2022 Sauvignon Blanc
April 2022
Label Peelers had a 10% off sale on Finer Wine Kits, and on top of my 10% off for life on FWK, a pair of Tavola kits averaged $75 each, not including S&H ($11.50 each). I wasn’t planning on making more kits … but when the price is right?
I’m in need of more white wine, I really like Sauvignon Blanc, so this one fit the bill.
Note: FWK updated their process for white kits, adding carbon to strip out the browning that occurs naturally in juices. Since their concentrates are not pasteurized, it’s subject to the browning like fresh juices. I am writing an In Detail blog to describe my experiences with this new process.
Ingredients
| Kit | Finer Wine Kits Tavola Sauvignon Blanc |
| Carbon | Carbon packet X |
| Nutrients | Nutrient packet A (must) Nutrient packet B (yeast starter) Nutrient packet C (must) |
| Fermentation Oak | 0.5 oz small oak chips |
| Yeast | Lalvin D47 |
| Sorbate | N/A |
| Fining Agent | Kieselsol & Chitosan provided in kit |
| K-meta | as needed |
| Glycerin | 5 oz |
Method
| Prepared the yeast starter by putting the yeast, the yeast starter nutrient pack B, and 1 cup water in a wine bottle. Shook to mix and put a towel over it to keep stuff out. Initial temperature is 95.8 F.
Added 1 gallon water to primary, then stirred Packet X into the water for 1 minute with drill-mounted stirring rod. Added concentrate to the fermenter. It was partially frozen, so I had to squeeze some of it out (which is fine). Rinsed the bag twice, adding the water to the fermenter. Two rinses did fine for this one. Stirred for 1 minute with a drill-mounted stirring rod. I’m finding the frequent stirring during reconstitution mixes the kit much better. Filled with water to 23 liters, stirring twice for 30 seconds each in the middle and end of the process. Added Packet A (which clearly contains bentonite) and stirred for 30 seconds. The instructions say to add the chips now, but I’m waiting until tomorrow after I re-check SG. |
04/15/2022 SG 1.092 |
| Checked SG, it rose to 1.096, which surprised me. I checked the level and it was a bit low — when I filled last night there was foam, so I underfilled a bit to avoid overfilling.
This is easy to fix, so I added more water to just under the line and stirred. Checked the SG again — 1.100. WHOOPS! I added the starter, and will check the SG again this evening. |
04/16/2022 SG 1.100 |
| Added Packet C. The wine had really foamed up since yesterday, coating the underside of the towel with oak chips and fruit solids, which stuck. The SG recorded is approximate, as there’s a lot of foam so I could not clearly read the hydrometer. Not that it matters at this point. | 04/18/2022 SG 1.030 |
| The SG dropped low enough so I stirred a final time, cleaned the inside of the fermenter above the wine, and sealed it. | 04/21/2022 SG 1.010 |
| Unsealed the fermenter and racked. Added 1/4 tsp K-meta and kieselsol, then stirred for 30 seconds. Waited a couple of minutes, then added the chitosan and stirred in the opposite direction for 30 seconds. Due to carbon, the wine is definitely Goth. | 04/29/2022 SG 0.998 |
| I was concerned that the carboy was too low, even though kits can be left untopped for the duration of the kit schedule. Topped with 2-3/4 bottles of commercial Sauvignon Blanc, which left an acceptable headspace. This concerns me, as the headspace should be a lot less. | 05/03/2022 SG 0.998 |
| Racked the wine — it cleared very nicely. Added 1/4 tsp K-meta and topped with 3/4 bottle commercial Sauvignon Blanc. | 05/21/2022 SG 0.998 |
| Racked the wine — noticed a very fine layer including carbon at the end, which helped judge when to stop the racking. Added heaping 1/4 tsp K-meta and 5 oz glycerin. Bottled. | 10/04/2022 SG 0.998 |
Notes
| Yield | 31 bottles |
| Alcohol | 12.8% |
| At Bottling | The wine had a grassy flavor, similar to New Zealand SB. Adding glycerin toned that down and brought out fruit. The last bit of wine in the carboy, that contained a minute amount of carbon, tasted fine; there was no indication the carbon affected the flavor. |
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