Cellar Craft CC Showcase Old Vine Zinfandel (with Enzyme Pack)

[ibglowin]

That is good to know! Thanks for the shout out.

 

[CassieV]

I was thinking about doing this kit for my next batch. It'll be my 3rd. I haven't used a kit with a grape pack yet. From what I've read all you do is put it in the mesh bag & stir it everyday. When you go to rack, do you just squeeze out the juice then rack to carboy?

 

[ibglowin]

Yep, thats pretty much it,

Punch it down every day and then squeeze the bizeebies out of it when you rack to carboy.

 

[Darryl]

Hey Mike,
Looks great!!!!
Did you squeeze the grape pack when you first put it in the primary... did you add the oak in the primary or wait till secondary???
I just started the Tannat tonight... it said to add the oak now but like you kit it says to rack in 6-7 days(1.00 s.g.), I was going to wait and add the oak(cubes) then...
Thanks for the help,

 

[Jackie]

looks good. This kit has been on my wishlist for awhile. Anyone know what the enzyme is--doesn't sound like pectic enzyme?

 

[ibglowin]

I just stir the heck out of it initially as there is a lot of sugar in the grape pack. It looks and taste like grape jam. I always add my oak in primary and transfer over to secondary. Chips are a little harder to transfer but its easier if you have funnel with a screen. Cubes are very easy as there are fewer and they are much larger and easier to get. I left the oak in any kit that had cubes in it for 3 months and racked off. So far that has seemed just about perfect. Chips extract much faster and can come off in weeks. You can always add some more if you do a taste test and it seems you need more oak.

Hey Mike,
Looks great!!!!
Did you squeeze the grape pack when you first put it in the primary... did you add the oak in the primary or wait till secondary???
I just started the Tannat tonight... it said to add the oak now but like you kit it says to rack in 6-7 days(1.00 s.g.), I was going to wait and add the oak(cubes) then...
Thanks for the help,
 

 

[ibglowin]

Not to my knowledge. Supposed to get rid of a white ring (of gunk) that happens when bulk aging and some kits.

Anyone know what the enzyme is--doesn't sound like pectic enzyme?

 

[robie]

Last week I racked from secondary for my Cellar Craft Showcase Cab/Shiraz. I had added the enzyme back in secondary about when the instructions said to add it. When I was racking and the level in the secondary was going down, white, milky gunk ran from the top down the inside of the carboy and pretty much coated the whole insides.

Even the sediment in the bottom had white pastie in it. The wine tasted OK, though. I just didn't like to see all that in my wine. Hopefully all residue from it will be gone on the next rack.

Regardless of this situation, I will have no problems doing another CC kit. I plan on starting an Argentinian Malbec when they are available this summer.

 

[CassieV]

Could you put the oak in a mesh bag during primary, then when you rack to secondary take oak out of the mesh bag to float freely in the wine?

 

[ibglowin]

Sure as long as the chips stay submerged and it contact with the must.

 

[xanxer82]

I see them now. Windows XP Pro with IE v6.

I thought IE6 was dead LOL.



I see the photos on Vista Premium with Firefox (Newest Beta Build)

 

[v1rotate]

Could you put the oak in a mesh bag during primary, then when you rack to secondary take oak out of the mesh bag to float freely in the wine?

A guru on another forum claims that chips give up all their oaky contribution in 1 to 2 days! I never worry about racking to the carboy after a week if that is what the instructions call for. Of course I do add extra oak cubes after stabilizing to almost all my kits.

 

[ibglowin]

Not sure I would believe that statement. A few weeks is my guesstimate. I like leaving them in until I see them sink to the bottom.

At that point the wine has fully soaked into the chip. Only at that point would I call the extraction to be complete.

A guru on another forum claims that chips give up all their oaky contribution in 1 to 2 days! I never worry about racking to the carboy after a week if that is what the instructions call for. Of course I do add extra oak cubes after stabilizing to almost all my kits.

 

[v1rotate]

Not sure I would believe that statement. A few weeks is my guesstimate. I like leaving them in until I see them sink to the bottom.

Well, you got me to questioning myself, Mike. So I went back to the Winepress.us forum to reread the post. Here is a quote from Tim Vandergrift who works for WE and participates in that other forum occasionally:

As other posters noted, we add oak at the beginning of the fermentation because
it causes a mellower, softer flavour profile and thus makes for earlier
drinking. As much as folks on this board are all about ageing and tweaking, the
vast (99%+) majority of our consumers are eager to get it in the bottle and get
to the business of drinking it. You can radically alter the flavour profile by
simply putting the included oak in, post-fermenation. This generally makes for a
harsher wine, especially if you use the entire amount of powder included in the
kit: with a huge surface-area-to-volume ratio the oak gives everything up in a
day or two.

And that's one of the advantages of beans or staves: with a
much lower surface-area-to-volume ratio it's possible to monitor the flavour and
aroma of the wine to catch it before it gets too oaky, and pull them out.

So I was mistaken about referring to chips giving up their flavor quickly, it was the oak dust Tim was referring to. My bad.

Here is a link to the thread. Tims post is #17. <cheers>

 

[ibglowin]

OK, Yep, I would agree saw dust would give the ghost up in a couple of days. Makes sense now.

 

[pracz]

Mike -

Have you done any tasting on this one yet? Just curious as to how it is coming along. I'm starting mine in a week or so.

Thanks,

Pete

 

[ibglowin]

Yep,

Did a quick carboy sample on wednesday night. Tasted great, nice oak, nice acidity , good mouthfeel, but...... wow, still tasted like it needs another 6 months. Very green and its like 4 months old now! Not an early drinker but I think its going to be good when it grows up!

 

[pracz]

Thanks, Mike. Good to know.

Regards,

Pete

 

[grapeman]

How quickly the oak gives itself up is a factor of the surface area of the piece of material. Chunks or cubes of wood have a relatively small surface area to volume of wood. The smaller the chunks, the greater the proportion of surface area. Sawdust has the greatest surface area, so it gives up the goodies the quickest.

 

[CassieV]

Mike, with this kit did you stir it before you racked to secondary? I read the post about adding the enzyme and you said all the gross lees need to be racked off. I have high expectations for this kit so I want to get it right. I just ordered it this weekend.