Just bottled my first Marquette Wine

[larrymck]

This is my first post to the site and I would like to introduce myself. I am from eastern Nebraska just north of Omaha and have been making wine for a few years mostly from wine kits. 4 Years ago I planted 30 Marquette vines in a side hill of loamy soil with a PH of 7. I added lots of sulfur to low the PH but have not tested the soil since.
I just bottled some of my first harvest of Marquette grapes. I have thirty vines that our 4 years old and ended up with 8 gallons of juice. I anticipate more next year. My chickens ate a lot of the lower grapes and I had a little black rot on a few fines. I had two carboys, one 3 gallon and one 5 gallon. These were both racked four times. The last racking I added 6 oz of wine stabilizer and toasted oak chips to the 5 gallon carboy. I just racked the 3 gallon carboy and did not add anything.
Today I bottled 4 bottles out of the 3 gallon “pure Marquette” and 6 out of the 5 gallon.
Flavors:
3 gallon with not additives was smooth but a little bit bitter and not a clear as I would like.
5 gallon was amazing for its age but had just a tad bit of sweetness for a red wine from the wine stabilizer with just a small hint of the oak. This was also not as clear as I would like. It was not cloudy but just not as clear as I would have liked.
I blended remaining of the both carboys in a six gallon carboy and added some more oak chips. I did not degas the wind but it did not seem to need it. I have some bentonite but don’t want to change the flavor. Should I try adding the bentonite or any other recommendations to clarify the remaining six gallons?

Thanks for your recommendations

Larry

 

[Masbustelo]

You weren't real clear on the year of the wine. If it is from September 2016, you are really rushing things. I have no experience with wine kits, but most people wait at least a year to bottle "real" wine from fresh grapes.

 

[knifemaker]

Larry, Welcome to Winemakingtalk! I'm also a Neb. maker, I think you're on the right track, but you may be rushing things a bit. I would suggest letting it sit for a few more months. Using fresh grapes is nothing like using filtered grape juice. If you're truly in a hurry to clear it you might try cold crashing it by setting your carboys in a unheated area such as your garage. Just so it doesn't get cold enough to freeze and break your carboy. I often set carboys out in my walk in cooler (garage) and usually in a couple weeks they have dropped clear. Hope this helps a little. Dale

 

[barbiek]

You weren't real clear on the year of the wine. If it is from September 2016, you are really rushing things. I have no experience with wine kits, but most people wait at least a year to bottle "real" wine from fresh grapes.

I even wait a year for kits! And my patience has paid off but it kinda bums me out cuz I have the filter set up to the all in one. I just can't bring myself to use it if not needed. But my dandie lion wine will need it for sure

 

[larrymck]

Thanks for the recommendations. I will let the remaining 6 gallons age for another 8 months or so.

How often should I be racking the wine?

This is going to test my patience.

 

[JohnT]

Not to be mean, but you should rack your wine when it needs to be racked. Let the formation of sediment at the bottom of you carboy decide when it is time to rack.