Australian Riverland Reserve

[Bert]

dnaman......you asked about the Austie wine....... just finished stabalizing it.....A nice apple flavor at this time...and the odd smell is mostly gone......But it is still young and needs some time.....more later....please let me know that you see this..

 

[Hippie]

Apple flavor? Is it a white wine?

 

[Bert]

Yes it is a white wine...from Brew Kings Vinter Reserve Passport Series....A blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard and Muscat varieties.....it sounded interesting and I needed some whites for my wine cellar....seems to be turnning into a nice wine..

 

[MedPretzel]

It sounds YUMMY! Do you have pictures of it?

 

[Hippie]

The muscat part sounds very good. I would probably like it. I love semi-sweet muscat wine.

 

[geocorn]

Bert,


Does the odd smell remind you of yeast and do you notice any bubbles in your wine?

 

[RAMROD]

Yes pictures some speak louder than words. Is that a green apple flavor?

 

[Bert]

George


The smell is not what I would call yeastty....kind of like something that left laying around wet..kind of musty, but not....It has improved....I did do a "battonage" technique on it, and had a SG of .990 on before I did that...It might be just CO2 coming off and wine smells....


Medpretzel and Ramrod


Have pictures of my wine racks and carboys just need to get them smaller to post them...I'm working on that..

 

[geocorn]

Bert,


I think the smell is related to CO2. If you have a drill mounted stirrer, I would use it and see how much foam you get. If you get a lot, it is CO2 and just stir the heck out of it. If you don't get any foam, then it probably just needs time to age. The additional stirring will not hurt, but if you plan to age the wine,2 crushedcampden tablets or 1/8 tsp of sulfite would eat the oxygen added to the wine from stirring. You could add more sulfites, but I always err on the side of caution with the sulfites. If you get too much, it could ruin your wine.

 

[Bert]

Update on the Austie wine...Racked today, has cleared nicely, taste; a lite tart, very nice for a white wine . At lease I like it. I can't discribe any certain flavors, but seems like it will be a nice social wine. Some more ageing will tell the story.

Winemaking more than just a hobby

 

[geocorn]

It should have tropical fruit flavors.

 

[Bert]

Maybe it's my taste buds, I could't identify any one flavor. A little bulk aging may change it some. Still a very nice wine at this time.

Winemaking more than just a hobby.

 

[PolishWineP]

This wine has turned out to be wonderful! Before bottling I thought it smell and tasted like river water on an August day. We sweetened it a bit and now it is wonderful! It's gotten rave reveues too!

 

[Hippie]

It sounds very good!

 

[peterCooper]

What is battonage?

 

[geocorn]

Battonage is where you stir up the lees to soften your wine.


That is great news about the Aust. Riverland Reserve. I have been hearing really nice things about it. If I only had time to make some wine. (Coblers kids have no shoes....)

 

[peterCooper]

So you would do this if the wine was harsh? or had a load of tanin? I'm not
sure I know what you mean by 'soften'

 

[geocorn]

If the wine is too tannic, this technique is used, especially for Chardonnays. If you ever have a Chard that has a "buttery" taste, chances are that Battonage was used to soften the tannins.

 

[peterCooper]

I don't mean for this to stray too far from the original post, but I thought
tannin was the primary factor in the ability of a wine to age. Is that the
case.? A wine with a lot of tannin will last longer and mature more slowly or
more fully.

If I'm correct in my understanding (which would be a miracle all by itself)
then battonage is a way of bring a wine forward.

Or am I doing too much thinking and not enough drinking?

 

[Hippie]

The tannin will still be there, noone's taking it out, just masking it a little. Not enough tannin can be bad, too much tannin can be bad, just enough is a very good thang.