WE Island Mist Tweaks

[mainshipfred]

Check out MoreWine and Shore Container

(BTW: with Shore, it is cheaper to place two orders of three cases each, then to just order 6 cases - 3 seems to be their sweet spot with shipping)

Edit: What am I saying? You should call your local winery contacts. They probably have bottles to sell you or would allow you to piggy back on their order.

That's where I'm getting them. $12.00 a case for commercial weight bottles.

 

[jgmann67]

I’m about 10 days from racking and the wine is clearing fairly well. It’s super clear at the top (for about 5” from the top) and the rest is clearish... not quite there.

 

[GaDawg]

We all have our own taste. But for me and those who drink my mist wines adding the entire F pack makes them too syrupy sweet. I add 1 - 1 1/2 cups of the F pack to the primary and finish with the rest.

 

[mainshipfred]

On 1-27-18 I made 3 at the same time, added about 3/4 the F pack just by guessing and bumped up the sugar plus only made 5 gallons. Yesterday I did my second racking and added Sparkolliod since I didn't use any clearing agent to start. Right now I'm doing a vaccumm degassing to help the Sparkolliod work. I'm doing all this being told these could be early drinkers and would like to have something for my non dry friends this summer. To be honest, I don't think I am going to add the rest of the F pack. I think it's just fine the way it is. I may do a bench trial at bottling and perhaps bottle some with some additional F pack to suit the others. As you said, we all have our own taste.

 

[Boatboy24]

What was your starting SG? Adding f-pac, sugar AND reducing to 5 gallons, you might have rocket fuel on your hands.

 

[mainshipfred]

What was your starting SG? Adding f-pac, sugar AND reducing to 5 gallons, you might have rocket fuel on your hands.[/QUOTE

1.095 or so. Never reached 1.100. Acid may be a tad high. Ph 3.25.

 

[Boatboy24]

1.095 or so. Never reached 1.100. Acid may be a tad high. Ph 3.25.

I suspect the f-pack will balance that out.

 

[mainshipfred]

I suspect the f-pack will balance that out.

I'll cold stabilize them and see what happens but they are somewhat pleasant now for only being slightly over a month old.

 

[mainshipfred]

Since I only made 5 gallons the ph is low, between 3.16 and 3.19. Yesterday I did a bench trail and added 4ml and 8ml of water to 40 ml sample of wine plus I had a base base. As I took the ph readings it was dropping with the more water samples. Does this make any sense? I didn't calibrate the meter because I didn't care what the ph was just the change in ph.

 

[Boatboy24]

If you cold stabilize at that pH, you are likely to make your pH problem worse.

 

[mainshipfred]

If you cold stabilize at that pH, you are likely to make your pH problem worse.

I always thought cold stabilization increased the ph by dropping the tartrate crystals. But the below acticle say it has a different affect depending of the original ph. It appears 3.6 - 3.65 is the magic number. It's one article so don't know if there are other factors or theories but I didn't know this.

Cold stabilization is tricky! The procedure involves placing the wine in cold storage at a temperature between 25° and 40° F (-4° and 4° C) for a minimum of three weeks and then racking it. This has the effect of precipitating the tartaric acid as potassium bitartrate salt — the tartrate crystals you find at the bottom of a bottle of wine that you forgot and left in the fridge for too long — which decreases acidity and hence TA. However, remember that potassium contributes to a higher pH. When it precipitates during cold stabilization, it then lowers the pH. This effect actually happens at a pH of 3.65 (use 3.6 if you have a 0.1 precision pH meter) or lower because of the relative concentrations of tartrate and potassium in the wine. At a pH of 3.65 or above, cold stabilization will actually raise the pH.

 

[joeswine]

first of all let me say this is just my thinking ,you made a cranberry melbec,zin/pm and a coconut pino Gris. none of which as a island mist kit require a hi ph level, these are party kits. the cranberry Malbec would had been very smooth just as it came or by adding a cranberry fpac of its own, zin /pom one of my favorites also add the kit as directed boost the abv and ad a pom.fpac,the coconut Gris bump up the abv let the fpac do it
s function in the final application as directed .these IM kits are fun to play with just my thought,

 

[mainshipfred]

first of all let me say this is just my thinking ,you made a cranberry melbec,zin/pm and a coconut pino Gris. none of which as a island mist kit require a hi ph level, these are party kits. the cranberry Malbec would had been very smooth just as it came or by adding a cranberry fpac of its own, zin /pom one of my favorites also add the kit as directed boost the abv and ad a pom.fpac,the coconut Gris bump up the abv let the fpac do it
s function in the final application as directed .these IM kits are fun to play with just my thought,

Thanks Joe, so you don't think the 3.20 ph is too low? If you made it in a 6 gallon batch do you know what your final ph was?

 

[Boatboy24]

I still think you'll be fine, once you add the f-pac. That sweetness will cover up a lot of acid.

 

[mainshipfred]

I still think you'll be fine, once you add the f-pac. That sweetness will cover up a lot of acid.

I thought about that,I already use about 3/4 of the F-pac prefermintation so I may have to add some simple sugar.

On another note from my wine class, and this will be controversial, this particular wine maker never used sorbates. He sterile filters the majority of his wines prior to bottling and then again at bottling.

 

[Boatboy24]

On another note from my wine class, and this will be controversial, this particular wine maker never used sorbates. He sterile filters the majority of his wines prior to bottling and then again at bottling.

That's the alternative approach. Sadly, not an affordable one for those of us who aren't commercial.

 

[joeswine]

The reason I didn't do this as a full 6 gallon kit( lessons learned) pH I've learned has never been a issue will the these style kits just the balance between ABV and flavor, that's the true art.

Thinking outside the box,allows me to learn and spreading samples out to get real feedback.

 

[mainshipfred]

That's the alternative approach. Sadly, not an affordable one for those of us who aren't commercial.

I thought you had a filter, you could always borrow mine. The sterile filter pads are .5 micron the ones he uses are .45 so I would think that is close enough.

 

[mainshipfred]

The reason I didn't do this as a full 6 gallon kit( lessons learned) pH I've learned has never been a issue will the these style kits just the balance between ABV and flavor, that's the true art.

Thinking outside the box,allows me to learn and spreading samples out to get real feedback.

To be clear, you also make these as 5 gallons kits. Did I understand that correctly?

 

[Boatboy24]

I thought you had a filter, you could always borrow mine. The sterile filter pads are .5 micron the ones he uses are .45 so I would think that is close enough.

Thanks. Yes, I do have a whole house filter. Never tried anything lower than 1 micron though. Could be a fun experiment.