Two years ago I made my first wine from a kit. I religiously followed the directions often reading them several times before following. If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn’t follow the wine kit’s directions. Last week this started me thinking that since I had empty carboys perhaps I should fill them. Could I make a better wine than I did two years ago without following the directions in the kit?
Kathy interceded however and said that S&S Winegrapes and Equipment Co., in Baltimore, was open and had six-gallon containers of juice. Rather than buying a kit, she wanted to buy juice and make wine from the 100% juice. The juice was sourced from a company in Lodi, California. We decided on a six-gallon drum of Petite Sirah and a six-gallon drum of Muscat. Kathy is going to make the Muscat and I am going to make the Petite Sirah. At S&S, the juice and grapes were kept in refrigerated rooms. By the time we arrived home and opened the containers, the juices had warmed to 53º F. We decided to let them sit overnight to rise to room temperature before adding the yeast.
I took some measurements the following morning. The juices had warmed to 69º F and there was some fermentation going on. Previously, Kathy added some peptic enzyme to the Muscat to help prevent a hazy wine. I didn’t like the sugar levels of the Petite Sirah measuring 19 brix. I added some sugar and measured the brix level at 22.5. To the Petite Sirah I added Premier Cuvée yeast. Not what I wanted to add but it was what I had. Kathy added D-47 to the Muscat. Both fermentation containers were happily fermenting the juice later during the day.
Cheers,
Terry
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