WineXpert California Moscato 10L kit

[AJP]

I started my first wine in 35 years last week.

I started the Moscato and it had an SG of 1.071.
After 4 days at 72F the SG was at 1.007
I moved the bucket down to the basement last night since that is where I'll store the Carboy after racking.
This morning the temperature was 66F and SG was 1.001. Kit says when it gets under 1.010 to rack to a carboy.

I racked to Carboy using the AIO and it went off without a hitch.
Only thing is that the stopper for the carboy didn't want to stay in, I tried wet, dry, straight in and turning. It's a rubber stopper with hole for the bubbler #7. I ended up reverting to my farmboy days and used a handful of zip ties to keep it in (at least I didn't use duct tape!).
Sanitizing the carboy, stoppers, tubing ... takes longer than actually doing the transfer.

So now I get to wait 10 days+ and check it again.

It seems like a lot more washing than anything, but for some reason wine making is fun!

I did pick up the Daniel Pambianchi book "Techniques in Home Winemaking", it's a great read so far, highly recommended here on the forum and even though I'm only 1/3 of the way through it, I'd recommend it as well.

AJ

ps: I'll update in 10 days or so.

 

[Grabo]

That's a good kit to get back into it! One thing that I learned on this forum that became a head-slapper to me is to dry the bung, dry the carboy's inside neck, push the bung into the carboy, THEN add the airlock while holding down the bung. The airlock will expand the bung slightly and create more friction on the carboy opening. It's not 100% effective, but it's far more effective than my previous way of pushing the bung and airlock in at the same time.

 

[bkisel]

That kit makes one of my wife's favorite wine.

 

[ceeaton]

That kit makes one of my wife's favorite wine.

I'll have to bring you a bottle from the juice bucket I did this Spring once I bottle it, then you can compare to the kit. Juice bucket was $53.25 so it is cheaper than the kit, but only available in the Spring (unless you go for a Californian Moscato). How sweet does that kit end up? Did you ever take a final gravity reading after back sweetening?

 

[bkisel]

I'll have to bring you a bottle from the juice bucket I did this Spring once I bottle it, then you can compare to the kit. Juice bucket was $53.25 so it is cheaper than the kit, but only available in the Spring (unless you go for a Californian Moscato). How sweet does that kit end up? Did you ever take a final gravity reading after back sweetening?

Thanks. I'm sure Janet would love to compare the two. I'm sure I have taken a final SG but can't remember what it might have been. I can bring a bottle from the kit and we could at least do a taste comparison on to the other; I think that would be fun.

 

[geek]

I started my first wine in 35 years last week.

I started the Moscato and it had an SG of 1.071.
After 4 days at 72F the SG was at 1.007
I moved the bucket down to the basement last night since that is where I'll store the Carboy after racking.
This morning the temperature was 66F and SG was 1.001. Kit says when it gets under 1.010 to rack to a carboy.

I racked to Carboy using the AIO and it went off without a hitch.
Only thing is that the stopper for the carboy didn't want to stay in, I tried wet, dry, straight in and turning. It's a rubber stopper with hole for the bubbler #7. I ended up reverting to my farmboy days and used a handful of zip ties to keep it in (at least I didn't use duct tape!).
Sanitizing the carboy, stoppers, tubing ... takes longer than actually doing the transfer.

So now I get to wait 10 days+ and check it again.

It seems like a lot more washing than anything, but for some reason wine making is fun!

I did pick up the Daniel Pambianchi book "Techniques in Home Winemaking", it's a great read so far, highly recommended here on the forum and even though I'm only 1/3 of the way through it, I'd recommend it as well.

AJ

ps: I'll update in 10 days or so.

At that stage you have LOTS of CO2 in it, don't use a stopper but instead an air lock.

 

[AJP]

At that stage you have LOTS of CO2 in it, don't use a stopper but instead an air lock.

Yep, a stopper that has a hole in it and an airlock.

AJ

 

[AJP]

Quick question I should have asked at the top.

I was concerned about the low temperature of my basement having a negative impact, I could see the temperature going down to 63F, I have a bottle of water I leave down there and it maintains about 63F temp.

so I wrapped a FermWrap on the Carboy and set the temperature to 66F using an InkBird controller.

What temp would you choose if this was yours?
The kit says 72F-75F but that is what all those kits seem to say, they are probably picking the easiest/safest temp for most people to maintain in their homes.

Thanks,
AJ

 

[ceeaton]

Quick question I should have asked at the top.

I was concerned about the low temperature of my basement having a negative impact, I could see the temperature going down to 63F, I have a bottle of water I leave down there and it maintains about 63F temp.

AJ, I think you are fine. During the Winter months my basement temperature drops below 60*F for several months. Your wine is almost dry at this point, I'm assuming a pretty hardy yeast came with the kit, like EC-1118. It should finish up just fine, just make take a few days more at a lower temperature.

What you need to know, is if you plan on aging for a while and hope that the CO2 leaves during that time, it escapes better at a higher temperature. I've had 1 1/2 year old wines in my basement that act like they just got racked the first time, as far as residual CO2 goes. So when you go to degas it, move it to a warmer environment for a few days and it will make the process a little more effective.

 

[AJP]

AJ, I think you are fine. During the Winter months my basement temperature drops below 60*F for several months. Your wine is almost dry at this point, I'm assuming a pretty hardy yeast came with the kit, like EC-1118. It should finish up just fine, just make take a few days more at a lower temperature.

What you need to know, is if you plan on aging for a while and hope that the CO2 leaves during that time, it escapes better at a higher temperature. I've had 1 1/2 year old wines in my basement that act like they just got racked the first time, as far as residual CO2 goes. So when you go to degas it, move it to a warmer environment for a few days and it will make the process a little more effective.

Thanks for that! I guess once I decide to rack it again, I'll turn it up to 72F or so the night before, then with the AIO it should degas/rack in good shape.

Correct?

Thanks again,
AJ

 

[ceeaton]

Thanks for that! I guess once I decide to rack it again, I'll turn it up to 72F or so the night before, then with the AIO it should degas/rack in good shape.

Correct?

Thanks again,
AJ

Yes, that should help liberate that CO2 when you rack.

 

[GaDawg]

The AOI is great, never have I degassed so easy and completely

 

[AJP]

I bottled the Moscato last night . I racked to a clean carboy (with 1/4tsp Potassium Meta + 1/2cup cool water) first (leaving a little bit behind), then bottled 26 full bottles and 5 small bottles (wanted to give some small bottles away).

I'd left almost a bottle of wine in the first carboy ( I bottled that and have a little cloud in it). I'll let it settle in the bottle and drink that bottle first.

I'm pretty impressed with the taste of the wine. I followed the directions on the kit pretty close, except I re-racked and let it sit in the carboy for 3 weeks before bottling.

Thanks all for the great forum! Having the All In One pump, using Steri San, using a floor corker etc etc made this a really easy success. I'm sure without this forum I'd have wasted money instead of starting out completely on the right foot.

AJ

ps: Now to figure out the next kit to start, the Stags Leap Merlot is in the carboy getting some oak.

 

[Donatelo]

I know this is a little old thread but can you tell me the Name of the kit and where you ordered it?

 

[GaDawg]

https://labelpeelers.com/wine-makin...d/world-vineyard-california-moscato-wine-kit/

 

[Country]

I made this kit to satisfy family and friends who like sweet white wines and it’s really a hit. We don’t drink it but everyone who tries it is impressed with this beautiful, clear, crisp & really sweet (really, really sweet) wine.