WineXpert Winexpert pinot noir with blackberry?

[markb1983]

Hello everyone, I'm thinking of making a selection Pinot noir and adding 3 pounds of blackberry purée. Any thought?

 

[Rocky]

Should be a very nice wine. Pinot Noir is characteristically a light tasting wine and the addition of blackberry will add a great dimension. I know it is considered heresy by some, but I add blackberry puree to a number of wines, including Barolo. I add the puree in primary. Is that what you are planning?

 

[markb1983]

Yes Rocky indeed! I was feeling a little adventurous today. Do i need to worry about anything out of the norm? How long did you ferment for?

 

[Rocky]

Mark, I started with two kits of RJS Cru Select Barolo (16 liter kits with oak). I added a 96 oz. can of Vintner's Harvest Blackberries in a mesh bag and adjusted initial SG to 1.097 (Yeast was Lalvin EC1118). I started with SG 1.097 on 7-22-12, went to secondary (removed blackberries) at SG 1.015 on 7-28-12 and finished with SG 0.992 on 8-4-12. I moved it to a 15 gallon demijohn on 10-1-12 and it is still in the demijohn. Along the way I have added k-meta about every 4 months and Medium Toast French Oak. The kit cam with oak "tea bags" but I don't think they were very effective. I plan to move it from the demijohn to carboys and then bottle within the next few weeks. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred during the process. I did squeeze the blackberries a couple times a day during primary. I want to point out that I did not use puree as I had thought. I used blackberries in their own juices.

 

[markb1983]

Brilliant rocky! I plan to do this with my Pinot noir! Ill have to ask you the taste because I'm looking at an eclipse Barolo as well! We don't have any other other brands at my lbhs. So it's cellar craft or wine expert

 

[geek]

Pinot Noir and blackberry....hmmm, sounds like a tasteful combination...

 

[markb1983]

Gents, I request your expertise again. So in the Winexpert kit, it states not to to top, however i intend on bulk aging so.... what should a guy do? It also comes with light french oak chips....I think I will substitute french oak cubes.

So gents ideas?

 

[SouthernChemist]

Gents, I request your expertise again. So in the Winexpert kit, it states not to to top, however i intend on bulk aging so.... what should a guy do? It also comes with light french oak chips....I think I will substitute french oak cubes.

So gents ideas?

There's nothing wrong with topping up with a similar wine (or fruit juice in this case?) if you are going to bulk age. The one thing you don't want to do is top up with water (something the instructions used to state you could do). That will obviously affect the qualities of your wine in a negative way...particularly a lighter wine like Pinot Noir. You don't want to leave any significant headspace over an extended time frame, after all. If you intend on bottling within the intended time frame of the kit, however, you can get away with not doing it.

Feel free to change up the oak to your taste. The only thing that I would mention is that oak cubes are better to add post-fermentation while oak chips are better suited for use during fermentation. Kit manufacturers typically add oak in the primary fermentation to help soften and structure the wine. In particular, some of the greener flavors of a young wine can be covered up (again helping meet the early bottling time frame). If you just use the cubes, you'll get more of a straight oak flavor depending on what kind you use. There'd be nothing wrong with using both, either. I think people typically find that they can add more oak to a kit without worrying about overdoing it. Ultimately, it's all how you want it to taste.

 

[GaDawg]

I would add the oak chips during fermentation and if you want more oak add the oak cubes during bulk ageing.

 

[markb1983]

Good morning everyone!

Thanks for the tips. I added the French oak chips this morning. Now what do you reckon I should do for the time frame in the primary ? 5,7 or 10 days! Should I stir it daily?

 

[sour_grapes]

Gents, I request your expertise again. So in the Winexpert kit, it states not to to top, however i intend on bulk aging so.... what should a guy do?

So gents ideas?

Unless I miss my guess, that is a different part of the instructions. I recall WE instructions tell you not to top off before clearing and degassing. They want you to leave some room for the degassing, and they want you to mix the sediment back into the wine at this stage.

I believe that AFTER clearing, they want you to top off prior to aging. Feel free to correct me if I am not remembering their instructions correctly of if I have misinterpreted your question.