Hey Joe, Thanks for the suggestions!
I didn't have any, BM45 and I was going to be traveling in and out of town with work throughout the week so I needed to get these started. I did use, BM45 in another split batch of, WE Triumph. Unfortunately, I didn't use any tweaks on that kit with fruit, but I did start off with some, FT Rouge tannin, and added tannin complex on the first rack. With this kit and your suggestions, I racked the first batch a few days ago and just got back today and racked the second. I did run up to the store and grab the last, two plums they had, chopped into chunks and added to both vats, along with about, 24 OZ of fresh squeezed juice, pressed skins, along with some thawed frozen cherries and raspberries. Instead of topping up to the, 6 gallon mark with water, I used the must from the squeezed grapes to top up. The last, two, Triumph kits I did, I split those into two, 3 gallon batches, too. I used, BDX, BM45, MT, and BDX on those batches. Those, four separate batches coming out of primary didn't come close to the these most recent, two. I can tell you both of those batches smelled amazing! The aroma along with the smell of alcohol and spent fermented grapes knocked me back when I opened the lid. It was powerful! I never experienced that with any kit with skins. I started with adding, Lallzyme EX-V and Opti-Red. When I racked, I had a ton of sediment that came over into the secondary carboy, was thinking about, racking again? Wasn't sure if all of that sediment wouldn't cause a problem with creating any bad flavors down the road? I was getting a hint of eggy/sulfur smell in the primary, but when racked, was getting the opposite. In the secondary, I am getting a little of that smell, but think it's more of the, CO2 burn off. I was going to start another, CC Walla Walla Cab/Merlot, tomorrow along with pressing some cab and merlot skins, cherries and raspberries. I was planning on sautéing the thawed cherries and raspberries, and plums to concentrate the sugars, it seems to intensify the flavors in my very new experimenting venture. Thanks again!