RJ Spagnols EP Delu Ranch Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

K&GB

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Messages
657
Reaction score
0
Got the EP cab yesterday, and I'm getting ready to start it. Pics to follow. I would appreciate any advice from those who have made this kit previously. Did you put the grape skins in the strainer bag or just mix them in the must? Did you use extra oak during bulk aging? How did the finished wine turn out? Thanks in advance.


Ken
 
Ken, I use large nylon 5 gallon paint strainer bags instead of the little hops sack they give you. I use all the oak in primary, and I follow the 14 instructions. I place the skins in a nice loose bag, and I have a spoon that I keep in the primary which keeps the bag submerged so I don't have to stir (punch down). Others have used sanitized shot glasses to keep the bag submerged as well.

I use a 10+ gallon (46L) primary so the spoon fits once I cut 6" off the end. Again, I use all the oak, stir it in well, take my readings, then add the skins and submerge them.

You are using the new formulation of the EP. The previous versions did not come with skins, but if the skins are going to add anything to an already incredible wine, you are in for a real treat. This wine will taste quite good at even 6 months, but you will be doing yourself a real disservice by drinking it then. It really requires 18 months or more to get good.
 
Thanks Dean! Think I'll go start that kit now...
smiley1.gif
 
Started the EP Cab tonight with the help of my father-in-law.


20081107_195123_Cab_1.JPG



Kit contents...


20081107_195238_Cab_2.JPG



Unlike the cellar craft kits, the EP comes with dried grape skins...


20081107_195409_Cab_3.JPG



My father-in-law making sure we follow the directions to a tee...


20081107_195609_Cab_7.JPG



Sanitizing everything with my spray bottle of sulphite solution...


20081107_195738_Cab_4.JPG



This is so much fun!!!


20081107_200029_Cab_8.JPG



We siphoned the must from the bladder into the primary.


20081107_200203_Cab_11.JPG







20081107_200337_Cab_10.JPG



We put the grapeskins into the strainer bag along with both bags of oak chips.


20081107_200500_Cab_12.JPG



Pitching the yeast
smiley20.gif



20081107_200647_Cab_13.JPG



All done. Just waiting for the little yeasties to take off!!!
smiley4.gif



20081107_200915_Cab_14.JPG
 
Looks good! You even put the oak in the bag huh! Never tried that and didnt think that it would even fit. The Winery series comes with the non-dried grape skins in the container.
 
Looks like that will really be a good one, nice to see family take an interest and "pitch" in (pun intended). Hmm , wonder what you'll get the folks for the holidays....maybe a starter kit from George!
 
Fermentation going strong! Time to stir it up a bit.
20081109_090112_Cab_15.JPG



Getting everyone involved in the wine chores...
smiley4.gif
This is Gina's mother, Jean. Guess I snuck up on her with the camera...
smiley36.gif



20081109_090316_Cab_16.JPG
 
I seem to remember this story about Tom Sawyer and white washing a fence...
smiley2.gif
 
Racked to secondary last night and now the airlock is bubbling steadily. Interesting note about the dried grapeskins. They never really absorbed much liquid. I expected the strainer bag to expand, but it didn't. Gave it a good squeeze before discarding it, but this grape pack is nothing like the cellar craft grape packs.
 
Our batch of this kit is still in primary, today is day 5. We mixed the grape pack into the juice and have been stirring each day. Last night our SG was at 1.026 so we'll likely be racking to secondary tomorrow night or even wait until Saturday.
smiley1.gif
 
Ken, I started my first Cellar Craft kit a couple of weeks ago. The grape pack is great. I am surprised at how much bubbling is going on in the airlock. Much more active than any of the other kits.

This is the Yakima Valley Syrah.
 
Good luck on your Syrah, UAV. I too love the CC kits. Unfortunately, none of mine are old enough to evaluate the finished wines.


Marcnadine, please keep us up to date on your experience with this kit. I'm considering some medium toast french oak after clearing.Edited by: K&GB
 
We're also thinking of adding some medium toast French oak cubes for aging. I think our primary is complete now and we'll likely be racking tonight into the carboy for secondary. The kit sure smells good so far!! Hunter Blue takes a big whiff at the airlock every time he goes by it, silly beagle!
 
Bottled this wine on Labor Day, and it is the best red I've ever tasted at bottling. Very recognizable cab nose and flavor, and the medium toast french oakI used turned outwonderful. Gonna be hard to wait for this to bottle age...
smiley2.gif
 
Ken, I have this kit primed and ready to start. How much extra oak did you use and how long did you leave it?
 
K&GB,

It's been awhile now, have you gotten to taste test this cab lately? How was it? (Or maybe I should ask if there is any of it left
smiley36.gif
)
I am getting ready to order this kit (At least I'm pretty sure about it).
Anything you would do differently?
Have you had any of the acid crystals form, yet?

My wife and I will be visiting the Lodi area in late March. I will spend a week in that area, including much of the rest of the Central Valley and Central Coast regions. We will be there specifically to visit the wineries.

We go to one of the California winery regions every year in late March (Spring Break).
 

Latest posts

Back
Top