Cellar Craft Orders from SWMBO -- who am I to argue?

[sour_grapes]

Well, my better half and I were chatting about inventory, kits made, kits to come, etc. She whipped out a pen and played with different categorizations of the wines I've made or ordered. What struck her was the paucity of blends. Nearly everything I have made is a single-varietal wine.

I discussed the options, i.e, which blended kits are available and/or strategies for making our own blends. I complained about how unavailble a few of the blended kits I am interested in are. So, last week I called my LHBS about having them order these kits; they promised to get back to me last week. I called again to check on it today, and they still hadn't done anything about it (owner out sick, bad weather, yadda yadda yadda). I had also tracked these kits down online at the very few places that had them in stock. My wife says, screw it, just order them! Who am I to argue?

So, as of this afternoon, I have the following kits ordered:
CC Showcase Yakima Valley Cabernet Shiraz
CC Showcase Walla Walla Cabernet Merlot

Wooo-hooo!

 

[wineforfun]

The cab/shiraz sounds good.

I am more elated that I got to learn what "paucity" means.

 

[jamesngalveston]

when you going to step up the party and make some dragon blood....

 

[bkisel]

Thank you. I learned a new word today... pau·ci·ty
/'pôsitē/
noun
1.
the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amounts; scarcity.
"a paucity of information"
synonyms: scarcity, sparseness, sparsity, dearth, shortage, poverty, insufficiency, deficiency, lack, want
"the police cannot act with such a paucity of evidence"

 

[sour_grapes]

Bkisel, that is great! There do not appear to be any lacunae in your vocabulary!

 

[dangerdave]

I play Scrabble every Sunday morning with a few wordy friends of mine. I'm using "paucity" the first chance I get, hoping for a futile challenge!
As far as blends go, my cellar is also wanting. I may have to look into some, myself.

 

[jamesngalveston]

Paul likes to use big words, even when it calls...*for less*.
since i am from the south pausetity means stop nursefeeding....lol

 

[sour_grapes]

Honest to god, guys, I didn't think paucity was particularly, errr, recondite.

But now that you got me started..... > buahahaha

 

[sour_grapes]

when you going to step up the party and make some dragon blood....

Soon my friend, soon. After all, I have EC-1118 packets piling up!

 

[byathread]

After all, I have EC-1118 packets piling up!

I hear that!!!

 

[jsiddall]

I see a lot of talk of yeast substitutions but I have no idea why there is such interest in it. I realize yeast is necessary to turn sugar to alcohol but if EC-1118 does that (and it seems to, nearly every kit seems to come with it) then what's the benefit in not using it?

 

[sour_grapes]

C'mon, we have to feed our desire to tinker!!!

The short answer is that different strains of yeast produce different byproducts (such as esters and glycerol) during fermentation. Take a look at these links. You may be convinced it is worth it, or you may not:

http://morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/wyeastpair.pdf

http://www.lallemandwine.us/cellar.php

http://www.lallemandwine.us/products/yeast_chart.php

 

[SouthernChemist]

I see a lot of talk of yeast substitutions but I have no idea why there is such interest in it. I realize yeast is necessary to turn sugar to alcohol but if EC-1118 does that (and it seems to, nearly every kit seems to come with it) then what's the benefit in not using it?

Fermentation is a more complicated metabolic pathway than people typically let on. Yes, 'sugars' are broken down into alcohol and carbon dioxide, but that's not the only thing that happens. Glycerol is produced as a byproduct (essentially to keep the yeast cell alive and keep metabolism going), and alcohols other than ethanol are produced, as well. At the same time all of that is going on, various other chemical components in the wine (maybe terpenes from aromatic white varietal or polyphenols from oak, for example) are chemically manipulated either intentionally or unintentionally by the yeast. Some yeast strains are known to produce higher amounts of glycerol than others (bigger mouthfeel being a result). Others will produce higher amounts of other alcohols and esters. For many strains, these traits have been studied extensively enough that people can take advantage of them. Wineries will even ferment with multiple strains (separately) and then blend the resulting wines together. Brewers use specialized yeasts often.

There are always some caveats, though. Some yeast strains are difficult to work with, require high amounts of nutrients, are prone to stop fermenting, produce large amounts of foam, or can give off flavors if allowed to sit on the wine after fermentation is complete. Some of the effects can be more subtle or dependent on the quality of the grapes. EC-1118 is commonly chosen (along with a few other strains) because it is an overall reliable yeast strain. It ferments relatively quickly, has low nutrient requirements, high alcohol tolerance, and is rather intolerant of other yeast/organisms coming to the party. It short, it is something you can toss into the bucket and just about forget about it, which more people making wine kits probably prefer to do. The kit instructions are kept simple, too.

Do you have to substitute the yeast? Not at all. Could it improve things? Yes, with experience and some research into what others have done.

 

[Boatboy24]

Don't forget you can still get your hands on some limited release blends:

WE Shiraz Cabernet and WA Cabernet Merlot
RJS Monastrell Petit Verdot and Shiraz Viognier
Kenridge Tempranillo Garnacha, Shiraz Grenache and CA Grand Red II
Meglioli Rojo Grande

 

[geek]

Don't forget you can still get your hands on some limited release blends:

WE Shiraz Cabernet and WA Cabernet Merlot
RJS Monastrell Petit Verdot and Shiraz Viognier
Kenridge Tempranillo Garnacha, Shiraz Grenache and CA Grand Red II
Meglioli Rojo Grande

Jim,

From where, I thought there was a deadline for ordering those WE LE2013....

 

[jamesngalveston]

can not be said better then SouthernChemist said...Period.

 

[Boatboy24]

Jim,

From where, I thought there was a deadline for ordering those WE LE2013....

Send an email to George at fine vine wines. They usually order more than what is preordered and I think they have many of them in stock. They don't carry WinExpert though.

 

[geek]

Thanks, did you start your WE Shiraz Cabernet?
So we don't start a different topic on this thread can you PM me your impressions with LE kits, yeast, oak, etc, etc.

I am wondering how good would that kit compare to their WE Eclipse series....

 

[eblasmn9]

I just had a Tempranillo-Garnacha delivered today from George at Finevinewines that wasn't pre-ordered. Give him a call to see what he has extras of.
I too think you stated very well the advantages of using different yeasts, SouthernChemist.

 

[jsiddall]

C'mon, we have to feed our desire to tinker!!!

Fermentation is a more complicated metabolic pathway than people typically let on. Yes, 'sugars' are broken down into alcohol and carbon dioxide, but that's not the only thing that happens.

Thanks! Some things there to look into.

Jeff