Red wine sitting on the yeast cake... too long?

[Geronimo]

Ok, about 6 weeks ago I started 2 RJS kits (Tango and Down Under). 4 weeks ago I took a ride on my motorcycle and was hit by a guy that ran a stop sign, sending me to the hospital with a shattered femur (the big bone in the thigh). After 3 weeks in the hospital I was sent home, but can't bare any weight on my right leg. I'm getting a little nervous that these kits are sitting on the yeast too long. Unfortunately I can't even make the trek into the basement and look at them yet.

Obviously I'd throw them away before I did anything that might risk my health. I'm hoping that I might be able to transfer them in a couple weeks (weekend of November 3rd - 4th). That would be about 8 weeks in primary sitting on the yeast.

Is there still hope for these kits?

 

[ibglowin]

First off dang so very glad you weren't hurt worse!!!!!

As for the kits if they are still in a primary they may be toast, that is a long time to be sitting on the gross lees for sure. If the wine has degassed itself that's going to make it even worse with all that airspace. Never say never in the wine world but it doesn't sound good at this point. Can you get some help from a friend or another family member to assist in getting it off the lees and into a carboy sooner rather than later?

Get it off the gross lees and into a carboy, then add the sulfites ASAP and wait it out to see if it smells OK once off the lees.

 

[TonyP]

I wouldn't give up yet cause I'm just about certain the Tango is OK. It's a white with no skins, although the oak may be strong. The Down Under probably will end up down under the toilet.

Tony

 

[Geronimo]

Can you get some help from a friend or another family member to assist in getting it off the lees and into a carboy sooner rather than later?

I have to get a couple more carboys first. My plan was to bottle 2 batches and refill those carboys accordingly.

According to a couple experienced local wine kit makers, since these are both reds I might have a decent chance. One guy said he accidentally left a red kit sit for 3 months and it turned out just great.

Thanks for the positive vibes

 

[TonyP]

I have to get a couple more carboys first. My plan was to bottle 2 batches and refill those carboys accordingly.

According to a couple experienced local wine kit makers, since these are both reds I might have a decent chance. One guy said he accidentally left a red kit sit for 3 months and it turned out just great.

Thanks for the positive vibes

They're your wines so you should know better than me, but I believe the Tango kit is a white, not red wine kit. If you're referring to the RJS Cru Select, Tango is a blend of three Argentine white wines: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Torrentés.

Tony P.

 

[Geronimo]

Hi Tony,
It's the RQ 2012 Tango kit like this

http://www.homebrewing.org/RQ-Spagnols-Tango-Tempranillo-Malbec_p_2390.html

I'd really hate to lose this one. I've already heard it's a gem.

 

[captainl]

I don't know but I am going to bet $1 the wines will be fine. A co worker of mine does just that.....except he goes 4 to 6 months in a sealed primary and then bottles. He does nothing else to it and swears by it . These kits don't have a lot of gross lees like wine from grapes. Autolosys is mostly a myth in the homebrew community as far as beer goes at least. Most home beer makers now prefer 1 month on the yeast. Many have gone 6 months to a year with no negative impact. The only real threat I see is oxidation. However, if sealed and airlocked the risk is minimal. I think there is hope. My $1 says they will be good wine.

 

[Geronimo]

I don't know but I am going to bet $1 the wines will be fine.

My experience with beer brewing tells me I have a decent chance too. I'm guessing it will be 3 months roughly before they get moved to secondary. I'll be happy to lose to ya! Thanks for the positive vibe I'm sort of wallowing in self pity these days because I can't even enjoy a nice glass of wine until I'm off the pain meds.

Have a nice glass for me, would ya?

 

[Geronimo]

Wow, we racked it and it was excellent! It's one of those kits with the "genu-wine" dried grape skins. I'm very pleased that it was OK, but even better that it seemed to actually benefit from the extended primary.

 

[wvbrewer]

It will be a learning experiance for us all. It will be cool to hear how they turn out, let us know.

 

[ibglowin]

Great news, keep us posted on how it develops down the road.

 

[Geronimo]

The sad part is I won't ever get another kit of this exact same blend (it's an RJS RQ kit) to run through my usual schedule and compare it to, but I'm intrigued enough to actually pick one of my favorites (like CC Barbera) and just do 2 of them side-by-side, one with a 3 week primary and the other with 10-12 weeks.

 

[captainl]

Glad the wines still good. I'll probably try it one day. Maybe split the same wine and do 3 and 3 gallons differently. Maybe just rack 3 gallons off at the proper time and follow the schedule, and then leave the other 3 gallons alone on the lees. Like I said, a coworker swears by it...I think he was doing mostly high end wine experts without grape packs though.

 

[Geronimo]

We bottled it yesterday and got an extra 1/2 bottle to drink up. We both liked it quite a bit. This particular blend has the strongest taste of Cassis that I've ever found. Super nice finish, and no flaws that I could detect. The only thing I didn't really like was that it was 99% degassed which means I couldn't pull a nice CO2 blanket over the top of it in secondary. When I rack to secondary after 3 weeks I can pull loads of CO2 with my little manual vacuum pump.

 

[ibglowin]

Fantastic news. The old saying that winemaking is a procrastinators dream hobby is right on I think!