Making a Port style wine from a Standard Wine Kit

[ou8amaus]

I am embarrassed to admit that I have been putting off that particular experiment all summer long. Thank you for the follow up, it has made me reevaluate my schedule! Next week this goes into action. If you have not seen a post from me in one week please shame me mercilessly!

 

[drhughes]

Shame, shame, shame!

Well, you asked for it! I'm curious, and want to see how it turns out!

 

[ou8amaus]

Well, you asked for it! I'm curious, and want to see how it turns out!

Thank you for being the cattle-prod that I obviously needed! Hockey season is starting to impact my wine making...

So tonight I began the experiment... I am using a low end Paklab 7 liter Shiraz kit. I am looking for an eventual final volume of 12 liters and an ABV of 18%.

Having 7 liters of concentrate, I need 5 liters of water to make the final total of 12. I started with 5 liters of water to which I added bentonite and 2.5 liters of the kit concentrate. This gave me a starting SG of about 1.085 at 21C. I pitched 1 packet of EC1118 and loosely covered the primary.

My plan is to ferment down to about 1.05 before adding another 2/2.5 liters of Concentrate along with yeast nutrient. I will measure the SG again at that point and wait until it goes down again to about 1.05. At that point I will add the remaining concentrate (potentially at 2 intervals depending on how ferment is progressing) and let the yeast work until it gives up the ghost. I have an extra EC-1118 that I may add partway through the experiment. Thanks for following!

 

[ou8amaus]

After 24 hours I noticed some evidence of fermentation, and today (48 hours) it is bubbling away nicely. I was a little surprise that the SG had already dropped to 1.026, that is a quick drop considering I just dropped the dry yeast in 48 hours ago! So far we have coaxed out 7.74% ABV... (Ambient temperature is pretty consistent at 21 Deg C.)

Step 2 initiated. I have added another 2.5 liters of the concentrate to the bucket. This has brought the SG to about 1.086. I have also added about 1/4 tsp of yeast energizer, and 1/2 tsp of yeast nutrient. Gave it a good stir and loosely covered it up. Not adding the extra pack of yeast yet, going to wait 24 hours to confirm ferment is continuing.

 

[drhughes]

Interesting -- I know it will be awhile, but I can't wait to hear how it turns out. Thanks for the update!

 

[ou8amaus]

Day 4, Really want to get motivate by the process but Habs are losing and I am depressed...

Still I have work to do. SG from yesterdays 1.086 now down to 1.044. It is fuzzing along nicely. This adds another 5.51% alcohol, so we are a little over 13% so far.

Added 1 more liter of the concentrate bring Sg to 1.065. This mix should already not ferment dry as collectively it adds up to more that 18%. Numbers ARE NOT my friends so maybe I am off... But I think I will monitor for a few days and see how things are going.

 

[sour_grapes]

Still I have work to do. SG from yesterdays 1.086 now down to 1.044. It is fuzzing along nicely. This adds another 5.51% alcohol, so we are a little over 13% so far.

Added 1 more liter of the concentrate bring Sg to 1.065. This mix should already not ferment dry as collectively it adds up to more that 18%. Numbers ARE NOT my friends so maybe I am off... But I think I will monitor for a few days and see how things are going.

I don't know if you are taking this into account or not, but remember that when you add concentrate to increase the sugar, you are also adding volume. So when you add that volume, your ABV goes down.

Seth Langford did a write up on this. I could find two versions of it. One here:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32839
and another here:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/step-feeding-calculator.html

Unfortunately, they are both a little corrupted, with graphics having gone missing, but I think there is enough information there to get the gist of it. (He uses a SG-to-ABV conversion factor of 125, but I would use the one that you used above, viz., 131.)

 

[ou8amaus]

I don't know if you are taking this into account or not, but remember that when you add concentrate to increase the sugar, you are also adding volume. So when you add that volume, your ABV goes down.

No I had not compensated for volume increasing! The thought process that goes through Seths' calculation is slightly beyond me, but I can follow the logic mostly. If I boil it down to the final formula and enter the data I have so far (substituting 133 for 125, and using liters instead of gallons)

125{[OG1-FG1]*vol1+[OG2-FG2]*Vol2+[OG3-FG3]*vol3......}/Total Volume=ABV

133{[1.085-1.026]*7.5+[1.086-1.044]*10}/10=11.47 ABV

So if I have the numbers right I have a little less alcohol than I thought so far...?

 

[sour_grapes]

No I had not compensated for volume increasing! The thought process that goes through Seths' calculation is slightly beyond me, but I can follow the logic mostly. If I boil it down to the final formula and enter the data I have so far (substituting 133 for 125, and using liters instead of gallons)

125{[OG1-FG1]*vol1+[OG2-FG2]*Vol2+[OG3-FG3]*vol3......}/Total Volume=ABV

133{[1.085-1.026]*7.5+[1.086-1.044]*10}/10=11.47 ABV

So if I have the numbers right I have a little less alcohol than I thought so far...?

Yes, I think you understand it correctly, and, yes, of course this means that your ABV will be a little lower than the former (naive) method of calculating would indicate.

 

[ou8amaus]

Day 5.
SG is back down to 1.046
by my old calculations this would add 2.5% alc, bringing total to 15.75

But being the highly evolved creatures we are, we will also look at the weighted calculation:
133{[1.085-1.026]*7.5+[1.086-1.044]*10+[1.065-1.046]*11}/11= 12.96%

Well the spread between the two calculations is interesting. No racking or additions tonight, just a stir and let it go. Still have 1 liter of concentrate left but I want to be sure the yeast still has fight in it... It is still fizzing slightly but seems to be slowing, but just a little. Still nowhere near the potential this yeast can reach theoretically. Considering more energizer and nutrient addition but I am hesitant. Any opinions?

 

[ou8amaus]

We are only down to 1.038 today... Ferment is definitely slowing down. My calculations bring this to 14%... Should still be going strong... I made a starter out of another ec1118 and pitched it along with another quarter teaspoon fermaid. Not adding any more of the concentrate until sg get close to 1.02... IF it does. Still bubbling lightly...

 

[ou8amaus]

Day 7, the addition of the extra yeast and the fermaid has not made a huge difference yet. Still lightly fizzing, and although ferment has slowed, it is at least still ongoing. SG today is 1.030. Still holding back the 1 liter of concentrate I have left. Took a little taste: very sweet, not surprisingly yeasty, but a little tart on the finish.

 

[sour_grapes]

Good to hear it is still moving! C'mon, yeast, get 'r done!

 

[ou8amaus]

Well the yeasties are still trying! Down to 1.022 today. I have still not added any further concentrate... I need to see this get closer to 1.000 before I add any more.

Numbers wise things are getting interesting. Based on my original methodology the SG of 1.022 would mean an additional increase of 5.64... add this to the original 7.74%, and the 5.51%, and we get 18.89%... which is impossible. I love it when the math proves me wrong.

So we go with the weighted method only from now on,
133{[1.085-1.026]*7.5+[1.086-1.044]*10+[1.065-1.022]*11}/11= 16.17%

So this is a more realistic number! But we are really getting close to the 18% threshold of this yeast, and I am getting concerned with getting to the finish line. I am holding off any more yeast energizer or nutrient because I remember someone mentioning you should not add it towards the end of ferment. However the ambient temperature has dropped from 20C to about 18C in the last 24 hours, so I will put on a heat belt to keep everything rolling.

One way or another I think tomorrow will be decision time regarding the last liter of concentrate. Go Yeasties Go!

 

[sour_grapes]

I cannot recall: how sweet a final product are you aiming for? By my lights, if the present version were to finish to dry (well, to 1.000), you would be at 18.78% We both doubt that will happen, so you should wind up with some residual sugar, even before adding any more concentrate.

Of course, you could consider adding the last liter of concentrate AND enough water to lower the ABV to less than yeast toxicity levels....

 

[ou8amaus]

I started this experiment aiming for this to ferment dry at 18%, and then have exactly enough concentrate to back sweeten to 1.01-1.02.

Presently I am just hoping it gets to 18%... and with 1 liter of concentrate left I think I will have some of it left over after sweetening.

 

[ou8amaus]

Still chugging away... slowly! Down to 1.015, giving me a total of 17.08%. If I can get it below 1.01 then I figure we have pretty much maxed out the yeast. Still fizzing a little. Taste is really good, considering it has not been racked or clarified yet. Going to hold off judging that for a bit. Going to give it another 24 hours and then rack into a carboy and let it relax there for a while.

 

[ou8amaus]

I was considering adding some oak to the carboy tonight when I rack. Considering how much body this experiment has I figure it can deal with a lot of oak, but not sure if that fits the flavor profile...
Heavy toast would bring some nice vanilla, while the light toast might have add more agreeable delicate touch.
I have made a few kit ports in the past, mostly with added fruit flavor, but I lack experienced in this area...
Question: Anyone with an opinion on the subject?

 

[ou8amaus]

Last night we were down to 1.012
Racked to carboy.
Added 1/2 liter of the remaining 1 liter of concentrate bringing SG to 1.022
Added about 2/3 cup of light toasted oak.
Going to let it be for a week or so...

 

[jgmann67]

This is a great spectator thread for me. Keep the posts coming.

I noticed that your kit says it will make 60 - 750 ml bottles. Is that a 12 gallon kit??