WineXpert WineXpert Chocolate Raspberry Port

[sweed]

Yup, another one of these. I started at 2/8/15. This is my third wine kit. Pino grigio in bottles, cabernet sauv clearing, and the port in the fermenter. I added my dextrose in 2 parts a few days after it started fermenting. SG's were at 1.060 and 1.046, and they rose to 1.066 and 1.050 respectfully. My OG was 1.130 (1.140 after adding the dex). My SG now is 1.010, and I will check it again on Sunday. I kept the temperature up in the mid -upper 70's.
I will be adding brandy, E&J vsop to fortify to 20%. Per the pearson square I'll need about 1.5 lIters atm.

If it's the same gravity on Sunday I'll rack to clear it and I'll add in the f pack, I'll add to taste I think. I'll add the brandy after it clears to age for a while.

 

[PhilDarby]

Raspberry always makes a nice wine.

Ok ive just re read this, I must have had beer goggles on, there is no mention of raspberry.

Sounds good ;-) hope its nice

 

[JimmyT]

Raspberry always makes a nice wine.



Ok ive just re read this, I must have had beer goggles on, there is no mention of raspberry.



Sounds good ;-) hope its nice

Your beer goggles are in focus, re re read the topic text. It looks like it says chocolate raspberry port to me, unless mine need checked and are as bad as yours!!!

 

[kitchen_brewer]

I made this one last year and gave away half bottles as Christmas presents which were VERY well received with several people asking if they can buy some from me!

Lovely kit, just a shame that it's a once a year limited edition and very hard to source on this side of the atlantic!

 

[sweed]

I checked the gravity last Wednesday(not Sunday) and it dropped to 1.008, yesterday again 1.008 so I racked to degas it, added my clarifying stuff, and added my f pack to raise the SG to 1.026. This stuff tasted really good. Once it clears I'll rack it back to my carboy to age for a while with the brandy. I'll have to take out equal amount of port and replace it with the brandy. I might just bottle that much just to see how it does without fortifying.

What's the best aging temperature? My basement is a cool 50°. I know aging for 6+ months is best, but I'll want some for my wedding in September. I think 4-5 months then I'll bottle.

 

[PhilDarby]

Im no expert but I have just done a quick google search, I would tend to think your basement is a good place to store it, as long as there is no risk of very low temperatures ie cold enough to freeze it and hopefully not to large a swing in temperature over the next 4 - 5 months until you bottle it, from the google search 50 -59 f looks good.

 

[pebbles2015]

Sweed, when did you purchase your kit? I thought it was a limited edition kit from 2013?

I just bought one and started it this weekend. It smells great and the yeast is working great. The expiration on the yeast is 12/2015. My problem is that I accidentally sliced open the fpac and lost that syrup. When I sent an email to Winexpert to ask what could I substitute, they sent back a snotty reply saying that kit has expired, return it to the retailer. Just wondering if you bought the kit recently or what....

Thanks!

 

[richmke]

Sweed, when did you purchase your kit? I thought it was a limited edition kit from 2013?

As I recall, they are not LE, in that they are one and done, and may or may not be repeated. They are limited, in that they are only sold during a short window (fall) of each year. If you don't get it then, you have to wait until next year (or later this year).

 

[pebbles2015]

Thanks richmke!
Do you think I can substitute chocolate raspberry syrup and brandy for the fpac?

 

[richmke]

There are kits for sale on Amazon. why not buy another one, and use the entire f-pack for the double kit?

About 1/2 of the f-pac (per 3 gallon kit) is about the right sweetness for me. So one f-pac for a double batch is about right. Note: it will dilute the choc/rasp flavor.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064O4ZRU/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Note: See if the advertisers here have any more in stock.

 

[pebbles2015]

I might just do that. Thanks so much, you were much more helpful than the bimbo from Winexpert!

 

[sweed]

Sweed, when did you purchase your kit? I thought it was a limited edition kit from 2013?

I just bought one and started it this weekend. It smells great and the yeast is working great. The expiration on the yeast is 12/2015. My problem is that I accidentally sliced open the fpac and lost that syrup. When I sent an email to Winexpert to ask what could I substitute, they sent back a snotty reply saying that kit has expired, return it to the retailer. Just wondering if you bought the kit recently or what....

Thanks!

Yeah I bought the kit last November from Northern brewer.
I'm thinking of aging it for 3 months, then bottling it after fortifying it with some brandy so it can age together.

 

[pebbles2015]

Just an update. Drank the last bottle of this this weekend
Everybody loved it. I ended up putting a bottle of torani chocolate and torani raspberry in the 6 gallon batch. So awesome!