WineXpert California Trinity Red, 1st kit

[Whib]

1st kit: California Trinity Red, based on the recommendation from the owner of the local brew store. He said it's an early drinker, good value, and a good table red. He also said to following the instructions exactly, but ....

Well, I had to at least rehydrate the yeast! Right?

Right now it's in the primary fermentation and I'm wondering a few things:

1. Local Brew Store Guy tells me it'll rival any $10 bottle of blend from the booze store ... Really?

2. Should I rack more than the one time the directions call for?

3. Will spoon stirring really be enough to degas?

Cheers,

Ben

 

[cpfan]

Ben:

• Rehydrating the yeast is not important. Sprinkling on top works fine.
• $10 wine. May depend where you live. Your $10 wine may be better than my $10 wine. Also will depend on how well the kit wine is degassed, and how long it is aged.
• I thought the instructions called for more than one racking.
• Spoon stirring will be enough if you spend enough time on it. I find back-and-forth (or side-to-side) works better than round-and-round.

Steve

 

[Flem]

Welcome to the forum.
+1 to what Steve says.
FWIW, I would definitely rack more than once. If not, you will have a lot of sediment in the bottle. Good Luck!!

 

[robie]

1st kit: California Trinity Red, based on the recommendation from the owner of the local brew store. He said it's an early drinker, good value, and a good table red. He also said to following the instructions exactly, but ....

Well, I had to at least rehydrate the yeast! Right? Will it even matter?

Right now it's in the primary fermentation and I'm wondering a few things:

1. Local Brew Store Guy tells me it'll rival any $10 bottle of blend from the booze store ... Really?

2. Should I rack more than the one time the directions call for?

3. Will spoon stirring really be enough to degas?

Cheers,

Ben

Welcome to the forum!!!

Rehydratng the yeast is not absolutely necessary, but I always do it in order to make sure my yeast are viable. It is a little nerve-racking to pitch the yeast and see nothing happening 2 days later. If you hydrate it, at least you know all is well with the yeast.

It should make a nice wine. Keep in mind that most red kit wines, even those with grape packs, will come out thinner than a wine properly made from fresh or frozen grapes. The taste should good, though.

Don't get in a hurry to bottle this wine. Let it set under an air lock in a carboy for several months before bottling. This way the wine will drop more sediment, which will require at least one additional racking.

You can degas with a spoon, but it is pretty hard on the arm. Use a drill attached stirrer, instead. They are available at any LHBS.

 

[Whib]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll be racking off the primary on Sunday if the gravity is right. Is topping off with water, as the instructions say, okay to do? And Robie, should I follow all the fining steps and then re-rack to bulk age for a couple months? Will this require adding sulfites?

 

[Wade E]

Ive been on forums for many years now and have heard it many times that this particular kit is a very good early drinker and one of only a few decent cheaper kits. For what its worth I never make a starter or even rehydrate yeast with kits. With Beer making I ALWAYS make a huge starter and with wine from grapes or fruit I make a starter yeast with a small extraction of the juice while the rest is sulfited to ward off the wild yeast and let the pectic enzyme do its thing.

 

[robie]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll be racking off the primary on Sunday if the gravity is right. Is topping off with water, as the instructions say, okay to do? And Robie, should I follow all the fining steps and then re-rack to bulk age for a couple months? Will this require adding sulfites?

Never top off with water. Use a like wine. If it's red, you can always top off with a Merlot.

Yes, after your normal final rack as instructed to do from kit instructions, you are instructed to bottle. Most of us don't bottle that quickly, because more sediment will likely drop out and end up in the bottle. Instead of bottling, leave the wine in carboy with air lock attached. You can leave it in there for several months with no problems. Just before you do bottle, make sure you don't put any of the sediment in your bottles. I like to rack to a completely clean, sediment free carboy just before I bottle.

Most kits come with enough sulfites (Kmeta) to keep the wine safe for six months. Most of the time we don't drink the wine in that short of a period. If you intend to keep the wine more than six months after adding the kit's Kmeta, I would add another 1/8th teaspoon a week before you bottle. That should allow the wine to last up to about 18 months. Add 1/4 tsp if you intend to keep the wine longer than that.

The only foolproof way to know how much additional Kmeta to add is with a free SO2 test kit. If you don't have that, just add 1/8th or the 1/4 tsp as I indicated and you should be OK.

 

[Wade E]

As far as topping up goes since you are a new winemaker and dont have any of your own stuff just go to Trader Joes if you have one and pick up a 2 or 3 buch Chuck of the closest thing available. 1 or 2 bottles mixed into 30 wont effect it much at all!

 

[Jblyth]

I've made two of these kits; one in 2009 and one more in 2011. The first kit was good at 6 months, really good at 1yr, and pretty darn terrific at 2 yrs. my wife always gravitates to this wine when she's rummaging through the wine cellar, and always raves to friends about it.

Best to let it degass heavily and sit in the carboy for longer than the kit advises. My 2009 was bottled too early and had a 'bubbly' texture at the first tasting (3 months), but it had degassed altogether by the 6 month mark. Be patient and you will be rewarded with this one.

 

[Whib]

I've made two of these kits; one in 2009 and one more in 2011. The first kit was good at 6 months, really good at 1yr, and pretty darn terrific at 2 yrs. my wife always gravitates to this wine when she's rummaging through the wine cellar, and always raves to friends about it.

Best to let it degass heavily and sit in the carboy for longer than the kit advises. My 2009 was bottled too early and had a 'bubbly' texture at the first tasting (3 months), but it had degassed altogether by the 6 month mark. Be patient and you will be rewarded with this one.

Did you add sulfites for the aging past 6 months? If I want mine to stretch for a year or longer, should I add more sulfites?

Right now, my kit has gone just past the 2 weeks of stabilizing and is at the point where the directions say to bottle. My question is this: If I want to bulk age it some more, should I rack it to another carboy or is it okay to just sit like it is?

Thanks again, everyone, and I think I'll be onto my second kit soon. Cheers.

 

[Flem]

If it looks fairly clear and there is a lot of sediment, go ahead and rack it to another carboy. Assuming you added sulphite when you stabilized it, it should be good for a few months. After that, you should add another 1/4 tsp. I think you are wise not to bottle this too soon. Let it clear for a few months. You will be rewarded with a clear wine. Good Luck!

 

[CB750]

I don't hydrate my yeast for wine kits. But I do buy an extra pack of yeast when I pick up my kit. I find the extra yeast is worth an extra $1 and since I have been doing this I get CO2 between one to two hours after pitching.