Mosti Mondiale Nero d'Avola

[Mike1973]

Looks great!!

 

[Dominick]

Thanks Mike!

Just took the SG and its at 1.000
I had to take some out and put it in a cup to taste.

tasted great today...very good stuff... strong, just drank 3oz -

it didnt smell like egg in the cup...


i dont like the fact that the carboy still has that slight egg odor, but i will take applemans word for it that it isnt a problem.Edited by: Dominick

 

[Dominick]

PS: how i tested the SG in the carboy, didnt need the floss

i dropped the hydrometer into the wine thief, put thief into carboy, then sucked up some juice into the thief until the hydrometer started to float - pretty much filled up the thief. tapped it few time to get bubbles off and read it.Edited by: Dominick

 

[Dominick]

DAY 10 in 2nd Fermentation/1st Racking.
stirred the crap out of it, took quik pic, it still got nice amount of co2.
-- Egg smell has gone away. - sorry for bad lighting.

After I rack this again to another carboy, i wanna bulk age it in the carboy, being that the liquid level is a little low (my fault) should I add a bottle of Nero and top it up just under 2 inches from the top of the carboy? Or will it be ok to age the way it is?Edited by: Dominick

 

[Wade E]

I would top up with similar wine or get 1 of those cans of inert gas that wine stores sell to save the wine left in a bottle till next time you drink it.

 

[Dominick]

Just tested SG and its at lowest point, the color looks better to then the pic above, now its more dark and clear. Today I bought 3 bottles of this Nero to try, and maybe use to top up for aging.

We opened up one of the bottles and put it in a glass swished it around and smelled it, very strong alcohol smell, touch of olives, not the best nose. Tasted it, was strong, kinda watery, not as dry as mine, and not as good.

I had a few family members taste my wine and the bottle and everyone liked mine better. I also liked mine better not because its mine, because it smells better and tastes a lot better. The bottles i bought were from 2006.

I'm having second thoughts about added this bottle wine to my wine. I have a feeling it will lessen the quality of my wine as this bottle wine is more astringent.

Im looking to rack tomorrow and start aging it. - should I age first then worry about adding the K-Meta, the siligel, liquigel? or should i degass, then add those things to it, then age it?

thnxEdited by: Dominick

 

[Wade E]

If you want to bulk age then you will need to add the k-meta now to keep it from oxidising and sorbate now if you wish but it can wait. As for siligel and liquigel you dont have to add them if you dont want and let time clear it but either way you should degas now so it will clear. If you bulk age you will need to add more k-meta before bottling and the sorbate should be added when adding the k-meta as sorbate should be hand in hand with meta or it could cause a geranium off flavor.

 

[Dominick]

yea step 3 from the MM directions says rack the wine without sediment, degass then add the k-meta pack then add siligel then liquigel, then top it up, then wait 8-10 days to clear, then step 4 if its fully clear fully degas and filter. I wont be filtering. step 5 says add the k-sorbate.

So now im confused and dont want a geranium off flavor. MM says sorbate in 8-10 days after i added the k-meta, and you and others say to add the k-meta and sorbate same time.

Is it ok to wait the 8 to 10days b4 i add the k-sorbate? Or would the benefit more from adding the 2 together at the same time?

ThnxEdited by: Dominick

 

[grapeman]

Dominick, Mosti and others assume that you are making it to bottle soon, so those are their directions for that way. To bulk age longer just requires a couple small changes. The easiest way is to follow their directions up to clearing. You are basically just starting the aging process in the carboy- so you need some k-meta for protection. Go ahead and put it in before aging. That protects it during that time. Then before bottling a few months later, you could filter if you want to but it isn't necessary. Add 1/4 tsp more k-meta at that time(before bottling) since most of what you added earlier has been lost by this time. If you don't have it, just get some to add then.


As far as the geranium smell, that occurs if sorbate has been added to the wine and a malolactic fermentation begins. That is the purpose of the k-meta being added with or before the k-sorbate. The k-meta even in low amounts prevents malo-lactic fermentation from beginning, so no smell.

 

[Dominick]

Thanks appleman! - I think i will just bottle these up and age in the bottle.
I really dont want to top off with the Nero I bought so, Ill just bottle and see how it goes. - Im sure ill be doing more Nero in the future where I will bulk age and see if there is a taste difference from the bottle aged.

Thanks agin...I hope your enjoying all this humidity.. hehe

Edited by: Dominick

 

[Dominick]

Just transfered to another carboy, left sediment and oak chips in old carboy.

Degassed with drill for few minutes.
Added 1/4 tbs of crushed Camden tablets (4 pills)
Added Siligel, stirred with degasser for 2mins then..
Added Liquigel stirred for 3mins with degasser.

Topped up with 2 bottles of Nero below. (I like the bottle style)

Degassed a little more.

Put airlock back on with s-meta solution 1/2 way in airlock.

Going to let this clear for 8-10days then add the K-Sorbate, then clean the bottles, then start bottling.

It says to store at temps of 65F, my cellar is at 73F right now so it will have to do. My cellar is steady temp of 73F with 67% Humidity.

I didnt want to top up with those 2 bottles, but next time i will make sure not to spill/lose any juice because the juice kits tasted 100% better then the store bought wine.Edited by: Dominick

 

[Wade E]

2 bottles wont make much of a difference if any so dont fret it. Stable temps in the basement in what is very important so thats good and the humidity is in a decent range so thats good too!

 

[Dominick]

sweet.. cant wait to bottle.

 

[uavwmn]

Dom, your are doing GREAT!!!! Great questions and your wine looks yummo!!!!

 

[uavwmn]

Dom, I am one who has not bulk aged any of my wines. My first red wine turned out wonderful. I am hoping the others do also.
I am like you, maybe I should bulk age one, just to see if there is any difference in taste.
Reading the threads here and listening to Appleman and George, it seems to be a personal choice only whether to bulk age or not.

 

[Dominick]

Well I am in my Clarifying stage of the wine making process.

Its been 13 days clarifying, and was wondering how do you know when its Clear enough to bottle?

The pictures dont do justice as the red is showing up purple in my crappy iPhone. But it is a really nice red color.

I put a light behind the carboy to see how clear it looked.

Whatcah think? few more days?

 

[Wade E]

Seeing as how you can even see a light through there is a good indication that it has cleared. I would rack to a clean carboy and give a little while longer for 2 reasons, 1 being that you can let it drop any more sediment that it might have and another is to let it age some more. This is a wine that needs more time to age anyway.

 

[Dominick]

Thanks wade, I just racked to a clean carboy leaving the clarification sediment behind. Smells and looks great.

I didnt add the K-sorbate yet being that I'm not bottling yet.

I figure Ill let this sit a while longer, then add the k-sorbate and degass 1 more time before I bottle it up.

Sound good?

 

[Wade E]

Sounds good, just remember to add more meta with the sorbate as they go hand in hand. Then degas and bottle.

 

[Dominick]

K