WineXpert Just ordered a bunch of kits - what can I do to tweak these kits? help!

[sour_grapes]

PhD's are theoretical (officers) who don't do real work.

Excuse me?!

 

[vinny]

 

[Jim Welch]

NCO @Jim Welch and NCO @winemarker81 - thank you sincerely for this.

I have also reached out to a close friend - he has a PhD in Plant Pathology - and has a Yeast company - and a Distillery he just sold for a Price's Ransom. We shall see what he think of this as well.

I think from all what I have read is - I put the FermoPro beer yeat nutrient in the wine - at the 2x ratio?

from beer to wine ABV? ad see how it goes? Is this what you would do?

I am so green - I will do whatever anyone much smarter than me tells me to do. :-D

I think 2x is a reasonable jumping off point, but if it isn't to late I'd add that in two steps, 50% first then 50% perhaps 24-36 hours later depending on how fermentation goes.
I mentioned earlier to "follow your nose" and what I meant is to also monitor the smell of each of your buckets for HS or other off odors which would show the yeast in that bucket is stressed and needs attention. You may possibly need more than 2x in some cases, who knows.

 

[Brad Simmons01]

Ok my helpful brothers in wine -- first round of 8 kits in the bottle.
when WHITE wine is clear as can be - is there an issue to bottle it early? I couldn't think of any, so I did bottle weeks ahead of time.
The Sauv Blanc with QA23 is amazing - so much nicer mouth feel, better flavor - total win.

Now I have 9 RED kits going - all with RC212 and nutrient. Still in Primary...

What I have noticed so far:

EC1118 - short and violent fermentaions
QA23, D47, RC212 - much slower roll. Plenty going on - and for longer.

 

[Brad Simmons]

Ok my helpful brothers in wine -- first round of 8 kits in the bottle.
when WHITE wine is clear as can be - is there an issue to bottle it early? I couldn't think of any, so I did bottle weeks ahead of time.
The Sauv Blanc with QA23 is amazing - so much nicer mouth feel, better flavor - total win.

Now I have 9 RED kits going - all with RC212 and nutrient. Still in Primary...

What I have noticed so far:

EC1118 - short and violent fermentaions
QA23, D47, RC212 - much slower roll. Plenty going on - and for longer.

 

[ibglowin]

You should never attempt to perform Malo Lactic Fermentation on a Kit Wine.

Wine Kit juices are tartrate-stabilized prior to concentrating or blending, and thus contain a very high proportion of malic acid. Malolactic fermentation would convert this malic acid to lactic, leaving a kit with a pH above 3.8, and a flabby, soft character. It would also be susceptible to bacterial infections. Also, there are some situations where a very small amount of sorbate may be present in juices or concentrates. Malolactic fermentation in the presence of sorbate yields hexadienol, which produces the strong and disagreeable odor of rotting geraniums – an unfixable and highly undesirable outcome.

Malolactic Fermentation / Malolactic Conversion. Two terms for the same thing. Kit wines (if you follow the directions verbatim) do not allow for this, because they will stabilize the wine immediately after primary fermentation.
Malolactic fermentation is done by bacteria that convert malic acid already present in the grapes to lactic acid. This can produce a softer, more rounded finished wine. This process is done commercially for most red wines, as well as in selected white wines - think Chardonnay or Viognier if produced commercially.

 

[vinny]

is there an issue to bottle it early? I couldn't think of any, so I did bottle weeks ahead of time.

If it tastes good. It's ready.

The only consideration is bulk vs bottle aging. Many like to age in secondary so any changes affect the entire batch. Some members have noticed variations in bottles of the same batch when bottled early. There is also less O2 exposure in the neck of a carboy compared to 30 bottles.

Things to look for, but nothing to fear.

The Sauv Blanc with QA23 is amazing - so much nicer mouth feel, better flavor - total win

Interesting how yeast alone can make such a difference.

 

[winemaker81]

when WHITE wine is clear as can be - is there an issue to bottle it early?

Just because the wine looks clear doesn't mean it has no fine sediment to drop. Patience, Grasshopper.

 

[vinny]

Just because the wine looks clear doesn't mean it has no fine sediment to drop. Patience, Grasshopper.

Sediment is the sign of a homemade quality wine!

Didn't I just read that here somewhere?

 

[Ohio Bob]

Sediment is the sign of a homemade quality wine!

Didn't I just read that here somewhere?

In my old age, I’m starting to think that after 15 months of rackings, bulk aging, I’ve gotten the majority of the sediment. Any sediment now is proof that it’s homemade and I take that as badge of courage and pride.

 

[wineview]

Ok my helpful brothers in wine -- first round of 8 kits in the bottle.
when WHITE wine is clear as can be - is there an issue to bottle it early? I couldn't think of any, so I did bottle weeks ahead of time.
The Sauv Blanc with QA23 is amazing - so much nicer mouth feel, better flavor - total win.

Now I have 9 RED kits going - all with RC212 and nutrient. Still in Primary...

What I have noticed so far:

EC1118 - short and violent fermentaions
QA23, D47, RC212 - much slower roll. Plenty going on - and for longer.

If white wine is bottled to early, in a few months you will see a line of sediment on the side of the bottle assuming you are storing them in a wine rack. Not an appealing presentation for guests.

 

[vinny]

In my old age, I’m starting to think that after 15 months of rackings, bulk aging, I’ve gotten the majority of the sediment. Any sediment now is proof that it’s homemade and I take that as badge of courage and pride.

I knew is was one of the smart ones that said it!

 

[Bmd2k1]

two Chimay Grande Reserve beers fermenting far left and back.

we are 'red' people - but with summer coming on - and all the ladies in our life loving whites, here we go:

3 - Gewurz - we LOVE that - and the new 'lesser kit' is just fine.
2 - Malbecs
2 - Adelaide Hills Sauv Blanc Private Reserves
1 - Enigma - red juice, oak dust, and a yellow F-pack --- I never saw that before...

AND - to all who helped here, I didn't use NOT EVEN ONE EC1118. I used:

RC212 for the reds
D47 and QA23 for the whites

On the multiple kits - I did one of each new yeasts - 1 kit with D47 and 1 kit with QA23. so we shall see what happens! I marked them down and can't wait.

FYI - I have a buddy who has helped me bottle --- and he is getting into it...

He wanted to see what the rest of the process was like. Even taking out time - and showing him every little step - we started 8 kits in just under 2 hrs. In case you where wondering how long it took.

Simple really.

The beer on the other hand took 5+ hrs.

And Shurt1073 asks about the Carmenere - we drink a bottle last night from 1.5 yrs ago. it was legit. a solid wine - especially for a 'lower' kit.





View attachment 101774

Will be curious to hear your QA23 vs D47 results!

Cheers!