Wine kit for sparkling wine

[ItalianvinesinMN]

I'm looking to try making a sparkling wine using bottle fermentation and was wondering what kits you would suggest. I know the classic grape for this is chardonnay, but I only want to bottle ferment about half a 6 gallon batch and have the other half on hand as a still wine so was wondering if a Riesling or gewurztraminer would work well? I know there used to be a guide to this posted on here for riddling but the pictures no longer load so hard to sort out what the riddling box looked like. Any insights are greatly appreciated.

 

[Lwrightjs]

I'm looking to try making a sparkling wine using bottle fermentation and was wondering what kits you would suggest. I know the classic grape for this is chardonnay, but I only want to bottle ferment about half a 6 gallon batch and have the other half on hand as a still wine so was wondering if a Riesling or gewurztraminer would work well? I know there used to be a guide to this posted on here for riddling but the pictures no longer load so hard to sort out what the riddling box looked like. Any insights are greatly appreciated.

I did this with a mid level rose kit. Turned out really well. I can't remember the name but it was like 90 bucks.
You'll only want to carbonate in beer bottles or champagne bottles though so it won't blow up blow corks.

 

[ItalianvinesinMN]

I was planning on getting a case of champagne bottles at my local home brew store. I would think even beer bottles would bust at 5bars of pressure and most commercial sparkling wine is 6 bar (from what I understand).

 

[Lwrightjs]

I was planning on getting a case of champagne bottles at my local home brew store. I would think even beer bottles would bust at 5bars of pressure and most commercial sparkling wine is 6 bar (from what I understand).

Oh yeah. They'd definitely explode. I just carbonated mine like it was beer and it was plenty sparkly for me.

 

[FunkedOut]

I was planning on getting a case of champagne bottles at my local home brew store. I would think even beer bottles would bust at 5bars of pressure and most commercial sparkling wine is 6 bar (from what I understand).

That would be 6 volumes of CO2, not 6 bars.
6 bars is about 90 psi.
6 volumes of CO2 at 75*F is also about 90 psi.
As the temperature increases, so does the pressure.
CO2 dissolves better at lower temps, so less pressure is required.
At 32*F, 6 volumes is down to about 40 psi.

Most beer is typically at 2.5 volumes, but there are some styles that are much higher.

 

[Syrah-volution!]

I think More Wine has some info in the manuals section on their website.

 

[salcoco]

any wine will work those suggested would be fine. the easiest method is to make the wine let it clear don't add any sorbate or K-meta. add 3/4 cup sugar to 5 gallons , prorate as necessary for smaller volumes, stir very very well add to beer or champagne bottles. wine will carbonate in about a month or more. keep bottle upright. some sediment will occur in bottom of bottle just be careful when pouring near the bottom.

 

[Bmd2k1]

any wine will work those suggested would be fine. the easiest method is to make the wine let it clear don't add any sorbate or K-meta. add 3/4 cup sugar to 5 gallons , prorate as necessary for smaller volumes, stir very very well add to beer or champagne bottles. wine will carbonate in about a month or more. keep bottle upright. some sediment will occur in bottom of bottle just be careful when pouring near the bottom.

Can this be done after bulk aging the wine for 6months on oak? Looking for tips on bottle carbing a bulk aged chardonnay.

Cheers!

 

[salcoco]

if sorbate or k-meta has been added the yeast is dead, therefore carbonation will not occur. also an carbonated oak wine might be bitter.

 

[Bmd2k1]

Anyone out there making sparkling wines via bottle carbing on regular basis? As the OP states....curious what kits you're using & any tips/tricks you've picked up over time.

Cheers!

 

[Sailor323]

I make sparkling Chardonnay--I usually take a gallon from a 6 gallon batch when I rack from the secondary. I add sugar and EC1118 to the gallon and bottle immediately.

 

[Venatorscribe]

Anyone out there making sparkling wines via bottle carbing on regular basis? As the OP states....curious what kits you're using & any tips/tricks you've picked up over time.

Cheers!

Not using a kit but actual fruit from my trees and neighbours. Pear and Feijoa or each separately works well. good bottle carbing takes four to six months. Depending on warmer temperatures in your basement as minimal secondary bottle fermentation at temperatures less than 10 Celsius.
I’ve had a problem recently after trials back sweetening with an alternative sugar. Using Erythritol as the back sweetening sugar and standard dextrose drops as my carbonation sugar - I found the Erythritol inhibited any secondary bottle carbonation.

 

[Venatorscribe]

Can this be done after bulk aging the wine for 6months on oak? Looking for tips on bottle carbing a bulk aged chardonnay.

Cheers!

You should be able to do bottle carb after bulk storage. As I assume no k sorbate has been added at this point. However - in case of minimal free yeast still available to trigger carbing - you might like to add some additional yeast to help things along. It is normally recommended that you use a different yeast to the one that you used for the initial fermentation.

 

[Bmd2k1]

I make sparkling Chardonnay--I usually take a gallon from a 6 gallon batch when I rack from the secondary. I add sugar and EC1118 to the gallon and bottle immediately.

For 1gal how much sugar & EC1118 ya using?

 

[toadie]

I've bottle carbed with the monkfruit/erythritol combo from Costco. It carbonated but a little more poorly than usual. I put it down to human error. Maybe I'll give another try and report back.

 

[Wayne Freeman]

I make sparkling Chardonnay--I usually take a gallon from a 6 gallon batch when I rack from the secondary. I add sugar and EC1118 to the gallon and bottle immediately.

I've considered doing this, but I wonder how you deal with the small amount of yeast sediment in the bottle. With beer, I could always pour off the whole bottle into a mug, avoiding the last little bit containing the sediment. But with sparkling wine, you're just pouring a small glass at a time. Seems like everything after the first glass will be cloudy.

 

[Sailor323]

I've considered doing this, but I wonder how you deal with the small amount of yeast sediment in the bottle. With beer, I could always pour off the whole bottle into a mug, avoiding the last little bit containing the sediment. But with sparkling wine, you're just pouring a small glass at a time. Seems like everything after the first glass will be cloudy.

Actually, when I serve sparkling wine, I pour several glasses at a time, taking care not to disturb the sediment at the bottom. Yes, sometimes there is a bit of cloudiness but that doesn't interfere with the taste or the specialness of sparkling wine. You could eliminate the "problem" if you riddled and disgorged.

 

[Sailor323]

For 1gal how much sugar & EC1118 ya using?

2 oz sugar per gallon (you could probably go as high as 3 oz) 1 gram yeast in a quarter cup of H2O

 

[Wayne Freeman]

Actually, when I serve sparkling wine, I pour several glasses at a time, taking care not to disturb the sediment at the bottom. Yes, sometimes there is a bit of cloudiness but that doesn't interfere with the taste or the specialness of sparkling wine. You could eliminate the "problem" if you riddled and disgorged.

Yes, all that makes sense. Regarding riddling and disgorging, I've never been able to figure out a practical home-winery method of freezing that 1 1/2" of the neck of the bottle in order to disgorge the cork with the sediment inside it (assuming plastic corks). Salted ice bath?

 

[winemaker81]

Yes, all that makes sense. Regarding riddling and disgorging, I've never been able to figure out a practical home-winery method of freezing that 1 1/2" of the neck of the bottle in order to disgorge the cork with the sediment inside it (assuming plastic corks). Salted ice bath?

I tried various methods and all failed. I'm told dry ice is the best choice.