Has anyone ever made a red Zinfandel. Looking for recipes, helpful tips, how long it takes - I have a quart of Zinfandel grape concentrate I am using.
Zinfandel
- Thread starter Ldcecil
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
Zinfandel grape is capable of producing several color variations. The “white” zin which comes through the vinters club can vary from a light blush to a bright red. The “normal” zin comes as a tannic dark red similar to Pinot noir. ,,,, ie a red color zin is normal Zinfandel.
Your post mentions using concentrate. This implies that any tannin which we expect to taste in a normal/ red zinfandel is in the concentrate when you start. If tannin flavor is your question yes we could build up the tannin by choosing one from the chemical bottle or we could fine out tannins with a protein treatment as egg or gelatin or casein.
Your post mentions using concentrate. This implies that any tannin which we expect to taste in a normal/ red zinfandel is in the concentrate when you start. If tannin flavor is your question yes we could build up the tannin by choosing one from the chemical bottle or we could fine out tannins with a protein treatment as egg or gelatin or casein.
I wasn't real clear in my first post, I saw a video and got it started, but it didn’t know how long it takes to finish. It is bubbling like crazy, I just don’t know how long to leave it when fermentation is complete.
jjw129
Junior
Not sure if this is your first go at it to make wine with concentrate. If not, the process is pretty much the same for all concentrates. If you want a dry wine, which is usually preferred for a zin just let it go until it stops bubbling. You can measure the specific gravity, once it hits about .998 it is probably done fermenting. Then move it to a carboy and stabilize it with sulfites. Takes a day. If you want to use clearing agents this is also a good time to do so. It takes about 2 weeks for the clearing then you can move it to another carboy to age for as long as you want or bottle it. If you want to add oak chips if not already, I would consider adding them while aging in the carboy.
If you don't want to use clearing agents let it sit for about three months before re-racking to another carboy. Then let it sit for at least another 3 months before bottling.
Hope that helps.
It does, thank you!
