Mosti Mondiale shiraz all grape pack???

[cindyjo]

Hello All my wine making friends. I know it has been a while since my last post but I have been lurking a bit. Life has been a little hairy. I have been pretty consistently making wines and my "cellar" now has about 150 bottles in it. Most recently I bottled a Gewurtz and I just moved WE Trio Blanca to the carboy. ( Almost dropped the full carboy when moving it)
I have been excitingly opening all my special edition wines as they have been arrivng and was a bit surprised by the all grape pack of the Shiraz. I have never done one of these so I am a bit nervous

Any suggestions?? I did read the post aboutusing a bag for the graps which sounds like a good idea. I am open to any and all advice. Thanks for your help as always

 

[robie]

Convenience is really the issue here.
Some people use the bag for skins and raisins, some don't. Either way
your wine should turn out the same.





Here are only some of the issues I have read on the forum:





Not using it can make racking a little harder, since the skins can stop
up the siphon. Some do say the loose grape skins (and oak) don't
bother them in the least.





Daily punching down the skins is a little easier with a bag.





Loose skins floating on the surface can rot or cause off smells, if not
punched down daily. So, should you want to seal the fermentor lid for
several days, with a long spoon the bag can easily be held down below
the surface of the must; the loose skins can't.




Some feel the skins (and oak) being contained in a bag causes them to
disperse a little less, thus having less of a positive affect on the
wine.







Make your choice, but either way will work fine.



If you haven't already, I would suggest that you read up on "wine
volcanoes" under the Mosti Mondiale heading. That is a more pressing
issue than bags.

 

[admiral]

Hello cindyjo. I have the same limited edition sitting on deck right now. I have done grape packs and raisins in two ways, I have let them free float and I have used a painter's bag. I believe I prefer a painter's bag. It just simplifies the process and I can't tell the difference in the wine. So, I will be using the bag on this occasion. BTW, you can get painter's bags at Home Depot. I look forward to hearing about your wine.

 

[cindyjo]

Thank you both for your input. Other than the bag issue, and I will probably use the bag, is there any other issues to be concerned with?

 

[robie]

If you keep the wine volcanoe from erupting, the only other issue is the pain caused by having to wait on it to age a little.

 

[admiral]

I think the volcano issue can be mitigated by not racking until your SG is closer to 1.000. I also think that by letting it stay in the primary longer, the longer the yeast has to work on that grape pack.

 

[admiral]

By the way, MM calls this kit "Outback Shiraz." The juice comes from America. I have MM's Amarone and the juice comes from Italy. Why doesn't this juice come from Australia? Maybe they were thinking "outback" of someone's house in America.

 

[cindyjo]

GREAT Thanks for the help I will probably start this kit next after the Trio blanc is done. I cannot manage more than one at a time

 

[JimCook]

I asked Matteo about the source of the grapes and he noted that they did not have any suppliers in Australia (at least at the time of the 2009 Winestock event). Nino had also clarified that Mosti, as well as other kit manufacturers, make wine kits in the spirit of a style as opposed to being sourced from the actual area or with the specific grapes necessary. His comment was directed at the La Bodega port kit, but it applies to all of them (Amarone, 'Outback' Shiraz, etc.).


I just racked over an AJ Petite Sirah kit where I used the AllGrape pack and it did have a light 'oily' residue that has been discussed on this forum in regards to CellarCraft kits. Be prepared for this possibility and know that it should be normal (I think it was Dean that posted about lipid levels in the grape packs being the source of this film/residue).


- Jim