Cellar Craft showcase yakima chardonnay

[patc]

Has anyone made this? If so could you give me your tasting notes, starting specific gravity ect? I recently tried a washington chardonnay and it was awesome!!!!!

 

[ibglowin]

Give George a call if no one pops up having made the kit. Yakima Valley is definitely the new hot bed for grapes and excellent wine these days, lots of awards and good stuff coming out of there, in fact we will be hitting the area at the end of July to tour the region and sample some of the wines that you just can't get unless you are at the winery or purchase directly from them.

My next Chardonnay kit will be that on for sure!

 

[patc]

Thanks Mike,

If my memory serves me correct didn't you do the mosti ren chardonnay? If you did can you give me some taste notes? I just did the pinot grigio and WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! i could drink it now.

 

[ibglowin]

I have pretty much worked my way through all the MM Renaissance line!

Well not quite but quite a few. The MM Ren Aussie chard is right at 8 months. Before I bottled it at 3 months it tasted fantastic. Once I added the Sorbate, it had a funky off taste. I have stopped adding Sorbate to my wines except anything with an F-pack such as my CC Showcase Viognier.

I opened a bottle of the Chardonaay a few weeks back and it's really good but I still detect a funky off flavor which is keeping it from being "outstanding". Letting it breath seems to help get rid of the funky smell so I am hoping it gets better with some more time and more bottle aging.

I am really sworn off on using the Sorbate after this incident.

 

[patc]

Ya know I'm starting to agree with you mike. I have read just about evrything i coulod about it and if you are not sweetening your wine and it's dry there is no reason for it is what they say, also someone put a post quote tim vandergrift (Spelling?) and he said that as long as you have clean wine making skills and the wine is dry there is no need. I really would like to keep it out but would be devistated if it had a negative affect

but i am really leaning toward leaving it out but i think part of the reason for the minimum aging for the whites might be to allow the sorbate to integrate? i just do not know?

 

[ibglowin]

I just know that taste wasn't there, I added Sorbate and K-Meta and all of a sudden, funky off taste. I added Sorbate to my first few kits (Cab Sauv and Caberlot) and did not notice this taste until the Chardonnay kit. Perhaps its just something in Chardonnay or this Chardonnay kit.

I am hoping time will make it go away like you say. I agree with you on the addition of it anyway, they don't use it in commercial wineries, its just an added insurance policy so to speak and it's not normally detected at the low levels we are using but still, it's there and even my wife noticed it right off the bat and said blindly it had a funky taste/smell.......

 

[patc]

Mike everything i read says you do not have to add it to dry wines. Having said that what is the specific gravity that is considered for a dry wine? .996?less than .998? i would be more comfortable to try it if i understood that piece a little more.

Pat

 

[ibglowin]

From what I have read anything less than .998 is considered dry. When I started the best I could get down to was .998 but now I have had kits go as low as .994 but usually .996 on average.

Not sure if it was better fermenting conditions (temps, oxygen, stirring) or just dumb luck!

 

[patc]

Thanks. i will have to make a decision soon as i will be bottling the pinot and sauv blanc and they both fermented to .996 and i would really like to leave it out. Also i am about to bottle the cellar craft merlot i started a while back and that fermented dry as well. Decisions ,Decisions

 

[patc]

http://www.bcawa.ca/winemaking/sorbate.htm

Hey mike,

This is interesting. I think the kits come with 5 gram packets. having said that if that holds true and these other factors play into it it's clearly way more than is needed. What do you think? I might be more willing to try this first. just have to get the numbers correct.

 

[ibglowin]

"Many winemakers hesitate to use sorbate because of the bubble-gum like aroma and taste it can impart."

That's the funky taste/smell!

I will have to take a look at a packet when I head to the house at lunch time.

Most if not all of my kits end up in the 12-14% range so if they are 5 gram packs that would be almost be double what we actually need according to the little chart.

 

[patc]

Agreed!!!! Also i think that would work out to with 5 grams to 23 lit. equates to .22 g/l ? is that correct? which again at 13 percent alcohol that would be double of what is needed.

 

[ibglowin]

Thats what I came up with as well.

 

[patc]

I think were on to something here

It makes sense that the manufacturer would push the limits on the sorbate trying to take into consideration who is making it and there experience. When i get home today i will also verify the amount of sorbate in the packet but i distinctly remember at least with mosti it saying 5 grams but i will verify. If so this is looking like a sound alternantive for starts.

 

[ibglowin]

From a manufacturing standpoint it makes more economic sense to only have to make one packet for all your kits be it the light weight ones in the 7-9% range or the heavy kits in the 13-14% range. I always top off with like wine, no water, so my wines will put a buzz on you with one glass!

They are definitely in the upper range there.

 

[patc]

Same here no water for top up ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ibglowin]

OK so the MM package of Sorbate is 4 grams not 5. That still puts the dosage at 0.17 gm/L

 

[patc]

I think any wine in the 13 percent range we can get away with using half the amount.

 

[Mharris335]

I did talk with George about this wine and he said it was good. I got it and am in the clearing stage right now. So far it taste good, but it's only 3 weeks old. I think I will be happy with this kit.

 

[patc]

let us know how it turns out!!!!!!!