Timing of skins removal

[heatherd]

Supercool! That makes me want to try it.

 

[Sourgrape]

Gravity at 1000 on Day 7

After 7 days, my hydrometer is showing a gravity of 1000.

So now what do I do? Instructions say 10-12 days on the skins, stirring daily with lid on loose, until I finally reach 1000. But, I'm at my target gravity already.

Do I transfer to get it into a carboy with less dead space and an airlock?

Do I leave it in the pail until Day 10 as the instructions say, stirring and pushing the skins down daily?

Or, do I compromise? Leave it in the pail on the skins, but seal the lid on tight with an airlock until Day 10?

 

[Boatboy24]

Were it my wine, I'd probably let it go one more day, then get it into a carboy. Tim's videos have me thinking otherwise, but my practice has been to rack once it is below 1.000.

 

[Sourgrape]

Were it my wine, I'd probably let it go one more day, then get it into a carboy. Tim's videos have me thinking otherwise, but my practice has been to rack once it is below 1.000.

Thanks Boat boy.. Barring any further advice, that's what I'm going to do. I'm off to work now anyway, so the earliest I'll be able to rack is tonight.

I wonder why the skins can't go into the carboy too? They are bunched up at the top of the muslin bag, which has stretched out so the weight I used is at the bottom but the skins ate floating at the top. (Next time I use a synthetic mesh bag.) I could easily squeeze them, knot them in the top part of the bag, cut the rest off, and stuff them down the carboy neck. But I won't cuz that's not what the instructions say and this is my first ever batch. No point getting fancy.

 

[Boatboy24]

1) It would be hard to 'punch down' the grapes when they're in a carboy

2) Getting them out would be way too much work

 

[Sourgrape]

OK, so I transferred last night. I've got about 4-5 inches headspace from the liquid level to the top of the carboy topper. (The circle where the fluid level reaches in the carboy neck is about 6 inches across if that's a better description.)

Should I top this up with water? The instructions don't say to do that, but I know it's done sometimes.

Also, the instructions say, "If your kit comes with enzymes, add them now." My Cellar Craft Showcase - Amarone kit did not come with enzymes as far as I can tell. Does this sound right for this kit? Or did I just misplace a packet?

 

[AZMDTed]

General rule of thumb, never top up with water. Always best to use a similar wine, either one you've made before or a commercial one. But you don't need to top up yet, wait till after clearing then top up to the bottom of the neck.

 

[bkisel]

He fleetingly mentioned the addition of raisins in addition to the skins, I wonder how significant that was versus just the grape skin pack. ...
Interesting, always good to see new experimentation.

Edited comments after watching it again

Listen again @ ~2:52. I believe that he is simply mentioning a raisin taste from the skins not that raisins were added to the first batch.

 

[Sourgrape]

Does it seem right that my Cellar Craft Showcase Amarone kit did not come with enzymes? The instructions say to add them to the secondary if the kit came with them. As far as I can tell, mine did not. Or did I just misplace something?

 

[Johnd]

Does it seem right that my Cellar Craft Showcase Amarone kit did not come with enzymes? The instructions say to add them to the secondary if the kit came with them. As far as I can tell, mine did not. Or did I just misplace something?

I checked my notes from when I did this kit last year, mine did not have enzymes included either. Some instructions are used for multiple kits that have different ingredients, which is why you see it referenced to use IF the kit came with it. No worries, this is a great Amarone kit!!!

 

[AZMDTed]

Does it seem right that my Cellar Craft Showcase Amarone kit did not come with enzymes? The instructions say to add them to the secondary if the kit came with them. As far as I can tell, mine did not. Or did I just misplace something?

That sounds right. Most instructions are generic for several kits. That's why they often say 'if' or they're not specific on how many bags of yeast, oak, chitosan or whatever they have. Generally you can trust that what they gave you is right for your kit and if you don't have something then it's not required for the specific one you're doing.

 

[Sourgrape]

Last night I racked from carboy into bucket, degased with Fizz-X stick, racked into carboy, and added finings. I hope I did everything right. Process was as follows:


Racked to bucket
Took gravity: 0.995
Added Potassium Metabislphate packet
Degased with the Fizz-X until the foam was gone
Racked to carboy
Applied Vacu-Vin to carboy to see if I could coax more gas out – wine looks thoroughly degased.
Added Potassium sorbate dissolved first in a small amount of Valpolicella wine
Added Kiesosel　 - stirred with drill – waited 1 hour
Added Chitosen (2 packets) – stirred briefly with drill – waited 1 hour
Added second package of Kiesosel　 - stirred with drill
Topped up carboy with about 1 L of Valpolicella (It’s not Amarone, but made from same grapes grown in same region, and I didn’t want to spend $$60 on Amarone to use as a top up)


The instructions say to leave it alone and bottle in three weeks. So my question is, should I rack again off the lees in another week or so, despite the instructions stating otherwise?

The instructions also say "We recommend filtering the wine before bottling." I don’t have a filtration system. In lieue of this, would bulk aging be a better option than bottling in 3 weeks? Like maybe rack in 1 week, and bulk age for 3 months? Not so much for the aging, which can be done in bottle, but for the additional settling and clarity I can expect?​

 

[AZMDTed]

I've not made a CC Showcase Amarone, though it's on my 'bucket' list. So I don't have the instructions, but I find it odd that they would have to go straight from clearing to bottling without racking first. You're going to get a bunch of stuff falling out of the wine over the next week.

Without seeing the instructions, my advice would be to rack in about 8-10 days, and then let it sit for at least 3 months before you bottle. Things will continue to fall out for the next months, and possibly more.

Filtering isn't critical, but it does polish a wine to make it really shine. Others think that filtering removes some of the dissolved solids that could be used to help a wine age. The longer you can let it sit in a topped up carboy the better overall your wine will be. Age will help with clarity, gas, and give you a chance to modify it later if you wish too, e.g., adding more oak.

 

[Sourgrape]

That's what I'm going to do. I'll rack to a clean carboy after 10 days. Then let it sit for 3 months. It's amazing how much sediment has dropped out already. Easily an inch at the bottom, and I just racked last night. That's more than dropped out for the entire secondary fermentation, which lasted 12 days. Those finings really work I guess.

Should I add more Potassium Meta or Campden tablets when I rack next? I added the packet yesterday, and I don't want to overdo it.