WineXpert Crushendo;Maybe going to try extended maceration?

[rshosted]

OK. I just read an article in the most recent WineMaker magazine. They speak of professional wine makers 'soaking' thier skins with the grape kit for a week or two prior to pitching yeast, then letting the wine spend a few day after fermentation the lees.
In the article, (short version) they just make sure the juice is refrigerated while it sits on the skins to help prevent the gross lees and skins from rotting and ruining the wine.

So I ran out and bought a Crushendo kid (
Crushendo Montagnac Vieux Chateau d’Oc) and live in Utah. Now that we are getting snow, I have mother natures perfect fridge. I was thinking of making a snow fort in my backyard, and mixing the kit together (except for the yeast) and letting it "soak" for a week or so, then pitch the yeast and follow kit directions.

Ok, I know, I know 'never stray from the first two steps of directions becuase blah blah blah, no warranty, blah blah, ruined wine, blah blah, wasted money, blah blah.... (ok now that that is out of the way)

Anyone got any suggestions on this process or tried it? I love a wine with a ton of tannin and am able to age this wine for a long time.

Here are a few questions that I do have, if I do this.

what is the SO/Titrate level in these kits stock (I figure I should probably boost it up to say 60-100 ppm in order to do this. Plus I think the yeast could still work in this condition after the week or two of 'soaking')

I was also thinking of putting the skins in a brewer bags of cheesecloth to make it easier to rack later. Anyone ever done this with the kit?

Well that's enough speculation, I figure it will be a week or so before I start this kit anyway... so let me have it!

 

[Wade E]

I going to your back yard for a free Crushendo kit. Ye Ha!

 

[masta]

The grape skins in a WE Crushendo kit don't look anymore like skins than the blackberry jam in your fridge. They have been extremely processed so that you can extract everything useful in 7 days in the primary. Any longer than that or trying to reuse them is not recommended as your wine will be bitter....but this is in the presence ofethanol and at fermentation temp.




Personally I don't think you will gain anything trying this. Use of a straining bag for the skins is done by some but also not recommend due to the consistency of the grape skin pack.


But it is your kit and you da boss!!


Found this on adding more tannins to kits..quote from Tim V.



<DIV id=post-104164 ="postcolor">Definitive response: it's not a good idea. It's actually a bad idea.

The kind of generic 'tannin' sold for winemaking is often derived from oak or other sources as opposed to grape material. It's useful for fruit wines, and as a clearing agent, but if you put it into my kit, most of the time it will bind directly to anthocyanins and melanoidins, and take them out of suspension.

Anthocyanins and melanoidins are associated flavour, colour and aroma compounds. Poof! Gone!

There are specialised tannins available that don't do this. They cost on the order of $1 per gram, and they don't tend to sell them to home winemakers in small lots.

The real reason why this is a bad idea is that the kind of kit that you might think needs more tannin is specifically designed and engineered to have low tannin levels.

So let's make an analogy: you buy a Buick because you like the soft ride and smoothness of it. Then you realize that you're never going to be able to drive it up the back side of Pike's Peak, so you put on heavy duty shocks and big tires and skid plates.

Will it go up the Peak? Nope, not without falling apart. Will it ride well on the smooth roads again? Nope, it'll ride like a bolted-together truck missing half the parts. You really need a purpose-designed 4-wheel drive for that.

So if you need a heavily tannic wine, or a wine that has more body, flavour and aroma, fiddling with it by pouring all kinds of additives into it isn't going to yield the best results. Buy a higher-end kit engineered for extra flavour, aroma, body and tannin and age it for a year. That will probably yield the best results.

Edited by: masta

 

[Wade E]

See, this is why your called "Masta"

 

[bmorosco]

I think I would only try that with fresh grapes...

 

[PeterZ]

The RJ Spagnols kits that come with grape skins come with a brewer's hops bag to make racking easier. Also, ISTR, they recommend fermenting in the primary for 14 days. They imply that they process their skins "better" than the competition, but that info is off their website.