And they are cheap, have handles and are easy to sanitize. And if I get back into brewing beer, I can cut one up and make a brew kettle with it! Yep, lots of good about beer kegs in winemaking. I'm surprised more people don't use them. I'm going to try and find a couple of used pony kegs (7.75 gal) to use in place of carboys. The fact that the Sanke fittings can be directly adapted to sanitary fittings is a big plus. Good luck and put up a pic of your set up with the kegs. If you have questions about what sanitary fittings to get, send me a PM. Here's on quick tip-The fittings you get from https://www.brewershardware.com/ are better quality than the ones you get from Amazon (which are OK too). Catylist Mfg also sells very helpful fittings for winemaking.
Vintage 2019
- Thread starter CDrew
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
And they are cheap, have handles and are easy to sanitize. And if I get back into brewing beer, I can cut one up and make a brew kettle with it! Yep, lots of good about beer kegs in winemaking. I'm surprised more people don't use them. I'm going to try and find a couple of used pony kegs (7.75 gal) to use in place of carboys. The fact that the Sanke fittings can be directly adapted to sanitary fittings is a big plus. Good luck and put up a pic of your set up with the kegs. If you have questions about what sanitary fittings to get, send me a PM. Here's on quick tip-The fittings you get from https://www.brewershardware.com/ are better quality than the ones you get from Amazon (which are OK too). Catylist Mfg also sells very helpful fittings for winemaking.
Yesterday, I got the last grapes of 2019. 400 pounds of Mourvedre of which 100 pounds is an experimental saignee Rose'
https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/saignee-real-time-help.70162/
After pressing off the juice, the skins went back into the main fermentation, where I'm hoping to amp up the flavor even more.
Also doing a second experiment. 1/2 the Mourvedre is getting Avante yeast, and the other 1/2 was pitched with RP15. I had the RP15 in an refrigerated, unopened foil pack from last year, did a test run and when it had activity, I went ahead and pitched. Right now, I'm planning to combine at press, but I can already see that the Avante is off and running with good cap formation, and the RP15 is moving, but it's going to be slower. For yeast nutrients, I'm using all Fermaid K. I ran out of Fermaid O and the K will work fine so I'm using it up.
But just as a comment, the Avante has been a real winner this year. Not one issue, quick and solid ferments, no funky smells and dry in a week. Next year I'm going to try Brio or Bravo in something, likely at the end of the grape season when it's cooler. Avante is nice because not only is it H2S preventing, it also tolerates high temps and high alcohol. But as a home winemaker working alone most of the time, these H2S preventing yeast strains are a good insurance policy, and highly recommended.
12 hours since pitching yeast!
https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/saignee-real-time-help.70162/
After pressing off the juice, the skins went back into the main fermentation, where I'm hoping to amp up the flavor even more.
Also doing a second experiment. 1/2 the Mourvedre is getting Avante yeast, and the other 1/2 was pitched with RP15. I had the RP15 in an refrigerated, unopened foil pack from last year, did a test run and when it had activity, I went ahead and pitched. Right now, I'm planning to combine at press, but I can already see that the Avante is off and running with good cap formation, and the RP15 is moving, but it's going to be slower. For yeast nutrients, I'm using all Fermaid K. I ran out of Fermaid O and the K will work fine so I'm using it up.
But just as a comment, the Avante has been a real winner this year. Not one issue, quick and solid ferments, no funky smells and dry in a week. Next year I'm going to try Brio or Bravo in something, likely at the end of the grape season when it's cooler. Avante is nice because not only is it H2S preventing, it also tolerates high temps and high alcohol. But as a home winemaker working alone most of the time, these H2S preventing yeast strains are a good insurance policy, and highly recommended.
12 hours since pitching yeast!
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Might name my next kid “Avante”. Love it.
What’s up with RP15 though? I see you referenced it quite a bit - but don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned before on WMT.
What’s up with RP15 though? I see you referenced it quite a bit - but don’t think I’ve seen it mentioned before on WMT.
Simple-it's like eating leftovers!
Last year I was looking to try something different and had purchased 80g of RP15 from more wine. But I then found that Lodi WIne Lab was willing to sell me a small amount (100 gm) of Avante yeast and so I went with that instead. THe RP15 has been taking up fridge space since and so since this was the end of this year I figured I'd try it and see how I like it.
But I agree about the Avante. For garage based winemaking, it seems hard to beat.
Heard that! I always get more types and amounts than needed. Plus some ‘in case of emergency’ uvaFerm43 and ec1118. I’ve got quite the variety pack and will all get wasted unfortunately.
RP-15 is new to me tho. Done think I’ve seen home winemakers using it before. When planning and investing good $$ and ya got one shot to do it right- it’s hard to not use a proven winner. Last years natural ferment was a fun change of pace tho.
Rightly or wrongly, I think RP15 as one of the kinda standard, but not utterly common ones (like Rc212, EC1118, etc.). I have used it a few times. Worked just fine.
Just Ive just been overlooking it subconsciously
RP-15 AKA "Rock Pile." I've only used it once, but it was a solid performer.
So the Rock Pile RP15 has finally taken off. It's lag time is 12 hours slower than Avante. But the RP15 now has a nice cap, is, fermenting vigorously and I'm good with it. Which just emphasizes how awesome the Avante is, which took off 12 hours earlier.
The Rock Pile is a part of Sonoma Valley that is just west of Dry Creek valley and it's known for rocky plantings of mostly Zinfandel. There is some Syrah there though, and that's where it was isolated. From Syrah! I may try it next year with the Syrah specifically, although a bunch of Dry Creek Wineries use it with Zinfandel to make signature Zinfandels from the AVA. So far it's a clean and nice fermentation.
Here is some verbiage copied off the internet:
Rockpile, RP15 Wine Yeast Isolated from spontaneous Rockpile Syrah fementations in collaboration with winemaker Jeff Cohn. Moderate speed fermenter with alcohol tolerances to 17%. Used in concentrated reds for a lush, balanced mouthfeel. Charaterized by red fruit and mineral notes. Low to moderate nitrogen demand. Used to make Syrah, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah and other Rhone varieties. (So hopefully good with Mourvedre, another Rhone varietal!)
The Rock Pile is a part of Sonoma Valley that is just west of Dry Creek valley and it's known for rocky plantings of mostly Zinfandel. There is some Syrah there though, and that's where it was isolated. From Syrah! I may try it next year with the Syrah specifically, although a bunch of Dry Creek Wineries use it with Zinfandel to make signature Zinfandels from the AVA. So far it's a clean and nice fermentation.
Here is some verbiage copied off the internet:
Rockpile, RP15 Wine Yeast Isolated from spontaneous Rockpile Syrah fementations in collaboration with winemaker Jeff Cohn. Moderate speed fermenter with alcohol tolerances to 17%. Used in concentrated reds for a lush, balanced mouthfeel. Charaterized by red fruit and mineral notes. Low to moderate nitrogen demand. Used to make Syrah, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah and other Rhone varieties. (So hopefully good with Mourvedre, another Rhone varietal!)
Jeff Cohn has some good wines, I have quite a few of his 2012 Petite Sirah wines in my cellar. Had no idea he worked with them on the RP, looks at this list of his highest rated wines..........
You likely saw this interview, but it has some interesting things to say about yeast nutrients, re-inoculating etc:
https://winesvinesanalytics.com/columns/section/19/article/85794/Winemaker-Interview-Jeff-Cohn
From your list and the ratings, he clearly knows how to make wine!
I'll post back once the RP15 is done, with final impressions. So far, it is for sure less vigorous than Avante, but it's fermenting right along just as it should.
https://winesvinesanalytics.com/columns/section/19/article/85794/Winemaker-Interview-Jeff-Cohn
From your list and the ratings, he clearly knows how to make wine!
I'll post back once the RP15 is done, with final impressions. So far, it is for sure less vigorous than Avante, but it's fermenting right along just as it should.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Yep, I've used RP-15 several times - often in the mix for me. It's a nice yeast.
Update:
THe 20ish gallons of Mourvedre with Avante yeast is going great guns and is at 2 Brix tonight. The must is warm to the touch. Maybe mid 80s. I didn't measure since it wasn't alarming. But considering it was pitched Saturday evening, and here we are Tuesday evening and nearly done, I'm pleased.
The 16ish gallons of Mourvedre with RP15 is also going full tilt and at 5 brix. It went from 18 to 5 in 24 hours. Despite the slower start it's going like crazy now. Warm ferment, I'm estimating 85F. Both fermentations have been getting 4X daily punch downs with lees stirring.
The Rose in the carboys is going really strong still. It's Mourvedre juice and fermenting at room temp with Avante yeast. I didn't measure the brix but it's still really fermenting. I'll likely combine to minimize head space tomorrow night. Hoping for 6 clean gallons.
So I think all is well. No bad smells, good progress by the hydromenter. I was going to press Saturday or Sunday, but it's looking like Thursday or Friday by the numbers. I want to press all of it at once, so even if the Avante ferment has to wait a day, I'm pressing when the RP15 ferment is at 0 or below.
Everything else being equal, I think the Fermaid K makes the fermentation go faster than Fermaid O. THis is just an impression, not science. And I'm not sure one is better than the other. As mentioned, this fermentation was all Fermaid K since I was out of Fermaid O which I used for the rest of the 2019 vintage.
THe 20ish gallons of Mourvedre with Avante yeast is going great guns and is at 2 Brix tonight. The must is warm to the touch. Maybe mid 80s. I didn't measure since it wasn't alarming. But considering it was pitched Saturday evening, and here we are Tuesday evening and nearly done, I'm pleased.
The 16ish gallons of Mourvedre with RP15 is also going full tilt and at 5 brix. It went from 18 to 5 in 24 hours. Despite the slower start it's going like crazy now. Warm ferment, I'm estimating 85F. Both fermentations have been getting 4X daily punch downs with lees stirring.
The Rose in the carboys is going really strong still. It's Mourvedre juice and fermenting at room temp with Avante yeast. I didn't measure the brix but it's still really fermenting. I'll likely combine to minimize head space tomorrow night. Hoping for 6 clean gallons.
So I think all is well. No bad smells, good progress by the hydromenter. I was going to press Saturday or Sunday, but it's looking like Thursday or Friday by the numbers. I want to press all of it at once, so even if the Avante ferment has to wait a day, I'm pressing when the RP15 ferment is at 0 or below.
Everything else being equal, I think the Fermaid K makes the fermentation go faster than Fermaid O. THis is just an impression, not science. And I'm not sure one is better than the other. As mentioned, this fermentation was all Fermaid K since I was out of Fermaid O which I used for the rest of the 2019 vintage.
Did some racking of the Mourvedre today-it was time to get it off the gross lees. I am doing 2 parallel ferments, on with Avante yeast and one with RP15. I have kept these separate since even at press, I wasn't super happy with the RP15 half. So I wanted to update that today since I do in fact have an unexpected problem.
Avante Fermentation: I had a 6.5 and a 6 gallon carboy. Racked to a 6.5 and a 5 today. Taste and color great for new wine, all is well.
RP15 Fermentation: Even from the start, this wasn't quite right. It was slower to start, ended up being fairly vigorous and finished by day 5. At press, my initial impression was something wasn't quite right. Racking off the lees today confirmed that. The color just isn't dark. It looks very light. Initial nose was just OK so I splash racked under vacuum which improved the nose but not the color. So I'm keeping it separate. I was going to combine both into a keg for aging but based on my tasting today, the 2 sides are going to stay separate. Really odd the color isn't up to snuff. Anyone have any thoughts?
These were identical as any two fermentations can be other than the yeast. Both were fed at cap formation and 18 Brix, both got MLB at cap formation, but got some optired as it kicked off. Then they were fermented in identical brutes side by side in the same garage. THe only difference was the yeast choice.
So, at least I'll have 11 gallons of good Mourvedre and 10 gallons I'm not sure about.
Now as I was finishing up, a friend called me that one of their 7 guys bailed and they had 200 pounds of Clarksburg Cabernet they have contracted for that they don't need now. . (Picking is tonight and pick up is tomorrow). Did I want it? At first I was like heck yes, half my Mourvedre is not that good, but then realized I was basically done and cleaned up for the year and so turned it down. Mixed feelings for sure, and if it had been 300 pounds, I likely would have jumped on it. What do you guys think? I'm going to go and help load trucks tomorrow with them anyway.
Avante Fermentation: I had a 6.5 and a 6 gallon carboy. Racked to a 6.5 and a 5 today. Taste and color great for new wine, all is well.
RP15 Fermentation: Even from the start, this wasn't quite right. It was slower to start, ended up being fairly vigorous and finished by day 5. At press, my initial impression was something wasn't quite right. Racking off the lees today confirmed that. The color just isn't dark. It looks very light. Initial nose was just OK so I splash racked under vacuum which improved the nose but not the color. So I'm keeping it separate. I was going to combine both into a keg for aging but based on my tasting today, the 2 sides are going to stay separate. Really odd the color isn't up to snuff. Anyone have any thoughts?
These were identical as any two fermentations can be other than the yeast. Both were fed at cap formation and 18 Brix, both got MLB at cap formation, but got some optired as it kicked off. Then they were fermented in identical brutes side by side in the same garage. THe only difference was the yeast choice.
So, at least I'll have 11 gallons of good Mourvedre and 10 gallons I'm not sure about.
Now as I was finishing up, a friend called me that one of their 7 guys bailed and they had 200 pounds of Clarksburg Cabernet they have contracted for that they don't need now. . (Picking is tonight and pick up is tomorrow). Did I want it? At first I was like heck yes, half my Mourvedre is not that good, but then realized I was basically done and cleaned up for the year and so turned it down. Mixed feelings for sure, and if it had been 300 pounds, I likely would have jumped on it. What do you guys think? I'm going to go and help load trucks tomorrow with them anyway.
[QUOTE="CDrew,
Now as I was finishing up, a friend called me that one of their 7 guys bailed and they had 200 pounds of Clarksburg Cabernet they have contracted for that they don't need now. . (Picking is tonight and pick up is tomorrow). Did I want it? At first I was like heck yes, half my Mourvedre is not that good, but then realized I was basically done and cleaned up for the year and so turned it down. Mixed feelings for sure, and if it had been 300 pounds, I likely would have jumped on it. What do you guys think? I'm going to go and help load trucks tomorrow with them anyway.[/QUOTE]
I don't know... 10-12 gallons of good grapes fell from the sky. I am all cleaned up too, but I think I would've said, "Hell Yes!"
Now as I was finishing up, a friend called me that one of their 7 guys bailed and they had 200 pounds of Clarksburg Cabernet they have contracted for that they don't need now. . (Picking is tonight and pick up is tomorrow). Did I want it? At first I was like heck yes, half my Mourvedre is not that good, but then realized I was basically done and cleaned up for the year and so turned it down. Mixed feelings for sure, and if it had been 300 pounds, I likely would have jumped on it. What do you guys think? I'm going to go and help load trucks tomorrow with them anyway.[/QUOTE]
I don't know... 10-12 gallons of good grapes fell from the sky. I am all cleaned up too, but I think I would've said, "Hell Yes!"
Just shooting from the hip I'm going to guess the RP15 had a different effect on the skins and there are more particulates in that batch. I'll put 2 bits on the color will be the same once the wine settles a little.
[QUOTE="CDrew,
RP15 Fermentation: Even from the start, this wasn't quite right. It was slower to start, ended up being fairly vigorous and finished by day 5. At press, my initial impression was something wasn't quite right. Racking off the lees today confirmed that. The color just isn't dark. It looks very light. Initial nose was just OK so I splash racked under vacuum which improved the nose but not the color. So I'm keeping it separate. I was going to combine both into a keg for aging but based on my tasting today, the 2 sides are going to stay separate. Really odd the color isn't up to snuff. Anyone have any thoughts?
These were identical as any two fermentations can be other than the yeast. Both were fed at cap formation and 18 Brix, both got MLB at cap formation, but got some optired as it kicked off. Then they were fermented in identical brutes side by side in the same garage. THe only difference was the yeast choice.
[/QUOTE]
Same Lallzyme too? That's pretty weird. I had a good experience with RP, but only used it once. Nothing weird with the grapes before splitting into batches?
RP15 Fermentation: Even from the start, this wasn't quite right. It was slower to start, ended up being fairly vigorous and finished by day 5. At press, my initial impression was something wasn't quite right. Racking off the lees today confirmed that. The color just isn't dark. It looks very light. Initial nose was just OK so I splash racked under vacuum which improved the nose but not the color. So I'm keeping it separate. I was going to combine both into a keg for aging but based on my tasting today, the 2 sides are going to stay separate. Really odd the color isn't up to snuff. Anyone have any thoughts?
These were identical as any two fermentations can be other than the yeast. Both were fed at cap formation and 18 Brix, both got MLB at cap formation, but got some optired as it kicked off. Then they were fermented in identical brutes side by side in the same garage. THe only difference was the yeast choice.
[/QUOTE]
Same Lallzyme too? That's pretty weird. I had a good experience with RP, but only used it once. Nothing weird with the grapes before splitting into batches?
Same EX-V, weighed on same scale at 0.075 gm per gallon of must. I really don't blame the yeast, it was a year old, and I was using it up. Maybe that Brute got contaminated with something. I am going to play it out for awhile.
I hope you are right but it's a striking difference. It tastes Ok, but it's way too light. If it survives until next fall, I'll bottle it and just keep it for me when no one is looking. Lol.
So as part of the wine making enterprise, my wife and one of her friends wanted to make grape jelly/jam this year from wine grapes. So we were up at a winery where we are wine club members in Amador county yesterday. Their back 25 acres of Zinfandel are being picked today and going to "The Prisoner" winery in Napa to be blended into another Zinfandel to pick up the ripe flavors of late season Amador. Pretty cool. But yesterday we picked (with the owner"s permission and assistance) about 25 pounds of these grapes for jelly production. I was jonesing to pick 500 pounds to make wine from these beautiful grapes but no. So after a day of hard labor, we have enough grape jelly of decades of PB&J. It's actually great. Tastes like the grapes. Very dark and intense Zinfandel flavor. Awesome.
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If you do your top off with the petit Syrah you could get some of the color back.
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