WineXpert Eclipse Forza

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Then why do you accept the way things are?

It is a State law, get it changed and join the rest of the lower 48......
 
Then why do you accept the way things are?

It is a State law, get it changed and join the rest of the lower 48......

You west coasters make it sound so simple... You've either forgotten, or you were born and raised out there... Patriotism for M'erica runs nonsensically deep east of the Mississippi...
 
Then why do you accept the way things are?

It is a State law, get it changed and join the rest of the lower 48......


Take this from someone who is deeply involved in the effort to privatize wholesale and retail liquor sales for the last five years... It's not as easy as it sounds. Entrenched interests - unions and politicians who see the PLCB as their personal plaything, mostly - keep it from happening.
 
I am a long way from any coastline. Its almost 2016 and long past time for any State to be in the liquor business. Costco was huge in getting WA State out of the liquor business. They just kept pounding on the door for the right to do it. They got the referendum finally on a ballot and low and behold "We the People" spoke out and got it enacted into law.

You west coasters make it sound so simple... You've either forgotten, or you were born and raised out there... Patriotism for M'erica runs nonsensically deep east of the Mississippi...
 
Costco was huge in getting WA State out of the liquor business.

You guys who get those great deals at Costco make some of us PA'ers very envious, and thirsty!

Speaking along the lines of the thread topic, I had a 375 ml sample of a Forza that was left over from racking a month or so ago, and I'm sticking with this wine needing at least a year or more before it approaches being drinkable. I think I'll do the "Vandergrift" and duct tape up a case really well when I bottle it and hide it somewhere and forget about it for two years or more.
 
You guys who get those great deals at Costco make some of us PA'ers very envious, and thirsty!


The problem with what Washington did was that they created new taxes that impacted every retailer and wholesaler, except businesses that do both, like Costco. Given that they have an ocean on one side, Canada, Idaho and Oregon on the others, there's really no such thing as market pressure. The prices, thanks largely to a greedy state government, aren't much better.
 
Racked out of secondary today and degassed/stabilized. It's tasting a little sweet, though SG was at 0.994. Reminds me A LOT of my 2013 Valpolicella juice bucket. Garnet color, a little raisin flavor, and that hint of sugar. I was expecting something more Amarone-esque, based on what I've read so far. But this is more of a light Valpo Ripasso. Barrel time will concentrate it a bit and darken it up. Anxious to see how this turns out. Not a ton of kit taste so far, which surprised me.
 
Racked out of secondary today and degassed/stabilized. It's tasting a little sweet, though SG was at 0.994. Reminds me A LOT of my 2013 Valpolicella juice bucket. Garnet color, a little raisin flavor, and that hint of sugar. I was expecting something more Amarone-esque, based on what I've read so far. But this is more of a light Valpo Ripasso. Barrel time will concentrate it a bit and darken it up. Anxious to see how this turns out. Not a ton of kit taste so far, which surprised me.


Jim,
To review what you did with this kit. Pitched the RC-212? Did you need the 118? Added 8 grams of tannin? Anything else, I have this waiting to go just deciding when. I know sound odd, but with Christmas been hectic.

Steve
 
Jim,
To review what you did with this kit. Pitched the RC-212? Did you need the 118? Added 8 grams of tannin? Anything else, I have this waiting to go just deciding when. I know sound odd, but with Christmas been hectic.

Steve

I'll double check my notes, but yes, I think all I did was eliminate the EC1118 and add the tannin.

I also added the 60 of included French oak cubes today. The wine was not gassy at all and sediment seemed to be falling out very quickly. So I didn't add the clarifiers. I haven't done that with a kit in a LONG time.
 
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Racked the Forza into a glass 6(+) gallon carboy with the AIO last night. It degassed a little, but I think it's too cool right now. Should get better results at the next racking. Dosed it with tannin and oak.

I need to get the filter set up for the AIO and squeeze the last bits of liquid out of it. Feel like there was a LOT of sediment in the bottom left behind.
 
I walked into my basement with an empty glass (bad move on my part) and walked by the Forza carboy and it said "pssst, over here, you need a taste...". Poured a few ounces and was astounded at the way the nose has come around. Noted really good cherry and plum flavors, but didn't really notice much oak. Had a Chesterfield Ale before my samples so maybe my senses are a bit impaired. Seems like the heavy processed mouthfeel and taste have gone bye bye.

Overall much better than a month or two ago. Started this kit 7-24-15.
 
I walked into my basement with an empty glass (bad move on my part) and walked by the Forza carboy and it said "pssst, over here, you need a taste...". Poured a few ounces and was astounded at the way the nose has come around. Noted really good cherry and plum flavors, but didn't really notice much oak. Had a Chesterfield Ale before my samples so maybe my senses are a bit impaired. Seems like the heavy processed mouthfeel and taste have gone bye bye.



Overall much better than a month or two ago. Started this kit 7-24-15.


So is it similar to anything you purchased commercially?
 
Kinda wish I wasn't getting updates about the Forza as I bottled it in Oct and I'm really trying to forget about it and leave it alone, lol. I barrel aged mine a few weeks in a brand new Hungarian barrel so hope the oak is noticeable. It was my first attempt at barrel aging.
 
Kinda wish I wasn't getting updates about the Forza as I bottled it in Oct and I'm really trying to forget about it and leave it alone, lol. I barrel aged mine a few weeks in a brand new Hungarian barrel so hope the oak is noticeable. It was my first attempt at barrel aging.


What kind of CO2 did yours give up during degassing? And, what did yours taste like at bottling?
 
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