geocorn
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Today I started 3 different wine kits from the Mosti Mondiale MM)line with the assistance of a local customer, Mike Foreman (mikeforeman is his forum name). The kitswere the
La Bodega Port
All Juice Chardonnay
Rennaisance Carmenere
I started out by reading the instructions for each kit TWICE to make sure I knew what to do and to identify differences between the MM kits and the Winexpert (WE) kits. There are some notible differences and I will highlight them below:
First, with theWE kits, the bentonite is the first thing you put in the bucket along with 2 liters (1/2 gallon) of water. With the MM kits, you disolve the bentonite in 8 ounces of cold water for 30 minutes before adding to the must. After seeing how bentonite can clump up, I will admit I was sceptical.
After 30 minutes, I examined the bentonite and it had greatly swelled to a point were it filled half of the water. Mike and I both thought the benonite looked like swollen maccaroni. I stirred the bentonite and it quickly dissolved. I poured it into the must and stirred. Seemed to work like the directions indicate.
Second, WE kits tell you to sprinkle the yeast on top. MM kits tell you to rehydrate the yeast according to the instructions on the yeast packet. The Port kit went as far as to specifically tell you to NOT SPRINKLE THE YEAST ON TOP! Once again, I followed the instructions and rehydrated the yeast in 106 degree water. 15 minutes later the yeast was bubbling away, so I added it to the must.
Thirdly, WE kits come with oak powder and/or very small oak chips; whereas, the MM kits come with larger oak chips. WE tells you to put the oak in the primary and MM tells you to wait and add the oak after the first racking. Based on the size of the oak chips in the MM kits, I understand the rational. The oak chips will need more time to allow the tannins to be removed because of the size of the chip. If you added them in the primary, they would not be finished in 5-7 days. The MM kit will spend 2 weeks in secondary which will more than double the exposure time of the oak to the wine and result in more tannin and flavor extraction.
MM also tells you to do the first racking at 1.020 instead of 1.010. This faster racking probably has something to do with oak by adding it while fermentation is still going and to give the oak longer time in secondary.
I would also like to point out that the Port had 2 packets of yeast and a pouch of raisins. With WE kits, you would add all of the flavoring additions, exept an F-Pack, before you pitch the yeast. As a result, I grabbed the bag of raisins and started to add them to the must. Then, I decided to re-read the instructions and guess what? The instructions said to wait 24 hours before adding the raisins.
I have heard some complaints about the instructions from the MM kits, but I found them fairly easy to follow, once I took the time to read and re-read them. The process is slightly different from WE, but like WE, MM has made a lot of kits and knows what is best for their products.
I hope this helps, but if you have any questions, please ask.
I will post more as I progress through the process. No, I did not take pictures. The battery in my camera was dead.
La Bodega Port
All Juice Chardonnay
Rennaisance Carmenere
I started out by reading the instructions for each kit TWICE to make sure I knew what to do and to identify differences between the MM kits and the Winexpert (WE) kits. There are some notible differences and I will highlight them below:
First, with theWE kits, the bentonite is the first thing you put in the bucket along with 2 liters (1/2 gallon) of water. With the MM kits, you disolve the bentonite in 8 ounces of cold water for 30 minutes before adding to the must. After seeing how bentonite can clump up, I will admit I was sceptical.
Second, WE kits tell you to sprinkle the yeast on top. MM kits tell you to rehydrate the yeast according to the instructions on the yeast packet. The Port kit went as far as to specifically tell you to NOT SPRINKLE THE YEAST ON TOP! Once again, I followed the instructions and rehydrated the yeast in 106 degree water. 15 minutes later the yeast was bubbling away, so I added it to the must.
Thirdly, WE kits come with oak powder and/or very small oak chips; whereas, the MM kits come with larger oak chips. WE tells you to put the oak in the primary and MM tells you to wait and add the oak after the first racking. Based on the size of the oak chips in the MM kits, I understand the rational. The oak chips will need more time to allow the tannins to be removed because of the size of the chip. If you added them in the primary, they would not be finished in 5-7 days. The MM kit will spend 2 weeks in secondary which will more than double the exposure time of the oak to the wine and result in more tannin and flavor extraction.
MM also tells you to do the first racking at 1.020 instead of 1.010. This faster racking probably has something to do with oak by adding it while fermentation is still going and to give the oak longer time in secondary.
I would also like to point out that the Port had 2 packets of yeast and a pouch of raisins. With WE kits, you would add all of the flavoring additions, exept an F-Pack, before you pitch the yeast. As a result, I grabbed the bag of raisins and started to add them to the must. Then, I decided to re-read the instructions and guess what? The instructions said to wait 24 hours before adding the raisins.
I have heard some complaints about the instructions from the MM kits, but I found them fairly easy to follow, once I took the time to read and re-read them. The process is slightly different from WE, but like WE, MM has made a lot of kits and knows what is best for their products.
I hope this helps, but if you have any questions, please ask.
I will post more as I progress through the process. No, I did not take pictures. The battery in my camera was dead.