Kit Wine Question

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HomerT

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Well, as you may know, my first wine is a Selection International kit.....Italian Barbaresco. The instructions say once it hits 1.010 or below to rack it to the carboy and let it sit 10 days until it hits 0.996, then add the packets #2/3 and degass etc. Well, I checked it saturday and it was 1.019 so I gave it a few days. Monday it read 1.002, but I forgot I had no carboy bungs (all in use with beer secondaries) and couldn't rack.

Flash forward to tonight and I racked it over to the secondary, but it already reads 0.996. So, do I still let it sit ten days, or just a few? Or do I proceed to the next step now? Did I screw up by letting it dip too low in the primary?

-Todd
 
I'd let it sit the whole time. If I've learned anything from brewing beer, waiting a little longer than you were 'supposed' to never hurts anything. I'm sure it's the same with wine. In fact, I did basically the same thing as you, and it turned out great
 
I'd do what the kit's instructions say, regardless of the s.g. The instructions seem to be more about timing, really. Just pick up the instructions for after the racking, and proceed.

My $.02!
 
Actually those kit wine instructions rush the timing if anything. Rack it and let it sit as long as you can stand it before you bottle it. It will only help the wine. More sediment will continue to fall out and wine ages better in bulk than in the bottle. Leaving it for months as opposed to 10 days would really be best.
 
Yeah, I recently bottled my kit wine.....It sat in secondary for 3 weeks or so I think. Tasted great when I bottled it.
 
I am also making a kit wine right now, vitners reserve Barolo, I would recommend racking it into secondary as you have, then waiting a few weeks after it finishes bubbling, then rack it to another carboy and add the fining (the packets you mentioned), leave it there for a couple of weeks to let everything settle out, then rack it again and add some oak......leave it there for as long as you like (mine is in month 2 and gets better with every sample)
 
Dragging this one back from the dead. Ok, so my two kits (Barbaresco and Reisling)have both been in the secondary since second week of May. I plan on bottling in a few weeks (approx first week in Sept). My original plan was to give some out as Christmas gifts (boxed set of red/white). My big question is will they be drinkable/good by then. I know that the longer they age the better, but will people be able to drink them around x-mas, or do i have to tel them to let them sit for a year?

-Todd
 
Well, it depends on the kit. I did a "30 day kit" and it was pretty good after a month. I won't open another bottle untill next year, though. (Well, I'll TRY not to get into it until next year!).

I think most kits would be drinkable by then, but of course better after a year.
 
Yeah, these were both 30 day kits. I was hoping that 6.5 months would be enough to be "ok". Thanks for the advice. A few more ??'s if you don't mind.

They have been sitting in secondary (post clarifying agent) for about 3 months now. They seem quite clear, but have some settling on the bottom. Should I rack them again, or just let them situntil I bottle?

One last one, I was planning on bottling a few 2~3 in beer bottles to use as mini-checks on how it is aging. DO i need to corke them, or just a regular beer cap?

-Todd
 
You can rack if you want, but I would just carefully rack it into the bottling bucket and bottle. Mine doesn't have any sediment in it at all, due to the clarifying agents. Make sure you degass, though, because that seems to be the biggest problem with kits (probably because it's not racked alot, like country wines are).

Bottling with beer bottles and caps is fine for the "testers".
 
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