WineXpert Selection Luna Bianca

[jgmann67]

I had one from my early 1996 batch. Excellent.

 

[Grabo]

I had one from my early 1996 batch. Excellent.

1996?! Your wine was old enough to drink!

 

[jgmann67]

Sorry- 2016. Not sure how I did that.

 

[cmason1957]

Sorry- 2016. Not sure how I did that.

Blame it on tasting for quality control (also known as sampling)

 

[jgmann67]

Lol. I started this one yesterday while peddling around doing other stuff. Dropped half the fpac and all the oak.

SG is close to 1.100. Decent. I'll add the rest of the fpac in the finish.

 

[lilvixen]

I'm really liking this one. We enjoyed a bottle last week with dinners, and it's really tasty. The dilemma is going to come when we get down to the last case or so, and I have to decide whether to try another Chard kit or make another one of these. I know I like this one, but what if the other ones are good too? Oh, the decisions!

Jim, I know you've made this a few times, have you tried any other Chard kits or do you stick to this one?

 

[jgmann67]

I've made the Selection Australian Chard and it was very good. I oaked it to my tastes (didn't come with any) and it was very pleasing. I've also made a Peach Mist Chard, a fresh Cali Chard bucket and had the Eclipse Chard. I liked the Eclipse, but it's also unoaked... nice but not my favorite.

Not an exhaustive list by any stretch, but the Luna is my favorite so far.

Of the whites, I'd like to try the Symphony.

 

[rustbucket]

It has been a little over a year and a half since I bottled my Luna Bianca. Commonly, wine improves with age. This batch seems to be the exception. I find that the wine has gotten sweeter and syrupier with age. I’m not particularly fond of it now as I prefer my white wines a little lighter and crisper.

My wife still likes it and she has the final say since I made it for her.

 

[jgmann67]

I transferred the LB last night once I got home from the beach. The SG was about 0.995 in the primary and most activity had died down. There's foam in the secondary, with lighter colored foam at the bottom and darker foam on top. Not sure if that means anything at all. The wine didn't smell off at all. So, I'm just going to proceed as if all is well.

The directions say to wait 10 days to proceed to the next step.

 

[lilvixen]

Maybe the darker foam is from the oak dust? I remember when I made this, the must was a gross, muddy brown before the dust settled... literally

 

[jgmann67]

I'll shoot a pic or two. It looks fine now.

 

[RiverRat]

It's probably fine. Mine had a thick "mud" on top during primary before I transferred it to secondary. I was told it was because of the four bags of oak dust. Cheers!

 

[jgmann67]

This doesn't seem to be anything to worry about.

 

[Boatboy24]

Ah, I see the problem. It's that cheap gin.

 

[jgmann67]

Ah, I see the problem. It's that cheap gin.

Ha! I can't tell you how old that bottle is, either. Probably a decade or more.

 

[lilvixen]

I expected this batch to last us 2-3 years because we prefer red wine, but I'm realizing the Luna Bianca is so good that it may only last us a year.

We opened a bottle last night to go with garlic and herb chicken and orzo, and the buttery flavor complemented the food perfectly, and it was oh so good. Depending on how many bottles we have left, I may start up another batch in Jan to take advantage of the cooler house temperature.

 

[sour_grapes]

I expected this batch to last us 2-3 years because we prefer red wine, but I'm realizing the Luna Bianca is so good that it may only last us a year.

We opened a bottle last night to go with garlic and herb chicken and orzo, and the buttery flavor complemented the food perfectly, and it was oh so good. Depending on how many bottles we have left, I may start up another batch in Jan to take advantage of the cooler house temperature.

Yeah, we also prefer reds, but a white kit only lasts a summer in our house... Luna Bianca especially so!

 

[jgmann67]

Clearing now. A little darker than I remember.

 

[jgmann67]

So, how dark was your LB? This just seems a lot darker than the one I did a couple years ago.

 

[lilvixen]

In the carboy, the three whites I've done look super dark to me, but they seem ok in the glass, so I guess they're "normal?" I haven't done another LB to know what's "normal" for it, and I have a picture of the juice before adding the oak and yeast, but I'm not sure that's helpful, since it darkened after the oak. I suppose if it smells and tastes ok, it's ok? Maybe you'll just have to drink this batch faster than normal