2 Jars? Ive never had 2! Maybe they are making them different as far as that. Anyway, put that sock right over your grape skin container (s) and hold over the primary and dump it right in , tie it off and just drop it in the primary. Twice a day dunk it under the wine to keep it all wet. If you dont do that it can develop mold on it and you wont get good color or tannin extraction.
RJ Spagnols Super Tuscan
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JOESILVA401
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Wade E said:
I used sock and I'm using sanitized spoon to press sock/grapes to bottom of bucket 1-2x per day. Thanks! You sure this does not cause disruption to gases/yeast on surface? Only thought I had. Thanks Again
WinoOutWest
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I use my long spoon to pin the sock/grape pack to the bottom of the primary by taping the lid down. Still stir it every day but the grapes pretty much stay under the surface this way.
tending the grape bag daily
From the FVW original forum I had picked up on using a stirring spoon to pin the bag down with the lid snapped on to the fermenter. I also have a large commercial potato masher i use to press the bag of grapes down to the floor of the fermenter on a daily basis. I have my second RJS Winery Super Tuscan kit under way now with another on order. The first was bottled 6/2011. It is a favorite. Still have 28 bottles in the cellar. Wade E has stated these kits give bang for buck. I took him for his word and have made seven different RJS Winery Series kits. I like um. I also ferment to dry 14 days or so on first step. Then rack to carboy for 21 days then move to clearing stage. Don't rush it. This way seems best to me.
From the FVW original forum I had picked up on using a stirring spoon to pin the bag down with the lid snapped on to the fermenter. I also have a large commercial potato masher i use to press the bag of grapes down to the floor of the fermenter on a daily basis. I have my second RJS Winery Super Tuscan kit under way now with another on order. The first was bottled 6/2011. It is a favorite. Still have 28 bottles in the cellar. Wade E has stated these kits give bang for buck. I took him for his word and have made seven different RJS Winery Series kits. I like um. I also ferment to dry 14 days or so on first step. Then rack to carboy for 21 days then move to clearing stage. Don't rush it. This way seems best to me.
BC, another way and what I do is to clean and sanitize my hands and squeeze the bag daily to extract all the goodies. If you would like to try this and you are fermenting to dry, I would remove the bag at the point when you snap down the lid with an airlock installed (about SG 1.020 or so). I will have two RJS Super Tuscans delivered today from FVW and will start them immediately. It is one of my favorite kits.
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tonyt
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+1 what Ole Purple Hands Rocky says but I wear disposable gloves from the drug store (very cheap) and wash and sanitize them after I put them on, then remove over the garbage can.
Tony, I don't get that much coloration from squeezing the bag but you were not far off from when we were kids and went to school in mid-October with purple hands from stripping grapes. We use to get a lot of ribbing from the other students and the teachers could not understand why we could not wash our hands any better. Luckily, it wore off in a few days or a week.
doughowe
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Hi All,
When my super tuscan kit finished primary ferment, I tested the pH and SO2 (before adding any). The pH taken with a calibrated digital Hannah pH meter was 2.8 and the SO2 tested out at ~38ppm? Wow...low pH and SO2 without me adding any? I speculated that RJS and other kit makers must skew the pH low in the must and add SO2 up front to protect the juice and minimize the likelihood of spoilage?? I used the yeast that came with the kit. Anyway, I moved mine into a carboy for bulk aging on light lees without adding the SO2 at this stage. Anyone have thoughts on that??
All this chatter about this kit makes me want to fire up another!
-Doug
When my super tuscan kit finished primary ferment, I tested the pH and SO2 (before adding any). The pH taken with a calibrated digital Hannah pH meter was 2.8 and the SO2 tested out at ~38ppm? Wow...low pH and SO2 without me adding any? I speculated that RJS and other kit makers must skew the pH low in the must and add SO2 up front to protect the juice and minimize the likelihood of spoilage?? I used the yeast that came with the kit. Anyway, I moved mine into a carboy for bulk aging on light lees without adding the SO2 at this stage. Anyone have thoughts on that??
All this chatter about this kit makes me want to fire up another!
-Doug
Teamsterjohn
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The Super Tuscan wine kit is one of my favorite kits from RJS. My pH was also around the same as yours. Some kits I need to add sulphite after four months, and some I need not to.
I can definitely see these kit companies sulfiting the juice to protect their investment as they guarantee their product for a decent amount of time. As for ph its most likely due to the process for which they use. Its why kits will never last bottled as long as a wine made from grapes with proper #'s in the cellar.
Ricky
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Hello Everyone,
I have a fews questions for all.....i trying to make wine ,for the first time ever ,and it`s Rj Spagnols, Cellar Classic Winery Series super tuscan.( that just sounds tastey!)...i`m going over the instuctions,and kit....the primary stage,you add the juice ,water,Bentonite, stirring vigorously....put the skin in the bag ,then take my SG....first question...i`ve read ,you should wait 24/48 hours then take your SG? second question....can i put the oak in the same bag as the skin? if not can i get a seperate bag....im looking ahead to seconday stage,just throwing in the oak,transferring to my carboy with loose chips ? seems it would be easier with them in a bag....one last question for the night..."punching the cap" the instuctions say once a day .GENTLY STIR down the bag `i`m reading people are doing more often....and how much of a risk is it doing it more often (contaminating),and with your hands!!
I have a fews questions for all.....i trying to make wine ,for the first time ever ,and it`s Rj Spagnols, Cellar Classic Winery Series super tuscan.( that just sounds tastey!)...i`m going over the instuctions,and kit....the primary stage,you add the juice ,water,Bentonite, stirring vigorously....put the skin in the bag ,then take my SG....first question...i`ve read ,you should wait 24/48 hours then take your SG? second question....can i put the oak in the same bag as the skin? if not can i get a seperate bag....im looking ahead to seconday stage,just throwing in the oak,transferring to my carboy with loose chips ? seems it would be easier with them in a bag....one last question for the night..."punching the cap" the instuctions say once a day .GENTLY STIR down the bag `i`m reading people are doing more often....and how much of a risk is it doing it more often (contaminating),and with your hands!!
Hey Ricky, welcome to the forum. If this is your first kit, you are going to be disappointed from here on out. You have chosen what many, I among them, believe is one of the best kits out there. Good choice!
I will try to answer your questions. You can take the SG immediately and then take it again the next morning and chances are it will have gone up from the sugar in the skins. Yes you can put the oak in the same bag as the skins or use a separate bag, your choice. If you have an extra bag, I would use it. If you have your skins in a bag, you will not have a "cap" per se. That is what you would have if you chose to put the skins in the wine loosely. What you will have a couple times a day is a large floating bag of skins that you have to keep wet. I wash my hands with soap and hot water, spritz them with K-meta sanitizing solution (3 T per gallon of water) and I squeeze my skins bag at least twice per day for full extraction. Never had a problem.
I will try to answer your questions. You can take the SG immediately and then take it again the next morning and chances are it will have gone up from the sugar in the skins. Yes you can put the oak in the same bag as the skins or use a separate bag, your choice. If you have an extra bag, I would use it. If you have your skins in a bag, you will not have a "cap" per se. That is what you would have if you chose to put the skins in the wine loosely. What you will have a couple times a day is a large floating bag of skins that you have to keep wet. I wash my hands with soap and hot water, spritz them with K-meta sanitizing solution (3 T per gallon of water) and I squeeze my skins bag at least twice per day for full extraction. Never had a problem.
Ricky
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Thanks Rocky for replying(so fast)....with my concerns with contamination...sticking my hands in there seems....dangerous!!!! i see people use nylons for bags(pantyhose?) how would you sterilize them.... and do you have to lock down the lid and put an airlock on the primary bucket?
Ricky, provided you wash your hands and sanitize them, there should be no problem. As far as the bags are concerned, I spray them with K-meta solution and squeeze them out real well before adding the skins. There will be a little residual K-meta, but not enought to harm anything. I keep my lid loosely on the fermenter until the SG hits about 1.020 at which point I either rack to a carboy under airlock or choose to "ferment to dry" in the primary. If I choose the latter, I remove the skins and oak, add an airlock to the primary lid and snap it down. When all activity ceases in the airlock for a few days, I open and check the SG. If it is at or near 0.992 for the Super Tuscan, I rack it off the sediment into a carboy, add the stabilizers and fining agents, put on an airlock and allow it to clear completely. I normally bulk age my reds for a minimum of 6 months before bottling.
