WineXpert Washington Meritage - Selection Limited Edition

[CB750]

The temperature range on the instructions was a very narrow 72-75 from primary fermentation through clearing. Mine was up to 75 a couple days into the the primary ferment and has been at 71-72 since. Sure is pretty, clear, and dark. Has some great dark berry fruit aroma and oak is nice but not over the top. Hoping with some age the oak and fruit flavors will blend together a bit more but pretty good for a week old wine!

I had much the same experience I was keeping the temp at 73 with a brewers belt rigged with a rheostat, at the height of CO2 production the temp did spike at 74.8 so I dialed down a bit and got it back to 73. Without the brewers belt I would not have been able to maintain the kits suggested temperature range of 72-75 in my fermentation area.

When I racked the wine to my secondary I had quite a problem with the larger pieces of the French Heavy Oak clogging the tip of my siphon wand. I had to clean and restart the siphon three times. I have not used this type of oak before and wonder how others deal with this problem.

 

[roadpupp]

I have a question aboutthe first racking and oak.

I seem to have decided on the 5-20-40-(90 or longer) method that some folks around here espouse.

Because of all the oak sawdust (what a mess!)I wonder if I should rack all the oak sludge into the secondary or if 20 days on the oak would be too much? The directions call for 5-7 days in primary and then leave the lees behind.

What have you all done about transferring the oak sludge? Did you leave it all behind after 5-7 days?

I am new at this and don't want to stray too far from WE recommendations.

Thanks

 

[ibglowin]

The oak sawdust gets extracted and or digested by the yeast. It will not impart any extra oak flavor by leaving it in for 20 days in secondary while it finishes out. You can leave it in (and you won't need to top up at all) or rack off the gross lees now and have the need to top up immediately. WE claims they over concentrate their juice to actually account for water added for topping up so in theory you can use water to top up.

I just tasted this last night when doing some racking. Mine is about 3 months old now and I added no water as top up, only wine. It has the beginnings of a very nice wine, its not what I would call "thin", its just very light on tannin for my taste. I am going to hit this hard with a large dose of Tancor Grand Cru this month. It will need to age longer to settle back down but the endpoint will be a much more commercial like wine.

 

[roadpupp]

Thanks Mike- Sounds like I will leave the oak behind in a week and top off with decent store bought Cab (I don't have any of my own yet)

If you do add tannin, please keep track of how much and let us know how it turned out.

I guess it will take awhile to get the results. I may be trying to drink this in 12-15 months so I may skip the tannin or only use a fraction of what you recommend.

 

[ibglowin]

I will add somewhere between 4-5 grams probably this weekend so it can start to integrate.

A great top off wine for this would be something like the Columbia Crest 2 Vines Cab Sauvignon which is from WA state where this juice came from. You can find it usually in larger grocery stores on sale for ~$4.99 a bottle and it taste like a $9.99 bottle of wine. Perfect for topping off and that is what I used.

 

[hobbyiswine]

I know I shouldn't but I drank a couple of the bottles from this kit and gave a couple away. The bottle that I made per instructions is a bit young tasting as one would expect since it is only a couple months old. The bottles that were in the carboy with the medium toast oak spiral are WAY too easy to drink. Plenty of fruit flavor, mellow on the tannin and a bit smoky from the extra oak. I need to put the rest of this stuff in very good hiding place if I hope to keep my hands off it. Maybe I should wrap it up in christmas paper as a friendly reminder to keep away until the end of the year. I think my LHBS is out or I would make another kit. They do have the Spanish matador trio in now though so maybe I will get one of them.

 

[ibglowin]

I added 4.5 grams of Tancor this weekend and stirred well. Will let it sit for a few months and then check the oak levels. I suspect it may need another turn in the barrel by this fall.

 

[roadpupp]

Just an update on my kit.

Whoever said this was an early drinker is RIGHT ON! I just stabilized and clarfied last night and had about a cup left over after degassing and adding the K meta, sorbate and chitosan. I had it in a small bottle and after shaking it up to degass and aerate, I put it in a glass.

Not badat all. Far better than the 10L kit of red was at one month. Very little of the tartness/bitterness and not as thin as I was expecting without a grape pack. My wife tried it not knowing what it was and was suprised to find out it was "my wine". I am adding some medium toast and Tancor Grand Cru so we will see what improvements that brings. Seeing as I have only just started this hobby I am going to have a hard time keeping my hands off this wine in the next year!

My Skeeter Pee will help with wanting to taste the fruit of my labors but I don't like sweet stuff.

Thanks all for the recommendation.

 

[hobbyiswine]

Bump bump....anyone else "sampled" this one lately? I just grilled up a ribeye and was VERY tempted to open because I am sure it would taste great but held back. The box is taped shut and says "do not open until Xmas 2012"

 

[ibglowin]

I just took a "hit" yesterday. Its nowhere near ready IMHO. Its got some nice potential for sure but still taste a little green and has some KT in it. Not worried as I think it will dissipate over time. I won't drink this before 14mo for the first split. The extra tannin I added is settling in nicely and was very noticeable.

 

[robie]

I just took a "hit" yesterday. Its nowhere near ready IMHO. Its got some nice potential for sure but still taste a little green and has some KT in it. Not worried as I think it will dissipate over time. I won't drink this before 14mo for the first split. The extra tannin I added is settling in nicely and was very noticeable.

I use a lot of Tancor Grand Cru, myself. It does take some extra time for those added tannins to integrate well. It is one reason why my wines all end up needing to be aged longer, but it is well worth it.

 

[CB750]

I have had mine in Bulk for just over 4 months. Just before I added some additional Potassium Metabisulphite I sampled it and this wine is ready to bottle and start drinking. Both my wife and I are very impressed with the quality of this wine kit. Lots of fruit and body with just a hint of sweetness. I figure a month or so in the bottle and it will only get better. I now wish I had picked up two of these kits.

BTW I also sampled my German Traminer Spatlese that has been in bulk for 3 months and it is also ready to bottle. It has that Traminer zing with with hint of apricot fruit and a bit of sweetness. We are very happy with how both of these Special Edition Kits have turned out.

​

 

[robie]

I have had mine in Bulk for just over 4 months. Just before I added some additional Potassium Metabisulphite I sampled it and this wine is ready to bottle and start drinking. Both my wife and I are very impressed with the quality of this wine kit. Lots of fruit and body with just a hint of sweetness. I figure a month or so in the bottle and it will only get better. I now wish I had picked up two of these kits.

BTW I also sampled my German Traminer Spatlese that has been in bulk for 3 months and it is also ready to bottle. It has that Traminer zing with with hint of apricot fruit and a bit of sweetness. We are very happy with how both of these Special Edition Kits have turned out.

Once you start opening these wines, put back 4 or 5 bottles of each batch. Date them and drink one each year. When they start going downhill, go ahead and finish them all off quickly, so they are not wasted.

This will give you a better idea how they age and how they will mature over time. You just might be surprised at how much better they get over a little extra time.

 

[hobbyiswine]

Just hit the one year mark and popped a bottle to go with some grilled steaks last night. Much improved from where it was a few months ago. Should have just been popping the first bottle but was my first red kit and I lack the "P" word. Looking forward to this one continuing to improve but its quite good now at one year.

 

[ibglowin]

Yep, mine did as well back in late January I think. I have two splits that were made to be "testers". Perhaps its time to pop a cork on one and see if the KT has subsided since it was bottled.