First Batch WE Sonoma Pinot Noir

[johnl]

Hi all-
I'm new to wine making myself but have many friends and family that have taken up the hobby. I opted to go with a kit for my first attempt and chose to make the Eclipse Sonoma Pinot Noir kit.

I started primary fermentation on Jan 12th. I used bottled FIJI spring water. My starting sg was 1.105. My temp range in the primary fermentation area was 72 degrees f. I tested sg after six days and found it to be 1.005, so I racked to a six gallon glass carboy.
I moved the carboy to a more consistent, slightly warmer temperature area that maintains 73-75 degrees f. I tested the sg of the primary
fermentation at day 7, sg was 1.002; tested at day 11 and sg was at 1.001; and tested yesterday, day 15, and found sg at 1.000.

As of today, I have not added sorbate, meta or the chitosan. (I'm at the end of step 2 and trying to be patient!)

My questions are:
1) with a starting sg at 1.105 (five thousandths above the referenced starting range in my kit directions of 1.080-1.100), will my ending sg be .005 higher than the directions in the kit reflect I should be at the end of the secondary fermentation process (.996 or less), so I should only expect sg of 1.001or less?

2) Do I need to just continue to wait and be patient and it will eventually hit the .996?

3)is there anything that could be hurting the wine at this point? Will it be damaged if I continue to let it go? I have not attempted to degas.

Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[Buehler91]

forget about it for a couple of weeks and then recheck it. head space is good and if you haven't degassed you should be ok.

 

[johnl]

Thanks. Not sure why I'm blowing by the ten days or so the kit tells me to wait, but from what I've read on the boards here, patience and time are on your side in most cases. It sounds like it should eventually hit the .996 or lower then, even with the higher starting sg them?

 

[wineforfun]

You don't need to add the sorbate if you are not backsweetening it.

 

[johnl]

Do I need to add the meta and chitosan that came with the kit? Not planning to back sweeten, but the WE directions did say that if I planned to age more than six months to add like a 1/4 tsp of sorbate at the time I rack to final clarification carboy. So should I add more if I don't add any now...or do I need to add sorbate at all? What about oak spirals to increase the oak nuance/finish? It came with the powder, but I don't really detect any oakiness whatsoever right now.

 

[wineforfun]

I would add the K-Meta and chitosan, as directed. Not sure why they would tell you to sorbate without backsweetening, maybe someone else will chime in. I only sorbate when backsweetening. I did a RJS OVZ kit and never used the sorbate as I ran it dry and didn't backsweeten.

Sorry, can't help you with the oak. Mine too, came with the powder and it has hints of oak, but is only 3 months in the bottle so I am hoping time will bring forward more of the flavor and oak. If you really want an oaky flavor, then I would add the spiral or chips, but you may want to wait on that and keep taking tasting samples along the way to make sure you still want to add it.

 

[johnl]

Thanks Wines- good advice and much appreciated. With this being my first attempt,with the exception of taking more time than instructed, I think I may just try to follow the directions as closely as possible, hoping to establish a baseline of what I can hopefully expect to produce. With that being said, if they (WE) are telling me to do something that isn't necessary, is a shortcut just to speed up the process to sell me another kit, or something that could possibly deteriorate or lower the quality of wine I will produce, I'd really like to know those types of things from you guys here with the experience and know-how I hope to acquire someday

 

[cmason1957]

Do I need to add the meta and chitosan that came with the kit? Not planning to back sweeten, but the WE directions did say that if I planned to age more than six months to add like a 1/4 tsp of sorbate at the time I rack to final clarification carboy. So should I add more if I don't add any now...or do I need to add sorbate at all? What about oak spirals to increase the oak nuance/finish? It came with the powder, but I don't really detect any oakiness whatsoever right now.

I have done several WE kits, maybe even this one. I am pretty sure they did NOT say to add extra sorbate if bulk aging. They probably said to add more potassium meta bi sulfite. All WE kits have you add sorbate, without regard to if the final wine is dry or sweetened. If you plan to leave it dry, you don't have to add the sorbate, if you are certain the SG got down to below 1.000

 

[johnl]

Cmason,
Thank you for the comment and you are correct. I mistakenly stated the sorbate was to be be added in step 4...it is actually the pot metabisulphite to prevent oxidation.

So, add or not add the sorbate in step 3, stabilizing and clearing? What are the pros vs cons? If I don't need to or if it possibly alters taste I guess I don't care to add it.
Thanks in advance! I really appreciate all the help everyone!
John

 

[ibglowin]

What is the temp in your wine making area as well as the temp of the wine. The instructions/timeline are just a guideline of sorts. Everything depends on the temps in your room and the temp of the must. You may need to warm up the must if its cold in order to get it to finish out. You need to get down to 0.998 or lower for it to be considered dry.

 

[cmason1957]

The sorbate is there to prevent a restart of fermentation. Some folks claim to be able to taste it, I am not one of those. Some day to wait to add the sorbate until the wine is nearly ready to bottle or not at all for a dry wine. It is probably one of those ask 10 winemakers get 11 opinion kinds of things. I have taken to not adding it to dry wines, kit or not.

 

[seth8530]

I would not add sorbate unless you plan on backsweetinig. Also, depending on the yeast strain and conditions present it is possible for your FG to end on target even if it started out 5 points higher than suggested.

 

[johnl]

Again, thanks so much everyone. Such a wealth of knowledge here! The area the carboy is in is a constant 73-75 degrees and I've raised it up off the concrete on a thick composite rubber pad...so not in contact with the concrete floor. I have not checked the temp of the wine. Like I mentioned previously, it was sitting at 1.000 about two days ago. I think I'll let it set for another week or two...if it checks out at .998-.996 or lower, I'll degas it, stabilize it with the metabisulphite (says to add the chitosan at this point too) and start the clarification process. If I degas and then wait a month, then rack into a clean carboy and I bulk age in the caraboy for 3 months-6 months, would I even necessarily need to use the chitosan? I've read a lot out here that states you can let it clarify naturally without adding clarifying agents? Thoughts? Thanks in advance again.

 

[seth8530]

It is perfectly possible to have wonderfully clear wine without adding fining agents or even force degassing your wine. I have never degassed one of my wines before, but I instead let it bulkage around a year before I even consider putting it into a bottle.

I do however, tend to use fining agents to help ensure my wine is clear. Also, if possible I would recommend keeping the wine cold for a few weeks to get the acid crystals to drop out.

 

[johnl]

At what point would I cold stabilize?

 

[seth8530]

Well, I have a temperature controlled deep freezer so I personally would do it anytime during bulk aging once the gross lees were all gone.

 

[kevinlfifer]

I did this kit and sg went to .994 so wait it out. Also, don't even try it for a year, it is then very good. I have one bottle left from the 2012 batch I am holding for a special occasion, like the snow stopping.

Skip the sorbate.

You sound like me making the first batches. I was always in a rush to get a result and have bottled product. Slow way down. Let it set under airlock for a few days longer than the instructions.

I have a juice bucket going now that has been in secondary since Dec 22. Still sg is above 1.0 @1.001. I will wait till March if I have to.

 

[johnl]

Kevin-
Thank you. I appreciate hearing that. I have been stressing about not hitting the dates/timeline they impress upon you in the instructions and thought I must be doing something wrong...or that something had gone wrong. Again, thanks for sharing your lessons learned. Very much appreciated!