RJ Spagnols Barolo

[mightygirl]

I very new to this winemaking. So I made the kit and did all the fermenting in the primary. Realizes now after some reading that I should have moved it into the Carboy. Anyway, I've cleared it and its been sitting there about a week. I just had a little taste and it's very juicy not much taste of alcohol. Will this taste change with time? Or did it not ferment enough? When I cleared it the SG was .995.

 

[Rocky]

Mightlygirl, did you get it under airlock? I would do that ASAP. What was the initial SG? You can calculate an approximate ABV if you recorded the starting SG.

 

[mightygirl]

The original SG was 1.075. It's in a Carboy with an airlock now.

 

[Boatboy24]

You've got about 10.6% ABV there. Which Barolo kit did you make?

 

[Rocky]

Mightygirl, I get the same number as Boatboy on the ABV. A starting SG of 1.075 is a little low and you could have used chaptalization when you began to increase the eventual ABV. That would have involved adding sugar to the juice to increase the SG. Your choices now are:

1. If you like it well enough the way it is, stabilize and clear the wine and bottle it and chalk it up to experience.
2. You could add sugar to it now and hope to re-start fermentation. This is not a sure-fire alternative and could be tricky, but it can be done.
3. You could fortify the wine with alcohol in the form of something like Everclear or Vodka.
4. You could make another batch of the same or similar wine at a high ABV level (something like 13.5% so you would need an initial SG of about 1.001) and blend the two wine.

Note that you can do all of the above with just a portion of your batch. Some of the numbers would change but the principles are the same. Best of luck.

 

[mightygirl]

I made the 4 week RJ Spagnols kit.

 

[Longtrain]

Anyway, I've cleared it and its been sitting there about a week.

You've got some good information from Rocky, you're ABV is a bit low, but as is, may turn out to be a nice table wine. If you already added the potassium sorbate, in the clearing process, fermentation won't start again if you were to add additional sugar to the wine, it would only make the wine sweet. The potassium sorbate prevents re-fermentation once the wine is bottled.

I'd let it sit for a while and see how it tastes. My first kit was similar, a 4 week wonder that was ok, only 11% ABV, was blended with other wines, used to top off carboys and some was actually blended with a little brandy. All in all it didn't go to waste.

Good luck...

Tony

 

[mmadmikes1]

I could get it started again even with Sorbate. That stuff does not really do what you all think. The ABV is to low to preserve itself and will have a short shelf life. For an Italian Red that is not good. They need age!!!!!! Start another kit of same kind. Add the current wine in a little at a time until you have 2 working batches(The sorbate will not stop the active fermentation and if you add the wine slowly it will keep right on going) I would add more sugars as you go to get AVB up in both batches. Barolo is worth the trouble. If you allow this wine to age 2 to 3 years you will be so happy with it. At 5 years the stuff is WONDERFUL. Can you tell Barolo is one of my favorites

 

[Longtrain]

Ok, if that can work even with the sorbates, then that's another consideration. I stand corrected.

 

[SouthernChemist]

Potassium sorbate, which actually becomes sorbic acid in the wine, does not kill any leftover viable yeast or prevent them from fermenting, but it will inhibit their reproduction. People have gotten juices treated with potassium sorbate to ferment so long as they have viable yeast that are already well established. It takes the combination of the right free SO2 levels, pH, and potassium sorbate to shut down the fermentation process. Also, I think lower alcohol wines require sorbate than higher alcohol wines.

 

[Longtrain]

Thanks for your explanation, always learning something...

 

[Dugger]

mightygirl - my advice would be to simply let it clear and then either bottle or age in the carboy for awhile before bottling. Using kits is more or less foolproof so unless you added too much water to start with, ie more than 23 liters total, the wine should be at about the right SG and fine. It is possible you didn't get the juice and water totally mixed when you started and this could give you a false low reading for your starting SG (the hydrometer may have been sitting in a watery portion of the mixture). Being new to this, I suspect you won't be keeping this wine for a long time anyway!
By the way, many of us ferment completely in the bucket as you did but usually put it under airlock in the bucket when the SG gets lower, so what you did is not uncommon.

 

[mightygirl]

Thank you everyone for your input and help. I think I'll keep it in the Carboy and see what happens and put this one to a learning experience--and thanks again.

 

[Bartman]

I agree with Dugger - I would bet that you're actual alcohol level is higher than 10%. I would suspect the 'light-on-the-alcohol" part is due to the alcohol taste being hidden by the 'green'-ness of the newly-made wine. I have not made that particular kit, but I have made a few of the Barolo kits and they can be quite good. Let it age at least one to two months, longer if you can wait, before bottling and then give it at least a month or so after bottling to crack the first ones open. If it's less than six months since fermentation you will be disappointed.

In the future, consider getting one of the more expensive Barolo kits as they have more juice/less water to be added to make 6 gallons. At this point, I personally would only buy a kit with a grape pack or raisins included - such as Mosti Mondiale's Renaissance kit or the Master 's Edition Granbarolo, or Spagnol's Grand Cru International - becasue grape packs and raisins give a wine a lot more body than you would get otherwise. And to a small extent additional sugars, which convert to alcohol.