# Port style kits 2015



## Thig (May 26, 2015)

What are you all ordering this year for the dessert "port style" kits. The deadline is coming soon and I haven't seen anyone mention them, maybe I just overlooked it.

I ordered a double batch of the "chocolate salted caramel." If it tastes half as good as it sounds it will be a regular order for the holiday season.


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## joeswine (May 26, 2015)

*port style kits*

I ORDERED A BLACK CURRENT PORT I WILL BE STARTING MY BLACKBERRY PORT BY THE END OF THE WEEK,I HOPE.


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## heatherd (May 26, 2015)

RJS has a raspberry mocha port that's new, and sounds VERY tempting....


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## Jericurl (May 26, 2015)

I ordered one of the salted caramel. I'm on the fence about buying a second one or getting another flavor. I have zero experience with the port kits.


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## heatherd (May 26, 2015)

I have made four batches of the port style wines (2 coffee, 1 black forest, 1 toasted caramel). They make great holiday gifts, and are ready to drink pretty much right away. They are three gallons, but you end up with 30-36 of the 375ml bottles.


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## Boatboy24 (May 27, 2015)

Hmmm. Got to start thinking about that. I skipped them last year. The chocolate salted caramel sounds good, but it looks like WE is up to its price fixing tricks again. 

I was thinking last year about doing the coffee and caramel, then blending some of it. Perhaps its time to do that.


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## JimmyT (May 27, 2015)

I ordered the rjs toasted caramel port. Can't wait to get it in a carboy for a year!


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## the_rayway (May 27, 2015)

I've been eying the toasted caramel. I haven't been terribly impressed with the WE port kits.


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## Thig (May 27, 2015)

I have done the toasted caramel and coffee port the last 2 years and wanted to try something different this time. They are both very good if not a little too sweet. The toasted caramel taste like your drinking "corn candy." Definitely made for slow sipping in small quantities.


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## JimmyT (May 27, 2015)

Thig, did you make the kit as per instructions or did you make some changes? What was your final abv?


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## GaDawg (May 27, 2015)

Thig said:


> I have done the toasted caramel and coffee port the last 2 years


 I agree the caramel is sweet but good. Taste just like caramel, but what about the coffee. How was it? I am trying to decide between the caramel and the coffee


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## Thig (May 27, 2015)

JimmyT said:


> Thig, did you make the kit as per instructions or did you make some changes? What was your final abv?



I added additional alcohol both times to get the abv up to about 20%. I added brandy the first year and 190proof Everclear the second year. Personally I like the Everclear addition better, it takes less and doesn't change the taste to me.

I also tweaked the coffee port per Joeswine thread, primarily adding some instant coffee.


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## Thig (May 27, 2015)

GaDawg said:


> I agree the caramel is sweet but good. Taste just like caramel, but what about the coffee. How was it? I am trying to decide between the caramel and the coffee



I love the coffee port but then I love coffee. I tweak it as stated above per Joeswine thread on the coffee port. I actually like the coffee port better than any of the others I have tried.


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## joeswine (May 27, 2015)

*Port kits*

THE COFFEE PORT OVER TIME TAKES ON A CHOCOLATE NUANCE AND THE TOASTED CARAMEL TAKES ON A VANILLA BACKGROUND,BOTH ARE VERY GOOD AND EASY TO TRANSFORM INTO A BETTER FINISHED PRODUCT.I WOULD BE LEARY OF THE SALTED ASPECT ,IT'S GREAT FOR THE REAL THING BUT PORT,SALTY EVEN A LITTLE??? THE COFFEE PORT KIT IS JUST A WINNER ALL THE WAY AROUND...........WHEN YOU DO MAKE IT (THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX)


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## geek (May 27, 2015)

heatherd said:


> RJS has a raspberry mocha port that's new, and sounds VERY tempting....




Intriguing .....


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## joeswine (May 27, 2015)

*port style kits*

WHAT IS MOCHA MEAN?? ?????IS AIT A TRUE FLAVOR OR????


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## heatherd (May 27, 2015)

geek said:


> Intriguing .....



I bought that one, it was too tempting for me.


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## Thig (May 27, 2015)

In many parts of the world, "mocha" has come to be understood as a coffee with a unique flavor that sets it aside from other beans. Many special coffee beverages use these particular beans as part of the basic recipe, as well as include the word in the name for the customized beverage. For example, a basic "mocha*latte" includes the combination of the coffee brewed from these beans, a small amount of*chocolate syrup*or powder, and a light topping of steamed milk. As this drink has increased in popularity, many people still refer to it by this name, even when other beans are used to make the coffee in it.

Copied off the Internet.


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## Jericurl (May 27, 2015)

Does anyone still have the RJ Spagnols port kits available?


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## Thig (May 27, 2015)

Jericurl said:


> Does anyone still have the RJ Spagnols port kits available?



Not sure what you are looking for but the pre-order is going on now for a fall delivery. If you are talking about left over from last year for immediate delivery, I doubt it.


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## joeswine (May 28, 2015)

*port style kits*

thanks thig,thought so but in this day and age I had to confirm...


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## GaDawg (May 28, 2015)

Thig, how much Everclear did you use?


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## geek (May 28, 2015)

heatherd said:


> I bought that one, it was too tempting for me.



I don't drink coffee, so maybe this is one not for me.....


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## richmke (May 28, 2015)

geek said:


> I don't drink coffee, so maybe this is one not for me.....



I don't drink coffee either. But, I like Coffee Ice cream. So, maybe ...


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## geek (May 28, 2015)

richmke said:


> I don't drink coffee either. But, I like Coffee Ice cream. So, maybe ...



I don't like coffee ice cream either...


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## corinth (May 28, 2015)

*port*

Hi Jericurl
winemakers toy store have a couple.
corinth
http://www.finevinewines.com/Z_ProdListWK.asp


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## Jericurl (May 28, 2015)

Well darn. They all show out of stock with them.


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## corinth (May 28, 2015)

*port*

Jercurl
if you call them,they may still take your order if you want one of the two. I called them a month ago when they were out of stock and they said they did not have any but would later so they took my order.Weird, huh.
corinth


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## Thig (May 28, 2015)

GaDawg said:


> Thig, how much Everclear did you use?



I added about 85ml of 190 proof.


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## barbiek (May 29, 2015)

Gericurl the Grape and Granary has them in stock to order May 29th is the order deadline you won't be charged until delivery in September hope this helps you out Cheers!


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## Boatboy24 (May 29, 2015)

Jericurl said:


> Well darn. They all show out of stock with them.



It is a pre-order. They will charge/ship in the August timeframe.


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## GaDawg (May 29, 2015)

I found a Pearsons Square Calculator on line 

http://www.vinovation.com/Pearson.html


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## GaDawg (May 30, 2015)

It's coffee port for me this year!


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## corinth (May 30, 2015)

I put my order in and will be billed later when they come in.
Ques? when do they usually come in?
Corinth


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## GaDawg (May 31, 2015)

August, I think?


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## JimmyT (May 31, 2015)

I was told September for my pre-order


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## GaDawg (Jun 1, 2015)

I hope ya'll are will do this process on line again this year!


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## grapezilla (Jun 2, 2015)

I've been looking at the *Wine*xpert Selection Chocolate Raspberry Port. It states it makes 11.5 litres. How furiously does these types of kits ferment? I only do small batches but I was wondering if I could just split it in a gallon carboy and a ten litre fermentation bucket.


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## richmke (Jun 2, 2015)

grapezilla said:


> I've been looking at the *Wine*xpert Selection Chocolate Raspberry Port. It states it makes 11.5 litres. How furiously does these types of kits ferment? I only do small batches but I was wondering if I could just split it in a gallon carboy and a ten litre fermentation bucket.



It would work for the initial fermentation, but ...

This kit has chapitalization and f-pack. Eventually, you will need something larger to hold more than 11.5 litres, closer to 4 gallons.

Use your normal 5 to 7.5+ gallon pail to ferment. Rack into a 5 or 6 gallon carboy. Once all the additions are done, rack to a 3 gallon carboy, plus a 1/2 gallon bottle (or possibly larger).


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## grapezilla (Jun 2, 2015)

Thanks, Richmke. The reason I was asking is that I only just started and want to keep it small ad
I know I'll probably end up getting a bigger pail in a few months time but I'm still trying to keep things as small as possible. I guess if I coud fit in a three imperial gallon bucket that would hold 15-16 litres if filled up as my current kit would fit inside it but but but.. Would it work if I would make the primary in a 16 litre bucket, rack to the 10 litre bucket or three imperial gallon carboys and then when chaptalizing add them to the original bucket?  I think the preorder from where I'd get it ends in a couple of days so need to convince myself that I'm able to pull this off quick.


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## joeswine (Jun 2, 2015)

*Coffee port*

basic format for this kit.........the instant coffee goes in the secondary along with the wine tannins,this then builds structure and good body to the finished product, just my way of *thinking outside the box.*


*Cru Coffee Port Kit*​ 
*The box includes the following: *
·Large bag of juice
·2 packs of Lavin EC-1118
·1 Coffee Port F-Pack
·Package of bentonite
·Package of Metabisulphite
·Package of Potassium Sorbate
·Package of each Chitosan-D2 and kiesesol-D1(Fining Agents)

*Our additions:*
·Oak Tannin (Tannic Acid)
·Instant Coffee
·Spring Water

*Tools you will 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 (3 US gallon capacity)
·Bung and Air lock
·Solid Bung (if you are bulk aging)
·Unscented winemaking detergent for cleaning (we recommend One-step or any other oxygenating cleaner, including Kmet....JUST NOT BLEACH!)
·Metabisulphite Powder for sanitizing 
·15 wine bottles, 15 corks , 15 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. Including yourself. 
·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. 
·We have our bucket measured to 3 gallons. The kit didn’t quite come to 3 gallons so we topped up until we reach 3 gallons. 
·Add the bentonite and give it a good stir. 
·Then add the oak tannin, stir, and then take your SG reading. It should read 1.10. 
·We then took a PH test and it read 4.0. Typically, it should be around 3.5. 
·Finally, we pitched the yeast, made up a tag, and covered it up to rest. 



After it ferments dry: (Approx. 2 weeks)

After it fermented dry (SG: 0.98) we racked it into our secondary, 3 gallon fermentation carboy. 
We had to take out approx. 1.5 wine bottles of wine out of the carboy so that we will have room for the coffee F-pack.We set that aside with an air-lock. If when we rack the wine again and we come up short and have extra air-space, we will add it. 
We checked the ph of the wine and it is at 3.5 which is perfect for this type of port. 
We added the sorbate, K-met packet, and gave it a good stir. 
Next, we added packet #1 (of the 2 packet combination) of Kieselsol and set our time for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, we add packet #2 of Kieselsol and stirred again. (Learning tip: The reason for the 5 minute wait time is you are waiting for the molecules from packet #1 to bind to certain molecules in the wine. The second packet will bind to the molecules in the first packet and then the clearing process starts. (Positive and negative particles will attract, become heavy, and fall to the bottom of the carboy, taking the sediment with it.) 
Next, we added the Coffee F-Pak. Note: Not all of the F pack fit into my 3-gallon carboy. I should have taken out possibly 2 bottles of extra wine instead of 1.5. I put the extra F-pak in the refrigerator. When I rack this again to a final mixing bucket I will add everything to the bucket and give it a good stir.


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## richmke (Jun 2, 2015)

grapezilla said:


> Would it work if I would make the primary in a 16 litre bucket, rack to the 10 litre bucket or three imperial gallon carboys and then when chaptalizing add them to the original bucket?



Ferment in the 16 liter bucket. You chapitalize during fermentation, so no racking to gallon carboys yet.

You can rack to the gallon carboys, let it sit, and the rack back to the 16 liter bucket when you add the f-pack.


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## grapezilla (Jun 5, 2015)

Thanks. I caved in and preordered a Raspberry Chocolate port.


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## Kraffty (Sep 14, 2015)

My Salted Caramel shipped and is supposed to arrive Wed. Now for decision time, start the kit before or after our grape crush this weekend? 
Mike


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## joeswine (Sep 14, 2015)

*Salted caramel*

DO IT AFTER THE CRUSH WHEN YOU CAN ENJOY THE FUN.


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## menerdari (Sep 17, 2015)

Started the WE chocolate raspberry today, mouth is watering just thinking about it.


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## heatherd (Sep 17, 2015)

My coffee and raspberry mocha have shipped. It'll be a few weeks before I have any space to start them.

This is year three for making the coffee port. That is the one thing that everyone, no matter if they even like wine, loves and wants more of. Over coffee port is where I invariably have the conversation about why I can't sell them any.


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## barbiek (Sep 18, 2015)

Just tasted my RJs Black Forest its in carboy started this time last year it's time! Time to bottle its yummy!


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## joeswine (Sep 18, 2015)

*Black current desert wine*

just moved to carboy looks just fine,


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## JimmyT (Sep 19, 2015)

Going now to pick up my toasted Carmel!


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## heatherd (Sep 28, 2015)

JimmyT said:


> Going now to pick up my toasted Carmel!



I made that one last year, added vanilla and heavy toast oak spirals, and it is super.


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## JimmyT (Sep 29, 2015)

heatherd said:


> I made that one last year, added vanilla and heavy toast oak spirals, and it is super.




How much of each and did you do the rest of the kit per the instructions? If so, what was all your sg readings?


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## heatherd (Sep 29, 2015)

JimmyT said:


> How much of each and did you do the rest of the kit per the instructions? If so, what was all your sg readings?



Added (1) tablespoon toasted oak powder in primary. Added (1) heavy toast oak spiral during aging. Added vanilla just prior to bottling.

I would have to look back at my records for the SGs.


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## JimmyT (Sep 29, 2015)

heatherd said:


> Added (1) tablespoon toasted oak powder in primary. Added (1) heavy toast oak spiral during aging. Added vanilla just prior to bottling.
> 
> 
> 
> I would have to look back at my records for the SGs.




I was wondering about the gravitys since there's a lot of people that have trouble fermenting these kits out.


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## heatherd (Sep 30, 2015)

Made four so far and have not had any problems getting to dry.


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## joeswine (Sep 30, 2015)

*port style kits*

This is my typical starting sg. For these kits THESE KITS CAN HANDLE THE ABV,BOOST DO TO THE FPAC AND THE BALANCE OF OAK AND OAK TANNINS,THE COFFEE PORT HAS WON 3 BEST OF SHOW AND 5 GOLDS, THE CARAMEL HAS WON 2 SECOND PLACES .THESE KITS LIKED TO BE TWEAKED AND SET UP GREAT IN ABOUT 4 MOS. OF AGING IF YOU CAN WAIT THAT LONG.


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## barbiek (Oct 9, 2015)

Put the finishing touches on my Black Forest.


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## Jericurl (Oct 12, 2015)

Pulled the trigger on this one today.....


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## joeswine (Oct 22, 2015)

*Coffee port*

the key to good port is capitalization,clearing then add the fpac.


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## tbayav8er (Nov 17, 2015)

I've so far bottled my Chocolate salted caramel port, and chocolate orange port. I find the flavouring a little bit too subtle. The chocolate orange port tastes very similar to the salted caramel in my opinion. Could have used more content in the F-pack.


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