use the skins on the All Juice kit, and I figure that would make that merlot kit about as good as they get.

 

[hartm]

I agree with DancerMan. I made the Merlot this past year (actually still bulk aging). I tasted some a month ago and it tasted very good, but the color was not very intense like I was expecting. I'm definitely going to add the cab skins next time.

 

[CassieV]

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to go with 1 of the new kits that already comes with a grape pack. They are on sale this month too.

 

[salmo1]

I just ordered a kit today. I love a good Merlot and this one sounds like a winner.

 

[Wade E]

I think you made a great decision! When it comes to the bigger red wines the skin kits are the next best thing to making it from grapes.

 

[hartm]

Do you think the results would be even better if you used a kit that came with grapes and then added the skin kit to it? Perhaps the Merlot kit with the grapes and then add the cab skin pack?

 

[robie]

One of the things that makes a red wine from fresh or frozen grapes different and likely better than a red kit wine is the fresh/frozen has lots and lots of skins, pulp and seeds in it. Fresh/frozen would be somewhat like a red kit with about 15 (or more) grape packs (of the same varietal) in it. Of course there are lots of other reasons fresh/frozen is different, so don't think a kit with 15 grape packs is going to give the same results as fresh/frozen.

Merlot tends to be less tannic than Cab/Sav, so if you add Cab grape skins to a merlot, you will be getting more tannins than is typical for merlot. You will be coming up with something more toward a blend. However, one additional grape pack in 6 gallons is not going to make a huge difference.

Unless you really want to experiment, for the sake of experimentation, I'd make the merlot kit with just the merlot skins, which came with it. Without having the two kit variations in front of you to taste - side-by-side, you likely will not realize the differnce between the two.

Having said this, I personally do sometimes enjoy experimenting.

 

[salmo1]

Just started the alljuice merlot kit with super grape pack today.Adding the grape pack really filled up the primary - only have about 1.5 inches to the top.
With4 kits in process, I think this has officially crossed that fine line from hobby to obsession.

 

[ibglowin]

Yes,

Welcome to WMA (Wine Makers Anonymous) We meet here daily to discuss our addiction......

 

[salmo1]

hello, my name is Craig and I am a winemaking addict. . . .

 

[rrussell]

The first step toward a cure is always to admit you have a problem. the real problem is that with this addiction I am not sure it will do any good.

 

[robie]

Just started the alljuice merlot kit with super grape pack today.Adding the grape pack really filled up the primary - only have about 1.5 inches to the top.
With4 kits in process, I think this has officially crossed that fine line from hobby to obsession.

An inch and a half from the top is way too full.

Be careful filling the primary fermentor that full. You are likely to get several inches of foam, which means you are also likely to have your fermentor run over. Being that full, it is a good idea to set that fermentor inside another secondary container for now. This way you won't have foam all over your floor. The last kit I made had about 8 inches of foam for several days during primary. I would punch/stir it down, only to see it return in about 30 minutes.

George sales a 10-gallon fermentor bucket, which if you continue to use grape packs, you will need to consider buying. Also, some Mosti M. kits contain a yeast nutrient, which when added can definitely create lots of foam.

 

[Bartman]

When you live in a warm area, the yeast nutrient seems to be superfluous. I had a kit start at S.G. 1.090 on Aug. 20, with the temperature about 79-80*; within two days S.G. had dropped to 1.046; by day 4, the S.G. was at 1.002. It slowed down a little then - by day 6-7, it was at 0.996, and I racked it over to the carboy. The included Yeast Nutrient was never used.

It would have been tough to find the right time to add the nutrient - of course, I had no concerns for a volcano in this case either. By the time I had racked it over on morning of day 8, it wasn't even fizzing or bubbling in the airlock.

 

[salmo1]

I am trying to keep this one cooler as it fermentsto let it stay on the skins as long as possible. Hopefully, thefoaming won't get out of hand by doing this.
Taking your advice Richard, I placed the primary inside another larger bucket just in case. I do see a larger primarybucket in my future.

 

[bull44]

I to just received me first all juice kit(merlot).My wife and I just started this spring making wine .Right now we have six batches bottled, two fermenting and a purewatermelon bulk aging in carboy(that I'm a little worryed about its not very good yet

)So if somebody has a list started for wine making addiction better add me to it.Question....How do you keep opening and drinking the wine before its time.Is that the advantage of bulk ageing

 

[salmo1]

Bull44, I started into this hobby last January and have made 14 kits with 2 on deck. welcome to the addiction.
I justtransferred my MM all juicemerlotmasters kitto the bulk aging bottle where it will stay for some time. This smells and tastes very big.

Regarding your question, just keep making the kits and you will eventually catch up. Otherwise you have to stock up on commercial wines until yours are ready. They are worth the wait - it is amazing how these improve over time.

 

[tonyt]

Just started the alljuice merlot kit with super grape pack today.Adding the grape pack really filled up the primary - only have about 1.5 inches to the top.
With4 kits in process, I think this has officially crossed that fine line from hobby to obsession.

"Obsession
A word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated".


the urban dictionary

 

[salmo1]

Dedicated sounds much better than obsessed!