RJ Spagnols EP Amarone and other questions

[ibglowin]

Thats fast for sure bet your temps are up pretty high!

 

[TomK-B]

You got me wondering, Mike. I checked the temp and it was at 76*F. The temp in the house right now is 69*F. So, I'd say it's cranking out some heat.

So, here's the question I'm asking myself right now. Do I follow the kit directions and transfer to secondary when the SG dips below 1.020? I'm reluctant to do that because I'd like the wine to stay in contact with the oak and grape skins/raisins longer. Like I said, it's only been going for two days now. If I follow the directions, I'd be transferring it tomorrow. What do you think, anyone?

 

[Sipper]

Good for you Tom! I'm following along. Mine will be coming soon enough but in the meantime I'll be following your progress. Mind a few questions along the way if they come up?
Sipper

 

[v1rotate]

I'd say follow the kit instructions in your case, Tom. Make sure you wait the recommended number of days as well as watching when the SG falls below 1.020. Warm fermentations will cause the SG to drop quicker, but if the instructions say to wait until day 10 (or whatever) be sure to wait that number of days. Mosti Mondial has undoubtedly done a lot of testing to see how many days it takes to get the bulk of the benefit out of a grape pack.

 

[tonyt]

to me two or three days on the skins is not nearly enough, may as well not use the skins at all. I'd leave it in primary with skins and oak at least seven days. Then I would rack to secondary (it's probably dry by then)for another week or two. Some instructions (Mosti) say to squeeze the skins in primary prior to racking but I always squeeze the skins in a sanitized bowl and add directly to secondary (Wine Expert instructions), I'm not leaving any skin juice behind in primary. I live in South East Texas and my kits ferment very quickly too, I understand your dilemma.

 

[TomK-B]

Thanks for your suggestions, Tony and Jim. Those are my thoughts, too. I've decided I'm going to leave it in the primary for seven or eight days (even if it goes to dry by then) and then transfer to secondary. I like the idea of squeezing the skins into a sanitized bowl and adding that directly to the secondary. That makes a lot of sense to me. So, my plan is set for the next couple of steps. Thanks, guys!

 

[TomK-B]

Today is day 7. The instructions say to transfer to secondary on day 6 - 8 (SG: 1.020 or lower). I took my SG reading and it was .996. So, I transferred to secondary. But first I removed the hop bag and squeezed it thoroughly into a sanitized bowl, then added it straight into the carboy. Then I transferred the rest of the wine in with it.

Now it's supposed to sit in secondary for 20 days. Hmmm . . . seems like a long time to me. I was thinking maybe two weeks. Anybody have an opinion on that?

 

[tonyt]

I don't think secondary being 2 or 3 weeks matters that much. After secondary you move to stabilizing and clearing. that is a lengthy chore and I schedule that on the most convenient day I have open between 2 and 3 weeks.

 

[v1rotate]

I don't think secondary being 2 or 3 weeks matters that much. After secondary you move to stabilizing and clearing. that is a lengthy chore and I schedule that on the most convenient day I have open between 2 and 3 weeks.

+1, what Tony said. If you decide to stabilize after 2 more weeks, you will probably end up with great wine from this caliber of a kit. Ditto if you wait 3 weeks. No worries!

 

[TomK-B]

Well, I went ahead and waited the entire three weeks in secondary. My final SG was .992 at 70*F. Wow! I'm surprised by that!
I racked to a new clean and sanitized carboy tonight, stabilized, degassed and added the clearing agents. There was some room left after racking, so I topped up with Valpolicella Ripasso. I figured that would be a good match to the Amarone.
My plan at this point is to wait two weeks for it to clear and rack it again. At that point I plan to bulk age for a year. I've been reading other threads about the value of cold stabilizing these EP kits. Being a newbie and this being my first EP kit, I'm rather new to this level of the game. I don't have a designatedrefrigerator, but winter is coming up in Tennessee. Any suggestions as to the value and procedure of cold stabilizing this puppy?

 

[joeswine]

I would clear it ,bottle it and forget it for at least a year.

 

[TomK-B]

But Joe . . . that's what it's telling me to do inside the box!

 

[Wade E]

If you have room that gets cool I would let it sit in there in the carboy, it will drop some diamonds. Joe, are you an early bottler????

 

[joeswine]

Amarone, they say that the super Tuscan or the Cabernet Sauvignon are the Kings ofwine, but with the amarone one does have to require taste., If we were talking about fresh grapes then yes okay great aging is essential, if we were talking about fresh juice at least two years in bulk aging, then I would bottle label and let's set for at least another year however if it's a kit and kits are what they are then after the kit is made one year later I would than bottle.

The saying is to each his own, so you choose to bottle early, bulk aging Long or all the above depending on what type of amarone you're making that's the result you're going to get. I made it from juice/ grapes combination of, I made it from the kit number 90 day wonder I mad I bottleit and forgot it.

As a rule number one is bottled until at least one year old then I will bottle label and put on the shelf however some of the lesser kits one so done their Done. They're not going to get any better all depends on the kit.

 

[Wade E]

Misunderstanding. He;s trying to follow the instructions as it says you CAN bottle now but its recommended by even the manufacturer to let it sit longer under the right conditions meaning topped up properly and with proper sulfite levels.

 

[joeswine]

MISUNDERSTANDING..SORRY

 

[TomK-B]

LOL!!!
No problem!

 

[TomK-B]

My wife has purchased tickets for us to go on a tour of twovineyards/wineries here in Middle Tennessee today. 8 hour trip, they do all the driving and provide meals. Sounds like fun to me!

 

[joeswine]

discovering new things and places about wine is always fun ,have a great time ,tell me what type of wines they have...

 

[TomK-B]

Well, Joe, it was a great time! We were with a bus-full of other folks and visited twovineyards/wineries here in Middle Tennessee. The tour was all day, so we got to spend a good bit of time at each winery and taste all of their wines.
The first was the Grinder's Switch Winery (http://gswinery.com/) just outside of Grinder's Switch, Tennessee - thehometownof "Minnie Pearl." This is a small family winery that makes some really good wines. They turned their family home (log house) into their store and tasting room. We bought their Chardonnay (goldmetal winner in Wines of the South)which we thought was their best day-to-day sipping wine. I also really liked that they were all about promoting local Tennessee businesses. In their wine tasting they paired all of their wines with cheeses made at the Sweetwater Valley Farm (http://www.sweetwatervalley.com/) located in Philadelphia, TN.
The second winery we visited was the Amber Falls Winery and Cellars (http://www.amberfallswinery.com/) located about 20 miles west of Columbia, TN. This is a newer operation with more acres under vine and a larger production capacity. I liked that they gave us a very detailed "production tour" of the winery. I asked a lot of questions and had a good time talking with them and learning about their production process. They had a larger selection of wines, including a traditional Bordeaux blend that I thought was perhaps their best wine, but at $50 per bottle, it was too pricey for me. We ended up buying their Raspberry wine and Cranberry wine. Both are sweet desert wines. I thought they were very tasty and would be great for Thanksgiving dinner. I'm thinking, though, that I'm going to have to buy some of their peach wine. I've had other peach wines in the past, but this was by far the best I've ever tasted - very sweet, but also VERY peachy.
I willdefinitelybe visiting both of these wineries again.