Mosti Mondiale Plan of Attack for Nero D'Alvola

[ibglowin]

So I picked up a MM Renaissance Rosso D'Avola (Nero D' Avola) a few weeks ago and am thinking about starting it soon.

This is a wonderful quite often overlooked Italian (Sicily) grape that is really quite good.

Mosti adds raisins for quite a few of their Italian wine kits (Amarone, Chianti, Valpolicella) but for some reason not this one.

I am thinking about added 1lb Red Flame raisins to this kit to give it some more total dissolved solids and hopefully a little extra oomph.

This kit also is listed as having an Oak Intensity of 2 yet it only came with 1oz of Oak chips. My MM Renaissance Valpolicella is listed as having an Oak Intensity of 1 and it came with 3oz Oak chips so sorta confused on that aspect and I am thinking I should add 2 more ounces of French med toast oak chips for a total of 3oz like what came with the Valpolicella.

Anybody see any show stoppers with these 2 modifications from the instructions?

 

[patc]

Hey Ibglowin,

I made the alljuice nero d avola and the starting SG was around 1.087 It's about a year old and coming along nicely but if i could do it allover again with what i know now i would have added either a grape pack or raisens or chapatalized it. also from my own experience and taste i think the stavin oak cubes do soo much more IMHO. So i say go for it!!!!! It will definately add more body with solids that's for sure. I think its a great idea i do not think it would hurt in any way. Good Luck!!!! and keep us posted.

 

[ibglowin]

Mucho thanks for that input!

Yea, oak cubes are much better IMHO but I have 4oz of the med toast French oak chips in my tool box so might as well use them up first. I will reorder some cubes next time.

Sure seems like the raisins would be a natural on all of these Italian kits but who knows why they were not included in here.

I will definitely start a thread on this one with my deviations and tasting notes down the road!

 

[Waldo]

I prefer the spirals myself. They just seem to have more surface contact with the wine and do a better job of extraction than the cubes

 

[Wade E]

You gotta use what you got so I say go for it.

 

[Bartman]

I'm not sure Nero d'Avola will do as well with a heavy/strong oak flavor. It's not as fruity as many of your New World reds, but it has a subtlety not unlike Barolo and Brunello. Those benefit from some oak, but the subtle flavors may be overridden by the oak if you double or triple the oak-ing aspects. Nero is closer to Merlot than Cabernet, IMHO.

The Alljuice Nero I made 18 months ago could benefit from a little more body, but I don't think I would try to get that from more oak. I think your grape pack/raisin idea is a little better, on the whole. What raisins I would use, I don't know.

 

[ibglowin]

I found some organic Red Flame raisins from Whole Foods and snagged a pound this weekend. I also received 4lbs of the Red Flame raisins from the Sunsweet.com store. I noticed today that they have vegetable oil coating on them (to keep them moist I suppose) but I am not sure what ill effects a vegetable oil coating would have. If anyone has any ideas there I would love to hear comment on it.

I am leaning on the organic ones from Whole Foods and I can always eat the others with my morning oatmeal!

I think the oak chips are less strong than the oak cubes or beans so I think they will compliment nicely and perhaps just use one extra once instead of two. I added 2 oz of french chips to my CC Showcase Merlot and it seemed to be just right. This kit had sawdust only and it was just downright boring and thin tasting but now has a wonderful bouquet and taste and its only 5 months old.

 

[robie]

I would loose the ones with the veggie oil.

 

[JimCook]

Mike,


The oil will float to the top of your fermentation in the primary. It shouldn't interact at all with the wine, but if you can find raisins without the oil, it's much better. Matteo from Mosti noted that you could protect your wines by coating them in mineral oil, but I'm just too chicken to do that. Plus, I'm not so keen on the clean-up.


I made Mosti's Nero in 2008 and the bottles currently show quite a bit of black/berry fruit after 4-5 days open time. I'm on the same side as Bart in regards to the oak - for me (and I don't mind oak), it doesn't seem like it should take that much. If you're going to oak with those cubes you have, I would approach it by only using 1-2 ounces and letting time gradually oak the wine until you feel it tastes right. This, of course, depends on how much time you can keep the wine in the carboy - if you need the carboy then perhaps you're better of slamming it with oak and getting it out as soon as possible.


- Jim

 

[ibglowin]

I have some French oak chips, not cubes. Was thinking of only adding an extra 1 or 2 oz on top of the 1 oz chips that comes with the kit.

I really like the Villa Pozzi Nero D'Avola and its definitely got a nice oak undertone. Not in your face by any means but a hint of vanilla for sure.

I am striving for something like this in the end.

 

[JimCook]

Mike,


What kind of fruit/flavor tones does the Villa Pozzi Nero bring forth, outside of the oak?


- Jim

 

[ibglowin]

Most predominant are a rich, ripe black plum or black cherry followed by subtle hints of a brown spice such as clove along with a hint of vanilla. Also has a very nice acidity.

I first stumbled on this at Lidia's in downtown KC, MO this Spring and have tried 2 more bottles since then at home with consistent tasting notes. 4 stars out of 5 and a solid "buy it" if you see it.

 

[patc]

Have you ever tried Contempo Nero D Avola? It's very nice with strong notes of berries and a nice finish. It's one of my favorites and pushed me to make it. It gets great point reviews i believe in the 86 to 88 range and it's around 12 -13 dollars a bottle.

 

[ibglowin]

Sounds good, I found the label online so will look for it next time I am out and about perusing my favorite wine store.