Suggestions Requested - Chardonnay

[Temptd2]

MANY years ago, before I paid a lot of attention to chardonnay, my Dad scored some wine that was not up to the winemaker's approval nor chardonnay style. It was so dang tasty. It had a buttery mouthfeel, legs aplenty, and the finish was very reminiscent of pineapples. They sold it at a HUGE discount, I remember my Dad buying CASES of it.

Anyone have suggestions for imparting those flavors to a homemade chardonnay? I'd most likely start with a kit, like WinExpert, but would want to change out any yeast or brewing temps or additives or whatever to see if I could replicate that wine, or at least somewhat close.

Because I'm on my first batch of wine (a "koolaid" Island Mist, Strawberry White Merlot, just to get my feet wet) I have no experience in adjusting such things.

Any help appreciated!

 

[pumpkinman2012]

To get a buttery Chardonnay, you need to put it through Malolactic Fermentation, something that you cannot do with a kit, it will ruin it. A good yeast that brings out tropical flavors in whites is BA11.
I'd start with a Chardonnay Juice bucket, Kit wines are pretty much paint by numbers wine, everything is already balanced for you and you follow steps adding whatever the kit manufacturer says, but one thing that you wont get rid of is that weird kit taste.
I'd be more than happy to help you through the process of making the Chardonnay from a juice bucket.

 

[Temptd2]

THANK you, I'd love the help! We won't be doing it for a while though - can I PM you at a later date?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Temptd2, absolutely, I've made plenty of Juice buckets, the whites turn out very well, your experience as a home brewer will help you with making wine, and some of the processes that we use to make wine can help make better brews as well.
I'm currently aging 12 gallons of Pinot Grigio and 12 Gallons of Moscato that I fermented with the BA11 yeast, you can taste light tropical undertones, a very interesting yeast, I added Opti-white to add a little mouthfeel and to help preserve the color.
You will be able to make a Chardonnay exactly the way that you want it, and depending on where you are located, you might still be able to find a Chilean Chardonnay juice bucket.
Shoot me a message and I can give you a list of what you will need, this way you can slowly start to purchase the few items necessary.
Tom

 

[EJay]

Agreed - for buttery, you need to do malolactic fermentation.

For the tropical fruit flavors, in addition to the right yeast, try to get fruit from a warm source (say, California central valley). I'm not sure what choices you have at home winemaker quantities, but definitely aim for that.