Mosti Mondiale MM All Juice Questions

[PeterZ]

Some of the All Juice kits do include raisins. The Amarone does.

 

[MajBob]

. . . You can use the bucket that it comes in to do beer or make a humidor out of it for storing corks</font>. . .

Man, am I ever outta my league - cork humidor? No way. You are kidding, yes?

 

[grapeman]

Yes they do work well for a cork humidor, especially if you store a hundred or more corks. It has been covered a number of times here. Use the search button at the top of the page, type in cork humidor or just plain humidor, set the time to any time and hit search. It will bring up a number of topics covering how to make a very simple one.


Here is a sample one Waldo made. Just substitute the bucket for the other container. Use a small jug inside with k-meta in it and holes in the lid. All plastic and sealing is best.


http://www.finevinewines.com//Wiz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2712&amp;KW=humidor&amp;PID=63794#63794


Also check the November 2007 Newsletter on the main FVW page. Here is an excerpt from Masta.



Humidor Method
This method addresses all the potential issues with over handling, sanitizing, and long term storage if your purchase corks in bulk.


You will need a sanitized plastic bucket with a lid that seals well, an empty wine bottle or other suitable open container. Fill the wine bottle halfway with 1.25% sulfite solution and carefully stand it up in the bottom of the bucket. Gently pour your corks into the bucket, filling the space around the bottle, and put the lid on tightly. Leave the bucket in a room temperature area for about a week. During that time, the liquid in the bottle or open container will raise the humidity in the bucket and increasing the moisture of the corks. The sulfur dioxide gas that fills the head space of the bucket will prevent the growth of spoilage organisms, keeping the corks sanitary and ready to use. No further treatment of the corks will be necessary before bottling.For long term storage of your corks replace the solution in the bottle every 3-4 weeks, and keep the lid tightly sealed.
By following proper techniques with handling, storage, and sanitation of your corks you can prevent problems and spend more time enjoying a glass of wine!

Scott Irwin - FVW Editor and Technical CreatorEdited by: appleman

 

[dcrnbrd]

majbob get prepared, These people will blow your mind the first month you are on here. Of course in time you will become one of us as well. I have been in for 3 months and my wife is ready to kick me and my wine out.

 

[MajBob]

Thanks, Appleman and dcrnbrd,

I see - the learning curve is long and the road bumpy. But I already learned a couple of thins today. My grand daddy used to roll his own cigarettes. I thought the humidor was reserved exclusively for tobacco. Go figure . . .

What about corks? Is there a preference for natural vs. amalgamated (sp??)? Pros/cons?

How 'bout heat shrink caps? Good? Bad? Only for appearance?

Again, many thanks for your valuable insight.

 

[Joanie]

George's Fine Vine Wine corks are fantastic! I have had NO problems with them. Others will agree. I bought others before I found this place and they leaked. UGG!

Shrink caps and wax won't seal the cork but they give your wine a professional look. Slap a purdy label on and you've got yourself a bottle of wine! There is something about presentation that makes your product shine!

 

[MajBob]

Does the wax clog your straws? I can't think of nothin' worser than a mouth full of wax when the 2 of us are sipping romantically out on the front stoop . . .

Or do you use the fat straws??

Thanks, Joan. That's what I was thinking.

Cheers!

 

[Wade E]

Actually I think the wax will seal your corks. The shrink wraps are just for appearance. The corks listed below are top notch and actually have a special coating on them that makes them easier to get into the bottle. i have never had 1 of these leak and is primarily what I buy unless Im in a jam. He has them custom made for him and you can even have them specially customized if you like.
<table ="Catalog" id="products" align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><t><tr><td ="table" align="default" width="2%"><div align="center">2320A </td>
<td width="5%"><div align="center">

</td>
<td width="20%">

Straight Corks - Fine Vine Wines Perfect Agglomerate #9 X 1.75


Package of 30</td>
<td width="2%"><div align="right">$5.39</td>
<td width="2%">
</td></tr></t></table>
As
most of you know, our #9 corks are not purchased from the regular home
wine making distributors, but, instead, are purchased directly from a
cork manufacturer in California. This company produces over 1 billion
corks per year and the corks we purchase from them, will not leak! We
feel our corks are the best available to home wine makers and we sell
them with the Fine Vine Wines name imprinted on the cork or, for 1
penny more, the same cork with a grape design.
Now,
you can get your own customize corks with your name and/or a logo!
There is a one-time setup charge of $100 and a requirement that you
order 1,000 corks at a time and the current price is $.15 per cork. For
those of you that really want a personalize bottle of wine, here is you
chance to have your own custom cork. Throw on a transparent capsule and
everyone will see your name on the cork in the bottle. To order these
corks, use the following links, or go to our online catalog and click
on the custom corks link. Once you have placed your order, send us an
email detailing what you would like on your corks and we will take care
of the rest. Please allow 2-4 weeks for delivey.




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<td width="5%"><div align="center">Image</td>
<td width="20%"><div align="center">D</td></tr></t></table>

 

[Dean]

Those FVW "perfect agglomerate" corks are actually Altec corks which are considered to be better than natural cork and better than synthetic since they have all the best properties of both. While I don't buy mine from George because I'm in Canada, I do buy mine from the same company that manufactures these. You cannot go wrong with these closures!

 

[Wade E]

Thanks Dean as I did not know that and was wondering where they rated.

 

[smurfe]

Those FVW "perfect agglomerate" corks are actually Altec corks which are considered to be better than natural cork and better than synthetic since they have all the best properties of both. While I don't buy mine from George because I'm in Canada, I do buy mine from the same company that manufactures these. You cannot go wrong with these closures!

Dean, does Altec make more than one cork? From what I have read the Agglomerate corks are ground natural cork bound together with a form of glue to form a cork while the Altec corks are ground synthetic material bound together to form a cork. I read an article a couple years ago about a winery that switched to Altec corks from Agglomerate to combat cork taint. Maybe I misinterpreted?

 

[Dean]

Altecs are made from ground natural cork and synthetic materials to bind the ground cork together. There are still some reports of TCA with Altecs but it is a low number except for 1 really had batch from a taster cork company.

Altecs take the purest part of the cork bark and grind it up to a fine dust, then press with synthetic cells to create a structure that is almost dust free, allows for air transfer like natural cork, yet can be stored upright without the fear of a cork drying out.

Agglomerate corks are made from chunks of cork and glue, so they have holes, etc. There is no grinding for agglomerate corks.

 

[onin24eagle]

Have a question about the All Juice Merlot I started tonight.


Step 2 says to add "yeast nutrient." My wine did not come with this. Is this one of those things where you only add it if it applies to this wine, and maybe it doesn't apply to the merlot? If I do need to add yeast nutrient, is it something I can get easily?

 

[Wade E]

You should be able to get this at any wine supply store. You should get this as there have been a few concerns of people having smells from their wines and we believe this may be a stressed out wine yeast from not having enough nutrients. It is very cheap and will come in handy for any scratch country wine.

 

[onin24eagle]

Wade,


By saying I "should" get the yeast nutrient, are you implying it should have been in the kit? What sucks is I was just at my local beer and wine shop today. I can't get back there for two more weeks though, so am I screwed by not putting the yeast nutrient in?

 

[Ron.SPQR]

I have a question on fermentation. I just received a M-M 23L all juice merlot, with the new instructions. I started on 2-27, S.G. was 1.082, on 3-2 S.G. was 1.024 below the recommended 1.040-1.050 for the first racking. I racked to 23L clean carboy. The problem was I could not transfer all the juice to the carboy it was foaming too muck. I put some in a gallon jug with airlock. My question is when should I transfer what I have in the jug to the carboy.

 

[grapeman]

You can add it back once the vigorous ferment subsides so it doesn't foam over. If it is too full to do so, you can wait until you rack again and lose some lees so that it will fit. If the gallon jug isn't 2/3 full or so, you might want to put it in a half gallon or 1.5 liter bottle so you don't get too much headspace.

 

[Ron.SPQR]

Thanks appleman, what our your thoughts on the quick fermentation and not racking at the recommended 1.040-1.050 for the first racking do you think this will be a problem.

 

[Wade E]

What are the temps where you are fermenting? Sometimes these kits just ferment faster then they state and that is why we have hydrometers to check our batches every 2 or 3 days. Some wines will go really fast and some slow. Reds typically ferment faster then whites do or even should.

 

[Ron.SPQR]

wade the temp of the juice was 68 degrees when I started on the evening of 2-27. The s.g. was 1.082. This morning 3-1 the s.g. 1.024 an the temp of juice is 73 degrees.So I would say it fermented 3 full days to reach the s.g. of 1.024.