Mosti Mondiale What to do with Unused Meglioli All Grape Pack?

[cocroach]

I just made my first Mosti Mondiale Meglioli (Barolo) kit and decided to use the dried grape skin pack instead of the All Grape Pack that also came in the kit. (The instructions say not to use both.)

I hate to waste the good juice, what should I do with it? It's a 4kg pack of fresh grapes and skins, would this be enough to experiment with and make a smaller batch? If so, what size can I do, 1 or 3 gallon?

 

[Rocky]

I don't believe you would be able to get much wine out of the grape pack if you used it alone to brew a batch. I would look for a good (16 liters of juice) kit that does not come with a grape pack and add it to that kit. An example of the kits I mean would be the RJS Cru Select line.

 

[cocroach]

Great idea! I think that's what I'll do. Thanks Rocky!

 

[WAG]

Send it to me.

 

[cocroach]

Ha..If Rocky hadn't suggested the idea, I might have entertained the idea...

How can you tell I'm a newbie winemaker?!

 

[cocroach]

Rocky, I went with your suggestion and just started a RJS Cru Select 16L Nebbiolo kit yesterday and dumped in my left-over MM Meglioli Barolo All-Grape Pack. S.G. was at 1.11.

The other modification I made was that I switched out the dry yeast pack Lavlin EC1118 for the liquid Wyeast 4244 (Chianti) smack pack. This is the first time I'm using a liquid yeast. I'm surprised the fermentation started so quickly. I was a little worried it wouldn't start at all because the smack pack did not swell very much after breaking it. The rep at the wine store said using liquid yeast yield better results than the dry yeast in a shorter period of time, so I thought I'd give it a go. (I almost wished I would have split the batch to compare dry vs. liquid, but I wasn't sure if I could store the liquid yeast after opening it and I don't have another kit on hand to start.)

The fermentation, so far smells much better with this liquid yeast (very fruity and pleasant) as opposed to the dry yeast, which, well...smells like yeast.

With the use of the All-grape pack and the liquid yeast, this is my first real take at modifying a kit. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. (I just bid "good-bye" to the MMM Barolo kit with raisins that I just bottled yesterday - sounds like this won't be ready for a year or two). It will be interesting to compare the two as they age.

 

[SouthernChemist]

Rocky, I went with your suggestion and just started a RJS Cru Select 16L Nebbiolo kit yesterday and dumped in my left-over MM Meglioli Barolo All-Grape Pack. S.G. was at 1.11.

The other modification I made was that I switched out the dry yeast pack Lavlin EC1118 for the liquid Wyeast 4244 (Chianti) smack pack. This is the first time I'm using a liquid yeast. I'm surprised the fermentation started so quickly. I was a little worried it wouldn't start at all because the smack pack did not swell very much after breaking it. The rep at the wine store said using liquid yeast yield better results than the dry yeast in a shorter period of time, so I thought I'd give it a go. (I almost wished I would have split the batch to compare dry vs. liquid, but I wasn't sure if I could store the liquid yeast after opening it and I don't have another kit on hand to start.)

The fermentation, so far smells much better with this liquid yeast (very fruity and pleasant) as opposed to the dry yeast, which, well...smells like yeast.

With the use of the All-grape pack and the liquid yeast, this is my first real take at modifying a kit. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. (I just bid "good-bye" to the MMM Barolo kit with raisins that I just bottled yesterday - sounds like this won't be ready for a year or two). It will be interesting to compare the two as they age.

It can be more convenient to use liquid yeast as you're essentially making a yeast starter in the pack before adding it, but you can do the same thing with dry yeast. Dry yeasts are also cheaper (though getting a hold of the more 'specialized' dry yeast strains can be difficult depending on where you live). All in all, your wine should turn out great. Just keep an eye on the fermentation. I believe people in the past have used this strain on kits without nutrient problems or other issues.

 

[cocroach]

Southern Chemist, thanks for the advice. I probably wouldn't have thought of using the liquid yeast, but I ended up getting it as a freebee when I bought the kit. I'll definitely be keeping a close eye on it since I forgot to put it in the fridge when I first got it, which might have killed off some of the yeast?? Hence, I was fully expecting it wouldn't start at all, or would get stuck somewhere along the way, but so far it appears to be happily bubbling away.

After doing a bit of reading and talking to a few wine reps, what I gather is that there are pros and cons to both dry and liquid. Dry seems to be convenient for storing and wine kit makers tend to put ones that are almost guaranteed success. Liquid seems to offer way more strains that yield way different and complex flavour/bouquet profiles and it doesn't have the "chemical" smell that dry yeasts tend to produce in the finished product. (Again, not sure if this is true, but I guess I'll know in a few weeks). On the down side, the liquid is pretty expensive, more difficult to keep and has a way shorter life. Some of the wine stores I called didn't keep any in stock for this reason.

I guess I'll just wait and see how it goes and whether the liquid yeast is worth it.

Cheers.