Marty's Cru International - Valpola Red - Thursday November 21, 2024

This kit has it all, 3 bags of oak chips and a bag of dehydrated wine skins. I didn't have a muslim bag to put them in. I just hope they don't get caught in the syphon tube when it is time to rack the wine. Next time change what you do with the oak chips. Hydrate them in hot water right after you add the bettonite and use a muslim bag with them and the wine skins. That will be 2 muslim bags.

Ingredients

12L of wine concentrate

34 grams of yeast nutrient

11 L of spring water

wine yeast - EC-118

dehydrated wine skins

3 packets of oak chips ( in a muslim bag )

Oak chips should be put in the fermenter just after you add the bettonite. It is kind of hard to add it plus the water which is left over from the hydration of the chips. Easier when the pail is almost empty. 

Same Night - Activity when going to bed. 72F.

Day 2 - More active. 72F.

Day 3 - Had to turn off the heat, too warm.

Day 5 - 74F. Turned down heater again...

Day 9 - Just about done. Rack on day 14.

Day 11 - No activity that I can see.

                                 Rack to Carboys on Dec. 5

You have to let this sit longer than the other kits before filtering. Day 42 per instructions.

Check the gravity first before racking. .998 or lower. Follow the instructions and when you are done, let it sit on the bench for 28 days. Try to get as much as you can which cuts down on the amount of top up water. Use RO water not from the cooler.

O.G. - ? ( any where from 12% to 13%. Will take a gravity reading next batch )

F.G. - .996 - ( highest fg of the 3, I usually got .992 with the Costco kits )

% - 12.7 I went to Wine Talk and could not get an answer to specific wine kits. I did read to add some sugar, but that was not for wine kits. There must be something I can do. I emailed the Wine Shoppe to get a solution also. She said .996 is where they usually end up for this wine.

                                       FILTERED AND BOTTLED ON JANUARY 5

Setting up on Jan. 2nd and filter and bottle on the 3rd. Got to snow blow the laneway. Snow fall went from 2 - 4 cm to 20 cm overnight. Environment Canada got it wrong again.