Cellar Craft CC Showcase Collection South African Shiraz

[terroirdejeroir]

Just started this kit - my first one with a grape pack. What a luscious treat that is! It came with French oak shavings for the primary and Hungarian cubes for the secondary. This will also be my first go round with Hungarian oak.

I have a question about this very promising kit: My initial SG was 1.14 at about 80 degrees. That seemed awfully high so I will check again in 12 hours or so. Could the high reading be from the grape pack? Do I need to add additional water if the next SG reading is similarly high? I would expect the SG to be 1.10 or less....

 

[ibglowin]

No that is spot on for a Showcase kit with grape pack. Just let it ride!

 

[terroirdejeroir]

Still puzzled about the high initial SG of 1.14 on this batch. Just finished fermentation at .991 - doesn't this mean my wine is nearly 20% alcohol? Concerned that it will be undrinkable...

 

[robie]

I doubt that the SG was truly 1.14 for the whole batch. That was likely because the whole thing was not stirred up really well. You never said what the SG was on day 2.

 

[cpfan]

Well 1.140 to .991 means 19.8%. To read 1.140, my hydrometer would have to be sitting almost totally out of the must. Doesn't sound right to me.

I suspect that your initial reading was actually 1.114 which would yield 16.36%. Though that still seems a bit high.

SG readings should ALWAYS be quoted in 3 decimal places. If only because it helps to get the % alc calculation correct.

Steve

 

[terroirdejeroir]

I understand the skepticism regarding the accuracy of the original SG, but it was indeed 1.140, well beyond the dessert wine range. I considered adding additional water, but was very reluctant to do that given that you can't get it back out. When ibglowin said that was typical for this type of kit I just figured alcohol toxicity would kill the yeast at 18% based on the Lalvin (EC-1118) website and other sources. The second day SG was also 1.140.

My only guess at this point is that my hydrometer has betrayed me.

Will be very interested to see how this one comes out...

 

[SouthernChemist]

How does it taste? I would think one would be able to tell if the alcohol levels are pretty abnormal.

 

[terroirdejeroir]

Didn't taste it when I racked it to secondary - planning on waiting until after I degas.

 

[BobF]

Did you contact CC to get their take on this?

 

[terroirdejeroir]

Bob, I liked your idea to contact CC so I sent them a note yesterday morning. No response so far. It occurred to me while composing the note that it may be possible some particulate escaped from the grape pack (in a mesh bag) after stirring and caused the reading to be too high. Anybody care to weigh in on that possibility?

I will be degassing and sampling on Sunday, so it will be interesting to see if it resembles moonshine.

 

[terroirdejeroir]

Never heard back from CC so I guess I will just forge ahead.

I intend to bulk age this wine, but I have never done that before. My understanding is that I should rack the wine three weeks after adding finings at the time the instructions say to bottle. What should be my racking schedule after that time? Will I need to add additional sulfites? I am thinking about bottling at about six months of age. Feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Geronimo]

I've done many CC Showcase kits with the grape pack, and they vary from 1.095 to 1.120, the highest being Amarone followed by the Red Mountain Cab Sav.

Since Shiraz usually don't exceed 14.5% I'd bet the stratification theory is right on or it's some other error in measurement. Getting wine yeast up over 18% is challenging. You'd know just by tasting it if you had a problem.

 

[tonyt]

It occurred to me while composing the note that it may be possible some particulate escaped from the grape pack (in a mesh bag) after stirring and caused the reading to be too high.

My recent RJS super tuscan came in at sg 1.110. Thats the
highest on record for me except for an ice wine.
Many people opt not to use a mesh bag at all letting the entire grape pack intergrate. So I doubt that did it. What I do wonder is if your kit was the end of a batch at the factory or your grape pack got an extra dose of sugar. The other thing that trips me up sometimes is my hydrometer not floating free with the grape pack in the bucket. But I trust you got repeated accurate readings.

 

[byathread]

Just curious how this wine came out? The description is intriguing and it's on my to do list.

 

[ColemanM]

It's odd how no one commented on your 80* temp. Did you adjust your SG accordingly? Your hydrometer will tell you what temp a true reading will be. Either 60 or 68 then you add or subtract so much for the difference. Not sure of the exact specs, sorry.

PS how did it turn out??

Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[sour_grapes]

It's odd how no one commented on your 80* temp. Did you adjust your SG accordingly? Your hydrometer will tell you what temp a true reading will be. Either 60 or 68 then you add or subtract so much for the difference. Not sure of the exact specs, sorry.

PS how did it turn out??

Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

Good thought, but that actually goes the wrong way: http://www.brewersfriend.com/hydrometer-temp/ The correction of 1.140 from 80 to 68 results in 1.141, and from 80 to 60 results in 1.142.

 

[ColemanM]

Oops my mistake. Sounds like a monster ABV any way you look at it


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[terroirdejeroir]

It's odd how no one commented on your 80* temp. Did you adjust your SG accordingly? Your hydrometer will tell you what temp a true reading will be. Either 60 or 68 then you add or subtract so much for the difference. Not sure of the exact specs, sorry.

PS how did it turn out??

Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

Nothing but good things to say about this kit. Now almost 20 months old, it is outstanding. I even got a good review from someone who lived in the Stellenbosch area of South Africa for five years. Definitely want to do this one again. And it does indeed pack a wallop!

It will be interesting to see how it compares to the WE LE South African Shiraz/Cab.