Mosti Mondiale MM Renaissance Nero D'Avola

[ibglowin]

I'm back in the saddle again after a 4 month hiatus!

Picked this guy up at the end of Spring when it was on sale and have been waiting for things to settle down around the house and a stretch of time that I would have to tend to it. Juice was about 9 months old when I got the kit so now its more like 12-13 months but it has been stored in the winery which is a cool 64 degrees. Juice tasted great and looks great. Its nice to walk into the winery and have the smell of fermenting juice hit you in the face again!



I did a few tweaks to this one. First, I added 1lb of organic Red Flame Raisins that I picked up from Whole Foods. Hoping to get some increased mouthfeel and flavor. Also I added an extra ounce of Med Toast French Oak chips into the mix on top of the supplied one ounce. Not a big increase, but then I don't want a hugely oak'd Nero for sure. I put my raisins and oak chips in a cheesecloth bag and tied it up with some kite string. It will float on top but I usually open and punch it down 3X a day for the first week. I will ferment to dry in the bucket and leave the oak and raisins behind on the first racking in ~10 days or so.



The usual "unlimited edition"!

Just out of the box reconstituted juice.

12 hour post yeast pitch.

18 hours post yeast pitch.

And we are off to the races!

Stay tuned.

 

[fivebk]

Looks GOOD!!!!!!!!

BOB

 

[Bartman]

Any particular reason you selected this Nero d'Avola kit over the Mosti Alljuice? I've made the Alljuice, and liked it, but am thinking of another Nero - which of the two is the question?

 

[patc]

I have not done a ren series in a red yet but i did talk to george on the difference between the alljuice and ren series and my questions were;

1. why is the ren series just about the same price as the alljuice. He said that the processing for concentrate is such that it costs more to do that than HTST the fresh juice which is why the costs are similar for different products.

2. Which is better and is water added to the alljuice, he said they are both great but the alljuice is just that contrary to the belief that water is just added he assured me the alljuice is alljuice and no water so the solids count is higher and so in time after aging the alljuice should pull ahead of the concentrate.

Having said that i have made the pinot grigio, sauv blanc, chilean voigner in the ren series and i think they are coming along nicely but i have not done a red yet in this series.

 

[ibglowin]

Someone posted that they had made the Renaissance Nero and that it was their favorite Italian red to date and that it was still young so I picked this guy up when the Ren kits were all on sale a while back.

From what I have read online and heard straight from George the TDS (dissolved solids) are higher in the AJ but not by an incredible amount (over the Ren kits) by any means. They should in time make a superior wine but the AJ's are taking close to 2 years before they really shine where as the Ren kits seem to peak closer to 12-18 months.

Any particular reason you selected this Nero d'Avola kit over the Mosti Alljuice?  I've made the Alljuice, and liked it, but am thinking of another Nero - which of the two is the question?

 

[Runningwolf]

Wow I can just smell the aroma as I look at those pictures.

 

[ibglowin]

I honestly think the smell (of fermenting grape juice) could possibly be.......

addicting!

 

[tonyt]

This is almost too funny. I just decided on the MM ren. Nero D'Avola last night after emailing George. Went to Whole foods today to get some Raisins, yes Red Flame. Thought I would add an oak spiral after racking to secondary. Now tonight I read this post. Deja vous all over again! Not planning to bulk age bc I am planning to bottle and give as a November birthday gift for a friend. I am sure I will keep a few bottles for myself. Is it mean to give someone a case of wine and then tell them not to drink any of it for another year?

 

[ibglowin]

Welcome to the forums ttortorice.

Is this your first kit? Couple of things, first be careful with that spiral as it will impart a huge oak flavor in a short order of time and you don't want to over oak this kit. You will need to taste it along the way probably every few weeks. Secondly if your not going to bulk age this guy make sure he is totally degassed before you bottle. CO2 can be hard to get out in a short order of time with out some type of pump (Vacuvin or electric pump).

Be sure to ask questions and as always we love pics!

 

[tonyt]

Thanks,
This will be my seventh kit in about 2.5 years. I have done WE Amarone, Brunello, Super Tuscan, and Montepulciano, and Petit Verdot. Also MM Amarone. I used oak spiral once before with the Petit Verdot for 3 weeks and loved the results. Thanks for the warning as I know every kit will oak differently, just wondering how y'all suggest I proceed with the Nero. I have just received the hand vacuum from George to aid degassing. I usually overdo things so when it comes to degassing I have not had an issue before. Reading the recent posts (I am a blog lurker here) I am nervous about proper degassing now. Thanks again.

 

[ibglowin]

With 7 kits under your belt then I wouldn't worry too much.

The only time improper degassing comes into play is when you are trying to bottle really fast. Just use the drill mix-stir first to add your fining agents, K-Meta etc. Follow up with the Vacuvin until you don't see much or any bubbles and then let it sit for a week or so to clear and allow the last of the CO2 to escape.

Also make sure your wine is around 74 degrees when you do this (which shouldn't be a problem this time of year) as warmer temps are better for releasing CO2.

You must be in/from Texas!

 

[v1rotate]

The only time improper degassing comes into play is when you are trying to bottle really fast. Just use the drill mix-stir first to add your fining agents, K-Meta etc. Follow up with the Vacuvin until you don't see much or any bubbles and then let it sit for a week or so to clear and allow the last of the CO2 to escape.

While I agree with Mike's degassing regime, I would like to caution readers about proper degassing if you plan to bulk age for awhile. I have read of gassy wine coming out of a carboy after a whole year of bulk aging on a different forum. Always degas completely, even if you will bulk age IMHO.

 

[tonyt]

I started the Nero Renn. last night. I added the yeast and oops . . . I misread the Bentonite instructions, I dehydrated it fine but added it to the must and then stirred. Should have stirred then added. So as I was stirring a frightening thought crossed my mind, why was I stirring the yeast??? Usually you just pour it on top. I figured I had ruined the yeast. I lurked around the wine forum for a couple hours, checked on the wine (yes it is wine now) and to my surprise it looked and smelled great, already bubbling. This picture is from this morning (about hour 12) and all seems well. What do y'all think, will it ferment normally? Am I good to go and add Red Flame Grapes tonight?

And, oh yea, I'm from the RIGHT side of Texas, Beaumont.

 

[ibglowin]

The yeast supplied with these kits are as tough as they come and they will ferment to dry just fine regardless if you sprinkle on top or stir into the must. I generally rehydrate my yeast then stir in.

Add those raisins to the mix just as soon as you can so they can start rehydrating and the yeast can start working on them.

 

[tonyt]

Wow, this is fermenting like crazy, guess the stirring didn't hurt. Added Red Flame Raisins. SG is 1.098.

 

[ibglowin]

Looking good!

It will be very active until day 3-4 and then go coke fizzy on you big time. Don't forget to add your yeast nutrient directly to the primary when the SG gets down around 1.04-1.03. Snap the lid and add the airlock and let it finish out in the primary until it drops just below 1.000. Then its time for a quick and dirty rack (meaning transfer everything but the raisins and oak) over to Secondary and let it finish out there for another 12 days.

 

[tonyt]

So I am in day three with great fermenting going on after adding raisins. The instructions say to add the oak chips in a few days when racking to secondary. But, I plan to ferment to dry in primary with the raisins, so should I add the oak now or just wait till I rack at Sg1.00? I still plan to add a french oak spiral after racking off of lees.

 

[ibglowin]

If you plan on adding a spiral I would not add any oak now.

Add the spiral in secondary and be careful not to over oak! A spiral is a lot of oak! Taste after 2 weeks. Nero D'Avola's are not huge oaky wines so proceed with caution!

Make sure you can pull the spiral out of the opening in the carboy. Tie a piece of fishing string to it so you can easily remove.

 

[ibglowin]

Just a quick update:

I moved this guy to glass a while back and degassed and fined. Quick taste test this past weekend was yummy. Shaping up nicely. Not planning on bottling anytime real soon but looking forward to this one down the road for sure.

 

[tonyt]

Wow, that looks great. I have to bottle in October to give as a birthday gift to my brother. My name is Salvadore and His is Rosario. Our grandfathers were Salvadore and Rosario also. The picture on the label is from a recent trip to visit relatives in Sicily. Almost dropped our teeth when we saw the names on some boat on the beach. guys on the label are our grandfathers.