RJ Spagnols Cellar Classic Winery Series

[diggerdan17]

I have made my first Cellar Classic Winery Series Cab Sav and after 2 weeks since Degassing and Clearing it has not cleared properly.


I have another pack of Kiesol and Chitosan. Should i rack off the sediment andadd the kiesol and chitosan as per instructions or stir the sediment back up like a wine expert kit and add the Kiesol and chitosan per instructions?


Dan R

 

[admiral]

Welcome aboard! Was the wine thoroughly degassed? What is the temperature?

 

[diggerdan17]

Welcome aboard! Was the wine thoroughly degassed? What is the temperature?

I have done 15 kits in the last 6 months and this is the only one that i have had trouble with.Temperature is about 70 degrees and the degassing was done in a primary bucket with drill and stainless steel degassing attachment. I degassed for 5 min whipping the wine forwards then reversing the drill and so on. then i added the diffrent packs of stabalizer , sorbate , k meta and kiesol and chitosan, then i degassed again for another 10 minutes.. i did add the kiesol first.




What is my next step?

 

[Dean]

70F is actually a little low for degassing. If you could raise the liquid temp about 5 more degrees, I'm sure you will see a lot more gas come off this kit if you give it one last degassing session.

Put a brew belt on it, or a heating pad under it to bring the temp up. It should clear within 2 days after that.

 

[Wade E]

I agree with Dean, 70* is not the proper temp to degas at. Get it up higher and stir it up again in my opinion. Ive made all of these kits but 1 and have never had a problem but I degas at 75-78*. The only reason I didnt do the Merlot is because I bought the limited Edition Cru select Tannat Merlot instead.

 

[diggerdan17]

So i should Not add the extra keisol and chitosan?


Just raise the temp and degass.


I will give that a shot.


Now how should i go about asking grandma to give up her heating pad for a day or two.

 

[Wade E]

I wouldnt add the other 2 packs. I would do as Dean and I stated and then rack it after about 3-4 weeks as that lest the fining agents compact really nice, another trick is to tip your carboy after adding fining agents to 1 side so it all compacts on 1 side of the carboy and then gently tip the carboy to the other side gently and rack off the shallow end so you get more wine and less lees trasfer. Then leave this in carboy for mant months to bulk age as this wine wont be ready for awhile anywat adding 1/4 tsp of k-meta every 3-4 months. There will be more sediment most likely eve after fining so when its time to add sulfites rack off sediment if there is some, if none there then there wont be any reason to rack.

 

[diggerdan17]

I wouldnt add the other 2 packs. I would do as Dean and I stated and then rack it after about 3-4 weeks as that lest the fining agents compact really nice, another trick is to tip your carboy after adding fining agents to 1 side so it all compacts on 1 side of the carboy and then gently tip the carboy to the other side gently and rack off the shallow end so you get more wine and less lees trasfer. Then leave this in carboy for mant months to bulk age as this wine wont be ready for awhile anywat adding 1/4 tsp of k-meta every 3-4 months. There will be more sediment most likely eve after fining so when its time to add sulfites rack off sediment if there is some, if none there then there wont be any reason to rack.

Sounds good Wade. I have been so busy with work and life that i really have not had time to deal with the wine chores for a while now.


That's what i love about this hobby, procrastinating actually helps the wine mature!

 

[diggerdan17]

I finally had the time to degass the wine again after raising the temp of the wine to 75 degrees.2 days later and the wine is still cloudy.I then racked it again and added another pack of kiesol and waited 1 hour before i added the chitosan. This wine is still very cloudy.


I,m not sure what my next step is.


I,m not in a big hurry to bottle this wine so if 6 months in a carboy will help it clear itself then so be it.I just really want to know why out of 16 kits i have done this is the ONLY 1 that i have had trouble with.


I was going to start buying more of these winery series kits as i like RJS cru select and this is the next step up.


Any thoughts?

 

[vcasey]

I'd give it a couple of weeks then contact RJS .
VC

 

[diggerdan17]

I went down to the RJ Spagnols warehouse in Delta B.C. and bought an En Premiur Hightail Californian Merlot, Cru Select Cab Shiraz Merlot blend and an Orchard Breezin kit and forgot to ask them about my unclear Cab Sav( DOH!).


When i get back to Prince George i will contact customer service and see what the next step is in getting my Winery Series Cab Sav to clear.


I can't wait to start my Hightail kit!




Dan R

 

[Dean]

Wow, you were only a few kilos from my place! I'm just up from the Annacis Island store in New West. Good score on the Hightails. I thought they'd be out of them.

 

[diggerdan17]

I phoned the customer service line today and they seem to think that cold stabilization will cause my Winery series Californian Cab Sav to clear itself.





I will do that when i get home to P.G. and if after 10 days it still won,t clear i am supposed to call AL back and he will make it right.

 

[Dean]

awesome! You should have no problem cold stabilizing it up in PG. 10 days on your back porch should do the trick! Just take it in if it gets below -20C