My first wine kit - Thanks joeswine !!

[joeswine]

How has this progress?

 

[jrm1443]

Moving quick!

When I started the kit last Sunday, the SG was 1.090. By Thursday it was at 1.006. After the chaptalisation, it went to 1.020. Today, Saturday, it was at 1.002. I have been stirring daily and keeping it in a room that is between 72 and 76 most of the time. I know the directions say 5 to 7 days from the chaptalisation and it has only been two. Is it too soon to rack to a carboy? There is still a lot of activity in the airlock and a lot of fizzing when I stir the must.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

When I started the kit last Sunday, the SG was 1.090. By Thursday it was at 1.006. After the chaptalisation, it went to 1.020. Today, Saturday, it was at 1.002. I have been stirring daily and keeping it in a room that is between 72 and 76 most of the time. I know the directions say 5 to 7 days from the chaptalisation and it has only been two. Is it too soon to rack to a carboy? There is still a lot of activity in the airlock and a lot of fizzing when I stir the must.

Yes mine went very quick also -
I would transfer into a carboy to limit oxygen at this time -

I did a transfer of mine on 10-11-15 and very little sediment left behind - tasting very good at this stage.

 

[joeswine]

In the mix

just let it rest walk away for a week or two if your in the secondary,walk away and let nature work for you and your wines make up.

 

[jrm1443]

Ok, I moved it to a carboy today. The SG was .999. So I will just let it sit for a couple weeks. The airlock is still bubbling but it has slowed down greatly. Thanks

 

[Jericurl]

I love this thread! I've been thinking about getting one of these kits and making some of the changes to end up with something spectacular. Please keep us updated on this. And on any others that you decide to play around with...

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I decided to cold stabilize this as all my carboys were going outside for approx 4 weeks.

Well a good friend came over and tolds me that he took 2nd place with his Amarone juice bucket from 2013 - I was a bit timid.

Well he wholeheartedly agreed that the Amarone that i made definitely out did his in respect to aroma and body and over all taste.

I must say I was on cloud 9 - but it was obvious also - compared side by side


Thanks Joe !!

 

[JohnT]

Congrats VPM!!!!!

 

[Mike_Kever_Kombi]

Nice write up

I just got in to winemaking, but have been an avid Brewer since the late 90s. I make mostly Belgians and sours for myself, and big stouts for my wife, so I am very familiar with patience, and sanitation, and already had most of the equipment needed. What I didn't I bought.

So far I have been making wine from juice and kits, however I have not had any of them, as they are all aging. Should be ready for drinking this time next year.

I have been trying to read and absorb as much info as possible. So far all of the kits I have made have incorporated joeswine tweaks.

An Amarone is next on my radar, and I had a few questions I needed clarification on, as to your process on this kit.

Was the oak supplied with the kit or did you add that? Should French oak cubes be added at secondary.

Did you add extra fermentation tannins, and if so which ones?

Did you, or would this kit benefit from the addition on Scott's enzymes in primary?

It says you used a flavor pack, is that supplied with kit, or did you make your own?, the few homemade fpac instructions I have come across say to add fpacs at secondary, looks like you used yours in primary, is that the case?

I see you used raisins, along with the grape skins. I know that traditional amarone if made with dried berries that sit over winter, though not necessarily raisins. From what I have read, the raisins add an oxidized taste to the wine, how do you overcome this, or has anyone cellared long enough to notice this taste?

I'm sure I will have more questions soon, but that is it for now.

PS, I will be ordering the AI1 next week to help with transfer and degassing. I learned long ago in my homebrew "career" that pumps are we're it's at, and worth every penny. And it looks like you take pride in both your product and customer relations.

 

[bkisel]

Steve,

I would have never guessed that you'd not already done a kit. I've got the same kit sitting on a shelf waiting for the holidays to pass and for my my peach wine to free up some hardware. I have made the RJS Amarone and it came out really good. I'm betting that the WS Amarone will be at least as good if not better.

So far my kits, in instruction days fermenting, have been pretty close/in sync with my SG readings. Just lucky I guess.

 

[wineforfun]

@vacuumpumpman What is the reasoning behind adding the additonal sugars(dextrose) at 1.020 instead of just adding it up front when you were at 1.090? It appears it raised your gravity approx. .010, so either way you are ending up the same in the end.
What am I missing?

 

[vacuumpumpman]

@wineforfun
I followed the directions according to this kit - including the Chaptalisation process.
The only thing I did different was cold stabilizing and adding some extra oak when I was cold stabilizing.I also added some raisins and extra tannins - that's it.


@bkisel
Kind crazy - huh ?
That's why after tasting this kit from Joe - He convinced me to make a kit for the first time.I have been making wine for 14 years and I did not believe that wine could taste soo good from a kit

@Mike_Kever_Kombi
Yes the oak powder came with the kit - but I did add extra oak at cold stablizing.
would this kit benefit from the addition on Scott's enzymes in primary? =
I don't think I would change a thing at this point.
The only thing I did different was cold stabilizing and adding some extra oak when I was cold stabilizing.I also added some raisins and extra tannins - that's it.

 

[joeswine]

Amarone the king of italian reds

THE rule of thumb is to capitalize in the primary ,however if you think out side the box the mfg. knows there are residual yeast at a specific point in time in the process (if All's well) , using the dextrose in the secondary is the same principle as making port and boosting the abv. That's the theory behind the move. in most cases boosting the abv. is done in the primary but not always. The traditional way of making AMARONE is by using dried grapes which are left on straw mats to dry in the sun , guess what they make? nice job vacuumpumpman. And MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL..

 

[vacuumpumpman]

@joeswine or anyone else -

I started this on kit 7-13-2015
It tastes great right now !! When would you bottle it ? Normally when I do grapes it is at least a year if not 18 months or more.

I am really impressed with my first kit so far !

 

[jgmann67]

@joeswine or anyone else -



I started this on kit 7-13-2015

It tastes great right now !! When would you bottle it ? Normally when I do grapes it is at least a year if not 18 months or more.



I am really impressed with my first kit so far !

So, in January, you'll have 6 months in the carboy? You've already aged it longer than any of the kits I've done.

 

[ceeaton]

@joeswine or anyone else -

I started this on kit 7-13-2015
It tastes great right now !!

Therein lies the problem. If it tastes great now and you bottle it, will it remain bottled? It is easy to open up a bottle here and there before it ages and gets the best the kit can become (I know, I'm currently living that one out). Then when it gets really really good, you realize that you have 10 bottles left.

If I can keep it in the carboy I may take a few samples, but the bulk of the batch will remain safe from early consumption disease as long as I keep it topped up and properly sulfited.

 

[vacuumpumpman]

Therein lies the problem. If it tastes great now and you bottle it, will it remain bottled? It is easy to open up a bottle here and there before it ages and gets the best the kit can become (I know, I'm currently living that one out). Then when it gets really really good, you realize that you have 10 bottles left.

If I can keep it in the carboy I may take a few samples, but the bulk of the batch will remain safe from early consumption disease as long as I keep it topped up and properly sulfited.

Craig - how long do you let your kit wines bulk age prior to bottling ?

 

[joeswine]

My first kit

AT LEAST 8 MOS. IN THE BOTTLE TASTING EVERY TWO MONTHS THEN YOUR ON YOUR OWNPATIENTS, THESE KITS DO GET BETTER BUT REMEMBER THERE DESIGNED FOR A 2 YEAR STAY,THEN CONSUME.

 

[ceeaton]

Craig - how long do you let your kit wines bulk age prior to bottling ?

I am averaging six months. After clarifying and racking off the clarifiers (two to three weeks later), I let it sit 3 months, rack and kmeta again. Then I try and let it sit 3 more months, but sometimes I get itchy and want to do something. I bottle some at 4 or 5 (ones I don't add skins to) and others I may let go a year (like possibly the Forza). I have yet to go a year, I did let a blueberry go 10 months, that is the champion so far, but that wasn't a kit.

Today I just took one case of each red I have made and found a spot that will take real effort and possible bodily harm to get to, taped them up and put them there. There is a sign stating "wine sanctuary, minimum two years before harvesting", sorta like the bass sanctuaries on some of the lakes in Ontario. We'll see how well that works.

 

[jgmann67]

Steve -

Before you finish up, a few questions.

How much raisin did you add to your primary?

Did you do anything to prep the raisins (a little mashing perhaps to get more out of them), or just pour them into the bucket?

As far as the extra oak and tannin - what kind and how much of each?

I've got the Forza in a Carboy on French medium toast oak (somewhere around 75g) and tannin riche (6g). I'm thinking of picking up one of these from my LHBS and giving it the Joeswine treatment. Then comparing the two side by side in a year or so.