I just got my Grand Cru Cab Sauv Wine Kit. I didn't want to spend the 150$ for premier grapes since this will be my first wine batch ever. Any tips or suggestions you may have before I undergo this operation will be very helpful. I have to wait until my skeeter pee is finished in my primary before I can start this process. UGHHH
Grand Cru Cab Sauv. Wine Kit
- Thread starter rosa6329
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Speaking from limited experience here, and no experience with this particular wine kit line, but in general I suggest paying careful attention to sanitation, following the instructions for fermenting, vigorously degassing (with vacuum assistance if you can) at the specified time, and allowing the wine to condition in a carboy (topped off with a similar wine) for several weeks longer than the manufacturer suggests before bottling.
Specific questions are easier to address.
Good luck.
Specific questions are easier to address.
Good luck.
For degassing I either have a spoon or those whip things that you attach to a drill. And when you say topped off with a similar wine essentially another cab sauv wine rather than water? What's another similar wine to this? For sanitation, all I have is c-brite rinsed off with very hot water. That should be enough right?
Rosa, I made this kit 14 mo. ago, & just bottled it this week. Very good for a mid price kit. I tend to bulk age longer than most, & add extra oak. Other than that I followed instructions. it was good at 3 mo. much better at 14 mo. Will be drinking this over next year while my Amorne & Barola age to 2 years. You can de-gas with the spoon or drill, that's what I did, didn't have my v-pump back then. I topped it off with a cheap bottle of Cab. I would use K-meta to sanitize. Good luck, Roy FightingTown Creek Wines
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So you let this age in your Carboy for that long. Wow! Would you recommend aging in the car boy or glass bottles. While you aged it did you use a airlock or a cork? Also while aging is it ok if you take some out?
I aged it in a 5 gal. carboy for 8 mo. Then I put it into 1 gal. jugs [needed the carboy] I seal the jug screw tops with a wax bath, & put away for more aging. Main reason is I won't open a jug for a drink, but I WILL open bottles. Also with the 1 gal. jugs I add extra oak to some, blend some etc. Then after a year+ I take 4-5 gal. jugs of different red wines, & vac bottle, so I have several different reds to enjoy the next few months [after bottle aging another 30+ days] Roy PS I do taste it along the way & just top off with a Cab. Used air lock on the carboys
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To many a sanitation solution with k-meta what do u recommend powder per gallon? Also I might have to use 64 ounce growlers to age it, if I do that can I age it then transfer it into a wine bottle and age it in there?
I use 3 tbls. of k-meta per gallon for sanitizing. Not sure what a 64 oz.growler is, but you can store it in any glass jar as long as you can make it air tight. I store lots of wine in 1/2 gal jugs & 1.5 L. bottles & just drink out of them when needed. I keep the left over refrigerated & with a mushroom cork or a "rabbit" in them. Heck, a lot of days we just drink it all! Roy
You can top with water, but you can also buy an inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon to top off with. You want the level of wine in the carboy to be 1 to 2 inches below the airlock stopper to minimize oxygen contact, but leaving enough room for the wine to expand and contract due to temperature changes.
Yes, use an airlock on the carboy.
I don't have any experience with c-brite.
Sodium or potassium metabisulfite mixed 3 tablespoons to a gallon of water is a very effective sanitizer. It's more effective if you add 1 tablespoon citric acid. But it stinks. The fumes can be overwhelming to some people. I can barely stand it myself. It irritates my eyes and nasal passageways and my throat.
Consequently, I use and recommend B-T-F Iodophor. Iodophor is an iodine based sanitizer. Mix it at the rate of 3 ml per gallon of water. It is only effective for as long as it has an amber color, a day or two at the most. But it is very cheap.
You can also use Star San for sanitizing. You can mix up a gallon and use it over and over for a long time, as long as you take care to keep it clean. Star San makes a lot of foam that looks like soap, but it is perfectly safe to consume and won't hurt your wine. Even so, it's kind of creepy until you get used to it.
Yes, use an airlock on the carboy.
I don't have any experience with c-brite.
Sodium or potassium metabisulfite mixed 3 tablespoons to a gallon of water is a very effective sanitizer. It's more effective if you add 1 tablespoon citric acid. But it stinks. The fumes can be overwhelming to some people. I can barely stand it myself. It irritates my eyes and nasal passageways and my throat.
Consequently, I use and recommend B-T-F Iodophor. Iodophor is an iodine based sanitizer. Mix it at the rate of 3 ml per gallon of water. It is only effective for as long as it has an amber color, a day or two at the most. But it is very cheap.
You can also use Star San for sanitizing. You can mix up a gallon and use it over and over for a long time, as long as you take care to keep it clean. Star San makes a lot of foam that looks like soap, but it is perfectly safe to consume and won't hurt your wine. Even so, it's kind of creepy until you get used to it.
Dugger
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These kits are designed to be made at 23 liters ( 6 US Gal) and if you deviate too much from this it will upset the balance of the wine ( sugars, acids, etc).
A few suggestions:
- follow the directions and keep good records since this is your first time
- when you add the water to the juice make sure you mix it well so you get a proper SG reading.
- use the included muslin bag for the grapeskins and stir them into the must ( this is what the wine juice is called) a couple of times a day so they don't dry out.
- you can include the oak in the muslin bag as well if you wish; loose oak might clog up the racking tube when you rack - sometimes you can cut the muslin bag in two and use half for each.
- when the time comes to rack, don't be afraid to carry over some sediment; it will not hurt it and will be removed when you rack again.
- squeeze the grapepack when you remove it to get all the goodness out
- when you degas make sure the wine is around 75*F because the CO2 comes out much easier at that temp
- top up as suggested; if you only need a cup or so, water is okay
- I think you should bottle your wine when it has cleared since you have limited equipment at this time ( it will grow, believe me!!) and once it is in the bottle it is safe
- you will be drinking this early since it your first but try to keep some bottles for a year to see the difference.
Good luck!
Edit - looking back, it didn't say International kit, so if it isn't disregard my comments about the grapeskins.
A few suggestions:
- follow the directions and keep good records since this is your first time
- when you add the water to the juice make sure you mix it well so you get a proper SG reading.
- use the included muslin bag for the grapeskins and stir them into the must ( this is what the wine juice is called) a couple of times a day so they don't dry out.
- you can include the oak in the muslin bag as well if you wish; loose oak might clog up the racking tube when you rack - sometimes you can cut the muslin bag in two and use half for each.
- when the time comes to rack, don't be afraid to carry over some sediment; it will not hurt it and will be removed when you rack again.
- squeeze the grapepack when you remove it to get all the goodness out
- when you degas make sure the wine is around 75*F because the CO2 comes out much easier at that temp
- top up as suggested; if you only need a cup or so, water is okay
- I think you should bottle your wine when it has cleared since you have limited equipment at this time ( it will grow, believe me!!) and once it is in the bottle it is safe
- you will be drinking this early since it your first but try to keep some bottles for a year to see the difference.
Good luck!
Edit - looking back, it didn't say International kit, so if it isn't disregard my comments about the grapeskins.
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cpfan
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Well first, it probably wouldn't ferment because the yeast would not be able to survive in the high-sugar environment.
Second it's not all grape juice. There's a lot of concentrate in that kit. Have a look at the ingredients on the box.
Steve
Thanks Steve!
It's been a long time since anybody commented on this thread, but hopefully someone will see this and have an answer.
I used this wine kit last night and after adding the water required to reach 6 US gallons the specific gravity reading was 1.064. This seemed incredibly low to me (many of my beers start higher than that) and the wine kit instructions said that it should be at least 1.074. This is my first attempt at making wine so I'm not familiar with the entire process yet, but I'm fairly certain that I followed the instructions correctly (all I basically did was dilute the concentrate with enough water to make 6 US gallons). Has anyone else had a problem with with wine kit starting at such a low SG? I supposed it's possible that I hadn't stirred the mixture well enough to get an accurate SG reading, but that seems unlikely to me.
Also, someone mentioned using a vacuum to degas. How does one go about doing that? Is it as simple as hooking a vacuum pump up to my fermentor and letting it run for a couple minutes?
Thanks for the help,
Danny
I used this wine kit last night and after adding the water required to reach 6 US gallons the specific gravity reading was 1.064. This seemed incredibly low to me (many of my beers start higher than that) and the wine kit instructions said that it should be at least 1.074. This is my first attempt at making wine so I'm not familiar with the entire process yet, but I'm fairly certain that I followed the instructions correctly (all I basically did was dilute the concentrate with enough water to make 6 US gallons). Has anyone else had a problem with with wine kit starting at such a low SG? I supposed it's possible that I hadn't stirred the mixture well enough to get an accurate SG reading, but that seems unlikely to me.
Also, someone mentioned using a vacuum to degas. How does one go about doing that? Is it as simple as hooking a vacuum pump up to my fermentor and letting it run for a couple minutes?
Thanks for the help,
Danny
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Welcome to WinemakingTalk Danny!
The stirring you mentioned is the first thing that comes to mind regarding a cause of the low SG. Sometimes it'll take a good minute or two of stirring to blend everything well.
Regarding the degassing, I've only used the stir/whip method and a brake bleeder. The brake bleeder works great. Hopefully those with more experience can chime in on using a pump.
Jim
The stirring you mentioned is the first thing that comes to mind regarding a cause of the low SG. Sometimes it'll take a good minute or two of stirring to blend everything well.
Regarding the degassing, I've only used the stir/whip method and a brake bleeder. The brake bleeder works great. Hopefully those with more experience can chime in on using a pump.
Jim
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I just started a kit with the same SG. I added 2 cups of sugar to boost abv. After it fermented down a bit I added two more cups of sugar to give it another kick. I expect to end up somewhere @ 10abv. This is a little low for me but will make an excellent drink for the ladies on the pontoon this summer.
cpfan
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I have made this kit before (although at least 5 years ago). The SG on it would have been 1.082 to 1.085 (sorry no notes to double check). One thing about how I make wine...I start a 6 US gallon kit in an 11 USG primary and stir VERY strongly/vigourously to ensure that the bentonite is mixed well and that the kit and water are mixed well. Some people use a drill mounted stirrer to get everything mixed well. IMO, small primaries and poor stirring cause the low initial sg readings. [Small primaries do not allow a serious stir that causes a nice vortex.]
Steve
Steve
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