Cru Coffee Dessert Wine

[wineforfun]

For any of you that have made this kit, any tips or ideas? I contemplated making it as is out of the box, since it appears to be a higher end kit. But, I know @joeswine has made some tweaks to it and he said it is one of his favorites and does well in contests.

 

[Putterrr]

I used joeswine tips / tweaks when I made mine and it was a big hit. its such a strong flavour that i'm sure going by the instructions will produce a great wine for you

cheers

 

[wineforfun]

I used joeswine tips / tweaks when I made mine and it was a big hit. its such a strong flavour that i'm sure going by the instructions will produce a great wine for you

cheers

Thanks, just threw everything together last night. Have been pm'ing(bothering) Joe along the way.

I will ask you too, did you add any oak? and did you add the whole fpac?

 

[Putterrr]

June 4 2013 started kit - SG 1.114
June 9 racked to secondary, added 4 tbsp oak sawdust (did not have the tannin Joe recommended at the time), 2 tbsp instant coffee, and added 750 ml Dolcetto to reduce head space
June 15 racked, degas, clearing agents SG .992
June 22 rack to pail added f-pack, racked back to carboy and put extra in a bottle.
bottled in December for x-mass gifts with coffee beans in each bottle
2 bottles left. might be time to open one soon.

good luck and cheers

 

[wineforfun]

June 4 2013 started kit - SG 1.114
June 9 racked to secondary, added 4 tbsp oak sawdust (did not have the tannin Joe recommended at the time), 2 tbsp instant coffee, and added 750 ml Dolcetto to reduce head space
June 15 racked, degas, clearing agents SG .992
June 22 rack to pail added f-pack, racked back to carboy and put extra in a bottle.
bottled in December for x-mass gifts with coffee beans in each bottle
2 bottles left. might be time to open one soon.

good luck and cheers

Awesome, thanks for the response.

So I started yesterday. Added 24oz. simple syrup. SG 1.120. Must right at 3 gal. so will have to remove 1.5 - 2 bottles for fpac.

I have tannin, so will add in the secondary. That is where I was confused as Joe's thread said to add in primary but when pm'ing him, he said to add in secondary along with instant coffee. He doesn't mention when to add the instant coffee in his thread, so again, wasn't sure.

Ok, so you added double what he was saying. He recommended 1 Tbsp tannin and 1 Tbsp instant coffee.

 

[Putterrr]

I did not have the tannin so used more of the oak dust from another wine kit. also his PM to me had 2 tbsp of coffee. Either way it was liked by all who tried it.

cheers

 

[wineforfun]

also his PM to me had 2 tbsp of coffee.s

haha
Ok, I will just move forward and see how it turns out.
Thanks.

 

[BernardSmith]

Is this a grape based wine or is coffee the main ingredient?

 

[wineforfun]

Is this a grape based wine or is coffee the main ingredient?

As far as I know grape-based. Concentrate looked like any other kit, ie: cab.sav., zin, etc.
The coffee is supposed to be coming from the fpac.

 

[joeswine]

the reason for the instant coffee adjustments is that some don't like it strong and some like it somewhere in between the base itself is their normal base for their style ports with the flavors coming in the fpac and that's it.What I did was accent the coffee but not overpowering the base the tannins provide the balancing point in the body and texture of the mix.The key is like I stated before if you can let it sit a year ,if you canit's a proven winner time and time again,enjoy.

 

[wineforfun]

@Joeswine
Here is the tannin I have, will it work comparable to yours in your pic?
And here is my "strip" reading. Thoughts?

 

[joeswine]

yes it should be fine,ph is spot on it will diminish slightly,noproblem there,StayTheCourse.

 

[wineforfun]

yes it should be fine,ph is spot on it will diminish slightly,noproblem there,StayTheCourse.��

Awesome, thank you. On we go.

 

[joeswine]

over 5000 post so far that's a lot of wine talk, thanks all

 

[wineforfun]

I racked my coffee dessert wine from primary to secondary on Sunday. It came up looking lsimilar to the pic here(I borrowed pic from another member). The liquid is just at/above the shoulder of my 3 gal. carboy.
With that said, the instructions state not to add the coffee fpac until wine is clear. It has had clearing agents in since Sunday and now has a good 1/2" - 3/4" sediment built up on bottom.
So, my question is, do you think I should leave it with this much headspace? or rack again, since it is obviously clearing/cleared and add the fpac and then let sit for awhile?
I know how I am leaning but just curious to hear other thoughts.
Thanks.

 

[joeswine]

Are you sure your degassed? And the wine is now clear, Iff you are then take out enough of the base to add the fpac you can always add the base back to the mix to top off with,s simple,thenwalk away and let in Bond.

 

[wineforfun]

Are you sure your degassed? And the wine is now clear, Iff you are then take out enough of the base to add the fpac you can always add the base back to the mix to top off with,s simple,thenwalk away and let in Bond.��

Joe, not for sure of anything but I did stir vigorously for 15 min., they recommended 5-10 min. As mentioned, there is quite a bit of sediment built up on bottom of carboy already.

Also, I don't need to remove any from the base as it is already short. There is plenty of room for the fpac now. I may even be short with it.

My thought is to rack to a clean carboy, add the fpac, the let it sit. If it needs to degas more, hopefully time will do it. If more sediment drops, then I will rack again in time.

My concern is with the amount of headspace shown in the pic.

 

[joeswine]

You won't know until you try of you have h a lot of head space,how did you correct that in the past? And in some cases a little head space fof a short time isn't a real problem,and if you're clear and add the fpac let it sit 1 week the bottle,it matures Better in the bottle

 

[wineforfun]

You won't know until you try of you have h a lot of head space,how did you correct that in the past? And in some cases a little head space fof a short time isn't a real problem,and if you're clear and add the fpac let it sit 1 week the bottle,it matures Better in the bottle

In the past, I would top up with a like type wine or some of the extra I would have made in the primary.
I don't have any wine like this to top up with.
Hoping the addition of the fpac will get it close. If not, I will rack into 1 gal. and 1/2 gal. carboys so I can eliminate any headspace issues.

I will just rack tonight, add fpac and then let sit for a couple weeks. Hopefully it will finish clearing, if it isn't already, and then will bottle.

I have just never let a carboy sit with that much headspace before so don't know how much it will affect it.

 

[joeswine]

The fpac will take up most of the room,so. Go ahead with your plan,rack and add the fpac you should be okay.sometime. The simplest way is the best way you won't affect the outcome.Atrick I did on the first kit was to add 3 coffee beans to each bottle,sort of like a worm. In the tequila,have fun with this one,don:t worry.