RJ Spagnols RJ Spagnols Grand Cru Washington Merlot

[Charlietuna]

I just started my first kit. My fourth batch, but first kit. I found it online and onsale for around $59, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I added the oak chips directly to the mix & the dried grape skins / raisens to the cloth bag. I'm keeping the lid on, but not fastened down. I started it yesterday morning & mixed it last night & this morning. there is some good foam / gas going on. I unfortunately have a few fruit flys about from some bananas that became too ripe on my counter. I've been dealing with that, but everything seems to be going well. Oh, my SG starting was 1.090-1.100 which my kit says is acceptable. If my calculations are correct that will yield me a batch around 14% dry? I like the dry merlots, cabs & shiraz's.

I ordered a cab sav kit as well, but thanks to fed ex, it was damaged & grape juice bag was busted when it arrived. Guys at southern seem to be very helpful & are going to contact fed ex & try to get this issue resolved for me. I took pics of the damaged boxes & emailed to them. The question is how hard to you have to drop a box that is filled with popcorn to damage a plastic bag full of juice? Sounds like some of the fed ex guys used my box for a throwing contest.

I'll try to keep an update as my batch progresses.

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Flem]

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[ibglowin]

It happens, its rare but it happens. Fedex uses contractors in some areas and they are the worst.

 

[Charlietuna]

Still stirring 2 times a day. This stuff looks & smells great! foaming & bubbling like crazy. I will be testing the sg on day 6. That's Thursday.

Think I'm going to rack it into my coopers beer making fermenter. It's somewhere around 7 gallons & has a spigot on the bottom. All I have other than that right now mt is a 5 gal carboy & it won't all fit. The local wine shop is out of glass 6 gallon cb's

 

[robie]

Sounds like you are already aware, but be sure to keep those fruit flies away. They can carry some really nasty bacteria that can ruin a nice batch of wine.

 

[phermenter]

Still stirring 2 times a day. This stuff looks & smells great! foaming & bubbling like crazy. I will be testing the sg on day 6. That's Thursday.

Think I'm going to rack it into my coopers beer making fermenter. It's somewhere around 7 gallons & has a spigot on the bottom. All I have other than that right now mt is a 5 gal carboy & it won't all fit. The local wine shop is out of glass 6 gallon cb's

I would really recommend leaving it in your original fermenter until you can get a 6-gallon carboy. If you rack it to a 7-gallon vessel after primary fermentation is basically done, you won't have much protection from air.

You need to either keep the gas blanket you have (by locking down the lid) or find a smaller container that'll hold the wine without much airspace on top or you'll be inviting oxidation.

Jim

 

[Flem]

Charlietuna. How about using your 5 gallon and a gallon jug?

 

[robie]

You can do as Mike said and use a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon. You likely won't have a full 6 gallons, anyway.

Or as Jim says, just keep it in the primary until it is dry. Once the SG gets to the point where you are supposed to rack to the carboy, take out any grape pack, seal the lid and add an air lock. You won't need to open again until instructions say secondary should be finished. Then, open only to check SG, then re-seal. Maybe by the time it gets ready to come out of secondary, the carboys will be available. If no carboys yet, you can leave it in sealed bucket for several more days.

(Just something to consider - I can order carboys from George at finevinewines, which is 750 miles away, and it costs me less than getting one from the local LHBS just down the street. I save all the sales tax and the shipping is less than the extra markup the smaller local LHBS puts on his carboys. I still give the local guy some of my business, but I buy most items from George.)

 

[Charlietuna]

Thanks for the input. Sounds like I'll go with the five & a gallon unless I can get the 6 gal carboy.

Robie, I checked out finevinewines & their prices are very good. Actually about the same as others sale prices.

I quick question. What is the difference between an "Italian" carboy and others?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[Charlietuna]

SG

O, also checked specific gravity today & it was 1.030.(day 4) Just happened to have everything out & sanitized while making another batch so i thought i'd test it.

Brian

 

[ibglowin]

The carboys we can purchase today are all made in Italy. Oldtimers have carboys that were made in Mexico. Mexico quit producing carboys several years ago now. The Mexican carboys were very close to 6 gallons. The Italian carboys are slightly larger. This means that when you dump your gross lees you will have quite a bit of a large headspace to fill with either a like wine or marbles or something. The headspace will be at least a bottle and sometimes closer to two bottles depending on your racking techniques.

Do NOT top off with water!

I quick question. What is the difference between an "Italian" carboy and others?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[robie]

Not bragging, just lucky...
I was fortunate enough to have found 4 six-gallon Mexican carboys. A person, whom I met at a heavy equipment rental place, and I casually started talking and I mentioned I make wine at home. He mentioned he had stopped making his own wine and had some equipment he wanted to sell. I bought his carboys and all the other equipment he still had. It was a win-win!

The Mexican carboys work great, when I rack from the primary plastic bucket down to an Italian 6 gallon, then down again to a Mexican 6 gallon. It saves in the amount of top-off wine I have to use.

Seems starting business to make the true 6-gallon carboys might be a good thing.

 

[ibglowin]

Good story!

Mexican Carboys are like Unicorns. I have never seen one in real life!

 

[Charlietuna]

Day 6. SG = 1.002. Havta go outta town so I snapped down the bucket lid, put on an air lock & I'm going to leave it until Friday before racking.

Brian

 

[Charlietuna]

Wondering

Just started my 2nd kit today. A cab sauv. & it made me think I might have messed up the merlot some. I didn't have a 23 liter mark on my bucket so I kinda estimated. My sg was 1.100. (which was in range) After racking into a 6 gal carboy I didn't have as much liquid as I thought I should have. So tonight I thought I'd take the sg lower & it took a significant amount of water to get it from 1.1 to 1.092. So, I'm wondering what the results may be of not adding enough water to my merlot batch?? Will it just be thicker, stronger alc. ? Or will it really mess with the flavor?

Thanks
Brian

 

[Charlietuna]

Day 20 - queston about vac. degassing

Today I tested sg @ 1.000. Racked into a clean, sanitized carboy & followed instructions. I stirred a bunch & tried to use a food saver vac. for degassing.

The wine was up to the neck of the carboy & when I started the vacuum, it pulled the wine up to the top & through the vac line. So I took out 3 -4 cups & tried again. It didn't seem to be pulling any gas, but sucked in the sides of my plastic carboy & liquid level was almost at the top again & I turned it off. I had a check valve in the line so it held the vacuum but still no bubbles rising.

Does this mean it's degassed? or is the plastic carboy just too flimsy for the vacuum ?

Thanks,
Brian

 

[ibglowin]

You can't use a plastic carboy to vacuum degas. Will not work. Just another reason most of us will recommend using glass over a better bottle most often.

 

[Dugger]

For kit making you really should mark the 23 liter level on your bucket rather than estimate volume by SG. Many primaries sold at your LBS have a ridge on the inside that marks it so check that. Another option, especially if you are going to be using Italian carboys, is to fill your carboy to the proper level and then dump/siphon that into your carboy and mark that level on your bucket. That way you will start off in sync and since kit makers, at least Spagnols, WinExpert and Vineco ( not sure of others) build into their kit design an addition of about 800 ml +/- of water so your wine profile won't be adversely affected if you do this.

 

[Charlietuna]

I do plan on marking the primary at 23. Thank you, that is good advice.

Looks like I'm headed to the store for a glass carboy or two.

I tasted this merlot today at day 20 & I'm very happy & suprised at how well it tastes.

Thanks, Brian

 

[Charlietuna]

Has anyone else had the issue of the "tea bags" busting open? I am stirring these batches a lot. I'm thinking next time, because the hops bag is so long, I'll just dump all the grape skins in and tear open the tea bags & put in with it. & tie at the very end. Anyone else doing this?