RJ Spagnols RJS CC Amarone

[Steve_M]

This is my first kit, started on 1/10/15.
Initial S.G. 1.110
Beginning must temp was 60F, I am using a submersible aquarium heater to bring and maintain temp to 72F.
The aroma and taste of the juice simply put was outstanding!

Thanks,

Steve

 

[sour_grapes]

Sounds great, Steve! Good luck with the fermentation.

 

[bkisel]

Nice! Good luck with your first kit! I did about 5-6 lower end kits before doing a Washington Merlot in that series. Have since did a Super Tuscan and a Ca. Sav.... all came out great.

Also, I've got the same kit on deck and hope to start it in about two weeks from now. Primary bucket is currently in use doing a tweaked RJS VdV Riesling. Must also get a Pinot Noir batch bottled before moving onto the Amarone.

Hope the aquarium heater works out for you. I use a heater belt and towels and plugging in and out the heater bedlt to regulate must/wine temps in the fermentation bucket. Ambient basement temp is ~60F this time of the year.

 

[Steve_M]

5 days into primary fermentation and all looks great! temp has been held steady with use of aquarium heater and I did wrap a heavy blanket around it a few nights ago due to extreme cold temps.
S.G. is now 1.026, which brings me to my question. How do you get a clean sample when there are oak chips in primary? I did use a strainer last night, but not crazy about that approach.

Moving forward would it be best to add any oak chips into cheesecloth bag along with grape pac?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[Boatboy24]

I think the strainer is your best approach. And yes, put the oak in the bag.

 

[bkisel]

Do you use a wine thief? Should be able to find or make an open spot and go down and get your sample.

Like Boatboy said put the oak chips in the bag. Those oak chips may give you some hassle when you do your rack to secondary. I remember having to unclog my auto siphon tip 3-4 times due to clogging.

BTW, some of us just leave our hydrometer in the primary bucket and taking our readings from there as opposed to taking samples.

 

[Steve_M]

I do use a wine thief, and that is where I was seeing the issue with chips, would not allow the tip to properly close.
I have actually put hydrometer into primary, and will probably keep in there for remainder of time.

Moving forward definitely will put chips in bag. I can see where I am going to have some issue this weekend on racking it too.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[joeswine]

Amarone in the flow

are you in a bucket or carboy? And what was your ph be for starting and your abv. These are two very important items to know at the outset.did you capitalize?

 

[Steve_M]

Joe,
Thanks for asking, I did not test PH prior to start unfortunately chalk that up to newb error.
The S.G. prior to pitching yeast was 1.110.
As this is my first kit, I was very tempted to follow your tweaks on this wine. I however figured that I should do my first one as per kit instructions which is why I did not chaptalize.
Primary fermentation is taking place in a 20g white brute.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Steve_M]

One other question, how long has anyone kept the raisins in secondary?
Do you add at the first rack or after completed fermentation and racking off of the lees at this point?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[bkisel]

One other question, how long has anyone kept the raisins in secondary?
Do you add at the first rack or after completed fermentation and racking off of the lees at this point?

Thanks,

Steve

For the RJS VdV Italian Valpola I kept the raisins in secondary until dry - so maybe 7-10 days.

I haven't opened my RJS kit as yet but the three other WS kits I've done had me removing the grape skin pack and racking to "secondary" @ SG 1.020 if I remember correctly. This is the point at which I would add the raisins if I wanted them in secondary as opposed to primary. Again, just guessing but you'll probably go dry in 7-10 days after racking to secondary. Use your hydrometer as per the kit instructions.

 

[heatherd]

Joe,
Thanks for asking, I did not test PH prior to start unfortunately chalk that up to newb error.
The S.G. prior to pitching yeast was 1.110.
As this is my first kit, I was very tempted to follow your tweaks on this wine. I however figured that I should do my first one as per kit instructions which is why I did not chaptalize.
Primary fermentation is taking place in a 20g white brute.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve,

I disagree with Joe on testing - for a kit you don't need to do that. You didn't make a mistake there. Kits are already ph balanced. Since it is your first kit I don't want you to think you need to do stuff that is over and above the instructions. Once you get through a couple following the instructions you can then branch out and experiment.

Chapitalization is something you may decide to do for another batch but is not a necessity. It is adding sugar to raise the alcohol content.

I wholeheartedly agree with putting oak in a bag - that saves quite a mess! Or two smaller ones to make them easier to remove.

Let the forum know if you have any other questions as you are going along.

Good luck, you picked a very tasty kit for your first one.

Heather

 

[richmke]

If the juice is at 60 degrees, then heat the water before you add it to bring it up to 74 degrees.

17 liters of 60 degree juice mixed with 6 liters of 114 degree water will yield a 74 degree must.

 

[Steve_M]

Steve,

I disagree with Joe on testing - for a kit you don't need to do that. You didn't make a mistake there. Kits are already ph balanced. Since it is your first kit I don't want you to think you need to do stuff that is over and above the instructions. Once you get through a couple following the instructions you can then branch out and experiment.

Chapitalization is something you may decide to do for another batch but is not a necessity. It is adding sugar to raise the alcohol content.

I wholeheartedly agree with putting oak in a bag - that saves quite a mess! Or two smaller ones to make them easier to remove.

Let the forum know if you have any other questions as you are going along.

Good luck, you picked a very tasty kit for your first one.

Heather

Heather,
Thanks, true, kits are all pre-balanced so I didn't need to worry about PH. I can see where getting into the practice of checking PH, TA and SO2 levels would become automatic going forward.
The aroma and taste of the juice on this was fantastic! I am glad I did pick this one as my first to go with.

This morning, 6 days into starting this wine my S.G was already at 1.002! So I racked into carboy adding the raisin pack to it. I initially had quite a bit of wine left behind, left the end of siphon tube a wee bit too high and lost suction.
I have a chinois so I poured most of the remaining juice thru it getting another 16oz from it. Definetaly need to work on my siphon skills

Since the basement is cool to cold, I am using tub with water, aquarium heater and mini pump to maintain water bath temp of around 72F for this next phase.

Thanks for patiently reading long post!

Steve

 

[heatherd]

I bought an auto-siphon and auto-filler to help with the racking and bottling - both are affordable and make the whole process easier.

Sounds like you are making great progress!

Heather

 

[joeswine]

Balancing to order

you are correct that each kit should come already set up , and for you to connect the dots.the difference in the why I do it.I won't to know first what the PH level is if any, and,let that determination or govern the amount of oak and tannins that will develop quicker and more directly affect the body and the structure of the wine .that will also give me guidelines for the secondary ,were only talking about two seconds of pre-work here? a as far as the abv. That is a must up front and in the middle with this particular style of wine,capitalization is very important to this finished products over all taste.at least for AMARONE. Kits take away75% of the work from the maker, the other 25% one must do and do well to make his or her efforts count.................................................

 

[Steve_M]

you are correct that each kit should come already set up , and for you to connect the dots.the difference in the why I do it.I won't to know first what the PH level is if any, and,let that determination or govern the amount of oak and tannins that will develop quicker and more directly affect the body and the structure of the wine .that will also give me guidelines for the secondary ,were only talking about two seconds of pre-work here? a as far as the abv. That is a must up front and in the middle with this particular style of wine,capitalization is very important to this finished products over all taste.at least for AMARONE. Kits take away75% of the work from the maker, the other 25% one must do and do well to make his or her efforts count.................................................

Joe,
I agree with you entirely, my future plans are to add your tweaks to the kits I do. That said, I may want/decide to do a few more as per the instructions to get a better feel on the process as well as how that particular kit finishes as per the manufacturer.
In the end what have I got to lose? More wine to consume!

Thanks,

Steve

 

[vacuumpumpman]

I am looking to start my kit soon !

I had the opportunity to talk to Joe and I am convinced now to try a kit !

 

[Steve_M]

I am looking to start my kit soon !

I had the opportunity to talk to Joe and I am convinced now to try a kit !

Awesome! so far I am truly enjoying the experience.

Steve

 

[Steve_M]

Update,
I racked from primary on Friday 1/16/15 added in the raisins. I do not have a 6gal carboy so instead used 5gal and 1gal.
By the pictures it is interesting that I did not completely top up, but what are some thoughts on leaving it at this level for the next 3 weeks? Reason I say that would like to leave the raisins in for that period of time unless others have different thoughts on duration. At which time when I do rack I will top up and use appropriate sized carboys.
S.G. is now 0.994, done fermenting just CO2 bubbling up.

Thanks,

Steve