Mosti Mondiale Masters versus Alljuice Shiraz?

[grilljockey]

Can anyone weigh in on either or both of the Alljuice and Masters Shiraz'?



I'm thinking about doing a Cote Rotie blend with 8% or so Viognier (thinking about the Cellar Craft Viognier because I hear great things about it).


I'd bottle half of it straight up and the other half I'd try the blend out.


I'm relatively new to kit making and tend to enjoy your typical $10-12 commercial wines that rate 88+ points (although I know that ratings can be very suspect..so I use them as a guide only).


Any thoughts on what the quality difference would be between the AJ and Masters in general? I'm thinking that the Master's might take 3 or so months longer to come around? I'm planning on not cracking the first bottle for at least one year from start. Wel...best intentions anyway...

.


By the way, just sampled my AJ CDPwhich is only 6 months old. Wow...lots of great character in that one. Very impressed so far!

 

[Joanie]

I have a Masters Shiraz waiting in the wings. I looked at the Allljuice as well but went with the Masters because of the raisins. I have the Masters Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio bottled and aging and I have been really pleased with both. I know the Shiraz will be just as good.

What's grillin'?

 

[Jim M]

I bottled the AJ Shiraz about a month ago. It was so good at bottling, I felt like reducing the number of bottles by one. A winner!!

Jim

 

[Mark]

I started the AJ Shiraz in September 2007 (my third kit and first MM), bottled in January 2008 (made per instructions with the exception of extra carboy time), and it tasted pretty good at bottling time.I opened one in March 2008, and it had picked up some additional "harshness" that wasn't there at bottling butfigured it was just a normal part of maturing. I told myself I'd let this one sit for at least 1 year, and I expect it to be pretty good by then.

 

[JimCook]

Grill Jockey,


I have a Masters Outback Shiraz in bulk aging currently - the alcohol by volume is over 16% and a taste before aging showed a good acid balance with the alcohol. The color is true to varietal standards and the aroma has rich, dark berry notes. The Masters kit comes with dried raisins, but I'm not sure as to the specific differences between the AJ and Masters Shiraz kits. I have not seen the AJ Shiraz for comparison, but wanted to present some Masters information here. I know there are a couple people on this forum that have made this kit as well.


- Jim

 

[Joanie]

Wow! It ends up at 16%? Do the raisins bump it up that much??

 

[JimCook]

Joan,


Believe it or not, that is the pure abv of the kit - 16.1%. The starting s.g. was something crazy like 1.115, but I don't have the numbers in front of me. I had posted it a ways back, but I can't find the post. It fermented down so low that there were only a couple of lines left in the hydrometer to read. I didn't even figure anything for the raisins as I didn't find any consistent information on abv-boosting calculation methods.


I figure I'll call it the 'Atom Bomb Shiraz' or 'Sleeping Dragon Shiraz,' as it packs a punch but is pretty smooth. As an added bonus, If you swirl and smell at about the same time, you can replace the need for most over the counter antihistamines.


- Jim

 

[Joanie]

As an added bonus, If you swirl and smell at about the same time, you can replace the need for most over the counter antihistamines.


- Jim

Hopefully I can hold off having a cold untill well after it's bottled!

 

[Jackie]

I haven't tried either so I shouldn't comment but will anyway. I believe the Masters Edition to be the higher quality juice--just one step below the Meglioli. I also believe the Masters Outback Shiraz will prob more true to the style of an Australian Shiraz if that's what you're after and it's designed to be oakier (a level "3" versus a "2" in the description and a smokey flavor per descr).

 

[JimCook]

Jackie,


As someone who has spent thousands of dollars on Australian Shiraz wines, I'll let you know how this one turns out. I'm pretty sure the container said the juice came of the USA, so we'll see how similar it is, especially if the 'meaty' characteristic that's so common in full Australian Shiraz wines is present.


- Jim

 

[Milwood]

I started an AJ Shiraz back in May and I am going to be bottling it here in the next few days. It has by far the most body of any of the wines that I have made to date. An interesting note that I haven't heard much about on the forum...due to the high number of solids present in the All Juice kits, they tend to form a lot of lees and I found myself adding more wine to top up than I had with previous kits. I think I have added about 3 bottles of finished wine to keep topped up. Is this normal for this type of wine kit? It makes sense from a scientific standpoint but at one point I wasn't sure if I should condense it down to a 5 gal carboy or add finished wine to keep it in a 6 gal. Any thoughts on this? What have most of you been doing with the All Juice kits?

 

[Wade E]

I try not to add any wines. I have a collection of various sized bottles and jugs and work it out that way. I typically eventually turn to the 5 gallon carboy and a 3 liter jug. I usually dont have to do that with MM kits though as they are typically more then 23 liters to start with in my experience. RJS with the skins and MM kits typically end up with a 6 gallon carboy and a 750 bottle after transferring from bucket. You might not be letting the less compact enough and losing to much wine. I almost always run short with W.E. kits though.

 

[geocorn]

You are probably leaving too much wine behind on the early rackings. In addition, never rack a kit wine more than 4 times, including the first racking from the bucket.


Wade's suggestion of having various size jugs and bottles handy is also a very good suggestion. As a rule, we normally add no more than the equivalent of 1 bottle of wine to any batch.

 

[Milwood]

I think you are right about leaving too much wine after transferring from the bucket. I remember that there was more wine than I could fit in the 6 gallon carboy and I didn't have anywhere else to store it. Looks like I need to grab a few smaller containers along with the stoppers and airlocks to fit them. Which size stopper fits the standard 750 ml wine bottle? I have a 1\2 gallon and 1 gallon jug that I can use as well.

 

[JimCook]

As a guy who tends to take directions rather literally, I find it funny that if you follow the instructions and then 'do not rack any of the sediment,' you will leave behind a lot of juice. I talked to George about this a ways back and he said to just suck some stuff up, as it will settle out and compress further down as the wine sits during the stabilizing/clarifying stage. I still end up needing to use 1-1.5 bottles to top up either way, as the autosiphon will only get so much liquid out (even with tipping the carboy). Any suggestions on how to squeak some more juice while sucking up the lees for this racking after secondary fermentation is complete?


- Jim

 

[Wade E]

Jim what I do is tip the carboy aftew adding fining agent and let the lees compact on 1 side and let the wine sit a little more time then stated in the directions and when ready to rack again I slowly tip the carboy the other way so as that your auto siphon or racking cane is in the side where there is little or no sediment.

 

[uavwmn]

Jim, what stopper or airlock does fit a 750ml wine bottle?

 

[JimCook]

uavwmn,


Here's the stopper: http://www.finevinewines.com/Product_Match.asp


By the picture, it looks like it's made for a barrel, because I think all the stoppers have the same or similar pictures to them, but it fits a 750mL bottle beautifully and is drilled for a regular airlock. George's sizing chart (http://www.finevinewines.com/Bung_Sizing_Chart.htm) can help as well for different sized stoppers.


- Jim

 

[uavwmn]

Jim, lol, I see all the stoppers for carboys. Which one exactly fits a 750ml bottle?

 

[geocorn]

Gum Stopper #2 Drilled Rubber, 4608 .