RJ Spagnols rj spagnols

[PeterZ]

I find that the crystals tend to stick to the bottle, and are not a problem in the wine. They rinse out easily with hot water.

 

[peaches9324]

ok I racked my beaujolais back into primary fermenting bucket - the one with the spigot then I attached the hose with the btl filler to the spigot and btled they have been sitting upright on the kitchen table since this morning and I'm noticing alot of sediment on the bottom of these btles.

What should I do? Should I dump the wine back in and rebottle? I don't want all that sediment left in there but I don't want to add any unwanted oxygen either! HELP PLEASE!
thanks in advance

 

[Waldo]

ok I racked my beaujolais back into primary fermenting bucket - the one with the spigot then I attached the hose with the btl filler to the spigot and btled they have been sitting upright on the kitchen table since this morning and I'm noticing alot of sediment on the bottom of these btles.

What should I do? Should I dump the wine back in and rebottle? I don't want all that sediment left in there but I don't want to add any unwanted oxygen either! HELP PLEASE!
thanks in advance

I would uncork it an put it back in a carboy and let it set a while until it stops dropping sediment. Rack it off that and then rebottle. I have done this before on some of my fruit wines and I use a funnel with a hose attached to the stem on the funnel that goees to the bottom of the carboy. This greatly minimizes the exposure to oxygen.

 

[robie]

Does anyone have an idea as to why some kits consistently give off the crystals and why other, similar-style kits don't?

 

[Dean]

quality of the juice used. The higher the concentration of tartaric acid, usually found in high quality juice, will throw bitartrate crystals. Kits that use lower quality juice or higher ranges of concentrate, will not have the same amount of tartaric acid, and will not have enough to form crystals.

In short, the higher the quality of ingredients, the more crystals you will get.

 

[robie]

Dean,

That doesn't necessarily mean that the higher quality kits have a higher level of acid? Instead, of the acids the high quality kits have, the percentage of tartar acid is higher, as compared to the other acids??? Hope these questions make sense.

I'm trying desperately to understand the relationships.

 

[Dean]

Tartaric acid is the main acid in grapes. Usually, this precipitates out when juice is concentrated, so kit manufacturers add more back in, but usually, they add a blend to achieve the acid profile they want for the finished product. This usually means more malic and citric, especially in whites, but also in reds.

So, the more concentrate used = the less concentration of tartaric acid. Of course, this also directly correlates to ripeness of grapes too. The acids in grapes undergo a change as the grape gets riper too, causing more tartaric to malic concentrations. The conclusion is that the better and closer the grape is to ripe, the more tartaric will be in there. Of course, this is all varietal specific too, as some varietals when ripe, start to lose a lot of acid as well (Syrah in particular, as well as Merlot). However, the higher the quality of the juice/grapes they came from (crop yield, ripeness, amount of leaf cover, sunburn, etc) the more likely the case of bitartrates falling out of solution.

And no, it doesn't mean that higher end kits have more acid, but they usually have a greater concentration of tartaric acid from natural sources, versus a blend of acids needed to be added later due to higher amounts of concentrate.

 

[robie]

Dean,
Thanks for the explanation; it really helps.

 

[imported_jdeere5220]

Is there somewhere that I can get an RJS catalog? Something that tells me what each series is, and detailed information about each kit? I went to the RJS www site, but I find the information is spotty. My local retailer carries W.E., and he has a nice catalog that tells me ABV, recommended aging, some details about each wine style, origin, etc... Is there something similar for RJS? I'm thinking about ordering but I feel like I'm shooting darts in the dark without more info.

Which are the "high end" kits? Which are the the value kits? etc.. etc..

Thanks!

 

[vcasey]

Easy answer - Give George at Fine Vine Wines a call, the link is at the top of the page.

 

[peaches9324]

thanks waldo! and when pouring the wine back in the carboy I left the sediment behind in the wine btles also. Lost a lil bit of wine doing this, but figured it would be worth it!

thanks again!