WineXpert Started IM Strawberry White Merlot

[PeterZ]

Yesterday, I started an IM Strawberry White Merlot for my daughter Katie, who picked it out when we visited George a few weeks ago. (Sorry - no pics - I was alone. More on my thoughts about pics elsewhere.) Katie even got to pitch the yeast. It's bubbling along nicely now, 24 hours later.

Katie said she wanted a "slightly sweet" wine, that she could drink by itself or make into a sweeter wine cooler by adding ice and Sprite. I chose to add half the F-pack (voided warranty) to the primary, then pushed the air out of the bag, recapped it, and put it in the fridge. The initial sg was 1.060@78F. Assuming dryness at .996, I estimate 8.6%abv. That's a little lower than I was hoping for - I was shooting for 9 - 10%. My thought is that I might add 1lb sugar, dissolved in a small quantity of hot water and then cooled, in a couple of days to boost the abv to ~9.5%.

It occurs to me however, that if half of the F-pack raised the potential abv from 7% to 8.5%, the adding the rest would bring me to ~10%. Then I could just sweeten to taste with simple syrup, with Katie doing the tasting.

What do you think? I am a dry wine guy. Katie says I just don't like "girlie wine" (her words). Will there be any real difference between using the F-pack to increase ABV, and sugar to sweeten, or sugar to increase ABV and F-pack to sweeten?

Oh - the reason I was alone as I put this together is SWMBO and Katie were at a ballet rendition of the Wizard of Oz. Katie is a Wizard of Oz super-fan. The official name of this wine will be (she doesn't know it yet, so don't tell her) Flying Monkeys Strawberry White Merlot.

 

[sally3]

Love the name...very cool. Not my kind of wine so I have no
advice because I never investigated it :-(. You are a good
dad...have fun.

 

[PolishWineP]

I would have added the simple syrup at the start to raise the abv and used the F-pack at the end, but I don't see why it won't work your way.
And here you go Peter, a little trivia as a treat for your daughter when she gets home. The Wizard of Oz made it's movie debut in the city where I grew up! (Yes, I did grow up, I just don't like it.

) August 12, 1939 the Wizard of Oz premiered in Oconomowoc, WI. Click a link! http://www.cheeseheaduniversity.com/OCONOMOWOC.html

 

[Wade E]

Never done this but I would say add the sugar now and the F-pack later
as this might help keep the flavor a little better in my opinion.

 

[Angell Wine]

The F-pack as sorbate in the mixture.

 

[PeterZ]

Angell,

Thanks! That's a good piece of information about the sorbate. It seems like half the F-pack does not put enough sorbate in the mix to prevent reproduction of the yeast, as it is bubbling away nicely. It smells like somebody busted a case of strawberry soda-pop in there.

I'll wait a couple of days and add a pound of sugar, dissolved in a little water, and save the rest of the F-pack for back sweetening.

I think what I'll do is, when it's time to sweeten and fine, is have Katie come over, racjk the wine back into a primary, and add F-pack until she is happy with the sweetness. Then I'll just run it all back into a secondary to clarify. That will get her the wine she wants, and the double racking will help a lot with degassing. I can always add another 1/4 tsp of k-meta in the secondary.

 

[bmorosco]

Peterz,
sounds great..My wife has made me order from George the Exotic Fruits White Zinfandel so I am definately looking forward to see how that turns out...

 

[OldWino1]

I used half an f bag and added sugar used hdro and pushed ach to
12% and have a fine rasberry merl that i give to the
ppl i am cultivating to a more sufiscated patte for a dryer wine..
This sounds strange but works I ask wihat the are having
for dinner and slide in dryer wines yes this metohd does
work also these wines are not bad as a cocktail before
dinner.

 

[PeterZ]

OldWino,

Katie also likes the finer wines, but enjoys the girlie wines for a quick glass. Her SO, Paul, scoffs at the girlie wines, but I'll bet when I bottle my merlot this weekend they will come over to scarf a case. That'll be OK, it will leave more room to store the highter end kits I am doing now.

 

[Waldo]

This sounds like one I might like to try Peter. Willappreciate it very muchif you will let me know how it finishes out insofar as the intensity of the strawberry flavor. Edited by: Waldo

 

[Wade E]

Peter the Exotic Fruit is a nice 1. This was my second kit and it went
well. A little to sweet if made to specs though a nd Im a sweeter kind
of wine person so heed the warning.

 

[Bill B]

Peter, When I made thiskit a while back my notes indicate I added simple syrup to 1.062.Fermented to .998 then add f-pack at the end. Im a dry type of guy myself but those who tried this loved it and the ABV was just right plus no flavor was lost. You could even go as high as 1.070 at start but I would go no higher.
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[PeterZ]

Today the sg was down to 1.009, so I added 1 lb of sugar dissolved in some water and cooled. Boosted the sg to 1.018, for a total projected ABV of 9.6%, which is right in the range I wanted (9-10%). At the rate it is cooking it should be ready for the secondary on Sunday.

 

[Bill B]

I think you will like it at that ABV
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[PeterZ]

Bill,

Not being a sweet wine kind of guy, I probably won't be that thrilled with it, but it is for my daughter.

SG was down to 1.004 today, but the activity has really slowed down, so I felt safe transferring to the secondary. Left a fair amount of head space and got an additional half gallon with most of the gross lees. I'll use that to top up as needed. I'm not planning to bulk age this, so it will probably go from this carboy into another after clearing, and then direct to bottling. 18 bottles will go into 2 Wine-On-Tap bags, and the rest will go into assorted bottles. That way, she can just have a glass in the evening after work without opening a whole bottle and risking it going bad before she finishes it. The bottles can go with her to friends' houses.

 

[Wade E]

Good plan Peter.

 

[Wine-O]

I made that Strawberry White Merlot last year and it came out great. I put it in frosted 375 ml. bottles and they are the perfect for those hot summer days! We like to chill them and drink them right out of the bottle like a wine cooler. I also won a silver medal with this wine in a local winemaker competition (Corrado's). I hope your daughter enjoys them as much as we do.

 

[Wade E]

I thought htis was a brand new product!

 

[rrawhide]

Hi Waldo





Have you tried the IM Blackberry Cab from George? I have it
ordered and just wonder how sweet it will be. I did the White
Strawberry Merlot and the Wildberrry Shiriz. The Merlot seems
very sweet while the Shiriz seems to be ok. I want a slightly
sweet blackberry cab and wondering if I should use the entire f-pack or
cut in half and add sugar? (how much sugar?) This, I
assume, only adds higher SG and alcohol as it gives the yeast
more food but does not add to the sweet flavor. Is this correct
or should I just follow the kits instuctions? hummmm? Thanx
for your advice.

rrawhide

 

[Wade E]

rrawhide, I made the Blackberry cab as 1 of my first kits and it is sweeter than the Wildberry Shiraz so you might either want to add only 1/2 the F-pack at the end and leave it low alc. or add sugar or 1/2 the fipack up front to raise the alc and the other 1/2 of f-pack at end to give back the flavor and some sweetness. I have never added any f-pack up front so I cant tell you what that does as I just used sugar to up the ABV.