WineXpert Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon SG?

[calvin]

I started this kit Tuesday. After mixing everything together i checked the SG it was at 1.086 (seemed low to me) @ 65 Degrees

pitched the yeast Wednesday morning @ 71 degrees the SG had risen to 1.090

Wednesday evening there was obvious signs of fermentation but the specific gravity had risen again to 1.094 @ 72 degrees

each time i checked the gravity I spun the hydrometer to make sure there wasn't any bubbles holding it up.

Is this normal? Is there enough sugar in the grape skin pack to raise the gravity that much? even during fermentation?

I wonder what the final ABV will be? my calculations from 1.094 to .996 would put it at about 13%

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[turkeylipz]

if your hydro was calibrated for 65 degrees then the temp difference (65 - 72) would roughly add 0.021 to your number.

I had one of these kits that started at 1.084. I added sugar to get to 1.093. The grapes then raised it to 1.098. This is what my notes show at least. Hope that helps.

 

[sour_grapes]

I believe the answer to your question about the sugars in the grape pack is "yes." For all of my CC Showcase kits, the SG goes up for a few days, even when fermentation has begun. In the most extreme case, my CC Showcase Rosso Fortissimo went from a SG of 1.082 prior to adding the grape pack to 1.105 about 30 hours after adding it. (In this case, I was using BM45 yeast, which is a slow starter, giving lots of time for the sugars to dissolve before the yeast eat them.)

 

[bigeasy]

I started this kit about two weeks ago. I added the grape pack directly to the juice (a mistake, won't do that again). My SG after mixing was 1.100.

 

[calvin]

Oh wow. Thanks!. Any way to measure abv after the wine is complete? I guess it doesn't really matter that much but would be nice to know Probably around 14% after its finished?


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[sour_grapes]

Tell yourself that it will be 13.5%, and you will be correct to within 0.5% one way or the other!

 

[bigeasy]

Oh wow. Thanks!. Any way to measure abv after the wine is complete? I guess it doesn't really matter that much but would be nice to know Probably around 14% after its finished?


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I use this one.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

 

[calvin]

That works


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[tonyt]

This question was asked a while back Tim V. of Wine Expert on another forum. He said that the grape pack would add additional sugars to bring the SG up to the company's target. He said this would happen over several days and that a 1.08? SG was normal. He also said NOT to add additional sugars to get to 10.90 SG. Unfortunately for me I didn't see his post in time and I added sugar. Btw that's an excellent kit.

 

[calvin]

Thanks tony

I just pushed down the grape pack and stirred again. Fermenting very well now. The sg is still 1.094.

This kit is going to test my patience. I I'm exited to try it already.


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[tonyt]

Thanks tony

I just pushed down the grape pack and stirred again. Fermenting very well now. The sg is still 1.094.

This kit is going to test my patience. I I'm exited to try it already.


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Relax and have a glass of wine, it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

 

[GaDawg]

“Oh Lord. Give me coffee to change the things I can change, and red wine to accept the things I can’t.”

 

[turkeylipz]

This question was asked a while back Tim V. of Wine Expert on another forum. He said that the grape pack would add additional sugars to bring the SG up to the company's target. He said this would happen over several days and that a 1.08? SG was normal. He also said NOT to add additional sugars to get to 10.90 SG. Unfortunately for me I didn't see his post in time and I added sugar. Btw that's an excellent kit.

What? And it ruined your kit?

Increasing Alcohol content with sugar? http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7019

 

[wineh]

I use this one.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

That's an automated version of:
start SG minus finish SG times 131.
(SSG-FSG)x131=%alcohol.
Our new problem is that the kit manuafcturers are using the grapeskin packs to chaptalize the kits, and we can't get a valid start SG. I have had some success squeezing the heck out of the bag in the primary before pitching, but I'm still not sure. Having said that, my eclipse kits have been indicating 13% to 13.5%.

 

[Abs]

I'm making this same kit for the second time. First time it came out awesome.
This time I noticed a difference after primary fermentation. The wine was very astringent.
It may be from a few things I did differently:
-I may have put too much water in (SG started low)
-I didn't knock down the skins under the cap each day
-I left it in the primary fermenter for 18 days instead of 7
-I may have ringed out the skins to much when I removed them.

Thoughts on a wine being too astringent after primary? Last time it was very sweet after primary.

Any ideas what I can do to fix it now that it is in the secondary phase?

Thanks
Abs


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[sour_grapes]

Okay, I am a newbie, but I am going to speculate. It is possible that the extended time you left this sitting on the grape pack extracted too much tannin from the skins/pips. As I understand it, tannins from pips (seeds) are especially bitter and astringent. After all, in "real" winemaking, the juice is pressed off the skins a lot earlier than 18 days:

From the source of all knowledge:

In red wine production the timing of when to press is one of the most important decisions in the wine making process since that will be the moment that maceration and phenolic extraction ceases. Some winemakers use the decreasing sugar level (such as brix measurement) scale and press once the wine has reached complete dryness. Often winemakers will use taste to determine if the wine has extracted enough tannins to produce a balanced wine and may press before complete dryness (such as at 3-8 brix).

I suspect the "fix" is aging time.

 

[sour_grapes]

Oh, also take a look at this guide from MoreWine, particularly the section on extended maceration on pp. 20-21. http://www.morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/wredw.pdf

 

[Abs]

Thanks Sour Grapes! I hope the aging will help as well!


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[geek]

Eclipse Lodi Ranch 11 Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Kit

Btw that's an excellent kit.

Tony, can you provide a bit more detail on your experience with this kit, how young did you taste it, how long you aged, etc.

I can get this kit for $111.85 (on sale) plus shipping.

 

[tonyt]

Tony, can you provide a bit more detail on your experience with this kit, how young did you taste it, how long you aged, etc.

I can get this kit for $111.85 (on sale) plus shipping.

Pitched the yeast last April. Since this was my first Eclipse I didn't stray too far from the instructions. During bulk aging I added 1.5 tsp of tannin, one French Medium oak spiral and racked down to 5.5 gallon carboy. Bottled in October of 2013. So it is nearly a year since pitch and four months in bottle. I have only tasted a split or so a few weeks ago and am extremely pleased. I hope to not drink more than a few more splits until Fall. Hope this helps.