WineXpert Selection Speciale Series Ltd - Chocolate Raspberry Port

[RCGoodin]

Has anyone tried this?

 

[Wade E]

Lots of us have tried it, its wonderful!!! It can also be a pain to ferment all way down but it can be done by keeping the temps up, slow feeding the Chaptalization pack over time instead of dumping it in per the instructions at a particular sg and also by stirring it up every day to keep the viable yeast in suspension instead of getting buried under a very heavy sediment layer that this kit drops. This is by far my favorite flavored port out there but I havent tried the RJS Coffee or some of the ones only sold in like Canada like the Chocolate Strawberry Or Advintage Chocolate Hazelnut. ( I think its Advintage but not positive on that one. If you do a search on here you will find many threads on it including 1 in the last day by Sammy.

 

[RCGoodin]

Choc Rasp Port

Wade, Thanks for the feedback. I noticed several threads and responses. One that sticks is adding a bottle of brandy and yours abour slowly added the ingredients. What would the brandy do?

 

[Wade E]

The brandy brings up the abv to better match a commercial port.

 

[TommBomb]

How long did u guys bulk age this port? Or did u guys bottle it right away

 

[eblasmn9]

The first chocolate Raspberry Port, I bottled at 3 months. I am now on the second and will bottle at 2 months so I can have it ready for Christmas presents. The kit really is temperature particular as mentioned before. I had it stop fermentation at 74 degrees. When I raised the temperature to 80 degrees, it started fermentation again and it came close to target. It really is one of the better kits I have made, but you really need to keep temperatures up.

 

[TommBomb]

Thanks, appreciate it. It tasted great after the f PAC was added

 

[TomK-B]

I've made this kit twice, now. The first time was in the fall of 2011. I gave that as Christmas gifts in 2012. The second I started in Nov, 2012. It's still in bulk now. The first batch I bulk aged for a full 12 months. I imagine I'll do the same with this current batch. I read a lot of threads on this kit before pitching it. I was particularly mindful of Wade's experience and adjusted my procedures accordingly, like keeping the temps up and doing the chapitalization in two parts while the SG is still at or above 1.050.

As far as the quality, I'm pretty sure that very few bottles that I gave out made it to New Years. And everybody really bragged on it. I certainly liked it very much. I still have a 750 ml and a split stashed away in the back of my closet. My plan is to check on it again when it's five years old. We'll see if I can tolerate the wait.

 

[TommBomb]

Wow impressive patience! I love the taste already and it's not done the initial 6 weeks.

 

[USA_WineMaker]

The CRP is a great kit. I got like 11 gallons bulk ageing. I have high hopes for the new Spagnols Black Forest too but that's a new product. We'll know in about 6 months how that one does. You can never go wrong with CRP. Take the plunge, you won't regret it. Some stores are still offering them for well under $100. I wish I had more time and room. This hobby is taking over my home.

 

[WAG]

Ok. My CR port has been stuck at 1.030 for two weeks. I just racked my Black Forest kit off the lees. Can I dump the CR port kit into the lees and add some EC 1118 to kick it off again, or is it too late??

 

[TomK-B]

Not too late! I say do it. I would also recommend that you stir it up hard. Really whip some O2 into it. And you might also consider adding a yeast nutrient like Fermaid O or Fermaid K.

 

[WAG]

Don't have any ,Tom.

 

[WAG]

I just cleaned up. Threw out the good stuff. I was thinking I had stabilized, but not yet. I'm a moron! Is it worth hydrating yeast and trying to prod it down to a lower SG?

 

[TomK-B]

Dang it. Well, it's still not too late. I remember Tim Vandergrift talking about reviving a stalled ferment by pouring it over the gross lees of another wine and stirring it up to get some O2 back into the must. I think I remember some others on this forum doing the same. This has sometimes been a problem for the CRP.

 

[TomK-B]

I think you can still get your fermentation restarted with some fresh yeast. Give it a try. I don't think it will hurt it to try.

 

[WAG]

Thanks Tom.

 

[SouthernChemist]

You could try making a yeast starter with EC-1118 and then feed it small portions of your CR port over several hours. That way the yeast will acclimate to what you're going to put them.

 

[TomK-B]

That makes good sense. You've already got quite a bit of alcohol in there. The yeast might not appreciate being thrown in without some kind of warning.

 

[WAG]

Thanks for the warning! Lol. I mixed the hydrated yeast into the whole batch last night with a brew belt all night. If that won't do it, can I still gradually add more yeast like SouthernC says? Not sure how durable these kits are.
If I won't get going, what am I looking at with the SG stuck at 1.030? Can it still be something good?