WineXpert Mezza Luna White

[Jericurl]

I got my kit in. I've been reading and rereading the directions so much that the creases are starting to tear.
I'm pretty excited about this. From what I understand, if I follow the directions to a T, I can't screw it up (famous last words?).
I like my wine a little sweeter so I'm considering leaving 1/2 of it dry and backsweetening the other 1/2.
Is it a bad idea to split it and do this before bulk aging? Or should I let it stay in one container until bottling time and backsweeten then?

eta: Also, yes I know it is a lower end kit. With me just starting out though, I would feel much better screwing up a cheap kit vs $180 one.

 

[joeswine]

IF you look up LONE STAR LORI, she just completed making this kit in text and pictorials, look for a thread entitled ALMOND WINES, and yes complete the whole thing then do what you will ,CHECK OUT HER THREAD IT WILL BE VERY INSTRUCTIVE FOR YOU.

 

[Jericurl]

Ok guys, I finally started it!

I managed to get pictures of everything except adding the oak and yeast.

What I am probably going to do is finish out the kit instructions, add the fpac, then separate the batch in half. I'll add elderberries (8 oz) to 3 gallons, and copy LONE STAR LORI and add raisins (16 oz) to the other 3 gallons.
Any other suggestions on this?

eta: inspired by these threads: Joe's Tweak

Lori's Tweak

 

[Jericurl]

SG down to 1.01, so time to rack to secondary.

I split my kit here into two 3 gallon carboys.

First carboy has 1 T of tannin and 15 oz of raisins added.

Second carboy has 1 T of tannin and 8 oz of dried elderberries.

I'm a little concerned about the headspace in the carboy on the right. It's too soon to add the f-pac but I don't want to run into oxidation.

 

[SouthernChemist]

Oxidation is not really a concern at this point of the process for a few reasons. If fermentation is still occurring, there is little to no oxygen in that headspace.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Look at the color differences already. Amazing! Is that the raisins not he left? What kind of raisins did you add? I can't quite tell.

 

[joeswine]

Maza luna

DID YOU ADD DARK RAISINS ? NOT TO CONCERN YOURSELF AT THIS POINT ON THE HEAD SPACE JUST KEEP AN EYE ON THE SG.

 

[DoctorCAD]

If you like wine sweet, why add tannins? Tannins will make the wine seem more "tart".

 

[joeswine]

wine tannins

no they shouldn't ,they should play a very suttle role in the overall flavor input yet will add a nice mouth feel ,that's their job.

 

[Jericurl]

No, the left is elderberries!

And the right is golden raisins, you just can't see them in that picture.

I got home and they are all hydrated and floating at the top now.

eta: Lori that color difference was literally ten minutes later.
They both smell pretty good right now but I haven't tasted it yet.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Jeri, That is going to be some gooood stuff. I can't wait to see what color the Elderberry clears out to be. Wish I had a Smellie-montior. I can just imagine the aroma.

 

[joeswine]

Maza luna

SOUNDS like you on course.

 

[Jericurl]

I'm running out of empty carboys. My kit wine is down below 1.00. I kind of need my only empty 3 gal secondary for the apple wine I have fermenting. Can I rack the kit wine out of the 3 gal carboy into a brew bucket, clean out my carboy, then siphon back into the cleaned carboy? Or is that risking oxidation?

I'm really only wanting to rack again to take it off the raisins and elderberries.
I was thinking I should really have those out before I take the next step in the kit which is adding the clearing agents and the f-pac.

 

[joeswine]

Yes

MOVE WITH SPEED AND PURPOSE,NO PROBLEM.

 

[Jericurl]

Thanks Joe!

 

[Jericurl]

Ack!!! Help!!!

Ok, I stirred up my two 3 gallon carboys very well, then racked into clean carboys. Now I'm somewhat ready for the final stage of clearing and backsweetening.

I've run into two problems that I need assistance with...
The first is that it appears the raisins and the elderberries soaked up a LOT of liquid. I pressed the fruit as much as I could but I didn't have a lot of luck. I now have a significant amount of air in each carboy. I think I will wait until the clearing/backsweetening is done, but it is pretty obvious that I will need to top off each carboy with wine. I want to keep the wine profile as close as possible to mezza luna white w/raisins, and mezza luna white w/elderberries. Any suggestions as to what kind of wine I should use to top up each?

Also,
When racking my 2nd carboy of elderberry/luna, I heard a snap. S***. The glass just cracked.
I was able to finish racking and when I moved it to the bathtub, it finished the break. It appears all glass is accounted for, but I don't trust that and think I should filter for any teensy bits of glass that may have been transfered. Has this happened to anyone else? Should I not risk it and just dispose of that batch or would filtering be safe enough to drink it?

 

[joeswine]

Glass in the wine?

WITH OUT A DOUGHT, TOSS THE WINE ,DON'T TAKE A CHANCE,IT'S ONLY JUICE,WITH THE OTHER PUT YOUR FINING AGENT IN AND LET IT CLEAR ,DO YOU HAVE ANY INVERT GAS? LIKE NITROGEN?FOR THE SHOT TIME YOU WILL BE EXPOSED IT WON'T HURT AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A TIGHT SEAL AND YOUR BUBLER IS FULL,THAT'S SHORT TERM,LONG TERM BUY A BOTTLE OF REISLING TO TOP OFF WITH AFTER EARRING ,NOT BEFORE,OK,STAY THE COURSE............

 

[Jericurl]

Thanks Joe. I was considering filtering, but I really just wanted to throw it out. I really didn't want to risk drinking any pieces of glass, no matter how tiny. Darnit.

 

[LoneStarLori]

Oh Jeri that is soooo sad I am feeling your pain all the way down to the bottom of the state. Was that a new carboy?

I'm going to have to disagree with Joe on this one. Based on what you are saying, what i see and the type of break it is, I seriously doubt there is any glass in there. And by the time it is cleared, racked three times and filtered, there wouldn't be any piece of glass big enough to do any harm if swallowed. Especially after filtering.

However..... As Joe said, it's only juice. (A rather expensive one, but still just juice.) The piece of mind might be worth it to you. You must also consider the cost of filtering equipment. It's not cheap.

 

[roger80465]

Oh Jeri that is soooo sad I am feeling your pain all the way down to the bottom of the state. Was that a new carboy?

I'm going to have to disagree with Joe on this one. Based on what you are saying, what i see and the type of break it is, I seriously doubt there is any glass in there. And by the time it is cleared, racked three times and filtered, there wouldn't be any piece of glass big enough to do any harm if swallowed. Especially after filtering.

However..... As Joe said, it's only juice. (A rather expensive one, but still just juice.) The piece of mind might be worth it to you. You must also consider the cost of filtering equipment. It's not cheap.

Never thought I would ever disagree with Joe but this time.... Let it settle for a month and filter and I wouldn't worry. 1-5 microns of glass (doubtful) will be a nothinburger.