Other Tweeking Cheap Kits

[joeswine]

Or how about a Sauvignon Blanc peach blend very smooth

 

[joeswine]

Ok the results are in the Hammonton wine contest.
4 entries
1st place professional wine judges
Spanish Tempanello ( 2017)
2second place , Blueberry (2023) and Cabernet (2022).
White didn’t score above 16 on the Cal Davis
Now the blueberry was you and even though it out scored the others I think because used tannins and a fresh blueberry fpac.
The cab , young but had good structure with the second addition of tannins and oak in the secondary,
Young yet had good structure .

 

[joeswine]

Ok the results are in the Hammonton wine contest.
4 entries
1st place professional wine judges
Spanish Tempanello ( 2017)
2second place , Blueberry (2023) and Cabernet (2022).
White didn’t score above 16 on the Cal Davis
Now the blueberry was you and even though it out scored the others I think because used tannins and a fresh blueberry fpac.
The cab , young but had good structure with the second addition of tannins and oak in the secondary,
Young yet had good structure .

 

[joeswine]

I was in Ashville when this took place

 

[sour_grapes]

Congrats, Joe!

 

[Jovimaple]

Congratulations!

 

[Kev6]

Keep it clean and simple let the pino shine and the grapefruit zest sparkle only the zest .
I’ll tell what else is nice a Sauvignon Blanc with a lot of grapefruit zest in it , yes indeed but you need it time to blend out .

The pinot is underway. Planning on keeping the must temperature in the low 70's. Wow! The grapefruit smell is really there. Decided to do the pear separately, may use it as a topper at racking if the flavors meld.

 

[bstnh1]

Ok the results are in the Hammonton wine contest.
4 entries
1st place professional wine judges
Spanish Tempanello ( 2017)
2second place , Blueberry (2023) and Cabernet (2022).
White didn’t score above 16 on the Cal Davis
Now the blueberry was you and even though it out scored the others I think because used tannins and a fresh blueberry fpac.
The cab , young but had good structure with the second addition of tannins and oak in the secondary,
Young yet had good structure .

Congratulations!!!!

 

[joeswine]

The pinot is underway. Planning on keeping the must temperature in the low 70's. Wow! The grapefruit smell is really there. Decided to do the pear separately, may use it as a topper at racking if the flavors meld.

No don’t use it as a topper for this batch

 

[joeswine]

Thanks people , just let the wine play out itself and seen what happens.
It’s a great organization and I even poured for the judges, the conversation they were having went from strange to funny , so this is what I got
It’s all SUBJECTIVE TO INES OWN TASTE .

 

[joeswine]

well, we broke 603k views, not bad for a cellar dweller thread.
you know in the very beginning of this thread they considered me a bog, yes indeed 
we came a long way in understanding all forms of wine making this is a truly fun craft. a lot of good wine makers on this forum, thanks to all for your contributions to this thread

 

[Kev6]

The pinot is underway. Planning on keeping the must temperature in the low 70's. Wow! The grapefruit smell is really there. Decided to do the pear separately, may use it as a topper at racking if the flavors meld.

Ran into a problem that I haven't been able to solve. When sg dropped to 1.006 I racked to a carboy. Then all activity stopped. After 4 days sg was still 1.006, checked ph and it was 2.8. Adjusted ph to 3.0 with calcium carbonate added yeast energizer. Another few days after and no change so I made a starter with ec1118. It was percolating nicely until I added it to the must. After another 4 days, sg still 1.006. The must smells good throughout this but definitely sweet taste.
Another ph adjustment to 3.2. Temp has been low 70's since racking so I put a heatpad to 77°f for a couple days and still nothing. I read about a "reverse " starter where you incrementally added the problem must to the active starter. Had 1 cup of very active ec1118 to which I added 1 cup of must and after 4hrs it too was doa. At this point I've resigned myself to a sweet pinot grigio. I degassed, added kmeta and fined. I'll rack it off the lees into another carboy, top up and let it sit. Didn't add k sorbate so it may do something. If after a couple of months it hasn't changed then I will sorbate it and bottle as a sweet white. This is the second batch in a row that didn't ferment to dry.

 

[joeswine]

Ok refresh my memory, what kit are you doing and list the steps you’ve taken .ty

 

[joeswine]

Just stared theses 3 kits for a customer of mine easy , pezzie, they love theses kits they make a good everyday wine .

 

[Kev6]

Ok refresh my memory, what kit are you doing and list the steps you’ve taken .ty

It's a RJS Cru pinot grigio. Made a yeast starter with Lalvin k1-v1116. Bentonite per kit, juice concentrate and spring water to 6gal, 1/2tsp tannins, zest of one grapefruit, sugar to sg 1.096, ph 3.2. Pitched starter, kept must temperature below 75°f . After 6 days sg 1.018 ph down 2.8. 2 days later sg 1.006 racked to carboy added just 1/4 tsp kmeta. That brings us back to today's post.

 

[Sailor323]

Ran into a problem that I haven't been able to solve. When sg dropped to 1.006 I racked to a carboy. Then all activity stopped. After 4 days sg was still 1.006, checked ph and it was 2.8. Adjusted ph to 3.0 with calcium carbonate added yeast energizer. Another few days after and no change so I made a starter with ec1118. It was percolating nicely until I added it to the must. After another 4 days, sg still 1.006. The must smells good throughout this but definitely sweet taste.
Another ph adjustment to 3.2. Temp has been low 70's since racking so I put a heatpad to 77°f for a couple days and still nothing. I read about a "reverse " starter where you incrementally added the problem must to the active starter. Had 1 cup of very active ec1118 to which I added 1 cup of must and after 4hrs it too was doa. At this point I've resigned myself to a sweet pinot grigio. I degassed, added kmeta and fined. I'll rack it off the lees into another carboy, top up and let it sit. Didn't add k sorbate so it may do something. If after a couple of months it hasn't changed then I will sorbate it and bottle as a sweet white. This is the second batch in a row that didn't ferment to dry.

1. When making a kit, I never pay attention to pH. In fact, I rarely worry about it even when using fresh grapes. 2. I think it's better to use a yeast nutrient when a ferment has used 1/3 sugar--usually 2-3 days after pitching, when sg reaches 1.050 or thereabouts. 3. I never rack off until sg drops below 1.000, usually .995 or lower.

 

[Swedeman]

It's a RJS Cru pinot grigio. Made a yeast starter with Lalvin k1-v1116. Bentonite per kit, juice concentrate and spring water to 6gal, 1/2tsp tannins, zest of one grapefruit, sugar to sg 1.096, ph 3.2. Pitched starter, kept must temperature below 75°f . After 6 days sg 1.018 ph down 2.8. 2 days later sg 1.006 racked to carboy added just 1/4 tsp kmeta. That brings us back to today's post.

Did you adjust the pH or are these numbers just readings? Not knowing the pH tolerance of the yeast you used, I would imagine that 2,8 could be stressful to the yeast ("could" is the key word here).

 

[Kev6]

1. When making a kit, I never pay attention to pH. In fact, I rarely worry about it even when using fresh grapes. 2. I think it's better to use a yeast nutrient when a ferment has used 1/3 sugar--usually 2-3 days after pitching, when sg reaches 1.050 or thereabouts. 3. I never rack off until sg drops below 1.000, usually .995 or lower.

1. When making a kit, I never pay attention to pH. In fact, I rarely worry about it even when using fresh grapes. 2. I think it's better to use a yeast nutrient when a ferment has used 1/3 sugar--usually 2-3 days after pitching, when sg reaches 1.050 or thereabouts. 3. I never rack off until sg drops below 1.000, usually .995 or lower.

When I make a kit per mfg instructions, I only track sg but when I start monkeying around I will check ph. Grapefruit brought more acid to the table. Kits are supposed to have nutrients so I didn't add any at the start. I did when trying to get it restarted.

 

[Kev6]

Did you adjust the pH or are these numbers just readings? Not knowing the pH tolerance of the yeast you used, I would imagine that 2,8 could be stressful to the yeast ("could" is the key word here).

I didn't adjust initially. Fermentation was great until I racked it. I made 2 adjustments with calcium carbonate while trying to get things moving again. First to 3.0 then again to 3.2.

 

[joeswine]

It's a RJS Cru pinot grigio. Made a yeast starter with Lalvin k1-v1116. Bentonite per kit, juice concentrate and spring water to 6gal, 1/2tsp tannins, zest of one grapefruit, sugar to sg 1.096, ph 3.2. Pitched starter, kept must temperature below 75°f . After 6 days sg 1.018 ph down 2.8. 2 days later sg 1.006 racked to carboy added just 1/4 tsp kmeta. That brings us back to today's post.

Why did you make a yeast starter?
Why did you add sugar?