I recently purchased two WE SE kits and have a couple questions before getting things going. The kits are the Sonoma Valley Cabernet and Stags Leap Merlot. I've brewed beer for years and made a couple red kits (a shiraz and a cab, don't recall exactly but I believe they were vinter's reserve) a few years back that, while certainly drinkable, were too thin for my liking. I haven't had many kit wines besides but they also had what may have been a subtle "kit taste". After all that waiting, which was difficult for a beer brewer, I was somewhat letdown in the end, unlike the vast majority of my beer making ventures. I decided to give it another run since I'm now drinking more wine than beer and went with the highest quality kits I could find. I am planning on generally following the guidelines in Tim Vandergrift's "Make your kit wine shine" article but am seeking some advice. I intend to let these age in the bottle for at least a year before beginning consumption and I want to try and make the best finished product possible. I've read through numerous posts on this forum (which is the best I've found on the net so far) and searched the internet a fair bit but here's several topics I wasn't certain about given that the general consensus with these kits seems to be "follow the directions".
Fining: I plan to do a 5-20-40-90 schedule, perhaps longer for the final step if recommended. Both kits come with chitosan, the Cab kit with 2 packages, the Merlot with 1 package. Would cutting back or eliminating these (or the bentonite for that matter), even if it means extending the bulk carboy aging, improve the finished product at all?
Sulfites: Both kits contain a single packet of k-meta, which I assume are 4 grams from the printing on the package ("4 Gr."). It seems the going rate is somewhere around 1/4 teaspoon per 6 gallons every other racking or every 3 months-ish if bulk aging but I wasn't certain if this pertained to all kits. I ask because the instructions for the Stags Leap specifically say (in bold print) in Step 4 to add 1/4 teaspoon additional sulfite if planning on aging more than 6 months while the instructions for the Sonoma Cab make no mention of adding additional sulfites at all even (though the WE flyer on their website for this wine kit says it will benefit from 18-24 months of aging). Does the cab kit have a higher initial sulfite level than the merlot? Given that I follow a 5-20-40-90(180) schedule, when would 1/4 teaspoon additions be recommended?
Sorbate: I clean and sanitize meticulously and was not intending to use this additive at all (per the Vandergrift article) but maybe boosting sulfites a bit if that is necessary. Is this a good idea? Regarding sanitation, are there any reservations about using a "no-rinse" iodophor solution and air drying?
Thanks in advance for any advice/recommendations. I hope this wasn't too many questions in one post.
-Andrew
Fining: I plan to do a 5-20-40-90 schedule, perhaps longer for the final step if recommended. Both kits come with chitosan, the Cab kit with 2 packages, the Merlot with 1 package. Would cutting back or eliminating these (or the bentonite for that matter), even if it means extending the bulk carboy aging, improve the finished product at all?
Sulfites: Both kits contain a single packet of k-meta, which I assume are 4 grams from the printing on the package ("4 Gr."). It seems the going rate is somewhere around 1/4 teaspoon per 6 gallons every other racking or every 3 months-ish if bulk aging but I wasn't certain if this pertained to all kits. I ask because the instructions for the Stags Leap specifically say (in bold print) in Step 4 to add 1/4 teaspoon additional sulfite if planning on aging more than 6 months while the instructions for the Sonoma Cab make no mention of adding additional sulfites at all even (though the WE flyer on their website for this wine kit says it will benefit from 18-24 months of aging). Does the cab kit have a higher initial sulfite level than the merlot? Given that I follow a 5-20-40-90(180) schedule, when would 1/4 teaspoon additions be recommended?
Sorbate: I clean and sanitize meticulously and was not intending to use this additive at all (per the Vandergrift article) but maybe boosting sulfites a bit if that is necessary. Is this a good idea? Regarding sanitation, are there any reservations about using a "no-rinse" iodophor solution and air drying?
Thanks in advance for any advice/recommendations. I hope this wasn't too many questions in one post.
-Andrew