Patience

[Vaughn]

Many of you have been preaching patience to us newbies. I, being your most impatient of newbies, have not been very patient with all of this talk of being patient. I would like to now humbly appologize for my behavior.


I decided last night is was time to crack open another bottle of the Cab that I made as my first batch over 2 months ago. As you may recall, I opened my first bottle of kit wine after only one month, and I was disapointed. The flavor was very tart and there was still carbonation in the wine. At two months, the wine is still slightly carbonated (that probably won't change over the coming months) but the harsh tartness has noticeably mellowed.

By way of advice to anyone starting this hobby, don't start with a cabernet. I have since made 3 more batches and have found that Petite Sirah and Pinot Grisio are both excellent wines to drink young. George has also recommended to me the Bourgeron Blanc that I now have brewing in the primary. (also a great bargain for just $40 a kit).


Anyone find another red wine that is tasty right out of the carboy?

 

[geocorn]

Try the Bourgeron Rouge (Red Burgundy). It is an excellent, quick to drink wine.

 

[PolishWineP]

We've had good luck with Pinot Nior when it's quite young. It gets better with age, but with proper stirring

and care it can be quite tasty when it's young.

 

[geocorn]

The Pinot Noir is one of my favorite kits for the reason mentioned above. You can drink it young or allow it to age. I will add that it ages VERY well.

 

[Vaughn]

Funny you should mention the Pinot Noir. My wife has told me that it is popular in France every year to buy a bottle of the Pinot Noirfresh from that year's crop.We have both tasted it and found that it is still rather tart for our tastes. But in this business, we understand that tastes and preferences are different. There are some qualities that I understand nearly everyone likes, and there are many that are subjective. I prefer a dry wine, but not necessarily high in alchohol. Others like them as sweet and strong as brandy.


For those of you that have submitted wines for contest,on what criteria are they judged? I wouldprobably make a terrible judge. I have had wines that are rated a 90, and didn't much care for them (maybe it was just the fact that I spent $25 and didn't feel that it tasted much like $25 worth of wine.).

 

[geocorn]

I have found that the Pinot Noir's are very different from year to year, winery to winery. It is one of the most difficult grapes to grow and is considered very delicate. I think it is just very sensitive to the terroir.


The beauty of home wine making is that you make what you like. It is completely irrevelavant what the judges think.


On a side note, home wines are judged just like commercial wines. Aroma, flavor and body.

 

[smurfe]

Try the Bourgeron Rouge(Red Burgundy). It is an excellent, quick to drink wine.

Agree, very good young wine. I am going to bottle another batch of it this week. I plan on donating it to my church for communion wine. I tasted the batch yesterday and it was very drinkable right out of the carboy. I almost had 2nd thoughts about donating the entire lot but heck, I will just start another.


I have found that the VR kits are the ones that are drinkable the quickest. I have bought quite a few high end kits but right now I am concentrating on making a few VR kits to drink early while the higher end kits age. They really aren't bad at all and in fact many rival the higher end kits such as the Bourgeron Rouge. It is quite a fine wine!


I have found to that many wine do indeed experience the "Bottle Shock" in that it stresses the wine during bottling. The wine may taste great out of the carboy right at bottling but than you notice that when you open a bottle a couple weeks later it now is tart or has an off odor and or taste to it. This is attributed to bottle shock.


Most wines that are early drinking will need at least a couple months in the bottle to "settle down." You will notice as well that the whites and blush wines will be ready much sooner than the reds.


Smurfe

Edited by: smurfe

 

[rgecaprock]

A really great VR kit is the White Zinfandel. I've made two and it is better than any I have bought commercially and is ready to drink right away. I'm anxious to try the VR Austrailian Riverland Reserve that I just ordered. It sounded very interesting. The descriptions usually get me!!!!





Ramona

 

[jojo]

The Burgundy kit was my first. Everyone liked it. It had a bit of fizz. Juts a tiny bit, and some sediment. If I had listened to others regarding patience and bulk aging that would not have been so. My second kit was a Montepulciano. Just a little more patience went a long way. This one was clear. Next kit is a Lambrusco. No hurry here.

 

[OldWino1]

Hey Vaughn . My dad and I started making wine from concetrates in the late 60's. Took approx 3.5 months to get to the bottle. didn use bent. or isleng. just time. well i have found that the kits of 4 week i usually take 6 weeks. vino del vida reds agespretty quick. Hey store the bottles in the house in a warmer place no sunlight and aging process will quicken.

 

[Vaughn]

Thanks OW,


In Texas, there is no 'cool' place to keep your wine, so I guess I've already been following your advice.


I've heard thatmagnets can put an artificial age on your wine.Has anyone tried this?

 

[Waldo]

Damn Vaughn I had to read that twice..At first I thought you siad "Maggots"

 

[PolishWineP]

Waldo, please; don't get any ideas there!

Not good for making wine!

 

[RAMROD]

 

[Vaughn]

You never know.If there is someone out there making "Army Worm" wine... http://www.armywormwine.com/


What's to say we don't see maggot wine next.


But seriously, has anyone used MAGNETS to age wine?

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

First I've heard of it. Did you Google the subject?

 

[Vaughn]

No, it came up in the forum a while back. Out of curiosity, I did Google "Maggot Wine". I would not recommend following any of those hits.


Safe to say, though, no one is making it.

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

Vaughn - I did find something on the Wikipedia web site regarding using
magnetic stir bars for stirring liquids

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_stirrer

This would be used to accelerate the effects of cold stabilization by
agitating the wine with a stir bar after dosing with potassium bicarbonate
and seeding with potassium bitartrate, then chilling the wine. See bottom
of the page at:

http://www.fallbright.com/PotassiumBicarbonate.htm

Maybe this is what you heard of? Awful lot of chemistry

 

[Vaughn]

Okay,


Like usual, my impatience has forced me to do some investigating on my own. I have seen a few gadgets that claim to have a "smoothing" effect on young, cheep wine. One is a coaster of sorts that subjects the wine to a magnetic field from the bottom. Give it 30 min. and the job is done. Another is an item called the Wine Clip. This device has 4 bar magnets that are clipped on to the neck of the bottle. As you pour the wine, the wine passes through this magnetic field, reportedly providing the same effect.


[url]http://www.thewineclip.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=hom e[/url]


However, my research does not stop here. I found LOADS of scientific commentary on how the wine-magnet effect is an enormous HOAX. And I'm inclined to believe it. In a nutshell, logical thinkers agree that the use of magnets (for a variety of uses) provides something they call the placebo effect. In other words, if you tell a person that magnets will cure their headache, improve their libido, or turn cruddy wine into fine hooch, they tend to believe it. Even swear by it.


Science concludes that there is nothing that a magnet can do to change the chemical composition of wine. Yet, people still buy these things by the tons because they are more likely to listen to slick advertising as logic. Why don't more people know this stuff? I guess there is more money in creating a myth as dispelling one.


Rand over. I may try this experiment myself.

 

[Waldo]

Well, I went to the web site, watched the video and I am coating my fermenter and carboys with magnets and adding magnets instead of oak chips to all of my musts.

Seriously, I am highly skeptical that this would have any effect at all on wine