Mosti Mondiale Well That's a Rookie Mistake

[DallasRedhead]

Got all excited on Friday because my tax refund arrived which meant I could go ahead and order the MM All Juice Nero d'Avola bucket that I've had my eye one. Got it all home last night and started wondering about the primary I had picked up. D'OH! In my excitement I ordered a 6.5 gallon primary instead of a 7.8 gallon. Had I been thinking more clearly I'd have realized that half a gallon wasn't going to be enough room for an active primary fermentation.

Ah well. A quick trip over to George's at lunch and tomorrow night I can get on with the wine making.

 

[Wade E]

Id get a 10 gallon bucket instead if I were going to buy another now. I dont even know why they make 6.5 gallon buckets really, they arent big enough for most 5 gallon batches of beer as the Krausen can be way more extreme then with wine.

 

[Bert]

Or get a nice 3 gal. kit and make use of the 6.5 gal bucket....but than you need 3 gal. carboys....It never ends..LOL...

 

[DallasRedhead]

Bert, I already scared my boyfriend yesterday. He went to pick up the order with me I could see the fear in his eyes as I was going around saying, "I want to make that one, and this one and doesn't this one look good?" We did get to taste some port and he wants me to make that one. Told him it would have to wait until the ice-style kit I have going finishes. LOL!

 

[Bert]

Isn't this great fun......LOL...So many wines and not enough money...

 

[ibglowin]

Turn it over and see what it says on the bottom of the bucket. It just might say 6.5 IMP and that is = 7.8 US gallons.

Also does this AJ come with any Raisins? If not, I would for sure add 1lb Red Flame raisins (organic) available from Whole Foods.

Got all excited on Friday because my tax refund arrived which meant I could go ahead and order the MM All Juice Nero d'Avola bucket that I've had my eye one.  Got it all home last night and started wondering about the primary I had picked up.  D'OH!  In my excitement I ordered a 6.5 gallon primary instead of a 7.8 gallon.  Had I been thinking more clearly I'd have realized that half a gallon wasn't going to be enough room for an active primary fermentation. 

Ah well.  A quick trip over to George's at lunch and tomorrow night I can get on with the wine making.

 

[DallasRedhead]

Just checked. Alas, it says 6.5US gallons. Ah well. No biggie.

Since I'm kind of relearning this whole hobby, what do the raisins add?

 

[Flem]

you are so lucky to live so close to George. All of my orders cost me 30 - 50 bucks in shipping. I know, you've got the tax, but I'd trade you anytime. Good luck with your kit(s). I'm having a ball!


Mike

 

[DallasRedhead]

Hi, Mike. I'll have to agree with you, it's great being able to run over to the store whenever just to browse or get advice or whatever. They're great folks.

 

[ibglowin]

More solids, more mouthfeel, slight increase in ABV due to the sugar content in the raisins. Some of the AJ Italian varietals come with raisins and some don't. IMHO they could all use a bit more solids.a pound of Flame Raisins from Whole Foods will cost < $5 and will boost the flavor big time. The AJ's are slow to develop. But are worth the wait.

Just checked.  Alas, it says 6.5US gallons.  Ah well.  No biggie.  Since I'm kind of relearning this whole hobby, what do the raisins add?

 

[Wade E]

If you bought the 6.5 then you could most likely take it back and exchange it especially if you bought it from George or you can make a corkidor out of it like most of us do and keep lots of your equipment and corks sanitized all the time. i keep my hoses and anything plastic in there. Just dont put any metal in there as the meta destroys that pretty fast! The raisins or grapes skins make a huge difference in wines.

 

[Bartman]

The Alljuice Nero d'Avola does NOT come up with grape skins, and I would fully expect that they would add something to the mouthfeel. That said, the Nero I made a couple years ago has one bottle left (I think), but two more kits aging, as it was real popular, even without grape skins or added raisins.

 

[Randoneur]

Guy's - I'm wondering why you did not recommend that she buy a grape pack from George to go with the kit? Do you think the raisins are a better add for that kit??

 

[ibglowin]

Grape packs only come in Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. Neither IMHO is a very good match for a Nero D' Avola. The Raisins are a much better choice for this varietal.

A Super Tuscan could easily get away with the Cab Sauv GP since that is one of the blending grapes usually.

 

[DallasRedhead]

I can see adding the grapes, but allow me to reveal one of my quirks. When I make a recipe for the very first time I make it exactly as written and then begin to tweak. Not sure why, but whether it's at the stove or in my "winery" it's always been that way. It's just a Michelle thing. So the raisin suggestion will probably been experimented with with my next kit as I'm sure this won't be the only one of these that I make.

That said, the kit has been started and now I just wait. A long time. Maybe this is a good time to decide what my next kit will be. Something drinkable young.

 

[joeswine]

HI DALLAS,I AGREE WITH YOU TRY THE STRAIGHT FORM OF THE OPERATION,SEE HOW THAT WORKS OUT THEN THE NEXT TIME (AND THERES SURE TO BE ONE) TWEAK TO YOUR HEARTS DESIRE,,EXPERIMENTATION IS KEY TO ENJOYING THIS HOBBY ,TURNING IT INTO A CRAFT,.RAISINS ADD GREAT TEXTURE AND GOOD MONTH FEEL TO A WINE GRAPE SKINS I FEEL ADD NOT SO MUCH EXCEPT MORE COLOR,IF YOU'LL LOOK BACK IN THIS FORUM YOU'LL SEE CONSTANT TALK ABOUT RAISINS AND WHEN TO USE THEM,JUST LIKE ADDING ZEST TO A WINE ENHANCES THE TASTE SO DOES RAISINS ,BE CAREFUL OF THE ABV.THEY CAN ALSO CAUSE,..............

 

[jnmar]

What is zest?

 

[joeswine]

WHAT IS ZEST? THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO DECSCRIBE ZEST IS THE ESSENCE OF A FRUIT,TAKE A GRAPEFRUIT FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN YOU LOOK AT A GOODGRAPEFRUIT YOU SEE THE YELLOW PART,THATS THE ZEST OF THE FRUIT,UNDER THAT IS THE PYITH THE WHITE PART,,BY TAKING THE ZEST OF THE FRUIT AND ADDING IT TO LETS SAY A WHITE WINE SAY A PINO GRIS,YOU'VE THEN WILL INPART THE ZEST ,WHICH WILL INTERN ADD A BRIGHTNESS TO THE WINE AND A NOTE OF GRAPEFRUIT ,IF YOUR PALATE CAN DETECT THOSE TYPE NEWONCES IN A WINE,..SEE ITS A MATTER OFENHANCEING A WINE ,THAT MAY NOT BE AS GOOD AS IT CAN BE,ZEST AND OTHER TRICKS,TRIAL AND ERROR,EXPERIMENTATION,THESE ARE THE TRATES OF A GOOD WINE MAKER.....DON'T BE AFFRAID TO TRY USING ZEST,AFTER PRIMARY,.....

 

[jnmar]

Ah thanks, I thought you were talking about grape zest.

 

[Bartman]

LOL that is too funny! I am just imagining someone trying to scrape tiny little shreds of "zest" off the skin of a grape!