WineXpert Question about LE Australia Grenache and Cab with Grape Skin

[Trick]

At day 7, the SG is already 0.995! Incredibly quick. Not sure if there is anything wrong. Test pH, unbelievable, it is 3.20. Even lower than the original. Weird.I tastes pretty tart but not very astringent.
Anyway, I racked it into carboy for secondary. Tons of solids at the bottom and stuck my racking cane many times.
The skid in the bag is a kid of dry after squeezing. Lots of seeds even stems. Not too much skin like stuff left and it is not sticky at all now.
Looks like I have to fight with the solids for the next stage.
After racking, not too much bubbles can be seen. After hesitating a while, I determined to pitch the EC1118. I guess since it is already at 0.995, there shouldn't be too much sugar left for the monster to consume. Anyway, just in case.

 

[Smok1]

At day 7, the SG is already 0.995! Incredibly quick. Not sure if there is anything wrong. Test pH, unbelievable, it is 3.20. Even lower than the original. Weird.I tastes pretty tart but not very astringent.
Anyway, I racked it into carboy for secondary. Tons of solids at the bottom and stuck my racking cane many times.
The skid in the bag is a kid of dry after squeezing. Lots of seeds even stems. Not too much skin like stuff left and it is not sticky at all now.
Looks like I have to fight with the solids for the next stage.
After racking, not too much bubbles can be seen. After hesitating a while, I determined to pitch the EC1118. I guess since it is already at 0.995, there shouldn't be too much sugar left for the monster to consume. Anyway, just in case.

I racked mine today as well at 1.015 sg, just to make sure i have some good fermentation still going to get that CO2 cap in my carboy, grape sack only seeds and stems left. I did the LE16 cab franc and it finished at .990 and tne LE16 blanc de noir finished at .988, thats the lowest ive seen my hydrometer go to date.

 

[jgmann67]

At day 7, the SG is already 0.995! Incredibly quick. Not sure if there is anything wrong. Test pH, unbelievable, it is 3.20. Even lower than the original. Weird.I tastes pretty tart but not very astringent.
Anyway, I racked it into carboy for secondary. Tons of solids at the bottom and stuck my racking cane many times.
The skid in the bag is a kid of dry after squeezing. Lots of seeds even stems. Not too much skin like stuff left and it is not sticky at all now.
Looks like I have to fight with the solids for the next stage.
After racking, not too much bubbles can be seen. After hesitating a while, I determined to pitch the EC1118. I guess since it is already at 0.995, there shouldn't be too much sugar left for the monster to consume. Anyway, just in case.

At 7 days and 0.995, you're doing great. It's okay if you're not seeing activity. No real need to do anything but rack and wait. If you're in a secondary, your directions probably say you should be there 6-10 days. Your SG would have dropped another .003-5 on its own.

Patience is the most important ingredient in winemaking.

 

[Trick]

At 7 days and 0.995, you're doing great. It's okay if you're not seeing activity. No real need to do anything but rack and wait. If you're in a secondary, your directions probably say you should be there 6-10 days. Your SG would have dropped another .003-5 on its own.

Patience is the most important ingredient in winemaking.

Thanks for the response. Great information!
I have a very "patient" plan with two weeks of primary, 3 weeks of secondary, 4 weeks of clarification and 8 month of bulk aging+ unknown months of bottle aging.
But extend primary fermentation plan failed. I guess mainly due to the temperature. I should setup temperature based on the yeast capacity rather than the instruction. In kit instruction, the temperature 22-24 range aligns with the target primary fermentation duration. My staggered juice addition plan only extended the fermentation by one day.
Anyway, as you said, now it becomes the waiting game. I can keep my slow plan now. I will turn the temperature down to 20 degree C and watch the air bubbles. EC1118 should work. I will keep watching.
First time playing skin kit. Zero experience.
We learn from the lessons. Thx again.

 

[Smok1]

Tons of solids at the bottom and stuck my racking cane many times.

Those oak chips were a pain, they kept clogging up my anti siphon to the point there was 6" left in the bottom of the primary i couldnt get out. I had to use my vac pump to transfer the rest. I think next time i will be putting the oak chips in some sort of bag. Maybe in the grape skin bag would be better?

 

[jgmann67]

Those oak chips were a pain, they kept clogging up my anti siphon to the point there was 6" left in the bottom of the primary i couldnt get out. I had to use my vac pump to transfer the rest. I think next time i will be putting the oak chips in some sort of bag. Maybe in the grape skin bag would be better?

Typically, I'll put my primary oak (dust or chips) in with the skins bag. Makes racking to the next stage a lot easier. Then, I'll save a second stage of oak for after clearing to allow the cubes to sit for three months before racking them off the wine.

 

[Trick]

Typically, I'll put my primary oak (dust or chips) in with the skins bag. Makes racking to the next stage a lot easier. Then, I'll save a second stage of oak for after clearing to allow the cubes to sit for three months before racking them off the wine.

Sounds like a good idea. The racking with the chips is really a pain!
I am looking for a stainless steel infusion mesh tube somewhere in the internet to do that job. The chips are too sharp and I am just afraid they will poke the bag.

 

[Trick]

Those oak chips were a pain, they kept clogging up my anti siphon to the point there was 6" left in the bottom of the primary i couldnt get out. I had to use my vac pump to transfer the rest. I think next time i will be putting the oak chips in some sort of bag. Maybe in the grape skin bag would be better?

I am also worrying about the "Low production" due to the loss during racking. How to top up the big head space becomes a concern. I don't have a 5 gal carboy. Maybe I have to buys several bottles of commercial Cab to fill, or use the Merlot I made for a WE kit (World Vineyard) early this year.

 

[Trick]

This should work for the primary fermenter:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/29x...32772985296.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.3LW2WV

 

[jgmann67]

For kits that come with skins, the bag they give you works just fine. I can usually salvage all but a half glass of wine that I pour off separately (and is needed for quality control purposes [emoji12]).

Once you have headspace in your carboy, you have three four choices:

* Top up with a commercial or your own wine.

* kick down to a 5 gal. carboy.

* try a headspace eliminator (which keeps the wine under vacuum and prevents oxidation). Be very attentive to your wine if you go this route to ensure you maintain a good vacuum.

* use glass marbles or something similar to displace headspace.

Depending on where I am in the process, I'll top up with my own wine (for longer term aging) or use the HSE (short term storage).

 

[Smok1]

Sounds like a good idea. The racking with the chips is really a pain!
I am looking for a stainless steel infusion mesh tube somewhere in the internet to do that job. The chips are too sharp and I am just afraid they will poke the bag.

I think that stainless steel infuser is a great idea, i have one for my tea. I will definitley be using that for my oak chips next time. Wish i woulda thought of that.

 

[Trick]

I think that stainless steel infuser is a great idea, i have one for my tea. I will definitley be using that for my oak chips next time. Wish i woulda thought of that.

Hard for hard, soft for soft. Nice pair. Haha.
Tasted mine today, very tannic. Extraction is not bad even without "Extended maceration".

 

[Smok1]

Hard for hard, soft for soft. Nice pair. Haha.
Tasted mine today, very tannic. Extraction is not bad even without "Extended maceration".

Mines still in secondary fermentation, 0.992 today. Not really sure what the starting OG was because i tested before adding the grape pack, 1.080, after 24 hours of pitching the yeast i did my first squeeze on the grape pack and stirred it in and sg went up too 1.090, i suspect the OG is probly around 1.095 or 1.1, abv not a big deal to me anyways as long as it has a good taste.

 

[Trick]

Mines still in secondary fermentation, 0.992 today. Not really sure what the starting OG was because i tested before adding the grape pack, 1.080, after 24 hours of pitching the yeast i did my first squeeze on the grape pack and stirred it in and sg went up too 1.090, i suspect the OG is probly around 1.095 or 1.1, abv not a big deal to me anyways as long as it has a good taste.

I am not a super fan for the high abv either. One of the reasons is that I can drink more before getting drunk.
I tested my SG as well. It reads 0.988. My lowest SG record ever in my short wine making history. Sounds it is almost time to wrap up. HaHa. My long fermentation plan is completely screwed up. But it doesn't matter for me since I already reached the goal for an deeply extracted wine. I am planning to watch until the weekend. If no more change in SG, I will rack and move to the next stage. One more question, do I need to top up now? The instruction says no but I am concerned with the O2 exposure with little CO2 production. I can hardly see any bubble in the airlock now. Thanks.

 

[sour_grapes]

Yes, I would top up. I don't know why they started advising against it in some kit instructions, but I really don't see any harm in topping up.

0.988, huh? I am impressed -- I have never broken the 0.990 mark!

 

[Smok1]

I as well had one of the LE16 kits finish at 0.988, not the grenache, but the blanc de noir, lowest ive seen. Ill check my grenache tomorrow see what it finishes at.

Im curious to why it says to wait 10 days in the secondary even if theres no fermentation without topping up.

 

[Smok1]

Did everyones Grenache kits come with two large bags of chitosan? Seems like alot of clearing agent and ive never seen such a large amount of chitosen without kieselsol. Just wondering if they made a mistake in my kit.

 

[Trick]

Did everyones Grenache kits come with two large bags of chitosan? Seems like alot of clearing agent and ive never seen such a large amount of chitosen without kieselsol. Just wondering if they made a mistake in my kit.

i got two as well. planning to use only one and save one for other batch.
feels like a tough one to clarifier.

 

[Trick]

Did everyones Grenache kits come with two large bags of chitosan? Seems like alot of clearing agent and ive never seen such a large amount of chitosen without kieselsol. Just wondering if they made a mistake in my kit.

i got two as well. planning to use only one and save one for other batch.
like a tough one to clarify. but i have time and patience.

 

[Cibb]

My kit is coming in next week, I can't wait to get started. I'm tempted to get a second one.