2014 Gewurztraminer
January 2014 – Lorraine loves Gewurztraminer and this kit was on sale, so I had to snag it. American Brewmaster discounts kits once they hit a certain age — it clears their shelf and is certainly a bargain for me.
Ingredients
| Kit | Winexpert Selection Estate Wine Kit — Gewurztraminer |
| Bentonite | yes |
| Yeast | Lalvin EC-1118 (included in kit) |
| Sugar | yes |
| Sulfite | yes |
| Sorbate | yes |
| Kieselsol | yes |
| Chitosan | yes |
Method
| Dissolved bentonite in 2 quarts hot tap water in fermenter, using powered stirring rod to mix.
Added juice/concentrate to fermenter. Added 1 quart hot tap water to bag, put the cap back on and shook well; pulled the cap and added to the fermenter, then topped up to 5.5 gallons, again mixing well. Stirred in the oak dust. Sprinkled the yeast on top. Note: As with the cabernet, I made the kit up to just 5.5 gallons instead of 6. They always claim the SG will be 1.080 to 1.100, but EVERY time it’s low. |
01/01/2014 SG 1.085 |
| Racked the wine, filling a 5 gallon carboy, a 1.5 l, and a 750 ml jugs. The cellar has been around 58 F so fermentation has been slow. | 01/10/2014 SG 1.010 |
| Stirred up sediment (as per kit instructions) and racked to a 7 gallon fermenter. | 01/24/2014 SG 0.998 |
| Using powered stirring rod, added the K-meta & sorbate, the F Pack, and then the chitosan.
Racked back to carboy and a 1 gallon jug. I could not get a good reading on the wine after the stirring. There was foam on the surface that would not go away. I’ll check at bottling time. Note: The SG on this one never dropped below 0.998. This has been true for a number of kits. |
01/24/2014 SG – |
| Racked the wine.
Note: The F-pack did not change the SG. |
01/31/2014 SG 0.998 |
| Bottled the wine. | 03/31/2014 SG 0.998 |
Notes
| Yield | 26 bottles |
| Alcohol | 11.8% |
| 07/18/2014 | Like the last Gewurztraminer, this kit is disappointing. While it is a decent table wine, it lacks in Gewurztraminer character. I have hope that it will develop as it ages. |
| 12/01/2015 | Nope, it never developed enough character to satisfy me. It’s a decent sipping wine and I’ve cooked plenty of dishes with it. But I wish it had more Gewurztraminer character. |