Wine Juices

[djrockinsteve]

Placed my pre-order today for a bucket of Cabernet Franc and also a bucket of Pinot Grigio. I will pick it up May 11th from Consumer Produce in the Strip District. Looking forward to getting away from a kit product and going to fresh juices. I will likely order again in the fall when the get other juice in.

What is the average yield from Juice buckets after racking etc if one were to use a 5 gallon carboy and a 1 gallon jug vs a 6 gallon carboy. What's lost due to lees? I realize this can be topped up with a like wine. Just curious of the output if I didn't top up?

Whoo Hooo I can't wait.

Doug, this past season my Regina buckets were close to the lid. I had a lot of juice. Usually I had received 5 1/2 gallons after fermenting. This works out great since after the wine cleared, I racked the 5 and the 1/2 gallon together for a full 5 gallons to bulk age and had a little extra to sample.

 

[ffemt128]

Doug, this past season my Regina buckets were close to the lid. I had a lot of juice. Usually I had received 5 1/2 gallons after fermenting. This works out great since after the wine cleared, I racked the 5 and the 1/2 gallon together for a full 5 gallons to bulk age and had a little extra to sample.

That's what I was hoping for. I'll finally have a use for my 2 - 5 gallon carboys. Looks like I'll be needing to pick up a few more 1/2 gallon jugs, some bungs and some small bungs that fit a regular wine bottle so that I can make use of my 1.5 l bottles if need be.

 

[ffemt128]

I decided on the Cabernet Franc based on the recommendation of rawlus. He sugested that based on how I described our tastes in red wine. I was going to get the Malbec, becuase I did like the bottle I purchased of that but it still wasn't high on my wife's list, of course she was sick when she tried it. Maybe I should get another bottle and have her try again then add to my order or save for another time.

 

[rawlus]

let us know how you like the cab franc!

if you wanted to try a commercial example, many varietal cab francs are produced in north fork of long island NY, check peconic bay, roanoke vineyards, sherwood house vineyard, pellegrini vineyards, and The Old Field for some interesting examples. none of these wines are distributed to my knowledge, but you could order online or via phone direct from the winery and they'd ship to you.

cab sauvignon is actually a cross of cab fran and sauvignon blanc. cab franc retains many of cab sauvs qualities but is generally a lighter style all around, body, color and tannins. green bell pepper is a typical distinctive hallmark of cab franc, and often raspberry, black currant, black cherry and similar fruits are also noted. the nose on cab franc i think is more aromatic than cab sauv in general, and because of the softer tannins i think food pairing possibilities may be broader with cab franc than it's offspring cab sauvignon. overall its generally a smoother wine than cab sauv, not as tactile from high alcohol and tannins. i really enjoy it as a pure varietal wine even though worldwide its far more prevalent in bourdeaux-style blends with cab sauv and merlot as sort of a holy trinity type of thing. cab franc is also usually a key component in meritage blends from the US.

 

[Julie]

let us know how you like the cab franc!

.... none of these wines are distributed to my knowledge, but you could order online or via phone direct from the winery and they'd ship to you.

I'm not sure if they will ship to PA. I have tried to get some Muscadine wine shipped here from NC but so far have not found one who will. Has something to do with our alcohol laws.

 

[rawlus]

yeah. MA shipping laws are even worse, but some wineries will find a way - keep trying.

also go to freethegrapes.org and send letters to your congresspeople. limiting wine shipments from small wineries to consumers is unconstitutional and puts the interests of huge distributors ahead of those of consumers.

 

[Julie]

Thanks Rawlus,

I will definitely be writing. At the beginning of last year, their were some congressmen who wanted to stop local wineries from selling their wines at their winery. They wanted all wines to be sold to the state stores and consumers would have to go to a state store to buy.

I was so angry, I wrote to my local state rep and made everyone in my family write as well.

 

[IQwine]

Note to self --> Don't make Julie angry.

 

[Julie]

Note to self --> Don't make Julie angry.

Oh, I don't normally get angry, I usually just get even

 

[rawlus]

in MA we've had some draconian laws that prohibit out of state wine shipments into MA which gives the big distributors a monopoly on the business, and they of course only carry pull wines, those which sell themselves, which means selection is crap. on top of that, wine is only sold at liquor stores, not grocery or other shops.
freethegrapes helped get our case brought to court several years ago - the court rules in consumers favor calling the state laws unconstitutional and in violation of free interstate trade, preference to one segment of the market over another, etc. the state AG of course appealed that decision to the state court of appeals, THAT court upheld the lower court's ruling. i think the AG is now planning to mount yet another appeal to the state supreme court. because, you know, what's good for the consumer can't be what she'll support - she has to take care of the powerful distributors and the liquor store association's lobby.

personally, if the local liquor store isn't carrying what i want, then i am okay with them going out of business - i don't care if it's a family business, i don't care if they've been here for 100 years, the object of the lesson is to sell what customers want, not determine what options they get. any business that chooses to ignore the free market, and invoke powerful lobbies to assert control and restriction against an open and free market, should go out of business, lose everything, die a painful death.

i really hate this backwards state sometimes - the political institutionalization and nanny-ism in the way the govt treats the voters is second to none.

 

[joewino]

My brother moved down to Tennessee and found out that they also have the same stupid law. It is illegal to transport wine across the border INTO Tennessee unless you are of a registered distribution entity.

If anyone in the Michigan area is looking for Chilean Juice, I started carrying it in my business. Check out the web-site and let me know what you think:
http://www.MacombVintnerSupply.com

 

[rocket man]

If anyone in the Michigan area is looking for Chilean Juice, I started carrying it in my business. Check out the web-site and let me know what you think:
http://www.MacombVintnerSupply.com

What city are you in?

 

[rms1]

Nevermind, I found the order page. Does anyone know of anyplace closer to Northern Michigan to find juice like that? I'd have to buy a lot of juice to justify the $100+ gas bill to get there and back!

For other people who may wonder, here's the list:

CHILEAN BARBERA JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $46.00
CHILEAN CABERNET FRANC JUICE 6 GAL. $48.00
CHILEAN CARMENERE JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $49.00
CHILEAN CABERNET SAUVIGNON BKT 6 GAL. $49.00
CHILEAN CHARDONNAY JUICE BKT 6 GAL. $45.00
CHILEAN CHIANTI JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $46.00
CHILEAN MALBEC JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $49.00
CHILEAN MERLOT JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $48.00
CHILEAN MUSCAT JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $45.00
CHILEAN PINOT NOIR JUICE BKT 6 GAL. $51.00
CHILEAN PINOT GRIGIO JUICE BKT 6 GAL. $48.00
CHILEAN SYRAH JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $48.00
CHILEAN VIOGNIER JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $48.00
CHILEAN ZINFANDEL JUICE BUCKET 6 GAL. $51.00

From the above, I can't determine where you have to go to get juice. I live in Belleville, MI and I've started getting juice from Macomb Vinters http://www.MacombVintnerSupply.com His location is in Macomb, MI. He's currently taking orders for Spring delivery of Chilean Juices. Dunno if this is closer.

 

[ffemt128]

Doug, I've been making wine from
Calif. juice for a few years now. Bought all from Premier Produce in the strip too. I'm interested in doing some Chilian wine, I'll check out your produce guy. Glad I won't have to go far.

As far as wine from juice it's very easy. Just need to be patient. I can help you if you need assistance.

Where's Premier Produce down here? Is it in the fruit terminal buildings? I may have to see what they have in the fall and compare prices/selection.

Looking forward to my first foray into juices.

 

[djrockinsteve]

17th And 20th And Smallman Streets
Pittsburgh‎ PA‎ 15222
(412) 765-0710

they have a web site,

premiereproducepittsburgh.com

2009 prices FYI 6 plus gallons
Cab. Sauvignon, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Zinfandel $45.00
Merlot, Chianti, Sangiovese, Beaujolais $44.00

 

[nrlightfoot]

I'm getting ready to order some buckets of Chilean Juice, probably Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, and I was thinking about adding some crushed grapes to it during the fermentation. Due to the earthquake I won't be able to get fresh grapes from the same place that is selling me the juice in Michigan, so I found a 4 gallon bucket of frozen Syrah that I can get for $73 (including shipping).

It looks like that should blend well with the Cabernet, but do you think it will work with the Malbec or should I try a different variety? How much of the grapes should I use per 6 gallons of juice?

Or if anyone knows where I can get fresh grapes in Michigan that would be helpful.

 

[nrlightfoot]

I think I changed my mind, I'm just going to make the wine from the juice buckets without adding grapes unless I can find some that are the same varieties as the juice.

Besides checking the Brix, TA, and PH and adjusting if needed, should I add anything besides yeast to the juice, tannins or nutrients for example?

 

[Tom]

You should get some OAK for the reds.

 

[nrlightfoot]

I'm picking up my wine juice this weekend, I ended up ordering 1 each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Carmenere, and Malbec. I'm wondering if I have to add sulfites to the juice buckets 1 day before the yeast, or are they already sulfited?

I'm planning to do malo-lactic fermentation on the reds so I need to figure out what to do with the sulfites so I don't get them too high for that. I have the equipment to test for sufites now, but this is my first non-kit wine.

I was planning to buy one pack of the malo-lactic culture and grow it in a starter it like I do with yeast, but I'm not quite sure what to feed those bacteria.

 

[Tom]

DO NOT add anything to the juice. Bring it up to room temp and pitch the yeast with nutrients.
For the reds I like RC212
Check the MLF you are using as to what gravity to rack and pitch the culture. You do NOT want to add SORBATES to ANY wine that went thru MLF. You dont want to add any sulfites until MLF is done.
Oaking should be done on all 3 reds you are making.
The Malbec and Carmenere are great tasting wines. Plan on aging after MLF up to a year. Gets better 1 yr after bottling.
Good luck
I would not try to split the MFL. ONE package per batch.
It's a culture not a yeast.
I won't receive mine till the 1st week of May