Other Reisling recomendation please.....

[captainl]

So.... I have to keep the wife happy. I need a good reisling kit recommendation. I have done 5 reds now so it is time for a white. My wife likes sweet reislings like Shmitt sohne, Chaetue St Michelle, ect. I haven't done anything with an F pack but I have backsweetened apfelwein so I think I am capable. I also want one of the better kits, 15L plus. Looking around I am having a hard time figuring out what is considered a sweetened reisling. For example RJ spagnols Cellar Classic German Riesling Auslese states that the sweetness is 1? Doesn't sound very sweet to me. Are these kits designed to be sweetened with sugar per your taste or are the designed and balance for the sweetness specified? I would hate to sweeten a kit and mess it up.

Any recommendations are appreciated? tips? Oh yeah Rj spagnols or Wine expert are what I can get locally.

Thanks Mike


Also... A good peirspolrer or gewurztraiminer could also work as she likes these too!!!

 

[Runningwolf]

I would go with the washington valley columbia riesling from Winexpert. I've made 2 of them.

 

[JohnnyRico]

Im currently aging a batch of that myself. My wife is the same way.. Hope its sweet enough. The sugar rating before the addition of the F pack was some place around .0998 or so. Might be too dry.

 

[ibglowin]

I made the Cellar Craft Showcase WA state Riesling about a year ago. It was ready to drink almost as fast as it cleared but its really really ready in about 2-3 mo max. Have had a ton of compliments on it and only have about a case left so I am starting to get stingy with them. Its off dry. You can detect the sweetness just enough to make it drinkable all by itself and its still dry enough to pair wonderfully with many foods.

Will make it again for sure.

 

[MN-winer]

My wife likes a very sweet reisling also. I've made the Columbia Valley one from WE and it wasn't sweet enough for her even though it had an f-pack. You can make this but then taste test before you bottle and add more sugar syrup until she likes it. I made a VR We reisling with tons of sugar and she liked that better. My wife appreciates the sugar more than the quality of wine, so I'm doing cheaper kits and sweetening them now.

 

[CB750]

Here is a hint I used to satisfy my wife's craving for a sweeter Riesling. Take a sample of her favorite commercial Riesling and measure it's SG. Then take a measure of your wine kit final SG. If it is under the SG of her favorite then back sweeten with enough sugar or other sweetener to match the SG of the favorite. Remember, just because you add sweetness you may not be adding fruitiness or body to the wine.

I have a particular family member who really likes sweet Rieslings when she comes for dinner I spike her glass of wine with 1/2 to 1 oz Triple Sec. It adds sweetness she likes and additional fruity flavor and body.


As another poster commented I have had good luck with the WE Washington Riesling, It has been in the bottle for almost a year and it has picked up a fair amount of sweetness the past six months.

My wine store called yesterday and my Limited Edition German Traminer Spatlese is in and I really look forward to trying that kit.

 

[CB750]

My wife likes a very sweet reisling also. I've made the Columbia Valley one from WE and it wasn't sweet enough for her even though it had an f-pack. You can make this but then taste test before you bottle and add more sugar syrup until she likes it. I made a VR We reisling with tons of sugar and she liked that better. My wife appreciates the sugar more than the quality of wine, so I'm doing cheaper kits and sweetening them now.

But is more than sugar or sweetener. I made a WE Columbia Valley Riesling the final SG was .996 and 1.002 after I added the F-pack. At first it was not as sweet as I liked and after 6 months it developed additional sweetness.

In contrast I made a RJ Spagnols Cellar Classic German Riesling Ausiese. Final SG was .998 after I added the kit sweetener it was 1.000. Given my experience with the WE Columbia Valley I wanted a sweeter wine so I added one cup of Blue Augave which raised the SG to 1.006. However, after 6 months in the bottle it does not taste as sweet or have as much body as the CV Riesling. All in all it tastes watered down even though I topped off with a Riesling wine.

 

[captainl]

Good advice thanks guys. I would say my wife appreciates the sweetness over the quality of the wine, but she enjoys good red wines too. I scared my wife with a cheap VR merlot kit that I think I oxidized too much (she does like my luna rosa and vr aust shiraz though). She is afraid I am going to make her a white and she won't like it.

Question on the WE Washington reisling. What would you consider the definition of off dry for this kit. I am tempted to do this one but I would hate to do additional backsweetening to this expensive of a kit. It might mess up the balance/flavors.

I'm think I'm going to see if my local guy can get me the WE australian Traminer/ Reisling. Its a middle of the line kit and hopefully a good compromise on quality/risk.

 

[CB750]

Question on the WE Washington reisling. What would you consider the definition of off dry for this kit. I am tempted to do this one but I would hate to do additional backsweetening to this expensive of a kit. It might mess up the balance/flavors. .

One other option you might consider is to just stop the fermentation process at a higher SG, Add the F-Pack. This would result in a lower Alcohol content but more unfermented grape sugar. This tends to go against most Kit instructions that specify the final SG. But you would still be staying with the original contents of the kit,

I follow that procedure with making mead and have stopped fermentation as high as 1.030 to produce a very sweet sack mead.

 

[Rickochet]

Here is a hint I used to satisfy my wife's craving for a sweeter Riesling. Take a sample of her favorite commercial Riesling and measure it's SG. Then take a measure of your wine kit final SG. If it is under the SG of her favorite then back sweeten with enough sugar or other sweetener to match the SG of the favorite. Remember, just because you add sweetness you may not be adding fruitiness or body to the wine.

I have a particular family member who really likes sweet Rieslings when she comes for dinner I spike her glass of wine with 1/2 to 1 oz Triple Sec. It adds sweetness she likes and additional fruity flavor and body.


As another poster commented I have had good luck with the WE Washington Riesling, It has been in the bottle for almost a year and it has picked up a fair amount of sweetness the past six months.

My wine store called yesterday and my Limited Edition German Traminer Spatlese is in and I really look forward to trying that kit.

What is the Triple Sec.?

 

[Deezil]

Triple Sec is a liqueur, citrus flavored i believe

 

[hobbyiswine]

Rick...you have a computer I presume so you could always google-up "triple sec" it is a sweet liqour with citrus fruity flavors. Common in margaritas and such.

 

[CB750]

Rick...you have a computer I presume so you could always google-up "triple sec" it is a sweet liqour with citrus fruity flavors. Common in margaritas and such.

Lets face it today's taste in Alcoholic beverages are all over the place and you can never tell when a guest may like something that you may not. I keep triple sec on hand for a variety of reasons beyond the usual use in Margaritas. As Hobbywine states it adds a sweetness and orange citrus flavors and you can find it for around $5 a bottle. Just use it in moderation.

• Adding sweetness to a white wine.
• If you mix a cheep red, a cheep Rhine, and triple sec and you will have a Sangria wine.
• Mix it with a inexpensive brandy and you will have Grand Marnier.
• Add a bit to your Manhattans to add a bit of citrus.
• Some may like a bit it in a vodka or gin martini.

 

[captainl]

My local brew store emailed me a couple of days ago that he got in the WE traminer reisling kit. So I will be picking it up this week. Then yesterday I found out.....that my wife is pregnant. I guess I'll let this one age for oh.....9 months or so minimum.

 

[Flem]

Congratulations!!! I think.

 

[derunner]

Riesling Revisited

Much like the OP, I am looking for a semi sweet Riesling recomendation. Not too dry, but also not as sweet as a Moscato. So more sweet than a dry Riesling.

Any recomendations or updates on Rieslings?

I can easily get kits from Spagnols, WE, and Cellar Craft.

 

[captainl]

I have the we traminer Riesling bulk aging right now. It tasted good when I racked and sweetened it. I ended up putting the hole f pack in but I wanted to make sure it wasn't too sweet. I tasted it along side a chateau st Michelle Riesling and sweetened it to about that. Not as sweet as the few muscato is I've had. you could always just not add all the f pack and taste as you go. I dont really drink this wine and my wife hasn't tasted it yet...still pregnant. Only a couple more months... Cheers.

 

[Dugger]

FYI the first Spagnols RQ kit in Dec is a Riesling ( Alsation style) so you might want to check that out. I don't think it has an f-pack but not sure.

 

[Fabiola]

What is the Triple Sec.?

Triple sec, originally Curaçao triple sec, is a variety of Curaçao liqueur, an orange-flavoured liqueur made from the dried peels of bitter and sweet orange, usually a component in margaritas.

 

[flapbreaker]

Cornucopia sells a riesling wine kit on amazon that gets good reviews, plus it's hard to beat the price. Have not made one of their kits yet but am tempted to.