Finer Wine Kit Novello Pinot Noir

[idahorevbob]

Just received my Novello Pinot Noir from FWK. It's been hot here (95ish) and it was warm when it got here. Wish they'd go back to the styrofoam containers......anyway, that's not why I am writing.

The juice for the Novello wines is said to be 6.3 liters = 1.664 US Gallons. So, to reach 6 gallons I added a bit over 4 gallons of distilled water. That came up to near the the first ring of the fermenting bucket so I added a bit more to reach the ring as I always do. SG is supposed to be between 1.070 and 1.080. Mine was a whopping 1.105! I added more water to bring the SG down to 1.093 but that brought me up to 6.5 - 7.0 gallons. Don't wanna add any more than that. I'm sure it will be fine but.....that's a long way off in the SG.

Before anyone asks:
- Yes, I stirred the heck out of it.
- Yes, I've used the same fermentation bucket with other FWK wines and they were close to the numbers.
- Yes, my hydrometer works (and I know how to read it)
- Must temp was 63 F (hydrometer calibrated at 68 F)
- Gravitational constant is unchanged in my location

I'm outa ideas. Looking forward to seeing if these Novello's are good. I have four carboys of Forte's in bulk aging but a year is soooo long to wait. I need quicker making wines or my stash will run out. Yes, I may have a wine problem.....I blame FWK.

Question: How come I get old so quickly but a year takes waaaaaay more than a year to go past while waiting for bulk aging?

 

[ChuckD]

Question: How come I get old so quickly but a year takes waaaaaay more than a year to go past while waiting for bulk aging?

I would double check that gravitational constant!

 

[idahorevbob]

Yer right. I just walked up the hill in my driveway.. seemed waaaay taller. Gravity is expanding. I think Einstein predicted this. Maybe. Not a physicist.

 

[ChuckD]

What you need to do is bottle your wine then take a short trip… say a minute or so, but traveling close to the speed of light. When you return your wine will have aged nicely.

 

[idahorevbob]

Great idea! I'll call Elon and see what he has on the shelf that gets above 95% the speed of light.... That guy must have something in the works.

 

[Shurt1073]

I wish you the best of luck on the Novella PN. There are several of us waiting to see your results and thoughts on the Novella.

FYI ... standing over your kits watching them doesn't help them age. I've tried it! But what I have done was take a full 6 gallon Strawberry carboy, and rack into a 5 gallon carboy to give me about five bottles (1 gallon) to drink for a couple of months. I've taken a 6 gallon Raspberry carboy and racked half into a 3 gallon carboy bottling the rest giving me 15 bottles for the rest of this year. It requires a little work and more carboys but I've got that kind of time being retired. It might be a win-win allowing me to drink a little early while letting the majority bulk age.

 

[idahorevbob]

Yeah, I'm retired as well, so I really do have the time to wait.....I just don't have the patience! So far, the first batches I made stayed in the carboy for six months. I have two in carboys now that have made it all the way to 8 months.....trying for a year....no promises. The problem is the first batches are running low. This 'hobby' is becoming a bit of an obsession.

I am hoping the Novella will be a way to make quick every day wines to enjoy while I wait for the bigger Forte's. This Pinot Noir Novella has been an interesting start. If you saw my original post, I had some SG issues which resulted in a larger than 6 gallon batch. Even after adding the extra water to bring the SG down, I had about the same amount of headspace in the fermenter bucket that I normally do with a Forte.....but the fermentation went wild!!! Some of the must was coming out of the bubbler in the bucket lid. I cleaned that up and after a day it calmed down and is now just bubbling madly. I've never had that happen before.

I will update this post as things progress to let people know how the Novella went.

Cheers!

 

[sour_grapes]

Great idea! I'll call Elon and see what he has on the shelf that gets above 95% the speed of light.... That guy must have something in the works.

You may want to hold hout for something greater than 0.95c. That only increases your aging time by a factor of ~3. Nothing to sneeze at, but I wouldn't want to go to all that trouble and only gain a couple of years....

 

[Ericphotoart]

I started Cabernet Sauvignon Novello yesterday. I decided to add 12 oz of dried raisins to the must. After 24 hrs fermentation is going pretty strong.

 

[David Violante]

Just finished a Novello Merlot, it’s racked and clearing in a carboy. I’m going to degass under vacuum instead of waiting for it to do so over time since a) it’s supposed the be an early drinker, and b) this thread from @Snafflebit and some of the degassing discussion.

 

[Ericphotoart]

I was not familiar with the Novello style wines until now. What I found out is that this style of wine should be consumed within approximately 5 months and it is not intended for aging similar to Beaujolais nouveau. Since the lifespan of the wine is relatively short I do not intend to age it. This is definitely a good thing.

 

[Brant]

I was not familiar with the Novello style wines until now. What I found out is that this style of wine should be consumed within approximately 5 months and it is not intended for aging similar to Beaujolais nouveau. Since the lifespan of the wine is relatively short I do not intend to age it. This is definitely a good thing.

I would imagine that this wine could also be aged/consumered for a duration well over 1 year. It might be lighter than Tavola or Forte but not that light. I'd be surprised if it tasted drinkable before 5 months regardless.

 

[winemaker81]

I would imagine that this wine could also be aged/consumered for a duration well over 1 year. It might be lighter than Tavola or Forte but not that light. I'd be surprised if it tasted drinkable before 5 months regardless.

Matteo has been spot on with his advice regarding FWK kits. When a vendor tells you the limits on their product, you're better off accepting their advice.

 

[Ericphotoart]

My Cabernet Novello went from 1.090 to 0.998 within 5 days. It's kind of fast. I will wait 2-3 days to see if it goes lower. I'm not sure if by adding the dried raisins to the must I didn't increase the speed of fermentation.

 

[winemaker81]

My Cabernet Novello went from 1.090 to 0.998 within 5 days. It's kind of fast. I will wait 2-3 days to see if it goes lower. I'm not sure if by adding the dried raisins to the must I didn't increase the speed of fermentation.

I doubt the raisins made any difference. If you made an overnight starter, the initial colony size is much larger than just sprinkling the yeast on top of the must. IME this produces a shorter ferment, as the yeast has already reproduced in what for it is a more friendly environment, so it has less to do in the must itself.

 

[idahorevbob]

I followed the recipe and just sprinkled the dry yeast on top instead of making a starter as I usually do. Fermentation was still fast and extremely active - as in exiting the bubbler. Had to clean the top a couple times before it settled down.

 

[Ericphotoart]

I did the same. No yeast starter. This is actually the first wine I used distilled water, but I’m sure this didn’t speed up the fermentation. The temperature is in 72-73F.

 

[Jovimaple]

I followed the recipe and just sprinkled the dry yeast on top instead of making a starter as I usually do. Fermentation was still fast and extremely active - as in exiting the bubbler. Had to clean the top a couple times before it settled down.

So the Novello instructions don't have you make a yeast starter?

Many of us don't ferment under airlock.. Since the yeast need oxygen to reproduce and build their colony, using a food grade bucket (bigger than the batch - I use a 7.9 US gallon fermenting bucket for 6 gallon batches) with a towel or a cover loosely placed on top allows for the extra room needed during the ferment, too. A vigorous ferment might still overflow the bucket somewhat, but it doesn't turn into a volcano like when it's all forced through the airlock.

 

[Ericphotoart]

No yeast starter in the instructions. Instructions are very simple and short. After sprinkling the yeast (RC-212) fermentation started within 5-6 hours.

 

[Shurt1073]

My Cabernet Novello went from 1.090 to 0.998 within 5 days. It's kind of fast. I will wait 2-3 days to see if it goes lower. I'm not sure if by adding the dried raisins to the must I didn't increase the speed of fermentation.

Guessing you've racked into glass, sorbate, and clearing agents? What is your impression so far? Inquiring minds want to know.