AZMDTed
Just a guy
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2015
- Messages
- 764
- Reaction score
- 542
Hi all,
Joeswine has a great thread on tweaking cheap kits, and some of that may well apply here. Hopefully in this thread we can share our tweaks for High End Kits that we are specifically planning on aging 18 months and longer. I believe that kit makers start with a great product and then provide instructions and ingredients for making a compromise between early drinkability and good aged wine. I'd like to break out of that and see what the proven ideas are for preparing wine where we're not constrained by wanting it drinkable in a few months.
Obviously aging itself is a good start to a better wine. In an April 2016 blog post Tim Vandergrift talks about how kit makers have you put oak chips in primary because that will add some oak but also the yeast will help make it an early drinker. But it does so at the loss of some phenols. He recommends waiting till secondary to add the chips which will then interact with the alcohol more than the remaining yeast and create a more robust wine. This at the expense of longer aging to allow it to meld more. These are the types of tweaks I'm thinking of, those that will modify a high end kit that we are already planning on long term aging.
Another suggestion of his in another article is finishing tannins, like Scotts Tannin Riche Extra for more mouth feel.
Many of us already know and try to go by his extended times rather than the instruction times to help.
Any other tweaks for getting the most out of high end kits that we plan on aging for a while? I'm sure oak is a big player here, be it barrels or spirals. I'd like to gather those specific suggestions here. Hopefully this will help everyone.
Ted
Joeswine has a great thread on tweaking cheap kits, and some of that may well apply here. Hopefully in this thread we can share our tweaks for High End Kits that we are specifically planning on aging 18 months and longer. I believe that kit makers start with a great product and then provide instructions and ingredients for making a compromise between early drinkability and good aged wine. I'd like to break out of that and see what the proven ideas are for preparing wine where we're not constrained by wanting it drinkable in a few months.
Obviously aging itself is a good start to a better wine. In an April 2016 blog post Tim Vandergrift talks about how kit makers have you put oak chips in primary because that will add some oak but also the yeast will help make it an early drinker. But it does so at the loss of some phenols. He recommends waiting till secondary to add the chips which will then interact with the alcohol more than the remaining yeast and create a more robust wine. This at the expense of longer aging to allow it to meld more. These are the types of tweaks I'm thinking of, those that will modify a high end kit that we are already planning on long term aging.
Another suggestion of his in another article is finishing tannins, like Scotts Tannin Riche Extra for more mouth feel.
Many of us already know and try to go by his extended times rather than the instruction times to help.
Any other tweaks for getting the most out of high end kits that we plan on aging for a while? I'm sure oak is a big player here, be it barrels or spirals. I'd like to gather those specific suggestions here. Hopefully this will help everyone.
Ted