I'll be picking up my first juice bucket this Saturday from Harford Winery and just want to get some input on my recipe/process. It'll be 6 gallons of California Viognier. I chose it because it's a pretty obscure wine that won't carry any preconceptions for how it's supposed to taste. Also, I've had a couple bottles of commercial stuff and thought it was pretty good.
So my thoughts are:
I'll get it Saturday and add 1/4 tsp K-meta, 3 tsp pectic enzyme, and any sugar needed to get the OG to 1.09.
Sunday I'll pitch my yeast (Lalvin ICV-D47) along with 2 Tbsp yeast nutrient. Cover with the lid (no air lock) and let ferment until 1.01.
Once it's at 1.01 I'll rack into a 6 gallon carboy for it to bulk age until about March or so. Then I'll backsweeten until it's off-dry (I'm thinking just 1.00 but not sure) and bottle.
From what I've read juice buckets come balanced so no need to adjust acidity or pH. I have some acid blend I could add post-bulk aging if it's not quite crisp enough.
Does this seem like a good procedure? It seems pretty simple but maybe KISS is best. Up until now I've done Welch's sweet fruity wines (backsweetened to 1.02) so that's been able to mask any issues I might have had. This will be my first regular wine that'll be fairly dry and I'd like it to go smoothly and be tasty. I skipped right over kit wines so I'm a little nervous and not sure if I'm in over my head.
Thanks for any input!
-Jason
So my thoughts are:
I'll get it Saturday and add 1/4 tsp K-meta, 3 tsp pectic enzyme, and any sugar needed to get the OG to 1.09.
Sunday I'll pitch my yeast (Lalvin ICV-D47) along with 2 Tbsp yeast nutrient. Cover with the lid (no air lock) and let ferment until 1.01.
Once it's at 1.01 I'll rack into a 6 gallon carboy for it to bulk age until about March or so. Then I'll backsweeten until it's off-dry (I'm thinking just 1.00 but not sure) and bottle.
From what I've read juice buckets come balanced so no need to adjust acidity or pH. I have some acid blend I could add post-bulk aging if it's not quite crisp enough.
Does this seem like a good procedure? It seems pretty simple but maybe KISS is best. Up until now I've done Welch's sweet fruity wines (backsweetened to 1.02) so that's been able to mask any issues I might have had. This will be my first regular wine that'll be fairly dry and I'd like it to go smoothly and be tasty. I skipped right over kit wines so I'm a little nervous and not sure if I'm in over my head.
Thanks for any input!
-Jason