WineXpert South African Shiraz Cabernet Shipped Today!

[sour_grapes]

But please take a SG reading as soon as possible. It will be the only way to know when it is finished or really did stall.

 

[Leanmach]

What do you do if it does stall?


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[Boatboy24]

What do you do if it does stall?


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A few options. You can warm it up (if the temp is low), you can stirr and get some air into it, you can add nutrient, or you can pitch more yeast.

But as Sour_Grapes said, you really need to know where your SG is to determine if you're stalled, finished, or just moving slowly.

 

[Leanmach]

Understood. Thanks


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[wineh]

tasting notes

This is now done (10 week regimen) bottled and rested for a wee bit. It is already delicious and is another batch that I will have a hard time resisting. My metabolism and my wife both tell me that the % alcohol is closer to my calculated 12.2% than WE's advertised 14.5%.

 

[ColemanM]

So I started this kit today and it was about 1.094. I manhandled the grapes in the muslin bag until I no longer felt the squishy consistency of jelly, just seeds. Went from 1.084 to 1.094. Hopefully there is still some sugars left in there to dissolve. I also used the RC 212 from this kit in my Australian GSM last week. So instead of going to get another packet of yeast, I racked the GSM into secondary and tossed the 2013 LE 23 liters and grape pack onto the lees. Less than two hour later a cap had formed. I am excited for this kit!! Who out there is an early drinker???


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[Boatboy24]

I just mixed this one up - finally! SG is 1.092, after gently stirring the grape pack for about two minutes. I'll give it another mix in a few hours, and pitch the yeast. I'll update later.

ETA: slight bubbling this morning and SG was at 1.096. If it goes to 0.996, that'll be 13.3%. I will add that the bag with the grape pack was still fairly solid. This grape pack was by far the thickest and sweetest I've seen. I'm not sure what the SG would be if you dissolved everything, and that's a little frustrating. But I'm reserving judgement on this wine for at least 12 months.

 

[ColemanM]

Note to self.... Too much lees is produced when reusing yeast oak and sediment for second ferment. GSM came in just shy of six gallons, Syrah-Cab well below that


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[SouthernChemist]

Note to self.... Too much lees is produced when reusing yeast oak and sediment for second ferment. GSM came in just shy of six gallons, Syrah-Cab well below that


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You can always collect the leftover wine/sediment in a smaller container. Once it has all settled out, you can decant the wine off the top of the sediment into your carboy.

 

[Boatboy24]

Note to self.... Too much lees is produced when reusing yeast oak and sediment for second ferment. GSM came in just shy of six gallons, Syrah-Cab well below that


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It may not be the reused yeast. Mine had a ton of lees at the first racking. I racked from secondary, stabilized and added clarifiers last night. Still a ton of sediment - large, almost fluffy pieces. Anyone else have a lot of sediment/lees with this one?

Regarding the SG, and ABV, I got my initial readings as high as 1.096 and the grape pack was still fairly solid. I measured it at .994 last night, so that puts me at 13.6%. Allowing that there were still probably some undissolved sugars in there when I read 1.096, I think WE's claims of a nearly 14% wine are not that far fetched.

 

[wineh]

Regarding the SG, and ABV, I got my initial readings as high as 1.096 and the grape pack was still fairly solid. I measured it at .994 last night, so that puts me at 13.6%. Allowing that there were still probably some undissolved sugars in there when I read 1.096, I think WE's claims of a nearly 14% wine are not that far fetched.

And yet myself and others struggled to get the SG to 1.084, even after working the heck out of the grape pack. Since you and I are clearly skilled and honest kit winemakers, my only conclusion has to be that the sugars are extremely variable in the LE kits...all of the other WE kits (multiples of same varietals) I have made have had consistent SG, or rising modestly over one time to the next.