when good wines gone bad
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joeswine
joeswine
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Moscato continued
JUST A LITTLE LEFT...
Here’s the process:
Add bentonite to the primary fermenter with ½ gallon warm water and stir it up until dissolved
Open up the large juice bag and dump it into the primary bucket
See the “musk” left over? Rinse that out w/ a little water. You don’t want to waste this, it’s extra yeast food and flavor!
Stir up everything in the bucket until well mixed up, then take your Specific Gravity (SG) reading. Ours reads 1.070.
Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit, don’t stir. We are using Lalvin 1118. Moscato typically does not have oak. We are adding oak tannins and white California Sun-Maid raisins into the secondary to build up the mouth feel. (This we will show in pictures and text later on in the process.)
Now you cover the bucket with a towel so that your yeast can breath but so that dust and debris do not fall into your bucket. (If you have small children, I recommend putting a lid on it w/ a hole so that it can breath. Children and buckets of liquid do not mix.)
Now that we are done our primary fermentation and our Moscato is dry (our SG read 1.012, sorry I did not take a picture. FYI: This reading was right on target with the manufacture- Winexpert. We are right where we need to be) it is time for secondary fermentation.
Notice all the white, rehydrated raisins floating on top? We are going to strain them off the top and then rack this moscato down to a 6 gallon carboy.
Now it’s time for stabilizing. The kit came with a packet of potassium sorbate, K-Meta, and Chitosan for clearing. Add the packets of sorbate and K-met first, then the clearing agent. Then give your carboy a good stir.
Next, we add nitrogen gas to the carboy. (This is not necessary but I do it as a precaution. ) Now the hard part.. waiting..
As always, clean up your carboy right away so that it doesn’t get funky.
Stay tuned. The next post for this Winexperts Moscato kit is to check to see how clear it is. If it needs more clearing, We will apply more Super Kleer as required. (My preference of clearing agents.) Once it’s clear then it’s time for the F-Pak that came with the kit. Once it is clear and the F-pak is applied then we bottle, cork, and label. Again, the post for this (with pictures) is forth-coming. Cheers!
JUST A LITTLE LEFT...
White Moscato
Add bentonite to the primary fermenter with ½ gallon warm water and stir it up until dissolved
Open up the large juice bag and dump it into the primary bucket
See the “musk” left over? Rinse that out w/ a little water. You don’t want to waste this, it’s extra yeast food and flavor!
Stir up everything in the bucket until well mixed up, then take your Specific Gravity (SG) reading. Ours reads 1.070.
Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit, don’t stir. We are using Lalvin 1118. Moscato typically does not have oak. We are adding oak tannins and white California Sun-Maid raisins into the secondary to build up the mouth feel. (This we will show in pictures and text later on in the process.)
Now you cover the bucket with a towel so that your yeast can breath but so that dust and debris do not fall into your bucket. (If you have small children, I recommend putting a lid on it w/ a hole so that it can breath. Children and buckets of liquid do not mix.)
Now that we are done our primary fermentation and our Moscato is dry (our SG read 1.012, sorry I did not take a picture. FYI: This reading was right on target with the manufacture- Winexpert. We are right where we need to be) it is time for secondary fermentation.
Notice all the white, rehydrated raisins floating on top? We are going to strain them off the top and then rack this moscato down to a 6 gallon carboy.
Now it’s time for stabilizing. The kit came with a packet of potassium sorbate, K-Meta, and Chitosan for clearing. Add the packets of sorbate and K-met first, then the clearing agent. Then give your carboy a good stir.
Next, we add nitrogen gas to the carboy. (This is not necessary but I do it as a precaution. ) Now the hard part.. waiting..
As always, clean up your carboy right away so that it doesn’t get funky.
Stay tuned. The next post for this Winexperts Moscato kit is to check to see how clear it is. If it needs more clearing, We will apply more Super Kleer as required. (My preference of clearing agents.) Once it’s clear then it’s time for the F-Pak that came with the kit. Once it is clear and the F-pak is applied then we bottle, cork, and label. Again, the post for this (with pictures) is forth-coming. Cheers!
joeswine
joeswine
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Using black corthian grapes
THESE ARE A CHAMPAIGN GRAPE AND ARE EXCELLENT AS A PARTNER WITH RED WINES,VERY SMALL AND TASTY.DRIED THEIR ALSO KNOW AS ZANTES CURRENTS.
bunchgrapes.com
Black Corinth Grapes
Black Corinth (aka Zante Currant, the Champagne grape, etc.). An ancient grape, probably of Greek origin. While the main variety is black, there are red and also white forms of the grape, though they are less common than the black form. One of only a very few parthenocarpic grapes in commerce. Other grapes are seedless because the seeds start to develop, then abort. Parthenocarpic grapes have no seed development at all. Black Corinth has the smallest berries of all seedless grapes and must be sprayed with hormone, or have the vine girdled for the berries to set evenly and have any size to them at all. Without treatment, the berries are mostly pinhead size. Very susceptible to powdery mildew, even for a vinifera grape. In actuality, there is an old American grape already named "Champagne" that is a very coarse, harsh tasting labrusca grape. Prune Black Corinth to canes for best production.
THESE ARE A CHAMPAIGN GRAPE AND ARE EXCELLENT AS A PARTNER WITH RED WINES,VERY SMALL AND TASTY.DRIED THEIR ALSO KNOW AS ZANTES CURRENTS.
bunchgrapes.com
Black Corinth Grapes
Black Corinth (aka Zante Currant, the Champagne grape, etc.). An ancient grape, probably of Greek origin. While the main variety is black, there are red and also white forms of the grape, though they are less common than the black form. One of only a very few parthenocarpic grapes in commerce. Other grapes are seedless because the seeds start to develop, then abort. Parthenocarpic grapes have no seed development at all. Black Corinth has the smallest berries of all seedless grapes and must be sprayed with hormone, or have the vine girdled for the berries to set evenly and have any size to them at all. Without treatment, the berries are mostly pinhead size. Very susceptible to powdery mildew, even for a vinifera grape. In actuality, there is an old American grape already named "Champagne" that is a very coarse, harsh tasting labrusca grape. Prune Black Corinth to canes for best production.
© Lon J. Rombough, B.S., M.S., ATM. · bunchgrapes.com · All Rights Reserved.
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joeswine
joeswine
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Chilean pino noir
FOLLOW THE FLOW.....
endations of what type of wine you would like to learn
Here is a kit I purchased from a local homebrew shop, Richland General Store. This kit is a Wineexpert Selection Series Cabernet Sauvignon. This kit has the following included.
The box includes the following:
· Large bag of juice
· 1 Packet of Red Star Premier Cuvee Yeast
· Package of bentonite
· Package of Metabisulphite
· Package of Sorbate
· Package of Chitosan-(Fining Agent)
· 2 Packages of Premium Oak
We are going to reconstruct this kit and take it from a medium grade kit to a top-of-the-line kit by adding the following:
Just for reference, I’m sure everyone knows by now if they have been following the posts, that you will need certain equipment to make this kit. For the newbies, I’m going to put it below so you know what you need:
· Primary Fermenter (minimum 30 Litres/7.9 US gallons capacity)
· Long stirring spoon (Plastic or stainless steel)
· Measuring cup
· Hydrometer and test jar
· Thermometer
· Wine thief
· Siphon rod and hose
· Carboy (6 US gallon capacity)
· Bung and Air lock
· Solid Bung (if you are bulk aging)
· Unscented winemaking detergent for cleaning (we recommend Onestep or any other oxygenating cleaner, including Kmet....JUST NOT BLEACH!)
· Metabisulphite Powder for sanitizing
· 30 wine bottles, thirty corks , thirty seals
· Corking machine (there are various types, we use an Italian floor corker.)
The Process:
· As always, sanitize anything that comes in contact with the wine. Wash your hands!
· Add half gallon of warm water to the primary fermenting bucket with the bentonite packet and stir until dissolved.
· Add the large juice package. (Be careful, it’s heavy!) Rinse this out with a little bit of spring water to make sure you get it all.
· Now, we take the SG reading. We’re at 1.10.
· We took a PI reading and it came out 3.6.
· Now, here comes all that oak! We are adding the 2 packets of Premium Oak Cubes and 2 TBSP’s of the powdered oak (wow!).
· Here comes the fun part. YEAST! We then add the packet of Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast. Cover with a towel and wait 5-7 days.
·
Secondary Fermentation:
Now that we fermented dry (SG reading is 1.010), now it’s time to rack it.
We racked this down to a carboy but it is pretty gassy. I’m going to let this settle out for a few days and degas some on its own. Over the weekend, I will force-gas it (If I have to) by giving it a good old-fashioned stir. Once I feel that it’s de-gassed enough, I will stabilize it with the potassium sorbate packet, K-Met Packet, and packet of Chitosan (clearing agent).
We finished bottling our super-awesome, Winexpert Selection International Amarone Kit. We are quite happy with the results. Our end result is a dark, inky-color, rich, full bodied, wine. It has a spicy-earthy, sour cherry aroma, dried fruit, bitter almond, from the huge volume of tannins.
For a kit wine that started just 2 1/2 months ago, the results are quite impressive. (We started this kit on August 22, 2013. We bottled tonight, 10/24/2013. After doing this kit, we would def. recommend this one for any true Italian red-wine drinker.
We would like to thank Winexpert for giving us the opportunity to present one of their finest wine kits they have available. We would definitely recommend this kit to the novice and experienced winemakers alike as it truly is exceptional.
We are looking forward to our next tutorial now that this one is complete. Please give us feedback and recomm how to make.
FOLLOW THE FLOW.....
Wineexpert Cabernet Sauvignon
Here is a kit I purchased from a local homebrew shop, Richland General Store. This kit is a Wineexpert Selection Series Cabernet Sauvignon. This kit has the following included.
The box includes the following:
· Large bag of juice
· 1 Packet of Red Star Premier Cuvee Yeast
· Package of bentonite
· Package of Metabisulphite
· Package of Sorbate
· Package of Chitosan-(Fining Agent)
· 2 Packages of Premium Oak
We are going to reconstruct this kit and take it from a medium grade kit to a top-of-the-line kit by adding the following:
- Corinth black grapes
- Powdered Oak wine tannins
- American Oak Cubes
Just for reference, I’m sure everyone knows by now if they have been following the posts, that you will need certain equipment to make this kit. For the newbies, I’m going to put it below so you know what you need:
· Primary Fermenter (minimum 30 Litres/7.9 US gallons capacity)
· Long stirring spoon (Plastic or stainless steel)
· Measuring cup
· Hydrometer and test jar
· Thermometer
· Wine thief
· Siphon rod and hose
· Carboy (6 US gallon capacity)
· Bung and Air lock
· Solid Bung (if you are bulk aging)
· Unscented winemaking detergent for cleaning (we recommend Onestep or any other oxygenating cleaner, including Kmet....JUST NOT BLEACH!)
· Metabisulphite Powder for sanitizing
· 30 wine bottles, thirty corks , thirty seals
· Corking machine (there are various types, we use an Italian floor corker.)
The Process:
· As always, sanitize anything that comes in contact with the wine. Wash your hands!
· Add half gallon of warm water to the primary fermenting bucket with the bentonite packet and stir until dissolved.
· Add the large juice package. (Be careful, it’s heavy!) Rinse this out with a little bit of spring water to make sure you get it all.
· Now, we take the SG reading. We’re at 1.10.
· We took a PI reading and it came out 3.6.
· Now, here comes all that oak! We are adding the 2 packets of Premium Oak Cubes and 2 TBSP’s of the powdered oak (wow!).
· Here comes the fun part. YEAST! We then add the packet of Red Star Premier Cuvee yeast. Cover with a towel and wait 5-7 days.
·
Secondary Fermentation:
Now that we fermented dry (SG reading is 1.010), now it’s time to rack it.
We racked this down to a carboy but it is pretty gassy. I’m going to let this settle out for a few days and degas some on its own. Over the weekend, I will force-gas it (If I have to) by giving it a good old-fashioned stir. Once I feel that it’s de-gassed enough, I will stabilize it with the potassium sorbate packet, K-Met Packet, and packet of Chitosan (clearing agent).
UPDATE:
For a kit wine that started just 2 1/2 months ago, the results are quite impressive. (We started this kit on August 22, 2013. We bottled tonight, 10/24/2013. After doing this kit, we would def. recommend this one for any true Italian red-wine drinker.
We would like to thank Winexpert for giving us the opportunity to present one of their finest wine kits they have available. We would definitely recommend this kit to the novice and experienced winemakers alike as it truly is exceptional.
We are looking forward to our next tutorial now that this one is complete. Please give us feedback and recomm how to make.
joeswine
joeswine
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Basic wine chemistry
things to remember ,what ,how ,why and when to move through the process with chems
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape developed by the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal, for whom it was named. Contrary to popular belief, this process does not make the wine sweeter but only artificially inflates the alcohol content. Additionally, the sugar in chaptalized wine cannot be tasted.
Potassium Metabisulfite is a common wine or must additive, where it forms sulfur dioxide gas (SO2). This both prevents most wild microorganisms from growing, and it acts as potent antioxidant, protecting both the color, and delicate flavors of wine.
Typical dosage is ¼ tsp potassium metabisulfite, per 6 gallon bucket of must (yielding roughly 75ppm of SO2) prior to fermentation, and ½ tsp per 6 gallon bucket (150 ppm of SO2) at bottling.
Winemaking equipment is sanitized by spraying with a 1% SO2 (2 tsp potassium metabisulfite per L) solution.
Potassium Sorbate is used to inhibit molds, and yeasts in wine. Also known affectionately as “wine stabilizer”, potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing, potassium sorbate will continue fermenting any residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling, potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation when used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines and some hard cider but may be added to table wines which exhibits difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining.
.
things to remember ,what ,how ,why and when to move through the process with chems
Basic Wine Chemistry
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape developed by the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal, for whom it was named. Contrary to popular belief, this process does not make the wine sweeter but only artificially inflates the alcohol content. Additionally, the sugar in chaptalized wine cannot be tasted.
Potassium Metabisulfite is a common wine or must additive, where it forms sulfur dioxide gas (SO2). This both prevents most wild microorganisms from growing, and it acts as potent antioxidant, protecting both the color, and delicate flavors of wine.
Typical dosage is ¼ tsp potassium metabisulfite, per 6 gallon bucket of must (yielding roughly 75ppm of SO2) prior to fermentation, and ½ tsp per 6 gallon bucket (150 ppm of SO2) at bottling.
Winemaking equipment is sanitized by spraying with a 1% SO2 (2 tsp potassium metabisulfite per L) solution.
Potassium Sorbate is used to inhibit molds, and yeasts in wine. Also known affectionately as “wine stabilizer”, potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing, potassium sorbate will continue fermenting any residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling, potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation when used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines and some hard cider but may be added to table wines which exhibits difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining.
.
joeswine
joeswine
- Joined
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Basic wine chemistry
things to remember....
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape developed by the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal, for whom it was named. Contrary to popular belief, this process does not make the wine sweeter but only artificially inflates the alcohol content. Additionally, the sugar in chaptalized wine cannot be tasted.
Potassium Metabisulfite is a common wine or must additive, where it forms sulfur dioxide gas (SO2). This both prevents most wild microorganisms from growing, and it acts as potent antioxidant, protecting both the color, and delicate flavors of wine.
Typical dosage is ¼ tsp potassium metabisulfite, per 6 gallon bucket of must (yielding roughly 75ppm of SO2) prior to fermentation, and ½ tsp per 6 gallon bucket (150 ppm of SO2) at bottling.
Winemaking equipment is sanitized by spraying with a 1% SO2 (2 tsp potassium metabisulfite per L) solution.
Potassium Sorbate is used to inhibit molds, and yeasts in wine. Also known affectionately as “wine stabilizer”, potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing, potassium sorbate will continue fermenting any residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling, potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation when used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines and some hard cider but may be added to table wines which exhibits difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining.
things to remember....
Basic Wine Chemistry
Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape developed by the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal, for whom it was named. Contrary to popular belief, this process does not make the wine sweeter but only artificially inflates the alcohol content. Additionally, the sugar in chaptalized wine cannot be tasted.
Potassium Metabisulfite is a common wine or must additive, where it forms sulfur dioxide gas (SO2). This both prevents most wild microorganisms from growing, and it acts as potent antioxidant, protecting both the color, and delicate flavors of wine.
Typical dosage is ¼ tsp potassium metabisulfite, per 6 gallon bucket of must (yielding roughly 75ppm of SO2) prior to fermentation, and ½ tsp per 6 gallon bucket (150 ppm of SO2) at bottling.
Winemaking equipment is sanitized by spraying with a 1% SO2 (2 tsp potassium metabisulfite per L) solution.
Potassium Sorbate is used to inhibit molds, and yeasts in wine. Also known affectionately as “wine stabilizer”, potassium sorbate produces sorbic acid when added to wine. It serves two purposes. When active fermentation has ceased and the wine is racked for the final time after clearing, potassium sorbate will continue fermenting any residual sugar into CO2 and alcohol, but when they die no new yeast will be present to cause future fermentation. When a wine is sweetened before bottling, potassium sorbate is used to prevent refermentation when used in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite. It is primarily used with sweet wines, sparkling wines and some hard cider but may be added to table wines which exhibits difficulty in maintaining clarity after fining.
joeswine
joeswine
- Joined
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Spanish wine tour
before the new year begins, i would like to share with all of you my trip to spain and the tour we of a wine bodega using huge ceramic wine vessels and organic grapes this was a experience to be in travailing back thorough time and the wine caves and finally tasting the exquisite finish product ,follow the tour and happy new year
before the new year begins, i would like to share with all of you my trip to spain and the tour we of a wine bodega using huge ceramic wine vessels and organic grapes this was a experience to be in travailing back thorough time and the wine caves and finally tasting the exquisite finish product ,follow the tour and happy new year
joeswine
joeswine
- Joined
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Diablo rojo cont.
LONG FLOW BUT INTERRESTING THE PROCESS GIVES YOU DETAILS FROM A HOMEWINE MALERS PROSPECTIVE.THE BALANCE WILL FOLLOW IN A WEEKS TIME,I WILL BE ENTERRING THIS WINE NEXT YEAR IN SOME OF THE LOCAL COMPETITIONS FOR SURE..
LONG FLOW BUT INTERRESTING THE PROCESS GIVES YOU DETAILS FROM A HOMEWINE MALERS PROSPECTIVE.
THE BALANCE WILL FOLLOW IN A WEEKS TIME,I WILL BE ENTERRING THIS WINE NEXT YEAR IN SOME OF THE LOCAL COMPETITIONS FOR SURE.. 
joeswine
joeswine
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Sangiovese the prince of italian reds
Here is the beginning of the process. We are starting with an inexpensive wine kit from Wine Expert- World Vineyard. It's an Italian Sangiovese. My friend, Katie (Neviawen from the forum here) was here at my house to document the process for us all. I will include pictures throughout the making of this kit, as well as what we are going to do to take an inexpensive kit and make great wine from it.
Step 1: We have acquired our kit, sanitized everything, and laid out all of our tools before we started.
Step2: Added 1/2 gallon of hot water to my fermentation bucket and added bentonite. Stirred until no clumps.
Step 3: Opened up the bag of "grape juice" and dumped into the bucket and stirred.
Step 4; Added 1/2 gal of spring water to the empty bag (where the juice came from, to rinse it out) and swished it around. Added that to the bucket and stirred.
Step 5: Topped the bucket off w/ spring water to the 6 gallon mark and stirred more.
Step 6: Took our specific gravity reading. Posted that on our hanging tag.
Step 7: Added 2 bags of oak chips and pitched the yeast. (sprinkled it on top, do not stir).
Step 8: Cover the top of the bucket with a clean towel. This will prevent anything from falling into it.
Then we wait 5-7 days. We will then move onto the next phase.
Next:
Ok, today is 7 days from when we started this kit. We took our specific gravity reading and it is at 1.028. Slowly it's fermenting dry.
I also put up a picture of what the bucket looks like right now. You can see there are some bubbles and oak chips floating on top. It smells great! Stay tuned- it will be going into the carboy for secondary fermentation soon..
Next:
10 days after we started this kit, we checked the Specific Gravity and it is 1.000- it is almost dry. Now is when we add the raisons and powdered oak (wine tannin powder). We are using 1 pound of black raisons (you can use white raisons for white wines) and we are using 4 tbsp. of the powdered oak.
Here is a picture of the powdered oak and raisons at the bottom of our carboy.
For our demonstration we are using the auto-syphon instead of my wine pump. This is the most basic tool for this job and is what most beginner home winemakers have handy. Transferring the wine from the primary fermentation bucket to the carboy helps to degas the wine.
When you get to the bottom of the bucket when syphoning, you can use wedges to prop up one end of the bucket. This helps you get the most out of your wine.
We now have our wine in the 6 gallon carboy. Let’s stir it up good to get all the raisons and powdered oak mixed well. This also will help degas more.
We are using a 6 gallon carboy but only have a 5 gallon batch of wine. I am filling the remaining 1 gallon of headspace with Nitrogen.Once this is racked again it will go into a 5 gallon carboy.
As always, we write our latest specific gravity reading on our tag and hang it on the carboy.
Cover the carboy up with a towel to keep light out.
Next:
Sangiovese Update: My oh My! It's tasty so far!
Here's our observation:
There was a heavy body to it, medium tanins, nice bite and a zing of acidity. It will be a good wine when aged.
Here's a few pictures. But first, let's explain what were looking at.
There are 3 pictures here. One the side of the glass in the pictures you will notice a "clear smear". This is what we call the wine's "legs". Having these when you tip a glass of wine indicates that the wine has good body and alchohol content.
Next, you will notice the "age line". This is the line that is between the surface of the wine and the distance to the color of the wine. The smaller this line is, the longer your wine has aged. You will see in our pictures that this wine is still very young yet the ring is close. That is the difference in a kit; they are made to age quick so you can drink them faster.
Final step to our Sangiovese kit: Bottling!
Before we started, we got all the tools out of our toolbox that we would need. We also sanitized all our bottles and had them ready.
What we had ready before we started:
Sanitized Bottles
Funnel
Ferrari Bottle Filler
Long Stirring wand
seals
corks
Packets of Sorbate and K-Met that came with the kit
my bottle sealing tool (don't know what it's called but it holds the seal on top the bottle while I dip it into boiling water), notice we didn't filter, that's because we racked down to clear.
Next, we dumped the 2 packets of ingredients into the carboy and gave it a stir w/ the wand (I didn't take a picture of this, you all know how to just give it a stir.)
I then placed the Ferrari bottling tool on top of an empty bottle, put the larger hose into the carboy and applied suction to the smaller hose to start the syphon. Once the wine starts to flow I place this smaller hose into an empty bottle just so it's out of the way.
What is great about this tool is that once a bottle is full it automatically stops the wine flow so that it doesn't overflow. You will see that it gets to a certain level in the little chamber and then it stops filling. When this happens you put the Ferrari tool into the next bottle and proceed.
When you have all bottles filled, you cork them. Once they are corked you seal them.
Fit the seal over the bottle, I use a tool that holds the seal on top the bottle for me as I dip them into boiling water. I dip it in, give it one twist real quick and pull it out. (Literally takes 2 seconds and it's sealed.)
Winexpert Sangiovese
Step 1: We have acquired our kit, sanitized everything, and laid out all of our tools before we started.
Step2: Added 1/2 gallon of hot water to my fermentation bucket and added bentonite. Stirred until no clumps.
Step 3: Opened up the bag of "grape juice" and dumped into the bucket and stirred.
Step 4; Added 1/2 gal of spring water to the empty bag (where the juice came from, to rinse it out) and swished it around. Added that to the bucket and stirred.
Step 5: Topped the bucket off w/ spring water to the 6 gallon mark and stirred more.
Step 6: Took our specific gravity reading. Posted that on our hanging tag.
Step 7: Added 2 bags of oak chips and pitched the yeast. (sprinkled it on top, do not stir).
Step 8: Cover the top of the bucket with a clean towel. This will prevent anything from falling into it.
Then we wait 5-7 days. We will then move onto the next phase.
Next:
Ok, today is 7 days from when we started this kit. We took our specific gravity reading and it is at 1.028. Slowly it's fermenting dry.
I also put up a picture of what the bucket looks like right now. You can see there are some bubbles and oak chips floating on top. It smells great! Stay tuned- it will be going into the carboy for secondary fermentation soon..
Next:
10 days after we started this kit, we checked the Specific Gravity and it is 1.000- it is almost dry. Now is when we add the raisons and powdered oak (wine tannin powder). We are using 1 pound of black raisons (you can use white raisons for white wines) and we are using 4 tbsp. of the powdered oak.
Here is a picture of the powdered oak and raisons at the bottom of our carboy.
For our demonstration we are using the auto-syphon instead of my wine pump. This is the most basic tool for this job and is what most beginner home winemakers have handy. Transferring the wine from the primary fermentation bucket to the carboy helps to degas the wine.
When you get to the bottom of the bucket when syphoning, you can use wedges to prop up one end of the bucket. This helps you get the most out of your wine.
We now have our wine in the 6 gallon carboy. Let’s stir it up good to get all the raisons and powdered oak mixed well. This also will help degas more.
We are using a 6 gallon carboy but only have a 5 gallon batch of wine. I am filling the remaining 1 gallon of headspace with Nitrogen.Once this is racked again it will go into a 5 gallon carboy.
As always, we write our latest specific gravity reading on our tag and hang it on the carboy.
Cover the carboy up with a towel to keep light out.
Next:
Sangiovese Update: My oh My! It's tasty so far!
Here's our observation:
There was a heavy body to it, medium tanins, nice bite and a zing of acidity. It will be a good wine when aged.
Here's a few pictures. But first, let's explain what were looking at.
There are 3 pictures here. One the side of the glass in the pictures you will notice a "clear smear". This is what we call the wine's "legs". Having these when you tip a glass of wine indicates that the wine has good body and alchohol content.
Next, you will notice the "age line". This is the line that is between the surface of the wine and the distance to the color of the wine. The smaller this line is, the longer your wine has aged. You will see in our pictures that this wine is still very young yet the ring is close. That is the difference in a kit; they are made to age quick so you can drink them faster.
Final step to our Sangiovese kit: Bottling!
Before we started, we got all the tools out of our toolbox that we would need. We also sanitized all our bottles and had them ready.
What we had ready before we started:
Sanitized Bottles
Funnel
Ferrari Bottle Filler
Long Stirring wand
seals
corks
Packets of Sorbate and K-Met that came with the kit
my bottle sealing tool (don't know what it's called but it holds the seal on top the bottle while I dip it into boiling water), notice we didn't filter, that's because we racked down to clear.
Next, we dumped the 2 packets of ingredients into the carboy and gave it a stir w/ the wand (I didn't take a picture of this, you all know how to just give it a stir.)
I then placed the Ferrari bottling tool on top of an empty bottle, put the larger hose into the carboy and applied suction to the smaller hose to start the syphon. Once the wine starts to flow I place this smaller hose into an empty bottle just so it's out of the way.
What is great about this tool is that once a bottle is full it automatically stops the wine flow so that it doesn't overflow. You will see that it gets to a certain level in the little chamber and then it stops filling. When this happens you put the Ferrari tool into the next bottle and proceed.
When you have all bottles filled, you cork them. Once they are corked you seal them.
Fit the seal over the bottle, I use a tool that holds the seal on top the bottle for me as I dip them into boiling water. I dip it in, give it one twist real quick and pull it out. (Literally takes 2 seconds and it's sealed.)
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Joe,
You have alluded to the fact that you topped off the primary to 6 gallons; then later on say that you only have a 5 gallon batch. Is this a typo? I know that you usually make a 5 gallon batch from a 6 gallon kit to improve body. Also you did not chapalitize. Is it not necessary on this kit?
You have alluded to the fact that you topped off the primary to 6 gallons; then later on say that you only have a 5 gallon batch. Is this a typo? I know that you usually make a 5 gallon batch from a 6 gallon kit to improve body. Also you did not chapalitize. Is it not necessary on this kit?
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