RJ Spagnols Winery Series Super Tuscan Concerns

[smcalli1]

I agree...don't add Fermaid K if wine is dry. I made that mistake before but no harm occurred. What is your hydrometer reading now?

I'm about 3 hours from checking. Still at work. I'll post when I do.

 

[smcalli1]

So, for the info that everyone's been waiting for . . . SG = 1.044. Still fizzing.

 

[Jwatson]

It appears your Super Tuscan is doing fine. After 6 days, using the Wyeast Chianti, my SG was 1.020 @78 F. I don't have a hydrometer to look at...what is your SG drop in Brix?

 

[smcalli1]

It started at 23 and has dropped to 11.

 

[Boatboy24]

It started at 23 and has dropped to 11.

"But these go to 11..."

 

[Jwatson]

Fermaid K is used after an 8-10 brix drop. It seems your wine is past that. I would give the wine one more stir, snap the lid closed, and then leave it in primary until day 10 to 14. Take a hydrometer reading (by then it should be 1.000), and then rack to secondary. No need to rush anything.

 

[smcalli1]

Fermaid K is used after an 8-10 brix drop. It seems your wine is past that. I would give the wine one more stir, snap the lid closed, and then leave it in primary until day 10 to 14. Take a hydrometer reading (by then it should be 1.000), and then rack to secondary. No need to rush anything.

Thanks. I appreciate it.

 

[smcalli1]

Waiting for primary fermentation to finish could take all my patience. After a week, I finally got to 1.020 (a drop of 0.002 in the last 24 hours) and there's absolutely no activity in the airlock. I was hoping to start secondary tomorrow with a transfer off the lees to a carboy, but I wanted to be below 1.010 SG before doing that. (The kit calls for the transfer to secondary at 1.020 or lower.). At this rate, it could be weeks before I get to dry.

 

[Jwatson]

Your wine is doing great. 1.020 after 7 days is just fine. I would snap the lid closed, leave it closed, and gently jostle the bucket every day for one more week. You should then be ready for secondary. Leaving it another 7 days will get the most extraction from your skins. A gentle jostle will keep the skins wet. You should not be seeing any 'real' activity at this point. Just because you see no bubbles does not mean it is not fermenting.

I started a Cabernet w/ grape pack last Sunday and do not plan racking to secondary for another 7 days.

 

[smcalli1]

Your wine is doing great. 1.020 after 7 days is just fine. I would snap the lid closed, leave it closed, and gently jostle the bucket every day for one more week. You should then be ready for secondary. Leaving it another 7 days will get the most extraction from your skins. A gentle jostle will keep the skins wet. You should not be seeing any 'real' activity at this point. Just because you see no bubbles does not mean it is not fermenting.

I started a Cabernet w/ grape pack last Sunday and do not plan racking to secondary for another 7 days.

Thanks. That's reassuring.

 

[smcalli1]

I was thinking of saving and freezing the skins for use in another kit. Is that something that's advisable or in advisable?

 

[Jwatson]

I have never tried this but have read old posts from those who did. This is how they make Valpolicella Ripasso. Maybe you can buy an inexpensive kit (i.e RJS Grand Cru Intl Primitivo) and try it. Just taking a stab on what to do, but add the pomace to the kit when you start fermenting. Someone please jump in, as I would like to try this myself.

I like a good Valpolicella Ripasso

From a Google search:
Ripasso is an ancient wine making technique used for centuries in Valpolicella wineries and now become very popular among wine enthusiasts. Ripasso, sometimes also called double fermentation, is a method used to give more structure, body and flavours to the basic Valpolicella wine.
In Autumn, after harvest, selected grapes for the Amarone and Recioto remain in lofts above wineries to dry for four months.
On the other hand, all other grapes are squeezed and fermented to make the basic Valpolicella Classico wine.
At the end of January, beginning of February, the semi-dried grapes for Amarone and Recioto are squeezed and fermented together with grape skins. After a long skin contact fermentation grape skins are removed and wine is then stored for the ageing.
The basic Valpolicella wine that has been fermented in Autumn is then put over these Recioto and Amarone skins that, being still full of un-fermented sugars, start a second fermentation. These skins still contain aromatic compounds, tannins, etc. that thanks to this second, short fermentation are transferred to the simple Valpolicella wine. Ripasso is an Italian word meaning “review“, “go over again“.
Valpolicella Superiore Ripassois often referred to as “the poor man Amarone” or “baby Amarone“. Producers are not happy of these definitions but it is true that Valpolicella Ripasso is a wine that is in between the basic Valpolicella wine and the Amarone, sharing the freshness, the lightness and the value for money of basic Valpolicella wines, and some of the structures and flavours of the Amarone.

 

[smcalli1]

Interesting. Thanks!

 

[Jwatson]

How did the primary and secondary fermentation go with your Super Tuscan?

 

[kevinlfifer]

I've used the recycled RJS skins in the Packlab (ebay) Rosso Mag or Valpolicella and ended up with a nice early drinkable, everyday wine for under $2/bottle.

I also add peptic enzyme, oak, tannin, sugar to sg 1.10, for a 5.5 gal batch.

 

[Jwatson]

I am thinking of doing an RJS Amarone and adding the leftover skins and raisins to a Valpolicella. When do you add the used skins?

 

[smcalli1]

How did the primary and secondary fermentation go with your Super Tuscan?

It ended up going just like it should have, I suppose. It went from 1.096 to 1.003 in 10 days and was completely dry in another 10 days. I racked it from the secondary about 10 days ago and I'll plan on racking it off the lees again in a couple weeks. Then I'll let it age for 3 months before racking again and aging another three months. So far, so good. Thanks for checking back.

 

[adambaum]

I'm doing this kit too. in my case, I went down to SG of .996 in 7 days. I'm going to follow the directions and rack into secondary tonight. What will be tricky is determining when to move to the next step. Instructions say to move on when SG is below 1.00, but I'm already there. Instructions say approximately day 28 of the entire process. I probably wait until then before moving on.

Adam

 

[tonyt]

Instructions say approximately day 28 of the entire process. I probably wait until then before moving on.

Adam

That's what I do. Being on the warm Gulf Coast my ferments always go quickly. So I add the extra days to secondary.

 

[smcalli1]

I ended up waiting until day 26 before stabilizing and racking. Day 26 turned out to be the day before I left for a week long business trip. I'm in Illinois and the basement is running at about 55 degrees. So I had to use a heating belt to get the fermentation temp to 70. Except for the 2nd day after pitching the yeast when the fermentation was boiling and the temp got to 75, it stayed right at 70 until it was dry when it dropped to 68. I only got a day and a half of a good rolling, foaming ferment.