WineXpert Chocolate Rasberry Port

[daugenet]

That is a question I was going to ask as well. You beat me to it. Good luck with yours. I just added 1/2 the dextrose today when it got to 1.020.

I threw mine in all at once. I will be checking the gravity reading this weekend and let you know how it goes.

 

[roblloyd]

I hate you guys!

Because of the rave reviews on this kit I just had my local place put one aside for me.

How long does this one need to age to reach it's peak?

ok I don't hate you but this place is costing me a lot of money. At least in the end it's saving me money. Well that's what I'm telling myself and my wife.

 

[millwright01]

There are two posts about this port going so i am posting in both in case people are only following one. If you are following both, sorry for the repetition. I added the other half of the dextrose 12 hours after the first half and gave it a good whip. Half only takes it up .006 so it was back to 1.020 in 12 hours. I just took a reading now and am back to 1.020. I gave it a whip for 20 seconds after the reading and after it settled down again I see there are bubbles so still fermenting. Maybe I will make it all the way down!?!? I will keep you posted. I am running it at 75 degrees and tonight I took spacers out of brew belt. As fermentation slows there will be less heat produced so the belt should keep it in that 74-78 range with no spacers.

 

[DaveM]

I hate you guys!

How long does this one need to age to reach it's peak?

Well, my oldest one is almost 2 years old now and it just keeps getting better. I've noticed a much more subdued chocolate flavour as it ages, and tastes much more port-like and less candy-like (although a tasty candy I must say).

As long as your corks and SO2 levels are okay, it'll probably last 3 or more years. I've read about people commenting on their 4 year old CRP and saying it was fantastic.

 

[Reddart]

I'm following the 1/3 each day starting on the 3rd day after pitching. After the last addition (5th day) the SG is 1.027. I have been keeping it at 73-76 degrees. I'll check it again in 5 more days and transfer to the secondary if it's low enough.

I made this kit 2 years ago following the directions, and had it stuck after the one addition. It was still good drinking, but I would like to have it finish lower, hence the multiple addition and keeping the temp up this time.

 

[roblloyd]

I just picked up my kit today. I asked if it needed any other tweaks and he said it's pretty perfect the way it is. BUT if you want to drink it young leave out some of the chocolate as that comes through heavily in the first 6 months. After a year it's all balances out.
So now I have 2 port kits to do - dark chocolate orange and choc rasp. Should I start both at the same time and compare them? Of course this would mean I need to get another 3gal carboy.

Looking forward to this!

 

[millwright01]

Just finished racking into secondary. SG 1.010 and still the odd bubble in the airlock. I made it!! Thanks everyone for the help. This forum rocks

 

[Redtrk]

I picked mine up Friday and haven't started it yet. I will say that last years is excellent.

 

[jwolf99]

So after day number three, my kit seems to be moving along nicely. SG started at 1.132 and is down to 1.040 tonight. Air lock is puffing along nicely. Each night I've been giving it a stir with the drill mounted mixer, only 20 seconds on low to med speed. Also, turned on the heater band tonight as the temp dropped down to 76 deg F (in a 72 degree room).

We're getting close to the 1.020 mark at which point I'll add one third of the dextrose. We'll see how that goes.

 

[jwolf99]

Did I goof?

So now I think I see why some people use wood shims with their heat bands (which I didn't). I got home tonight and my temp was up to 86 degrees. I guess my heat band is geared towards keeping 5-6 gallons of juice up to mid-70s temperature as opposed to half that volume. SG was at 1.020. According to my hydrometer instructions, I would add .003 for the temp correction for a SG reading of 1.023.

I unplugged the heat band, gave it a brief stir and put the air lock back on. So the question is have I done any damage? If so, any suggestions on what to do? Should I put heat band back on with shims? What about adding dextrose assuming SG is below 1.020 tomorrow?

 

[millwright01]

Mine also got away on me. I hit 84 degrees and 1.020SG (not temp compensated) but it didn't kill the yeast. I unplugged it, whipped some oxygen into it and added 1/2 the dextrose. Next day it was down to 76 and fermenting happily so I plugged it back in with some shims. Everything turned out ok for me. Hope yours turns out fine. Good Luck.

 

[Reddart]

I'm following the 1/3 each day starting on the 3rd day after pitching. After the last addition (5th day) the SG is 1.027. I have been keeping it at 73-76 degrees. I'll check it again in 5 more days and transfer to the secondary if it's low enough.

I made this kit 2 years ago following the directions, and had it stuck after the one addition. It was still good drinking, but I would like to have it finish lower, hence the multiple addition and keeping the temp up this time.

Update (if anyone is interested in the 1/3 chaptalisation addition per day starting the 3rd day method), today (day 11 after pitching) the SG was 1.013! So I transferred it to the secondary of course.

Looks like I'll be finishing on target for this batch.

 

[Redtrk]

I just got mine started this morning.

 

[daugenet]

I am clarifying right now. With this kit I had no problems with the fermentation. As a matter of fact it went even better than the instructions indicated. I hit my FG much earlier than expected. So far it tastes pretty awesome. I had the"misfortune" of having too much to fit in the carboy so I just had to drink the extra.

 

[jwolf99]

So this past weekend I finally got the SG on primary fermentation down to 1.018. It took 10 days after adding the dextrose as opposed to the 5-7 indicated in the instructions. I added the dextrose in one-third increments over three days. I sitrred things pretty good for about 30-60 seconds each day with my drill mounted stirrer. Plus heat band with shims kept everything at constant 78 degrees F.

So I'm now 5 days into secondary fermentation. Gave it a really good stir before transferring to 3 gallon carboy. Excess went into a spare 750 ml bottle. I've pretty much left it untouched since then with heat band and shims on to maintain 78 degrees. I'll take the SG in a couple more days in hopes that it's on its way down. Fingers crossed.

 

[abefroman]

So this past weekend I finally got the SG on primary fermentation down to 1.018. It took 10 days after adding the dextrose as opposed to the 5-7 indicated in the instructions. I added the dextrose in one-third increments over three days. I sitrred things pretty good for about 30-60 seconds each day with my drill mounted stirrer. Plus heat band with shims kept everything at constant 78 degrees F.

So I'm now 5 days into secondary fermentation. Gave it a really good stir before transferring to 3 gallon carboy. Excess went into a spare 750 ml bottle. I've pretty much left it untouched since then with heat band and shims on to maintain 78 degrees. I'll take the SG in a couple more days in hopes that it's on its way down. Fingers crossed.

Interesting, my kits came in, I'm thinking of not adding all the dextrose though.

 

[Wade E]

I finally bottled min e from last year which is just over a year old. After making a dble batch a few years back I finally was running low and needed to replenish. This is 1 of this wines you must keep on hand!

 

[Putterrr]

I will be degassing mine this weekend with my new vac pump (first try).

I plan on stirring it up, then degassing, then adding the sorbate, kmeta, f-pack and then clarifier. Does this sound like the best way to use the vac pump?

Also I had no problem getting it to finish down to 1.010. I did add the extra sugar over 3 days and made sure I kept the heat up.

thx, Cheers

 

[robie]

Mine stopped at 1.010, also.

Just follow the instructions, substituting the vacuum pump for the stirring rod. I also like to stir the wine well before and about halfway through degassing. It seems to help the CO2 turn loose. I try to degas again before bottling.
It is now a year old. We had a bottle of it over the weekend. It really has smoothed out. The flavors are now much softer, too. I thought the raspberry was a little bite-y until now.

This is one I will make again. It's the only "from-kit" that my wife enjoys.

 

[robie]

Interesting, my kits came in, I'm thinking of not adding all the dextrose though.

Using it will help get the alcohol % a little higher and closer to the port range. Otherwise, you will have to add more brandy than you might otherwise. I would follow the instruction and use it, myself.