# Shippable Australian juice



## heatherd (Apr 29, 2018)

I pre-ordered three pails from Presque Isle Wine this year. I’m looking forward to making these in mid-summer. http://www.piwine.com/order-australian-juice-for-wine-making.html


----------



## Johnd (Apr 29, 2018)

heatherd said:


> I pre-ordered three pails from Presque Isle Wine this year. I’m looking forward to making these in mid-summer. http://www.piwine.com/order-australian-juice-for-wine-making.html


 
I saw those in their email newsletter recently, have you tried these before? Planning to add any frozen grapes or skins to them? Interested to hear how they turn out.....


----------



## heatherd (Apr 29, 2018)

Johnd said:


> I saw those in their email newsletter recently, have you tried these before? Planning to add any frozen grapes or skins to them? Interested to hear how they turn out.....


I got two chenin blanc and one Cabernet Sauvignon. I will add grapes to the latter. I have not made these before.


----------



## Boatboy24 (Apr 30, 2018)

You driving all the way up to PI to pick those up?


----------



## pgentile (Apr 30, 2018)

3 buckets @75 each with shipping @21.95 each, total around $300+/-. 75 bottles finished wine, around $4 each. Still not a bad deal. Has anyone here obtained the Australian juice before? They state it's high quality juice.


----------



## heatherd (May 1, 2018)

Boatboy24 said:


> You driving all the way up to PI to pick those up?


@Boatboy24 They are shipping sterile juice this year, so I'm going to give it a go.


----------



## heatherd (May 1, 2018)

pgentile said:


> 3 buckets @75 each with shipping @21.95 each, total around $300+/-. 75 bottles finished wine, around $4 each. Still not a bad deal. Has anyone here obtained the Australian juice before? They state it's high quality juice.


I have not... this is pretty cool, though, as not all vendors have Australian juice to sell.... much less to ship.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 1, 2018)

Yay, the three Australian juice buckets arrived yesterday in great condition, shipped via fedex and boxed individually. Haven’t opened the buckets yet but they are super clean on the outside. Very exciting!

There are two Chenin Blanc and one Cabernet Sauvignon.

I ordered a bucket of frozen Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon must from juicegrapedotcom and will split the juice and must into two batches. So that will be a single varietal from different continents. I’m thinking transcontinental cab for the name.

I will post more when I get them started....


----------



## pgentile (Jul 1, 2018)

Now I'm kicking myself in the butt for not ordering Australian buckets. I need a midsummer ferment. I think I'll reach out tomorrow and see if they have any available.

Transcontinental cab, nice!! 

Interesting........ square buckets. Harvested in March.

Will be interested how these turn out. Did they provide any numbers on the juice?


----------



## BRD (Jul 2, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Now I'm kicking myself in the butt for not ordering Australian buckets. I need a midsummer ferment. I think I'll reach out tomorrow and see if they have any available.
> 
> Transcontinental cab, nice!!
> 
> ...


I’ve done 3 batches with great results. Have always fermented as is and blended at bottling. Shiraz and Cab Sauv 2:1.


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 2, 2018)

Neat name, would you consider doing 3 batches. 3 gallons straight Chilean, 3 straight Australian and 6 gallons of the mix. You could always blend the two 3's if blend turns out better.


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 2, 2018)

I need a midsummer ferment. 

Not sure what your preferences are but peach season is coming up as well as other fruits.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 2, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> I need a midsummer ferment.
> 
> Not sure what your preferences are but peach season is coming up as well as other fruits.



Peach is on my radar. Also blackberry, blueberry, cherry blend. Which ever quality fruit I can get first will decide the batch.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 4, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Now I'm kicking myself in the butt for not ordering Australian buckets. I need a midsummer ferment. I think I'll reach out tomorrow and see if they have any available.
> 
> Transcontinental cab, nice!!
> 
> ...


Hi Paul,
They didn't provide any numbers. They are still sealed while I wait for my cab sauv must. It's kind of cool to be able to start them at any time...
Heather


----------



## heatherd (Jul 4, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> Neat name, would you consider doing 3 batches. 3 gallons straight Chilean, 3 straight Australian and 6 gallons of the mix. You could always blend the two 3's if blend turns out better.


That's an interesting idea Fred - I usually split batches with different yeast, but that's a cool thought...


----------



## heatherd (Jul 4, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> Neat name, would you consider doing 3 batches. 3 gallons straight Chilean, 3 straight Australian and 6 gallons of the mix. You could always blend the two 3's if blend turns out better.


That's an interesting idea Fred - I usually split batches with different yeast, but that's a cool thought...


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 4, 2018)

Are you stuttering or did you forget you responded? It was 1:15 and I'm sure wine was involved.


----------



## Boatboy24 (Jul 5, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> I need a midsummer ferment.
> 
> Not sure what your preferences are but peach season is coming up as well as other fruits.



I've done a few batches of Peach with fresh peaches we picked out at http://www.hollinfarms.com/


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 5, 2018)

Boatboy24 said:


> I've done a few batches of Peach with fresh peaches we picked out at http://www.hollinfarms.com/



They have a large variety of peaches. Which variety did you use?


----------



## pgentile (Jul 5, 2018)

Boatboy24 said:


> I've done a few batches of Peach with fresh peaches we picked out at http://www.hollinfarms.com/




I'd be curious to hear those wines turned out. Also how many lbs of peaches per gallon?


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 5, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I'd be curious to hear those wines turned out. Also how many lbs of peaches per gallon?



Online I'm seeing 2.5-3 lbs per gallon. Last year I made 6 gallons with 25 lbs of overripe and might have disgarded 15-20% plus the pits. Turned out very nice but was thinking of using some cinnamon and nutmeg this year. Might also make more then 6 gallons because it goes fast.


----------



## Boatboy24 (Jul 5, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> They have a large variety of peaches. Which variety did you use?



I don't recall, but I haven't done any of the earlier ripening versions. Late July/Early Aug was when we went.


----------



## Boatboy24 (Jul 5, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I'd be curious to hear those wines turned out. Also how many lbs of peaches per gallon?



As Fred said, the sites online will tell you 2-3 lbs/gallon. But that really depends on the variety of peach and how rip it was. IIRC, I was closer to 5lbs per gallon and I added some Welch's white grape/peach concentrate to bump up the volume a bit.


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 5, 2018)

Heather we kind of stole your thread, sorry.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 6, 2018)

OK back to Australian buckets. Was thinking today about getting some wholesale fruit this weekend for my summer ferment, when I remembered I hadn't called piwine yet. Now there are 3 buckets of juice on the way, 1 cab, 1 shiraz and 1 grenache. Looks like fruit wine is slipping from my radar this summer.


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 6, 2018)

Now you are going to be at 82 gallons plus what you already had. Not fair!!!


----------



## pgentile (Jul 6, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> Now you are going to be at 82 gallons plus what you already had. Not fair!!!



And guess what is going to happen in the fall? Another 50-60 gallons. And that's only about 60+ days away.


----------



## ceeaton (Jul 6, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Now there are 3 buckets of juice on the way, 1 cab, 1 shiraz and 1 grenache. Looks like fruit wine is slipping from my radar this summer.


Curious how the grenache turns out. That may be a nice wine to do next year if I can't find any Chilean juice (ie. if I don't want to travel 4 hours+ round trip) next Spring.

As far as the peach goes, de-stone the peaches (cut in half) bag and freeze for a couple of days. Add to your fermenter with pectic enzyme and let come up to temperature. Pitch yeast, add some Opti-white and punch down like grapes. No need to add water or anything else (though I sometimes add Welches white concentrate - in case I ever run into @JohnT and want to give him his favorite wine).


----------



## pgentile (Jul 6, 2018)

ceeaton said:


> Curious how the grenache turns out. That may be a nice wine to do next year if I can't find any Chilean juice (ie. if I don't want to travel 4 hours+ round trip) next Spring.
> 
> As far as the peach goes, de-stone the peaches (cut in half) bag and freeze for a couple of days. Add to your fermenter with pectic enzyme and let come up to temperature. Pitch yeast, add some Opti-white and punch down like grapes. No need to add water or anything else (though I sometimes add Welches white concentrate - in case I ever run into @JohnT and want to give him his favorite wine).



I like grenache wines. Plan on fermenting these separately and then blending a portion with the cab and shiraz, end up with 3 varietals and a blend. 

Do you add sugar to the peaches?


----------



## ceeaton (Jul 6, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I like grenache wines. Plan on fermenting these separately and then blending a portion with the cab and shiraz, end up with 3 varietals and a blend.
> 
> Do you add sugar to the peaches?


Depends on the ripeness. If they are nice and ripe you can hit 10% ABV no problem. I wait a day after adding the enzyme and test some of the juice. If it's too high you can add some water (or reconstitued juice like I did). Just have to worry if you go above 11.5 or 12%. Hard to mask "rocket fuel" taste in peaches. I'd have brought a bottle of it to the get together, but that batch rarely makes it more than a month or two since both Barb and I love it! I try to back sweeten to 1.003 to 1.005. Mangos are a nice addition if you only use a few lbs per gallon and do the white grape concentrate thing (that's the other version I make, usually in the winter with frozen fruit from BJs).


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 7, 2018)

pgentile said:


> And guess what is going to happen in the fall? Another 50-60 gallons. And that's only about 60+ days away.



From what I remember from the pic of your basement you are going to run out of storage space. You may have to open some wine and get AJ and I to come over and build you some racks and a hoisting system.


----------



## mainshipfred (Jul 7, 2018)

ceeaton said:


> Depends on the ripeness. If they are nice and ripe you can hit 10% ABV no problem. I wait a day after adding the enzyme and test some of the juice. If it's too high you can add some water (or reconstitued juice like I did). Just have to worry if you go above 11.5 or 12%. Hard to mask "rocket fuel" taste in peaches. I'd have brought a bottle of it to the get together, but that batch rarely makes it more than a month or two since both Barb and I love it! I try to back sweeten to 1.003 to 1.005. Mangos are a nice addition if you only use a few lbs per gallon and do the white grape concentrate thing (that's the other version I make, usually in the winter with frozen fruit from BJs).



How many lbs per gallons of peaches do you use since you don't add water?


----------



## pgentile (Jul 7, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> From what I remember from the pic of your basement you are going to run out of storage space. You may have to open some wine and get AJ and I to come over and build you some racks and a hoisting system.



Please come over and build and drink some, but I have a stepson that moved out two months ago, I can always commandeer his old room for additional wine storage.


----------



## ceeaton (Jul 7, 2018)

mainshipfred said:


> How many lbs per gallons of peaches do you use since you don't add water?


Depends on how ripe they are. I think my batch had ~ 12 lbs per finished gallon. Just remember, you are going to rack off a lot, and I mean a lot of gross lees. Here's an overview of what I had read before and try to follow. Just search on peaches and @Turock and he'll never steer you wrong.

https://www.winemakingtalk.com/threads/peach-recipe.38822/#post-429922

@heatherd, sorry for the hijack, again...


----------



## heatherd (Jul 7, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Now I'm kicking myself in the butt for not ordering Australian buckets. I need a midsummer ferment. I think I'll reach out tomorrow and see if they have any available.
> 
> Transcontinental cab, nice!!
> 
> ...


They didn't give any numbers on them - I haven't tested either. It's nice how clean the buckets are.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 8, 2018)

heatherd said:


> They didn't give any numbers on them - I haven't tested either. It's nice how clean the buckets are.



Ordered 3 buckets they will be here Wednesday. With shipping and 3 packets of yeast the total was $293.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 9, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Ordered 3 buckets they will be here Wednesday. With shipping and 3 packets of yeast the total was $293.


NICE!!


----------



## pgentile (Jul 9, 2018)

heatherd said:


> NICE!!



Plus another $53 in adjuncts, nutrient, MLB, opti-malo, oak chips, tannin from LHBS. So total is now $346, still it's only 4.60 or so a bottle.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 10, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Plus another $53 in adjuncts, nutrient, MLB, opti-malo, oak chips, tannin from LHBS. So total is now $346, still it's only 4.60 or so a bottle.


Are you thinking you'll add any grapes/skins?


----------



## pgentile (Jul 10, 2018)

heatherd said:


> Are you thinking you'll add any grapes/skins?



I really would like to, but I didn't plan on ordering these back at crush and all my skins ended up in the mulch pile. I meant to freeze some but never got around to it. 

How about you?


----------



## Mike Blicke (Jul 11, 2018)

I also purchased a pail of Chenin Blanc from these guys. Pitched the yeast yesterday. I love Chenin Blanc, so I'm hopeful that I get some good results. 22 Brix.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 11, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I really would like to, but I didn't plan on ordering these back at crush and all my skins ended up in the mulch pile. I meant to freeze some but never got around to it.
> 
> How about you?


Yep, for the cab sauv - I had planned to order a bucket of frozen must from juicegrape.com but they're out. So I grabbed a mosti mondiali grape pack for fermentation (http://www.juicegrape.com/Mosti-Mondiale-All-Grape-Pack/) and I'll likely blend with another Cabernet Sauvignon batch that I make in the fall from fresh grapes/juice. I'm going to use RC212, some tannins/oak dust in primary, and 2 American oak medium toast spirals during aging to get nice oakiness to this batch. I'll co-inoculate the MLF with Viniflora Oenos (trying a new MLB).

For the whites, I'm using D47.​


----------



## pgentile (Jul 11, 2018)

heatherd said:


> Yep, for the cab sauv - I had planned to order a bucket of frozen must from juicegrape.com but they're out. So I grabbed a mosti mondiali grape pack for fermentation (http://www.juicegrape.com/Mosti-Mondiale-All-Grape-Pack/) and I'll likely blend with another Cabernet Sauvignon batch that I make in the fall from fresh grapes/juice. I'm going to use RC212, some tannins/oak dust in primary, and 2 American oak medium toast spirals during aging to get nice oakiness to this batch. I'll co-inoculate the MLF with Viniflora Oenos (trying a new MLB).
> 
> For the whites, I'm using D47.​


I was searching yesterday and found other grape packs I wasn't too sure about. Someone on this forum had mentioned this one before. Have you ordered one before? I'm trying to figure out the size of the pack. Can I use one for three buckets or should I order three grape packs? I just noticed they contain potassium metabisulfite.

Going with BM4x4 on these and Ch16 MLB and will co-inoculate as well. I've used D47 on whites to good affect.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 11, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I was searching yesterday and found other grape packs I wasn't too sure about. Someone on this forum had mentioned this one before. Have you ordered one before? I'm trying to figure out the size of the pack. Can I use one for three buckets or should I order three grape packs? I just noticed they contain potassium metabisulfite.
> 
> Going with BM4x4 on these and Ch16 MLB and will co-inoculate as well. I've used D47 on whites to good affect.


I've only used the Mosti one, and it's pretty big. You could get two and split between three batches.


----------



## Ajmassa (Jul 11, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I was searching yesterday and found other grape packs I wasn't too sure about. Someone on this forum had mentioned this one before. Have you ordered one before? I'm trying to figure out the size of the pack. Can I use one for three buckets or should I order three grape packs? I just noticed they contain potassium metabisulfite.
> 
> Going with BM4x4 on these and Ch16 MLB and will co-inoculate as well. I've used D47 on whites to good affect.



I also used that grape pack before (at the recommendation of HeatherD [emoji1303])

It’s about 9lbs of crushed grape must. If cost isn’t the deciding factor then I’d say get 1 pack for each bucket for sure. 
I used it on a 6gal Chilean juice pail that also contained a previous grape batch’s active skins. Solid grape pack, but If only getting one then personally I’d use it all in the same bucket instead of splitting. 
I like Heathers suggestion of Splitting 2 among 3 buckets.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 11, 2018)

Ajmassa5983 said:


> I also used that grape pack before (at the recommendation of HeatherD [emoji1303])
> 
> It’s about 9lbs of crushed grape must. If cost isn’t the deciding factor then I’d say get 1 pack for each bucket for sure.
> I used it on a 6gal Chilean juice pail that also contained a previous grape batch’s active skins. Solid grape pack, but If only getting one then personally I’d use it all in the same bucket instead of splitting.
> I like Heathers suggestion of Splitting 2 among 3 buckets.


Yep, the Mosti grape pack is big and nice-looking. One per bucket is good, but splitting two per three is okay, too. I have found them a few places online.


----------



## Ajmassa (Jul 11, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I just noticed they contain potassium metabisulfite.



Likely just the bare minimum so it keeps. For perspective- the time I used this grape pack I also added active skins to the juice too. Active with both yeast and MLB. So the juice had ZERO time to bound up any sulphites to aid the malo. 
AF and MLF were unaffected. And kicked off quickly and finished quickly. Granted, active skins are likely stronger than a typical inoculation, but it shouldn’t be a concern at all.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 11, 2018)

@heatherd and @Ajmassa5983 thanks for the info. Now to decide 2 or 3? Another $20 for a 3rd one with what I have invested is probably worth it. This will bring the per bottle cost to $5.33.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 11, 2018)

The buckets arrived this afternoon from Presque Isles along with stuff from morewine. I asked for 3 packetss of BM4x4 with the buckets, I think they were .99, well three packets came with 2 packets of BM4x4, 1 Super Ferment, 1 FT Rouge and 1 Gorferm in each. So now I have FT Rouge and Tannin Riche Extra along with med american oak chips. Not sure if any of this is redundant in the tannin realm. Guess I'm going to have to deep read on tannin in the next few days.

BM4x4-FP, I guess the "FP" is Fermentation Pack? It says "On day 2, add Super Ferment slowly". Not sure if I should pour slowly or move slowly. I'll probably not use it.

Looking forward to getting these going, just need to wait for the grape packs to get here.


----------



## ceeaton (Jul 11, 2018)

pgentile said:


> Going with BM4x4 on these and Ch16 MLB and will co-inoculate as well. I've used D47 on whites to good affect.


Good idea to co-inoculate. I think the reason @jgmann67 is having issues with his Cab and Merlot from this Spring is the BM4x4 ferment and MLB added after primary fermentation. I don't believe I've every used BM4x4 and done an MLF (could be wrong, going on memory), always used it on kits w/o MLF. I've never co-inoculated but have always picked friendly yeasts for MLB from Lallmand's site.


----------



## cmason1957 (Jul 11, 2018)

ceeaton said:


> Good idea to co-inoculate. I think the reason @jgmann67 is having issues with his Cab and Merlot from this Spring is the BM4x4 ferment and MLB added after primary fermentation. I don't believe I've every used BM4x4 and done an MLF (could be wrong, going on memory), always used it on kits w/o MLF. I've never co-inoculated but have always picked friendly yeasts for MLB from Lallmand's site.


I have used BM4x4 several times and added the MLB after primary. Never had a problem with it. My guess on the issues folks have is that total SO2 is too high. When I do Chilean juice buckets (grapes aren't available in the Midwest) I never add any SO2 prior to fermentation.


----------



## ceeaton (Jul 12, 2018)

cmason1957 said:


> I have used BM4x4 several times and added the MLB after primary. Never had a problem with it. My guess on the issues folks have is that total SO2 is too high. When I do Chilean juice buckets (grapes aren't available in the Midwest) I never add any SO2 prior to fermentation.


Yeah, I never add any SO2 to my Chilean grapes either. Never had issues with MLF (unless I forgot to stir), so I plan on sequential MLF unless I decide I just have to use BM4x4, then I'll co-inoculate.

You'd have to figure that with the long ship times with SO2 pads in contact with those grapes that they'd have to retain some of the SO2 on the skins. California grapes arrive so much quicker that they probably don't retain as much of the SO2, at least that's what my simple mind has settled on.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 12, 2018)

I know these buckets have been specially sealed/treated, but it does say on the buckets to store at +2 Celsius or 35 f. So I'm a little uneasy waiting a few days for the grape packs to come in, and to cheap to pay express delivery. I think I'm going to start these tonight and add the grape packs when they come in.

@heatherd and/or @Ajmassa5983 do either of you remember/know what brix the grape packs are at? Will they add much sugar?


----------



## Ajmassa (Jul 12, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I know these buckets have been specially sealed/treated, but it does say on the buckets to store at +2 Celsius or 35 f. So I'm a little uneasy waiting a few days for the grape packs to come in, and to cheap to pay express delivery. I think I'm going to start these tonight and add the grape packs when they come in.
> 
> @heatherd and/or @Ajmassa5983 do either of you remember/know what brix the grape packs are at? Will they add much sugar?



I just dumped it right it man.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 12, 2018)

Ajmassa5983 said:


> I just dumped it right it man.



I expected to hear that from @heatherd but from you I expected brix down to the decimal, pH, TA, SO2, YAN, phenolic compound profile, gravity pull plus tannin viscosity.

I can't get info from the manufacturers website, the PDF's on their website no longer exist. 

Like the man says I guess I'll just dump it in.


----------



## Ajmassa (Jul 12, 2018)

pgentile said:


> I expected to hear that from @heatherd but from you I expected brix down to the decimal, pH, TA, SO2, YAN, phenolic compound profile, gravity pull plus tannin viscosity.
> 
> I can't get info from the manufacturers website, the PDF's on their website no longer exist.
> 
> Like the man says I guess I'll just dump it in.



I actually did some digging around when I bought it too. My main curiosity was “what varietal is it ?” 
I don’t have the link anymore but I learned they were Pinot Noir grapes for what it’s worth. 
And the pack is hella thick with skins. Consistency is more solid than liquid —which is a good thing  But no hydromter reading possible and i didn’t own a refractometer at the time. 
I don’t have this info in my notes- so I’m just ballparking. SG of juice was 1.090. And the pack bumped it up a few ticks. Not much. Maybe 1.092 if I had to guess


----------



## heatherd (Jul 12, 2018)

@pgentile and @Ajmassa5983 The buckets are called "shelf stable" by Presque Isle so I have them sitting in my kitchen waiting for the MM grape pack to arrive. I have done the same "dump" as AJ in the past because the grape pack is literally a large-particle near-solid goo like jam or maybe chutney. I didn't put them in a mesh bag, and just let them be free in the bucket.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 12, 2018)

pgentile said:


> The buckets arrived this afternoon from Presque Isles along with stuff from morewine. I asked for 3 packetss of BM4x4 with the buckets, I think they were .99, well three packets came with 2 packets of BM4x4, 1 Super Ferment, 1 FT Rouge and 1 Gorferm in each. So now I have FT Rouge and Tannin Riche Extra along with med american oak chips. Not sure if any of this is redundant in the tannin realm. Guess I'm going to have to deep read on tannin in the next few days.
> 
> BM4x4-FP, I guess the "FP" is Fermentation Pack? It says "On day 2, add Super Ferment slowly". Not sure if I should pour slowly or move slowly. I'll probably not use it.
> 
> ...


Lovely!

The Scott Labs website has amazing info on how their stuff is meant to be used and when. They show the rouge as a fermentation tannin and the riche as a finishing tannin:
http://www.scottlab.com/products-29.aspx

I'll likely add tannin powder I have on hand to the fermentation and then use medium toast oak spirals during aging.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 12, 2018)

heatherd said:


> @pgentile and @Ajmassa5983 The buckets are called "shelf stable" by Presque Isle so I have them sitting in my kitchen waiting for the MM grape pack to arrive. I have done the same "dump" as AJ in the past because the grape pack is literally a large-particle near-solid goo like jam or maybe chutney. I didn't put them in a mesh bag, and just let them be free in the bucket.



Fedex said the grape packs are coming tomorrow, so decided to wait one more day. Going to take the same approach and dump right in with no bag.

Got the tannin stuff straightened out a bit for what I have on hand.. Ft Rouge in primary and Tannin riche extra a few weeks before bottling(Not sure why I ordered Tannin Riche Extra but will try).


----------



## pgentile (Jul 12, 2018)

Ajmassa5983 said:


> I actually did some digging around when I bought it too. My main curiosity was “what varietal is it ?”
> I don’t have the link anymore but I learned they were Pinot Noir grapes for what it’s worth.
> And the pack is hella thick with skins. Consistency is more solid than liquid —which is a good thing  But no hydromter reading possible and i didn’t own a refractometer at the time.
> I don’t have this info in my notes- so I’m just ballparking. SG of juice was 1.090. And the pack bumped it up a few ticks. Not much. Maybe 1.092 if I had to guess



I thought about the varietal, but then figured they were like juice buckets, could be anything. 

Sounds like minimum bump on the SG....nothing to worry about then.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 14, 2018)

Got these going this morning.

Grenache: brix 21 pH 3.25

Syrah: brix 23 pH 3.58

Cab Sauv: brix 23 pH 3.55

Added grape packs, didn't redo SG. No TA either. Did add FT Rouge to primary. Used all 6 packs of BM4x4 provided. Probably over kill, but wanted to make sure the ferment takes off, never having dealt with juice processed like this.

Buckets came with juice contained in a bladder inside a plastic bag. The bladder had dam that needed to be punctured for pouring.


----------



## Mike Blicke (Jul 15, 2018)

I'm very excited for this Chenin Blanc. I used montrachet and gave it some nutrient on day 3. It's already fermented to dry. I racked yesterday, and took a small sample this morning. Nice fruity aroma. Taste had the bright acidity and minterality that you would expect from and excellent Chenin. I'm regretting not buying more of these, but I'll be away from the house for the next month and wont have time to tend to an early fermentation.

I'm very interested to hear how the reds go from the other people on this thread.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 15, 2018)

All three reds off to a vigorous start, smell is very good, especially the syrah. Put the MLB in this morning. all is good.


----------



## heatherd (Jul 15, 2018)

pgentile said:


> All three reds off to a vigorous start, smell is very good, especially the syrah. Put the MLB in this morning. all is good.


Nice!! I received the grape pack and am waiting to start these after the dust settles (literally) on some masonry work we've having done in our kitchen, which is my fermentation space.


----------



## pgentile (Jul 23, 2018)

These are all off the gross lees at this point, they were at .992 after 4-5 days, the grenache finishing first. All 3 received the same yeast and MLB. The grenache looks inert, the cab has some activity and shiraz is still quite active. Will be interesting to see if MLF completes on all three.


----------

