WineXpert Crushendo Kits

[rpsroberts]

When adding the grape skins to the must, would it serve teh same purpose to put the skins in a mesh bag and weight the bag as it does to just sprinkle them on top and punch them down twice daily? I'm thinking that in a mesh bag it would be easier to drain the primary and then dispose of the skins but I don't know if I would get the same results with the wine. Any input on this will be appreciated.


Ray

 

[masta]

Use of a straining bag is not recommended by Winexpert due to the consistency of the grape pack. It is more like jam than like large chunks of skins as you would think and the reason for this is to allow the total extraction in 6-7 days. Here are a few links and tips to help with your Crushendo:


http://www.finevinewines.com/Crushendo.htm


This quote from Tim confirmsJackie's info: "
<DIV ="postcolor">If you leave it seven days, the level of CO2 saturation will drop, allowing the grapeskin material to settle towards the bottom, stratifying lighter wine on top.

This will make racking much more difficult, and may render the mesh siphon tip useless.

After the sg drops below about 1.030, the must will have extracted 95% of the tannins, anthocyanins and other desirable compounds from the Crushendo pack. Leaving it longer at the expense of being able to rack it could show a small return on investment!"
<DIV ="postcolor">
<DIV ="postcolor">Two more tips:
<DIV ="postcolor">

1. 
   <LI>
   <DIV ="postcolor">Don't try to reuse the skins in another kit since all of the goodnesss is used up in the first kit and will get nothing but harsh tannins.</LI>
   <LI>
   <DIV ="postcolor">No need to add extra sulfite since these kits include more than other kits since are designed to be aged for at least a year.</LI>

<DIV ="postcolor">
<DIV ="postcolor">