Just started the Chocolate Orange Port that arrived via FedEx this morning from George. Interesting thing is the bag of juice for the primary wasn't hitting the three gallon mark on my primary so I have a feeling I'm going to have to deal with that when it's time to rack. Going to be difficult to fill the 3 Gallon Carboy after it drops a pile of lees... It came with a smaller pack to add but,I don't think that's going to do the trick either... Might be good to add brandy or some substitute to fill up the carboy if I run into that problem. I will try to post some pick's after I rack it at the next step in 10 days... Forgot to snap some off from the Primary... I also have RJ's Vidal Ice Wine which I just racked. Interestingly enough it's much darker than most Ice Wine's I've had that were commercially made. I'm excited for it though. After adding the Super Kleer substitute, it's already dropped a good amount and cleared a great deal in less than 2 hours... I had to dump 6 gallons of Strawberry I made out of that Vinter's Harvest fruit base. Came out tasting like liquor. Problem was on that one rather than gradually adding sugar, I followed the recipe on the can which completely fubar's the whole thing, way to high in Alcohol content. There really was no saving it, tried adding back flavor, etc. No dice. Anyone else do the Chocolate Orange Port? If so, how did it turn out?
RJ Spagnols Chocolate Orange Port
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Horric:
Welcome to the forum.
I have made the Chocolate Orange Port and think it great! I have tasted it once since bottling a few months back and it's a nice "sipper" type drink. I have tried the Strawberry Chocolate but didn't care for it as much as the c.o.
You ,made a good choice I think, but then again, it's all in what "You" like.
Welcome to the forum.
I have made the Chocolate Orange Port and think it great! I have tasted it once since bottling a few months back and it's a nice "sipper" type drink. I have tried the Strawberry Chocolate but didn't care for it as much as the c.o.
You ,made a good choice I think, but then again, it's all in what "You" like.
Dean
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I've done these for a couple of years now, and there is no need to worry. You will be fully topped up and may even have a spare tasting glass when it is all finished. Just make sure to be careful when siphoning, and don't worry about getting some sediment, as the clearing agents will take care of that too.
Dean
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This port is perfect without brandy!
Besides, the whole brandy port thing is a bit of a strange thing here. Brandy is added to port to stop the fermentation in Portugal. However, the "Brandy" is nothing more than close to 100% pure moonshine, only this stuff is distilled from grapes/wine instead of mash/beer. There is no taste to it, etc. It's just there to boost alcohol and stop fermentation while there is residual sugar left. The high alcohol and residual sugar used to help the wine make its trek from Portugal to England, in the belly of hot ships, when France was at war with England and refused to ship them wine from Bordeaux.
At any rate, adding brandy will not help this particular port, and may even make it quite a bit harsh.
Besides, the whole brandy port thing is a bit of a strange thing here. Brandy is added to port to stop the fermentation in Portugal. However, the "Brandy" is nothing more than close to 100% pure moonshine, only this stuff is distilled from grapes/wine instead of mash/beer. There is no taste to it, etc. It's just there to boost alcohol and stop fermentation while there is residual sugar left. The high alcohol and residual sugar used to help the wine make its trek from Portugal to England, in the belly of hot ships, when France was at war with England and refused to ship them wine from Bordeaux.
At any rate, adding brandy will not help this particular port, and may even make it quite a bit harsh.
horric, I made the chocolate raspberry port last year and the abv was right around 16%. Unless you want something with a little more kick, I would forego the brandy.
Got my oc port kit in and will start it this weekend!! woo hoo.
Got my oc port kit in and will start it this weekend!! woo hoo.
So how is everyone's OC Port coming along? I just racked mine to secondary, it smells delicious... You were also correct in that there was plenty to top off with. I think I could have got hammered on the left over's from the top off... I can't wait... The smell coming from the mix was incredible!
Rich
Rich
horric29 said:
I'm getting real close with mine. I bought two kits to combine them and make one 6-gallon batch. It's been fermenting for about 8 days now and is at 1.004 SG right now. I'll give it another day or two and see if it's still moving down or if it has stopped. I still see bubbling in the lock but that could just be gas coming off. If you smell the must, it will practically knock you over as it's like mostly alcohol vapor. lol
What was your final reading before you stabilized?
Hit .997 and stayed there so I racked and stabilized. Smelled wonderful! It may be tough to leave this one alone for a long time. The F-Pack smelled like it had strong alcohol in it as well.Smelled like a OC flavored liqueur.
I bet it's going to be really, reallygood.
I bet it's going to be really, reallygood.
Yeah, I'm not seeing a huge amount either but what's dropping seems to be packing pretty tight. There was quite a bit of sediment in the primary on the first rack. I noticed in the directions it said that filtering was highly recommended so maybe thick enough that sediment doesn't drop very well. I'm letting it sit for at least a month undisturbed per the instructions, possibly a little longer. I popped the cap on the carboy to smell of it and it really smells good. I might rack it in a month, add a small amount of k-meta and let it sit an additional 6-8 weeks before filtering/bottling.
The filtering s mainly to catch all the yeast to get it out of there as this wine will have a high amount of residual sugar and you dont want to risk the chance of refermentation. Even though you have added the sorbate and k-meta there is always a slight chance and they are just trying to reduce this chance even more.
Are the #2 pads are good enough or do you have to use the super fine #3 pads?
Dean
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#2 pads will be just fine. You cannot even use a #3 pad unless you first use a #2 pad and run the wine through that.
All that talk about filtering stripping flavour and character away is true; but only if you wine's flavour and character are based on sediment and particles left in the solution, like a very heavy red. Otherwise, almost all commercial whites and Roses are done through a #3 or equivalent pad.
There's too much mis-information about stripping colour and flavour, which just cannot happen, unless again, it is all based on residual solids left floating in solution.
All that talk about filtering stripping flavour and character away is true; but only if you wine's flavour and character are based on sediment and particles left in the solution, like a very heavy red. Otherwise, almost all commercial whites and Roses are done through a #3 or equivalent pad.
There's too much mis-information about stripping colour and flavour, which just cannot happen, unless again, it is all based on residual solids left floating in solution.
