Cellar Craft Too Long On the Lees?

[Sudz]

I had a Cellar Craft Showcase Yakima Valley Cab Shiraz working and left town for a few days... I thought. Basically I got it racked and added the clarifying/meta/ sorbate today, 1 month after pitching. Smells good and has good color.... but

What's my odds of getting away with leaving this on the lees for this long?

 

[TonyP]

I had a Cellar Craft Showcase Yakima Valley Cab Shiraz working and left town for a few days... I thought. Basically I got it racked and added the clarifying/meta/ sorbate today, 1 month after pitching. Smells good and has good color.... but

What's my odds of getting away with leaving this on the lees for this long?

I haven't made this wine yet, but am familiar with CC Showcase reds. I take it your kit came with a crushed grape pack. Hopefully you didn't keep the grape pack in unattended for a month. If the pack was removed, you should be fine. A month is longer than advisable for gross lees but not as bad for finer lees, which should be your situation assuming the grape pack was removed.. Thus, you should be fine.

Did you taste it or just look and smell?

Tony P.

 

[robie]

If it smells good and doesn't have an off taste you should be fine.

IMO, next time, if you are not going to back sweeten the wine, don't add the sorbate. As long as the wine is dry, and yours certainly should be, sorbate is just not necessary.

 

[Sudz]

Thanks guys.

This had been racked for secondary fermentation with the skins removed so I'm feeling better about it's chances. My only concern was with it sitting for so long without any SO2. I suspect the kit juice had some in it from processing but most would have been gone after primary fermentation I'd imagine.

 

[robie]

Thanks guys.

This had been racked for secondary fermentation with the skins removed so I'm feeling better about it's chances. My only concern was with it sitting for so long without any SO2. I suspect the kit juice had some in it from processing but most would have been gone after primary fermentation I'd imagine.

As long as you like the taste, it is OK. Just make sure the sulfite level has been brought up to where it needs to be. and keep it there until it is bottled.

With that being said, if it tastes good to you, that's about all that matters.

 

[galaxy_5]

I have a CC Showcase Amarone that I started last February that I'm very excited about after reading that many have deemed it among their favorite kits. I'm worried that it may be ruined at this point and there's nothing I can do about it.

For the background, I started it at the end of February and everything went well through primary and I got it going in secondary. I racked off the gross lees, let it start to settle, added Hungarian oak cubes and it started to settle out. Everything was grand through that point. Until...I was notified of a deployment, rushed off to training and have been overseas since. So now this wine has been sitting on the fine sediment and oak cubes since the end of March/beginning of April, and I've finally had a moment to sit down, take a breath and think about it. I'm not due home until the first week of April, so is there any hope of saving this batch? I've asked my wife to check the airlock occasionally and had her give it the sniff test with no hint of off odors, so I feel a little bit better, but still not great.

Thanks!

 

[Boatboy24]

Thanks guys.

This had been racked for secondary fermentation with the skins removed so I'm feeling better about it's chances. My only concern was with it sitting for so long without any SO2. I suspect the kit juice had some in it from processing but most would have been gone after primary fermentation I'd imagine.

I think you're fine. I haven't been in this game too long, but I've made a few Showcase and Sterling kits from CC (all with grape packs). And I've left a few kits (grape pack and non-grape pack) in secondary for 3-4 weeks with no ill effects. You probabaly had some residual CO2 protecting you.

 

[Boatboy24]

I have a CC Showcase Amarone that I started last February that I'm very excited about after reading that many have deemed it among their favorite kits. I'm worried that it may be ruined at this point and there's nothing I can do about it.

For the background, I started it at the end of February and everything went well through primary and I got it going in secondary. I racked off the gross lees, let it start to settle, added Hungarian oak cubes and it started to settle out. Everything was grand through that point. Until...I was notified of a deployment, rushed off to training and have been overseas since. So now this wine has been sitting on the fine sediment and oak cubes since the end of March/beginning of April, and I've finally had a moment to sit down, take a breath and think about it. I'm not due home until the first week of April, so is there any hope of saving this batch? I've asked my wife to check the airlock occasionally and had her give it the sniff test with no hint of off odors, so I feel a little bit better, but still not great.

Thanks!

Should be good as long as you have someone to change out that airlock every so often and make sure you have a good seal on the carboy.