Vineco New Passport 2017 limited editions

[Grabo]

The Cab Sauv Rose has pretty much cleared. I added the clarifiers last weekend, but it still needs to sit until the end of the month (per instructions). I tried to get a good photo of the Rose, but the lighting isn't great in in the basement. Rose (in clarification step), Vermentino (bulk aging), and IM Pink Lemonade (still fermenting) in the photos. I'll get a photo of it in a wine glass when I rack and taste it at the end of the month.

 

[Grabo]

I racked the Cab Sauv Rose after letting it sit for 4-ish weeks (following the instructions). It's now going to bulk age until I need the carboy for Fall juice buckets. The flavor on this one already has surpassed our expectations. We taste a lot of strawberry and raspberry up front, and there is a good amount of acidity on the back end. My wife and I both can taste that it's a Cab Sauv grape, but we really don't know how to describe why yet. That will need more testing later. If this kit is ever offered again, we would re-up on it every time.

 

[geek]

Looks good....

 

[geek]

How "dry" does it taste like?
I know that kit does not come with f-pack.

 

[Grabo]

How "dry" does it taste like?
I know that kit does not come with f-pack.

It definitely tastes dry. The nose on it and fruit forward flavor both trick your mind, though; maybe also because it is still young. I wouldn't compare it to any red wine, but as far as a rose goes, this is one of the few that I would be happy to drink.

 

[Boatboy24]

I racked the Cab Sauv Rose after letting it sit for 4-ish weeks (following the instructions). It's now going to bulk age until I need the carboy for Fall juice buckets. The flavor on this one already has surpassed our expectations. We taste a lot of strawberry and raspberry up front, and there is a good amount of acidity on the back end. My wife and I both can taste that it's a Cab Sauv grape, but we really don't know how to describe why yet. That will need more testing later. If this kit is ever offered again, we would re-up on it every time.

Love the color on that!

 

[joeswine]

Cabernet sauvignon rose'

ready to bottle ...................

 

[sg1strgt]

Willj the Rose sounds delicious but I cant seem to order it here in Tennessee

 

[Grabo]

I started my Kookaburra kit last night and pitched BM 4x4 this morning. Measured 1.080 @ 71F, but I didn't bother to stir it up with the skins at the bottom of the pail before I pitched this morning.

The juice in this kit smells great, but the skins smell/taste amazing. I'm super excited for this one. Since my cellar is getting full, I'm thinking about bulk aging this one 9-12 months and letting it clear naturally. This would be my first attempt to clear a kit with time instead of clarifying agents.

 

[Smok1]

Hi,

Just spotted the new Passport 2017 limited editions here:
http://www.vinecowine.com/products/passport-series

Disappointed that none of the reds appear to have grape skins although they do all sound good.

The Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé sounds great and will defintitely order that one.

What do others think?

Will

I just seen the cab sauv rose kit in the wine store the other day. Im really interested in that one.

$189 for it here in canada definitly on the higher price scale compare to other 18L kits ive recently bought. I got 3 of the 5 LE16 kits for around $150 each.

Id definitly choose this passport cabernet sauv rose over the wine expert cali sauv blanc rose.

 

[biscmc]

I started my Kookaburra kit last night and pitched BM 4x4 this morning. Measured 1.080 @ 71F, but I didn't bother to stir it up with the skins at the bottom of the pail before I pitched this morning.

The juice in this kit smells great, but the skins smell/taste amazing. I'm super excited for this one. Since my cellar is getting full, I'm thinking about bulk aging this one 9-12 months and letting it clear naturally. This would be my first attempt to clear a kit with time instead of clarifying agents.

I started my Kookaburra about 8 weeks ago, with extended maceration on the skins. I racked the wine off the lees a few days ago. The wine smells and tastes great.

I think you will be pleased if you bulk age this one for a year. This wine is really heavy; I would watch for protein build-up -- you may have to add clarifiers whether you want to or not.

 

[Grabo]

I started my Kookaburra about 8 weeks ago, with extended maceration on the skins. I racked the wine off the lees a few days ago. The wine smells and tastes great.

I think you will be pleased if you bulk age this one for a year. This wine is really heavy; I would watch for protein build-up -- you may have to add clarifiers whether you want to or not.

Good to know! I'm okay with adding clarifiers if I need to, but I figure I'd give it a shot to do it naturally. I'd just plan to use less clarifiers than the instructions call for.

Did you add any k-meta during the extended maceration? Since I am going to wait this one out, I've considered racking with the skins over to my 6.5gal wide mouth to finish fermenting and then letting it sit for some extra time.

 

[biscmc]

Grabo:

I did not add extra k-meta yet, though I normally add 1/4 tsp every 6 months during a racking (I bulk age my wines 2-3 years until no more sediment collects).

I should invest some cash and find a reliable way of measuring free SO2.

 

[lilvixen]

I checked on the Kookaburra today, which is in secondary. SG: 0.994, which is drier than any of my other wines. I pitched D254. Next weekend, I'll rack and degas and let it sit quietly while I stress my way through a graduate summer class. (2 classes left till graduation, I can do this!) From the few drops I tasted, this one's going to be good, and I'm already giddy excited!

 

[biscmc]

My Kookaburra is degassing. But developing a white film on the surface (protein overload). I would watch how long you keep your wine on the gross lees on this one.

 

[lilvixen]

For those who have done the Kookaburra, how is the body on yours? The description says full-bodied, but after secondary, the sip I tasted doesn't strike me as full-bodied (yet?). We had a 2014 Paso Robles Syrah tonight with dinner that didn't seem full-bodied either, reminding me of the sip of the Kookaburra, but it was more tannic.

- How is the body on your Kookaburra?
- Did or will you add tannins to your Kookaburra?
- Did or will you oak your Kookaburra?

I like tannic, oaky wines, but I'm trying hard not to make every wine I make oaky and tannic since what's the point of different varietals if I'm going to make them all similar? But then I have a tannic wine and think, "mm, mine should be like this!"

 

[biscmc]

If you are looking for full bodied, I would recommend using as few clarifiers as possible, and let the wine naturally clarify itself. It will take several months, but I imagine you would be happier with the product.

As for the oak, the kit came with a large amount of oak chips already. I would be leery of adding any more.

 

[lilvixen]

I've only tried a couple GSM blends and Syrah/Shiraz over the years, so I don't know what I'm looking for. My expectations were set by the Vineco description, so I suppose I'm confused because the Kookaburra doesn't seem full-bodied like the Eclipse Cab or Showcase Carmenere I bottled last month, which were also listed as full-bodied. I don't mind the Kookaburra being more medium-bodied if that's how it's supposed to be, I just didn't expect that.

Because the Kookaburra seemed lighter, I only used one package of the kieselsol and chitosan when I racked it this weekend, and I'll rack it again in 5 weeks (a little longer than the instructions recommend, but I need to get through a summer class) and let it sit for another 3 or 5 months before I bottle it. Hopefully that's enough time for it to clear, because I have a kit waiting in the closet for this carboy.

@biscmc, so I gather that you plan to leave your Kookaburra as-is, other than bulk aging it for f o r e v e r ?

 

[biscmc]

@lilvixen: Ideally, I would like to leave my Kookaburra as-is, however I am faced with a few challenges since I deliberately strayed from the instructions.

The biggest impact is that I added dried currants and black cherries to the secondary, and I kept the wine one the grape skins for an extended maceration for about 8 weeks. I should have added pectic enzyme to break down the proteins earlier, however I now have a wine that is very cloudy, and is developing a creamy film on the surface.

I am watching closely, but I reckon in a matter of a few weeks, I will have to choice but to add the kiesosol and chitosan in order to bring the proteins under control.

 

[lilvixen]

I racked the Kookaburra tonight; it's about 2 months old and has a gorgeous garnet color.

After racking, I stirred and tasted it, and it was still gassy, despite degassing when I added the clarifiers and sitting at a constant temp of 74* for the last 5 weeks, bummer. I was sadly underwhelmed and disappointed by my thiefed sample: it had that same off-taste I taste in the 10L and 12L kits I've made, and I was really bummed. I bumped the carboy (it's plastic) when I tilted it to get the last bit during racking and mixed up the sediment, so I didn't end up racking as much as I'd hoped. I poured the leftover sediment and wine in a large glass to settle so that hubby could sample it when he came in from working on his project car. That glass sat for at least an hour after I tasted the thiefed sample, and hubby tasted it and said it tasted good, why was I disappointed? So I took a sip, and it was quite different and that weird flavor I've associated with midlevel kits was gone. I'm hoping that with aging (and/or breathing?), this will be a good wine. I still have the glass settling on the counter, so I've been sipping samples to see how it changes each hour. I'm more hopeful now than I was when I racked that this will turn out good. At this point, it doesn't seem as awesome as the Eclipse Cab or Showcase Carmenere I started in Jan and bottled in Jun, but I'm holding out that it will taste better than the WV Trinity and Sterling Malbec I learned winemaking on last summer. And yes, I know, youth and all, but I remember the En Primeur Super Tuscan, Eclipse Cab, and Showcase Carmenere being good at each racking and lacking that off flavor. The Kookaburra finished at 0.994, and I did not use sorbate. I'll leave it to bulk age 4 months before I bottle it.

I previously asked about additional tannins and oak, and I'll be doing neither. I think it's fine as-is from the settling glass and doesn't need any more tweaks for my tastes. I'm wary but hopeful about this one.