I did a bucket of Cabernet Sauvignon a couple months back and fermented it with a frozen skin pack to completion. Everything checked out fine as far as SG (1.092), pH approx. 3.35, and a nice dark color. Once racked to a secondary, it dropped clear within days and had the dreaded "clear/thin" color and taste. No filings were used. Even my Lambrusco without skins turned out 10x darker and meatier than this Cab. At least if this Cab had more balance and taste, I could call it a "Sauvignon Rose".
An ol'timer friend of mine suggested that I oak it well with dark cubes or chunks and throw in a bunch of dried elderberries, so that's what I did today. I racked a 2nd time and added 150g of dried elderberries and 35g of dark toast cubes to the 5 gallons. It was fermented with some light chips already (30g for 2 weeks), but they didn't impart much oak to this wine. My friend believes there is no problem letting this all bulk age together for a couple months, and thinks that I could have added more elderberries than I did.
Really? Anyone try this to save a terribly thin wine?
An ol'timer friend of mine suggested that I oak it well with dark cubes or chunks and throw in a bunch of dried elderberries, so that's what I did today. I racked a 2nd time and added 150g of dried elderberries and 35g of dark toast cubes to the 5 gallons. It was fermented with some light chips already (30g for 2 weeks), but they didn't impart much oak to this wine. My friend believes there is no problem letting this all bulk age together for a couple months, and thinks that I could have added more elderberries than I did.
Really? Anyone try this to save a terribly thin wine?