DangerDave's Dragon Blood Wine

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Carolyn,
That looks good! What ABV do you expect? I thought about adding some medium toast oak to my all blueberry that's fermenting. I never used oak before and I have some chips - not cubes.
 
I degassed with my spoon as the directions indicated during the fermentation process. Also while the transfer occurred, it got a good bit of agitation to dislodge the co2. It has always had an sour smell during the fermentation but the taste was OK at the first couple days. Really didn't taste after that point. It cleared out really well. I need to rack it again to get off the settlement. Will taste it and also do the shot glass test to see if any more co2 is present.
 
Hi Bob, I really don't wan to hijack this thread as it's really about DB... this is my concord port, so the finishing abv prior to my adding brandy was 17.3% lol I'm shooting for about 20%. This one will be a sipping wine, my Dad loves port, so I'll be giving this as a gift if it turns out nice enough! This is my first time using oak. There is a good sticky on how to use it and when to use it, in the oak section. Also there is a thread called dragon port that Dave started, hopefully he'll give us an update on how that's tasting soon. Yup I might oak my blueberry one I'm doing soon. I'll have to see how this turns out, as I'm a newbie to oaking. So I'll be tasting every 2 weeks or so, so that I can avoid over oaking if possible!
 
I always like the shot glass puff test because I get to do shots "For testing purposes only"!:d Sometimes I just have to double and triple check!
 
twoyappydawgsbrewery said:
I degassed with my spoon as the directions indicated during the fermentation process. Also while the transfer occurred, it got a good bit of agitation to dislodge the co2. It has always had an sour smell during the fermentation but the taste was OK at the first couple days. Really didn't taste after that point. It cleared out really well. I need to rack it again to get off the settlement. Will taste it and also do the shot glass test to see if any more co2 is present.
Click to expand...

Ya I would leave it in the carboy longer, but make sure it's filled to the neck and give it some more time and rackings to see if the taste will improve. Like do a splash racking allow the wine to splash down while racking next time? Also, I have a degassing rod only - no fancy pumps or anything, it's an attachment to put on a drill and I will say this - I had no problems degassing my last batch of DB but last day/night I was degassing forever and it's still foamy! I'm going to have to degas quite a bit more before I can put my clearing agent in. I'm wondering if it's because of the fact that this batch is much higher alcohol.
 
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Yes, that was how I racked it, using the splash method. I will rack it today and leave it in a carboy for a week or two and taste. I should mention that I have already sorbates, didn't want it to go any lower that the .0998. Started at 1.072.

Thanks for the input and help.
 
twoyappydawgsbrewery said:
Yes, that was how I racked it, using the splash method. I will rack it today and leave it in a carboy for a week or two and taste. I should mention that I have already sorbates, didn't want it to go any lower that the .0998. Started at 1.072.

Thanks for the input and help.
Click to expand...

no problem! keep us posted :) oh one more thing... have you backsweetened it yet? because that may be all it needs as well, to some people .0998 is too dry and some people perceive that as being a bit sour... just a thought!
 
JetJockey said:
Carolyn,
That looks good! What ABV do you expect? I thought about adding some medium toast oak to my all blueberry that's fermenting. I never used oak before and I have some chips - not cubes.
Click to expand...

Have you read that sticky on oaking? from what I gather from reading there, the chips or powder are used during fermenting and the cubes while in the secondary I guess, you could use cubes in the primary. But oaking in the primary has different effects than oaking in the secondary. Like toning down certain things in the wine vs adding flavors. If it were me, I would put the oak chips in a straining bag or a knee high nylon and use it in the secondary - if I were going for flavor or mouthfeel enhancement.
 
ckvchestnut said:
no problem! keep us posted :) oh one more thing... have you backsweetened it yet? because that may be all it needs as well, to some people .0998 is too dry and some people perceive that as being a bit sour... just a thought!
Click to expand...

Have not back sweetened yet, waiting for it to clear out mostly. I'm familiar with dryness in wines, just not sure about the sour notes I'm picking up. Will keep updated.
 
carolyn, u are a funny girl....i am not sure oak is a mouthfeel enhancement.

but i do think bananas is.
i think oak is more for the tastebuds, then feel sensors.
 
jamesngalveston said:
carolyn, u are a funny girl....i am not sure oak is a mouthfeel enhancement.

but i do think bananas is.
i think oak is more for the tastebuds, then feel sensors.
Click to expand...

really? maybe i'm wrong... I thought it could add structure? or something? haha well I must be confused lol

no i'm not! I was right, oak can add tannin which does add structure and to me that registers as a part of mouthfeel at least in my mouth lol!

http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=features&content=68760
 
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ckvchestnut said:
Have you read that sticky on oaking? from what I gather from reading there, the chips or powder are used during fermenting and the cubes while in the secondary I guess, you could use cubes in the primary. But oaking in the primary has different effects than oaking in the secondary. Like toning down certain things in the wine vs adding flavors. If it were me, I would put the oak chips in a straining bag or a knee high nylon and use it in the secondary - if I were going for flavor or mouthfeel enhancement.
Click to expand...

Just reading the Oaking posts now. I bought the chips because that's all the LBHS had. They didn't have cubes. I would think that the chips would impart more oak in the same time as the cubes since there is more surface area on chips in contact with the wine. But that's only my logic. My fermentation is about dry as of last night (1.004) so I won't be adding to the primary now. I guess I'll try chips in the 2ndary.

What oaking ratio did you use?

To oak before or after back sweetening: Tis the question now!
 
ckvchestnut said:
I'm sure it must be a "young" thing - not positive but it could be that...
Click to expand...

What are you saying my "old" mouth will pick up the oak on the taste buds while your "Young" mouth picks it up on the sides as mouth feel - :)LMAO? Now that there is funny!
 
I am refraining from saying anything else mouth related....
Dang wine making getting more interesting....
 
JetJockey said:
Just reading the Oaking posts now. I bought the chips because that's all the LBHS had. They didn't have cubes. I would think that the chips would impart more oak in the same time as the cubes since there is more surface area on chips in contact with the wine. But that's only my logic. My fermentation is about dry as of last night (1.004) so I won't be adding to the primary now. I guess I'll try chips in the 2ndary.

What oaking ratio did you use?

To oak before or after back sweetening: Tis the question now!
Click to expand...

I found this post #6 on the oak sticky thread, also on that thread is what the different kinds of oaks do:

"Found this a while back on an internet search and figured I should share. Thanks "More Wine!"

Oak Cube Dosages:

In general:

1 ounce is 34 cubes 2 ounces is 68 cubes 3 ounces is 102 cubes
So, from this we can calculate the following dosage rates:

“1 ounce per 5 gallons” dosage rate is: 34 cubes for 5 gallons
7 cubes (rounded-up from 6.8) for 1 gallon 2 cubes (rounded-up from 1.8) for 1 liter

“2 ounces per 5 gallons” dosage rate is: 68 cubes for 5 gallons
14 cubes (rounded-up from 13.6) for 1 gallon 4 cubes (rounded-up from 3.6) for 1 liter

“2.5 ounces per 5 gallons” dosage rate is: 85 cubes for 5 gallons
18 cubes (rounded-up from 17.5) for 1 gallon 5 cubes (rounded-up from 4.6) for 1 liter

“3 ounces per 5 gallons” dosage rate is: 102 cubes for 5 gallons
21 cubes (rounded-up from 20.4) for 1 gallon 6 cubes (rounded-up from 5.4) for 1 liter

*NOTE: that 2.5 to 3 ounces per 5 gallons is considered to be equivalent to “new barrel” extraction rates.
__________________
Joe Arnson"

so based on the above calcs, I used the 7 cubes per gallon ratio...
 
OK, I racked the DB again to get it off the sediment from the clarifying agent. It appears that it isn't spoilage that I'm tasting. I will give it another week to see if it improves. Has a great looking color.
 

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