December 2013 Wine of the Month Club

[Jericurl]

Buckhorn,
That's exactly the spirit I was going for.....nothing overwhelming or daunting, yet enough to savor if it turns out well.

I can guarantee that if I had to mess with 5 or 6 gallons of the greasy mess I had with this months batch, I would have chucked the whole batch.

 

[vernsgal]

I can guarantee that if I had to mess with 5 or 6 gallons of the greasy mess I had with this months batch, I would have chucked the whole batch.

I agree Jeri. When you want to try something different, 1 Gal is definitely the way to go. There's a lot less

 

[Jericurl]

lol, usually Kim. Usually.


Lori, you were right. I haven't messed with that batch at all and now there is less than 1/2 of original amount of lees.
No idea what is happening, but clearly something is going down inside that little gallon.

 

[jamesngalveston]

i mark all my carboys on the bottom 1/2 inch...when i see the lees on this mark, i rack....I dont care how long it took to get there if its a day are a month....just saying, not advising.

 

[Jericurl]

James I had over 3 inches of lees at first and now it's less than 1/2 that. I worry that I might miss out or ruin something.
I've got a couple of points before it's totally dry so I've got some time to think about it.
Now I'll stress about racking vs waiting a bit....lol. All part of the learning process I guess.

 

[jamesngalveston]

i dont think you will ruin anything, you keep a close eye on your wine...
in my own opinion, i dont think that a fruit wine needs to sit on the lees like a grape...but just my opinion.

 

[vernsgal]

It'll go down a bit more yet Jeri. Time is the essence! lol

 

[vernsgal]

Seriously though Jeri, you just moved to secondary a few days ago. I would give it at least 2 weeks before even thinking of another racking. Nobody does a 3rd racking this early. It's under airlock, all is good!

You're doing well!

 

[Winenoob66]

Lori, you were right. I haven't messed with that batch at all and now there is less than 1/2 of original amount of lees.
No idea what is happening, but clearly something is going down inside that little gallon.

I would be guessing but I would say they are compacting.

 

[the_rayway]

I would think as it lets off gas while it's finishing up it will compact even more. The gas lifts the particles up from the bottom into the wine (at least, it does with mine!).

I would give it a bit yet, for sure.

 

[buckhorn]

Update -- I am having some issues/concerns with the Cran-Cutie wine. After racking to secondary, a "growth" or mass has formed in the top 1/3 of the jug. It reminds me of bread dough (though a little fluffier maybe, like clouds) .... I have posted a request for help/comments and a picture of the jug in this post

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f5/help-what-growth-should-i-concerned-42797/#post478906

If anyone can help me with their knowledge, I would appreciate it.

 

[Jericurl]

Buckhorn,

I have no idea what the growth is or if the wine is ruined or not. If it were my wine, I would siphon from underneath that mass and put it in a new sanitized gallon jug along with a crushed campden tablet. I would think the quicker, the better.

 

[the_rayway]

Buckhorn, does it smell ok? Or does it smell like vinegar? That would be my first check.

Second check if #1 doesn't do it: how much of the sediment was racked over/at the bottom of the new carboy after a few days? Is it very gassy? I've had it where when there is a significant amount of sediment and a lot of gas - the gas will buoy up the sediment in a sort of mass.

I'm afraid that's all I can suggest, sorry.

 

[vernsgal]

Buckhorn, I'm just guessing here,but one of my wines had it where the sediment from the bottom rose to the top and gave it that kinda look. I racked mine from below like Jeri suggested and gave it a good stir. Because you missed a few day stirring maybe there wasn't enough air in it so when you put it under airlock it pulled it up. Again, that's only a guess, but something to try.
Keep us posted

 

[wineforfun]

Elderberry Wine

I am going to give this a go as it is the first time trying elderberry or any fresh fruit picked from a tree/bush. Arne hooked me up with over 9lbs. of fresh elderberries. They were frozen.

2 gal. batch (will oak 1 gal. of it)

2gal. water
8 1/2c sugar
3 tsp acid blend
1/2 tsp pectic
2 tsp yeast energizer
2 crushed campden tablets
Red Star Pasteur Red yeast

Starting SG 1.098

11-28-13
Put everything in primary, added fruit to mesh fruit bag (wasn't completely thawed, I thought it was but in the middle of the berries, it was still frozen), let sit overnight.

11-29-13
I decided to take another SG reading the next day, before pitching yeast. I wanted to see if the juice upped it at all. When taking the reading, it had dropped to 1.084. I figured this was due to the berries thawing and the addition of the water from thawing, as my primary was now close to 3 gal. without the fruit bag sitting in it. I added 2c sugar to get the SG back to around 1.100.
After doing this, it dawned on me that the must was fairly cool from the thawing of the berries. I hope this cooler must didn't throw off my SG reading, therefore having me add additional sugar that I didn't need too. Oh well, still learing with all this.
Pitched the hydrated yeast.

11-30-13
Stirred in morning.
Squeezed fruit bag and stirred in evening.

12-1-13
Thought I had an "eggy" smell at the start of the day, but have concluded it was maybe just the yeast working. I had a sulfur issue a few months back with a batch of cherry juice wine and I have been paranoid ever since. I think sometimes I think I smell it when I am not.
Took SG reading in morning, SG 1.062, to see if things were working or where we were at with things. Stirred.
In the afternoon, added 1/2tsp yeast nutrient to make sure there was an adequate amount for all that sugar.
Took SG reading in evening, SG 1.054, so things appear to be moving in right direction. Squeezed fruit bag and stirred.

12-2-13
Stirred in morning.
SG 1.030 in evening. Stirred and squeezed fruit bag.

12-3-13
Squeezed fruit bag and stirred. If all goes the way it has been, I will be racking to secondaries tonight. I expect the SG to be around 1.010-1.020.

I did rack to secondaries on 12-3-13. On 12-26-13 I racked off lees(quite a bit had built up already) and added 1oz. medium french oak to one carboy and left the other one alone. This has a very unique taste already.
One thing to mention, and I had read about it on WVJack's site, was how the green goo builds up in the primary around the edge of the bucket. It took vegetable oil to clean it off as well as cleaning off my racking cane. The cane too, became sticky when racking.

 

[Stressbaby]

DJ,
Looks like you had your berries in the primary at least 5 days. I have read that >3d can result in too much tannin. Any sign of that?

 

[wineforfun]

Nothing noticeable yet. It actually had a decent flavor for being so young. I have only had a sip here and there though. I will definitely keep this updated. Next plan is to rack and remove the oak chips in 3 more weeks. That will give me 1 month of oak.

 

[ckvchestnut]

Nothing noticeable yet. It actually had a decent flavor for being so young. I have only had a sip here and there though. I will definitely keep this updated. Next plan is to rack and remove the oak chips in 3 more weeks. That will give me 1 month of oak.

Good luck with your elderberry! I absolutely adore this wine this was my first year making it with my own fresh fruit... It's so unique! I added unsweetened chocolate and vanilla in the secondary and wow it's awesome even as a young wine! Would love feedback on what you think of the oaked batch, I didn't get around to oaking mine but loved it with the other additives I used...

Oh and i also wanted to mention that I fermented mine on the fruit for 6 days and then used the same fruit to do a 2nd run for a blush and it was all good. I didn't get an overly tannic wine, for my 6 gallon batches though, i used 2 cans of welches white grape concentrate for a bit of balance but not much changed to flavour.

 

[wineforfun]

That is good to hear. I am really looking forward to this wine. It is the first one I have made with fresh picked fruit.

Did you backsweeten yours at all, or just leave it dry?

 

[ckvchestnut]

Yes I did backsweeten it to I think around 1.000 I do prefer my wines on the dryer side as long as they are not too tannic or bitter and this was perfect! Probably could have left it as is but I think the backsweetening did balance it a little but that's all hard to tell when it's fresh out of the carboy...