RJ Spagnols RJS Merlot is in the bottles

[PeterZ]

I bottled my first kit, an RJS Cru Select (10L) Merlot kit. It has been bulk ageing for about 4 months, and last weekend I added another 1/4 tsp of K-meta for safety. I had a couple of minor problems.

1. Using a 3/8" racking cane with 3/8" ID tubing did not give a very good seal, and I had a little trouble maintaining suction. I also had a little air influx. Next time I will put a zip tie on it and snug it down realllly tight. (Note to self: buy another 3/8" racking cane on my next order so that when I break this one snugging that zip tie I'll still be able to bottle. Second note to self: buy some 5/16" id tubing as a backup.)

2. Putting in the first cork (George's #9 x 1-3/4") I thought I was going to break the bottle. I have the Portugese double-handled corker. Then I started to get a run of corks standing proud by about 1/8". I found that if I gave them 5 minutes or so in the sanitizing solution (K-meta) they went in easier. Just putting them in as I started filling the bottle didn't give them enough time to soften. By bottle 6 I had resigned myself to buying a floor corker, but now I don't have to. There are two significant benefits from this discovery: a) I can spend the floor corker money on a kit instead, and b) SWMBO will not be ribbing me about the metallic modern art standing in the corner of the kitchen.

I got a total of 30-3/4 bottles. Since the only deposits were a paper thin layer tightly adhered to the bottom of the carboy I was able to suck out every drop, and the carboy was within an inch of the stopper when I started. The 3/4 bottle was not corked. I just put plastic wrap over the neck, and am drinking it now.

I also used my Bottle Blaster for the first time. In getting ready to clean the carboy, I got out my carboy brush and was preparing to do battle. Hooked up the BB to the laundry room sink and gave the carboy a blast. Moved the carboy around to hit all of the lower sides and the deed was done. The carboy was spotless, and the outside wasn't even wet. Way better than washing the carboy in the bathtub!!

 

[Wade E]

Peter I believe you had a Grand Cru as those are the 10 liter kits. I
think the Cru Selects are 15 liter kits. I just tried my Grand Cru
Barolo today bwhich is a 10 liter kit. It was pretty good, a little
thin but that was expected. My wife is making beef stew tommorrow and
will use a bottle for slow cooking the stew. Ive definetly had much
worse wines then this and for $40 its pretty darn good.

 

[PeterZ]

Wade, my LHBS got me for $75 on this kit. I was but a stranger in a strange land, and had not yet discovered the magic of FVW. However, the wine is drinkable and, in a few months, giftable, so I don't expect it to last long. I'll try to save a bottle for the Christmas secret Santa game at work.

 

[Wade E]

My wife made Beef stew with a bottle of the Barolo and it was to die
for!!!!!!!! Peter I just looked on the RJS site to confirm and the
select kits are 16 liter except for the specialty ( Ice and Sherry)
kits. Now you might have a select kit as $75 seems about right for a
select kit where I get them from but that is a little old lady running
out of a hole in the wall so I dont know. What I do know is that the
prices at my other LHBS is considerably higher.


Edited by: wade

 

[NorthernWinos]

Well done PeterZ...but...where are the photos????

 

[PeterZ]

Photos here are a real PITA. SWMBO has a camera I gave her two Christmases ago, but the file size is about 5Mb per photo. I do all my day to day computer stuff on a Linux computer that doesn't talk to the camera. To do photos I have to switch to my slow Windows PC, download the photos, grabbing everything on her 512 Mb card because they are just numbered and I don't know which is which, find the right ones, pull them into photoshop, resize them and convert to .jpg, and then upload.

To top it all off, she was busy and not able to take pics, and when I am doing something I have not done for 20+ years (bottle wine), I wanted to concentrate on doing it right.

What I need to do is go on Ebay and see if I can find one of those old Sony digital cameras that saved 70 Kb .jpg's to a floppy. That would be great for forum pics.

 

[jobe05]

Peter, on a windows PC you should be able to open the file that has the pic's, on te Menu bar open "View" the "Thumbnails" and you'll be able to see the pictures before you down load them.

 

[Wade E]

And if you download the free Microsoft resizing tool you can instatly resize them to fit this site.

 

[PeterZ]

I'm a photo guy, but it's all silver halide. I guess it's time to move into the digital age, but the camera body I want is $1500. No way will SWMBO allow that unless we win the Powerball!