2018 Luna Bianca (Chardonnay)
September 2018
Luna Bianca is a chardonnay blend that is supposedly Winexpert’s boldest white. I made this a few years back and really enjoyed it. I was quite pleased to find that American Brewmaster had a fresh stock of kits in, and this was available.
If this comes out as good as I expect, it won’t be the last time I make it.
Ingredients
| Kit | Winexpert Selection Luna Bianca kit |
| Bentonite | 30 g |
| Yeast | Lalvin EC-1118 yeast (included in kit) |
| Oak | 120 g (4 packets) oak dust |
| Sulphite | 4 g |
| Sorbate | 5.5 g |
| Kieselsol | 12.5 ml |
| Chitosan | 75 ml |
Method
| Added 2 cups hot water to primary – stirred in bentonite.
Added chardonnay bag, rinsing the bag well with water (added to primary). Filled to 5.5 gallons with water. Stirred for 2 minutes, reversing direction every 30 seconds. Tested SG. Added oak dust, stirring for 1 minutes, reversing at 30 seconds Sprinkled yeast on top. |
09/27/2018 SG 1.092 |
| Racked, moved to carboy.
This one surprised me. I checked SG 2 nights ago, it was 1.050. Tonight it’s 0.997. I’ve had wines ferment fast before, but I think this one is a record |
10/02/2018 SG 0.997 |
| Racked.
Added sulfite and sorbate, stirred 4 minutes using powered stirring rod. Added kieselsol, stirred 2 minutes. Racked back into carboy. |
10/11/2018 SG 0.995 |
| Added chitosan, stirred 1 minute.
Added reserve pack, stirred 4 minutes. Following the addition of the reserve pack, the SG seems high. |
10/13/2018 SG 1.002 |
| Racked, due to sediment build-up. Added 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulfite. | 11/12/2018 SG 1.002 |
| Added 1/4 tsp Kmeta. Bottled. | 11/24/2018 SG 1.002 |
Notes
| Yield | 25 bottles |
| Alcohol | 13.2% |
| Residual Sugar | 0.5% |
| Winemaking Notes | For previous kits, I’ve been blasé about the ingredients. However, I’m starting to pay attention to what is in the different kits, including amounts — I want to understand more about what goes into creating a kit. Which differs from fresh fruit. |
| As with most 6 gallon kits I do, I diluted the fruit package to 5.5 gallons, providing a bit bolder flavor. This kit contains an F-Pack, which I believe provides a slight sweetness. I’m going to look for more information regarding it. | |
| The SG following adding the reserve pack seems awfully high, given the small size of the pack in 5.5 gallons of wine. This wine is supposed to rest for a minimum of 27 days before bottling. I probably won’t touch it again until early December, when I’ll check the SG again. | |
| 11/24/2018 | The expression on Eric’s face when he tasted the wine was interesting. This kit has a tiny amount of residual sugar — he had trouble reconciling the taste of chardonnay with residual sugar. It is a bit disconcerting. However, based upon the results of the last time I did this kit, I expect it will turn out great. It needs a year in the bottle, maybe two. |