2017 South African Chenin Blanc

[jas3019]

After my first attempts at fresh juice wine a couple years ago didn't produce what I wanted, I stopped and focused on kits. But this year I'm going to try them again. So...I ordered a bucket of South African chenin blanc from Harford Winery this year. I'm hoping to make a rich white wine out of it.

My plan:

I bought D47 at my LHBS before I took a look at yeast pairing. The description of it sounds good for a full bodied white but Scott labs doesn't have it listed as good for chenin blanc. Seems like GRE would be better. Anyone have thoughts on those two or others?

I also have old (~3 years) opti-white, booster blanc, and ft blanc soft laying around. They all seem like they do about the same thing so I'm wondering if I would need to add all three. Plus it's been so long I don't know if they're still good.

Any other additives I should consider? I still have time to order from More Wine before juice comes in next weekend so could swap any out. Love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks!

 

[cgallamo]

I think if you are looking for a richer white, you would want to blend that chenin. I am not sure the yeast alone will do it, although it is always worth a try!

I used QA23 on a Clarksburg chenin for a fruity white. Turned out well. I am planning on trialing a blend with viognier to see if it is worthy of oak and age.

 

[jas3019]

I think you're right...at least from doing a bit more digging. Seems like people either go rich with viognier/semillon or more refreshing with sauvignon blanc. Lucky for me I just bottled a SB and have a WE Selection viognier on deck. Just not enough carboys to make everything But plenty of blending options to do some trials.

I think I'm going to stick with the D47 for now and just let it ride.

 

[cgallamo]

Cool - we are kinda in the same boat. I have a CC Showcase viognier - going to try to blend. Good luck - let me know how it turns out. I'm happy with this chenin from Clarksburg, but might try a different yeast next time. Good luck Jason!

Chris

 

[jas3019]

So here we go, I just got my juice bucket this morning and let it warm up a little. Still going to ferment in the basement for hopefully cooler temperatures. Tasted some of the fresh juice and it's tasty!

OG is 1.088.

I added D47 yeast along with 0.5g opti-white (too little but it was all I had left) and 1.8 g of FT blanc soft.

Now just to wait and see what happens!

Edit: Corrected the OG.

 

[Johnd]

So here we go, I just got my juice bucket this morning and let it warm up a little. Still going to ferment in the basement for hopefully cooler temperatures. Tasted some of the fresh juice and it's tasty!

OG is 1.082 so a little low but I'm gonna stick with it.

I added D47 yeast along with 0.5g opti-white (too little but it was all I had left) and 1.8 g of FT blanc soft.

Now just to wait and see what happens!

1.082 isn't too bad, if it goes down to .990, you'll end up right around 12% ABV. Are you going to test/adjust the pH and TA of your juice, or just let it make what it makes???

 

[jas3019]

Just retested after giving the juice a good stir. It's actually at 1.088 now so I think that's a good number. Original number was just plopping the hydrometer in the fresh juice without stirring.

Not going to deal with pH or TA this time. It's been so long since I've done fresh juice and I think my pH meter is now broken. Will see what happens and how it tastes in a few months and decide then.

 

[cgallamo]

Those PH meter's are finicky. Probably has to be reset.