RJS En Primeur vs WE Eclipse instruction differences

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Jay204

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So I decided to take a shot at making homemade wine. I was never a fan of homemade wine until I had a bottle of the WE Eclipse Nocturnal series that a family member made. It was the first time a homemade wine actually tasted like something I would buy. It didn't taste so "homemade" to me.

Anyway, I decided to start by making a Legacy Pinot Grigio and an Eclipse Lodi Ranch Cab. I've come to learn that the reds need a fair amount of time to age, so I picked up the RJS En Primeur Super Tuscan last week to get another one going. There are a couple differences between how the two red kits are made and I was hoping someone could explain why, or tell me if I should be deviating from the instructions. Here are the the main differences:

1. The Eclipse has a primary fermentation only, whereas the RJS has a primary and secondary fermentation. Why? What is the point of transferring to a carboy mid-fermentation? Could I not just do the same for the RJS kit as I did for the Eclipse? Where I leave it in the primary fermenter for the full 14 days (grape skins and oak chips included), instead of transferring it on day 6-8 and removing the grape skins and oak that early in the process?

2. The Eclipse kit says to keep the temperature between 20-25 degrees for the entire 8 week wine making process, whereas the RJS kit says to reduce the temperature to below 20 degrees as soon as you start the stabilizing & clearing process on day 14. Is the temperature only critical during the fermentation period? I'm wondering if I could have reduced the temperature on day 14 of the Eclipse kit and if that would've been beneficial in any way? Or if I should be keeping the temperature between 20-25 for the entire RJS 8 week process?

At the end of the day my plan is to follow both directions as stated. I just figured I'd ask to better understand why they differ and if anyone typically deviates from the instructions for the benefit of the wine.

Thanks!
 
I do EM in my fermenting pail. I don’t see a need to transfer as long as you have a lid. Transferring will actually lose a lot of the “stuff” that makes EM work as you will leave a sludge in the bottom so if you do transfer I would take it all.
 
I do EM in my fermenting pail. I don’t see a need to transfer as long as you have a lid. Transferring will actually lose a lot of the “stuff” that makes EM work as you will leave a sludge in the bottom so if you do transfer I would take it all.

I was wondering how much the sludge mattered to the full EM process. I'll just keep it in the primary then. Do I add anything else to the fermenting pail during the EM? I'm assuming I don't add anything like Pectinase until the EM is complete.

At what point, if any, do you stop opening the pail to punch down the skins? And do you just swirl the pail around after that point to keep the grape skins wet?
 
I punch down the first 4-5 Days then lock it down and swirl / slosh until the skins sink
 

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