RJ Spagnols Old rjs chardonnay kit

[Kev6]

I have been gifted a 2019 RJS chard kit to play with. Its been stored in a temperature controled wine production room. Will discard the packets included and use new. My plan is to reconstitute it to 6gal then divide into 2- 3gal batches. To one add 2 jars aldi's vanilla peaches. (about 2.5lbs) Looks to be 170g sugars total. Citric acid preservative. To the other, 60oz wt pumpkin pie mix (360g sugars). Shoot for 11-12% abv, adding sugar if needed. I'll add enzymes to both while yeast starter is going. Will be back sweetening a bit to bring out the fruit. I don't plan on mlf or oak. (Wife has an aversion to oakey buttery chards)
Questioning yeast choices. Pictured is what I have available.


I'm leaning toward d47 to reduce the malolactic acid some.
Since the kit is old, should I add nutrients?
Any thing else that I'm not thinking about? Thanks

 

[Ohio Bob]

Absolutely add nutrients at the start and at 1/3 sugar depletion. The flavor additives you plan on adding could very well give your yeast troubles. Especially the pumpkin mix, I wouldn’t be surprised to see cinnamon, nutmeg, etc in the mix. Those ingredients have anti microbial properties so the yeast might struggle.

Also, definitely make a yeast starter to give the yeast a fighting chance.

Secondly, I would consider adding your flavor packs after the wine ferments dry. Not in the primary fermentation.

 

[Kev6]

The pumpkin pie has history with me. Couple of years ago my wife was making pumpkin butter, asked me to pick up a couple cans. Well I got the pie mix instead of puree. She opened the cans and realized my error. She doesn't like pumpkin pie so what to do with 2 cans of mix Fermentation of course 2 gallons of water, raisins, sugar and nutrients. Oh yeah, double dose of enzymes. Fermented dry in a week. Took some time to clear then blended with store bought chardonnay. Perhaps I got lucky. My hope is that co-fermenting will give me a better integration of flavors. I'm looking for the dry side of semisweet. Just enough to bring out the fruit.

 

[winemaker81]

The kit is 5+ years old, so dumping the additives is a good idea, except the bentonite, which should be fine. The concentrate may be darkened, but if it smells and tastes good it's fine. Besides, with your flavorings the resulting wine will probably be dark anyway.

What do you mean by "enzyme"? Pectic enzyme? Add that when reconstituting to give it time to work before fermentation starts.

Regarding the yeast selection, any malic acid added to kits is man-made. I know MLB eats only natural malic acid, not sure about yeast, although I won't be surprised if yeast won't eat the man-made. That said, D-47 is a fine choice anyway.

I see Bob's point about your flavorings, but since the pumpkin has been previously fermented, it's not a problem. The citric acid in the peaches might be a problem, but the pH of the solution is probably designed for typical spoilage bacteria, which means for winemaking purposes it's high (above 4.0). If you're feeling adventurous, add the peaches up front. If you're not, wait until the SG is 1.010. This may make targeting the ABV more difficult.

Me? I'd add the peaches up front, and figure out whutinthuheck to do if it doesn't ferment.

If you have pH test strips or a meter, check the pH of both after reconstituting.

Make an overnight starter, and if that doesn't take off 24 hours after inoculation, make a starter with EC-1118. If THAT doesn't ferment it, nothing will.

 

[Kev6]

What do you mean by "enzyme"? Pectic enzyme? Add that when reconstituting to give it time to work before fermentation starts.

Regarding the yeast selection, any malic acid added to kits is man-made. I know MLB eats only natural malic acid, not sure about yeast, although I won't be surprised if yeast won't eat the man-made. That said, D-47 is a fine choice anyway.

Pectic enzymes is what I mean. Looking back on my notes I had to do an another addition after clearing as there was a haze. Cleared after that. As for the malic acid, I guess I should have remembered that kit concentrate doesn't have natural acid. I'll blame that on "sometimers". I do have a pH meter and will be checking pH prior to inoculating.