Easiest Chilean Red Juice to use

[Walnutmeg]

We are new to home wine making and have one batch of viognier that we made from California juice that turned out pretty great. It was very easy.

We are now ordering some Chilean juice and wondering what is recommended for good flavor without having to play with it too much.

We have narrowed it down to Pinot Noir (my favorite) Carmenere, or Cabernet Sauvignon. Has any one had any particular success with these varietals from Chile? Which would be the easiest?

 

[Floandgary]

I've done several Carmenere buckets and my tastebuds have yet to complain

 

[Boatboy24]

When I think Chile, I think Carmenere first. It blends pretty nicely with a little Cab Sauv, so you could always do both.

 

[Stevelaz]

My Merlot from chile have been pretty darn good!

 

[heatherd]

We are new to home wine making and have one batch of viognier that we made from California juice that turned out pretty great. It was very easy.

We are now ordering some Chilean juice and wondering what is recommended for good flavor without having to play with it too much.

We have narrowed it down to Pinot Noir (my favorite) Carmenere, or Cabernet Sauvignon. Has any one had any particular success with these varietals from Chile? Which would be the easiest?

@Walnutmeg, I have made several batches of Chilean juice and they have all turned out well. It's great that you have the process done for a white wine successfully, so you know what you're doing there.

When I make reds from fresh juice, I typically add grape skins that are beneficial for flavor and body. I did several reds with juice only before I jumped into that though. You can decide how complex you want to make the process. If you want a grape pack, I have found that Mosti Mondiali has them online here: http://www.juicegrape.com/Mosti-Mondiale-All-Grape-Pack/ and you add during fermentation.

Something I use very often are these guides:
-Harford Vineyard for juice: https://harfordvineyard.com/winemaking-instructions-for-juice/
-Harford Vineyard for grapes: https://harfordvineyard.com/winemaking-instructions-grape/
-MoreWine guides to red and white wine making/yeast pairing (more detailed): https://morewinemaking.com/content/manuals

You may already know: the other difference in making a red rather than a white is that many commercial reds go through a process called malolactic fermentation (in addition to the fermentation done by the yeast), which is a pretty straightforward process where you add some malolactic bacteria and they change malic acid into lactic acid. The flavor changes from sharp to smooth during this process. So you'll want to decide if you'd like to do that for your reds from Chile. If so, there are some threads here to read, and if you let the forum members know we can give some pointers based on experience. Up to you if you want to add this to your process...

Best of luck!
Heather

 

[Ajmassa]

That's the kind of info I was curious about for spring harvest. I notice that Mosti Mondiali grape pack is pretty straight forward. Am I correct in assuming that when used in the primary, it's for body and mouthfeel and not so much flavor? Like oak?
And that's why there is no varieties to
choose from with just a single type "all grape pack"? (Assuming for reds)

 

[heatherd]

That's the kind of info I was curious about for spring harvest. I notice that Mosti Mondiali grape pack is pretty straight forward. Am I correct in assuming that when used in the primary, it's for body and mouthfeel and not so much flavor? Like oak?
And that's why there is no varieties to
choose from with just a single type "all grape pack"? (Assuming for reds)

@Ajmassa5983, the grape pack is used in primary for all the things you mentioned, some flavor, and to add tannins. The Mosti grape pack they sell separately is red grapes, and it's generic. Mosti provides grape packs with some of their kits, and those are varietal specific.

 

[Walnutmeg]

Thank you so much! This is wonderful information. I ended up ordering the Pinot Noir and my husband the Carmenere. We are going to have a competition to see who makes the best wine.

 

[JohnT]

I can only speak for whole grapes. Both Carmenere or Cabernet are awesome.

 

[Floandgary]

Go things one step farther by researching Chilean grape/wine industry. May help in determining which product, if any, would suit your tastes. As evident by the responses here there are several varietals of choice. Only your experiences will matter.

 

[heatherd]

I made Chilean Carmenere in 2015 and it is YUMMY. I added 18# of grapes during fermentation, did MLF, and added oak and tannins.