Mosti Mondiale Master's Outback Shiraz...add pressed skins?

[grilljockey]

I have a Master's Outback Shiraz that I am getting ready to start soon. I have been really excited to get this kit and I have very high hopes for it.

This past fall I made my first venture into using grapes from the Suisun Valley. I don't have a press, so I ended up doing a hand squeeze rather than a real press. I then bagged and froze the skins. I have the spent skins of 100 lbs of Cab and Merlot mixed, and also 100 lbs of spent Petite Syrah skins.

Half of me is tempted to throw some skins in with the ferment on this kit...but the other half of me doesn't want to potentially mess up a good kit. I am going to add skins to a RJ Spag's Supertuscan as an experiment.

So if it were your kit and you had the skins, would you add them to the ferment? If I do, I'm leaning to the Petite Syrah skins rather than the Cab/Merlot. The PS is inky purple, and seems to taste much better than the Cab/Merlot 6 months into aging.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[vcasey]

I would lean towards the PS as well because of the similar spicy profile. If you make fruit wines the skins would be a nice addition in those as well. I added some malbec skins to 1/2 of my cherry muscadine and I can tell the difference in both color and flavor. I wish the kit wine makers would make a PS kit with skins, that has got to be one of my favorite wines, even when I'm not drinking it at the time.
VPC

 

[jeffhigdon]

Grill, I don't have enough experience to be giving advice, but I did this kit 1 1/2 years ago. It's very dark, big, bold. When I tasted at 6 & 9 months, I thought I'd ruined it somehow since I didn't care for it at all. At 12 - 13 months, I couldn't believe how much it had changed and how much I liked it. I don't know what additional skins would do, but I think if you make it as-is, you'll like it if you give it enough time.

 

[TankCa]

I used pressed skins (pomice) from fresh Merlot grapes this fall on a MM AJ CabMerlot and MM AJ Merlot and both kits look to be very good so far. I plan to do it again this fall.


Both kits have good body, color and flavor profile.


Steve

 

[Wade E]

I dont think I would add any o that kit or the Super Tuscan RJS unless that 1 is a Grand Cru kit or similar with grape pack. I would buy some cheaper kits and add your grapes to them to improve them. I surely would not play with a Masters or RJS grape pack kit as they are awesome as is.

 

[grilljockey]

Yeah...I planned on getting a cheaper kit to use my skins on, but when I showed up to the 'not so local' shop, I found that they were having a major sale. I ended up with both kits for like $250. The price reduction allowed me to upgrade on the second kit, and she had a RJS Cellar Series Supertuscan that was really young, but was maybe one of the best kits I have tried!

I'll think this one through a bit more. I might start the ferment on each, then pull out a gallon to throw some skins on and finish the other five gallons of each on their own.

I love to experiment...but I don't want to screw the pooch on these...