Behind the scenes

[joeswine]

Amarone vacuumn pumpman style

hay vman nice wine I know it's taken me time to get around to it but time is this wines friend, here's how it goes ,nice upfront on the taste buds, smooth to the finish and a great job all the way around.

 

[wineforfun]

Taking a trip to Spain was outstanding the food the history and OH YA the wine follow me on my trip to a Spanish bodega

Dang Joe, that post brought back some great memories from our Spain trip last year. The food, wine, cava and hanging out on our balcony, great time.

 

[joeswine]

Got any pics from the trip to shared?

 

[joeswine]

Spanish wine tour continues

wine making Spanish style

 

[joeswine]

Simple syrup a key tool

Simple syrup

simple syrup is a key component in wine making weather your boosting the alcohol level or doing a capitalizations process (same thing) or just back sweetening at the finish ,simple syrup is fundamentally a more assured way to go and the process is simple this is a tool every wine maker should have available in his or hers tool box.
To make Simple Syrup We use Pure Can Sugar Only.
Simple syrup is a 2 to 1 blend (2 parts sugar, 1 part water)
We use ball jars as a measuring device because that is what I store it in.
So, this batch was 4-to-2 blend. (4 ball jars sugar, 2 ball jars water)
which equates to 4 full ball jars of simple syrup ready to use anytime.

First:
-Measure out sugar to water ratio.
-Next, add sugar to a large metal pot.
-Now is a good time to take the ball jars and place them in the sink in a tray and have your lids ready and your hot mittens (cooking gloves, whatever you call them!)
-Make a well in the center, then dump the water into the well and stir until blended (not disolved yet.)
-Next, turn the heat up to high. Stirring frequently until you see it start to clear a little with a light foam on top. Once you see this, you want to stir it constantly. It will go from simmer to rapid boil almost instantly when it's ready to go. Continue to stir, being careful to NOT GET ANY ON YOU! It will take your skin off, it's very HOT!
-With a metal spoon you should see through the simple syrup just like water, it will be clear. You will know you are done when this happens. (It will be at a hard boil when this happens.)
-You should already have your ball jars clean and ready to go. I place mine in a tin tray in the sink and fill the tray half way up w/ water. I place a wide mouth funnel inside the jars and take the boiling hot simple syrup and CAREFULLY fill the ball jars. Use your mitten and put the lids and rings on the jars and tighten them up. Turn the cold water on them and allow it to run in the tray. The process of the water cooling down the simple syrup will cause a vacuum in the jars and you will hear a "POP!". This will seal your ball jars and by the morning they will be cool and ready for you to handle. This simple syrup will stay good indefinitely.

This is how I make simple syrup. Another tool in the toolbox.

a tool for many reasons........

 

[joeswine]

MY space

THIS IS MY SPACE AND MY MAN CAVE IT HASN'T CHANGED MUCH OVER THE YEARS JUST ME.

 

[joeswine]

Zesting for flavor and fun

if you haven't tried to use the zest of a grapefruit or lemon as well as other citrus fruits then your missing out on a flavor treat,really....zesting for fun and flavor..

 

[joeswine]

Amarone the king of italian reds

THE KING OF ITALIAN REDS NOT AN EASY WINE TO MAKE CORRECTLY DO TO MANY FACTORS,LETS FOLLOW THE FLOW IT'S LONG VERY LONG BUT THE END RESULT WITH AGING IS EXCELLENT.FOLLOW THE FLOW........................................

 

[joeswine]

Amarone classic/ amarone style

still with me lots to go .............. that's enough for now ....keep looking for stage #5.........................

 

[joeswine]

Amarone the king of italian reds

LETS MOVE ON THIS ONE IS ALMOST COMPLETED...

Wineexpert Amarone


*UPDATED*​

Here is our kit that we received from Wineexpert. This kit is a Wineexpert Selection Series Amarone. This kit has the following included. (This list is a little different from the usual kit that you receive. This is a top of the line kit.)

The box includes the following:
· Large bag of juice
· Grape skin pack (You can actually see that there are grape skins in it!)
· 2 packs of Lavin RC-212
· 2 Chaptalisation Packs (bags of sugar)
· Package #2 (bentonite)
· Package #3 (Metabisulphite)
· Package #4 (Sorbate)
· Package #5 (Chitosan-(Fining Agent)
· Mesh Straining Bag
· 3 Packages of European Hungarian Oak
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. Including yourself. J
· 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.
· Next, we added the smaller “grape skin packet”. It’s lumpy so you also want to rinse the bag out w/ water also, to get all the grape skins.
· Now, we take the SG reading. We’re at 1.10.
· Next, we added the smaller “grape skin packet”. It’s lumpy so you also want to rinse the bag out w/ water also, to get all the grape skins.
· Now, here comes all that Hungarian oak! We are adding 3 packets of Hungarian powdered oak (wow!).
· Here comes the fun part. YEAST! 2 packets of RC-212 yeast. Cover with a towel and wait 5-7 days, gently punching down the grape skins.
Secondary Fermentation:
Now that we fermented dry (SG reading is 1.010), now it’s time to rack it.
Notice the grape skins on top? This is the cap that formed from the grape skin packet that was provided in the Wineexpert Amarone Kit, along with the addition of California Raisins (that I added to add more body).
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:​

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 recommendations of what type of wine you would like to learn how to make.

 

[joeswine]

Amarone the king of italian reds

just a little more to the flow...

 

[joeswine]

Basic wine chemistry

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]

My favorite wines

DO YOU LIKE A GOOD SPARKLING WINE TRY THIS ONE...I ENJOY SPARKLING WINE CHILLED AND REFRESHING ........HOW ABOUT YOU?

 

[joeswine]

Building body into your wine

LIKE MELBEC TRY THIS IN THE PRIMARY...

 

[joeswine]

Apple cidar

IT'S FALL WHY NOT BRING IN THE SEASON,,IF YOU NEVER DID THIS KIT BEFORE IT WOULD PAY FOR YOU TO READ AND REVIEW EACH PIC,,,BEFORE YOU START..REALLY

 

[joeswine]

Simple syrup a key tool

Simple syrup

simple syrup is a key component in wine making weather your boosting the alcohol level or doing a capitalizations process (same thing) or just back sweetening at the finish ,simple syrup is fundamentally a more assured way to go and the process is simple this is a tool every wine maker should have available in his or hers tool box.
To make Simple Syrup We use Pure Can Sugar Only.
Simple syrup is a 2 to 1 blend (2 parts sugar, 1 part water)
We use ball jars as a measuring device because that is what I store it in.
So, this batch was 4-to-2 blend. (4 ball jars sugar, 2 ball jars water)
which equates to 4 full ball jars of simple syrup ready to use anytime.

First:
-Measure out sugar to water ratio.
-Next, add sugar to a large metal pot.
-Now is a good time to take the ball jars and place them in the sink in a tray and have your lids ready and your hot mittens (cooking gloves, whatever you call them!)
-Make a well in the center, then dump the water into the well and stir until blended (not disolved yet.)
-Next, turn the heat up to high. Stirring frequently until you see it start to clear a little with a light foam on top. Once you see this, you want to stir it constantly. It will go from simmer to rapid boil almost instantly when it's ready to go. Continue to stir, being careful to NOT GET ANY ON YOU! It will take your skin off, it's very HOT!
-With a metal spoon you should see through the simple syrup just like water, it will be clear. You will know you are done when this happens. (It will be at a hard boil when this happens.)
-You should already have your ball jars clean and ready to go. I place mine in a tin tray in the sink and fill the tray half way up w/ water. I place a wide mouth funnel inside the jars and take the boiling hot simple syrup and CAREFULLY fill the ball jars. Use your mitten and put the lids and rings on the jars and tighten them up. Turn the cold water on them and allow it to run in the tray. The process of the water cooling down the simple syrup will cause a vacuum in the jars and you will hear a "POP!". This will seal your ball jars and by the morning they will be cool and ready for you to handle. This simple syrup will stay good indefinitely.

This is how I make simple syrup. Another tool in the toolbox.

 

[joeswine]

Going back to the basics.....
Basic Wine Chemistry




Capitalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape developed by the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chantal, 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.

 

[sour_grapes]

C̶a̶p̶i̶t̶a̶l̶i̶z̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape developed by the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude C̶h̶a̶n̶t̶a̶l̶ Chaptal.

 

[joeswine]

JUst looking back at the sanginovese merlot blend its turning out to be a very nice wine,

 

[joeswine]

balance to follow............................