Other Frozen must and wine kit?

[ColemanM]

I'm thinking about getting a frozen grape must pail online and I had a question. Has anyone used an unbalanced grape must with a wine kit? Wine kits are spot on for their Ph, TA and brix, so I'm wondering if this would throw the balance out of whack? I would not be using the potassium sorbate, but would the grape must need to go through malo? Was thinking cab grape must with Sangiovese wine kit. Maybe just better to buy a super Tuscan and call it a day??


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[salcoco]

the grape must would add some tannin to the kit. yes the balance would be affected. MLF of a kit is not suggested as large amount malic acid in kit . MLF will leave a flabby wine.
suggest buying a Super Tuscan wine kit.

 

[byathread]

Hmmm, I was thinking to suggest you ferment your Cab from grapes separately then blend some into your Sangiovese kit down the road. But then I worried that perhaps the MLB from your Cab could kick off MLF in the kit. As I've not yet worked with fresh grapes or MLF I'm not sure what impact sulphiting has on the long-term viability of ML. Curious if someone could fill me in on that?

Listen to Sal, just buy a Super Tuscan kit.

 

[salcoco]

proper sulfite protocol will stop MLF.

 

[Pumpkinman]

I agree with Sal:

The addition of a Malolactic bacteria to wine kits should not be attempted. This is due to the fact that most juices are tartrate-stabilized prior to concentrating or blending, and thus contain a very high proportion of malic acid. Malolactic fermentation would convert this malic acid to lactic, leaving a kit with a pH above 3.8, and a flabby, soft character. It would also be susceptible to bacterial infections.

Also, there are some situations where a very small amount of sorbate may be present in juices or concentrates. Malolactic fermentation in the presence of sorbate yields hexadienol, which produces the strong and disagreeable odor of rotting geraniums - an unfixable and highly undesirable outcome!

If you purchase a Juice bucket and add 10 or so lbs of fresh destemmed and crushed grapes it will render a finished product that is almost identical to wine made from fresh grapes.

 

[ColemanM]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I just tasted my 14 month old WE Lodi ranch 11 Cab last night and was surprised how good the mouthfeel was. So I decided instead of frozen must, I will try a CC Rosso fortissimo.


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