2022 Strawberry
June 2022
Label Peelers did it to me again — they advertised a 72 hour BOGO sale on Finer Wine Kits, so I had to buy more kits!
Unfortunately, I hesitated. I was going to buy a Tavola Merlot and a Forte Merlot so I could compare them side-by-side. By the time I got done dithering, they were sold out. The reds sold out amazingly fast, and when I went to purchase the choices were Frutta Kiwi, Blackberry, and Strawberry, and Tavola Moscato.
I decided to go with Blackberry and Strawberry.
Ingredients
| Kit | Finer Wine Kits Frutta Strawberry |
| Nutrients | Nutrient packet A (must) Nutrient packet B (yeast starter) Nutrient packet C (must) |
| Carbon | 1 packet |
| Bentonite | 1 packet |
| Yeast | Lalvin K1-V1116 |
| Fining Agent | Kieselsol 12.5 ml * Chitosan 75 ml, provided in kit |
| Sorbate | stabilizer packet (K-sorbate + K-meta) |
| K-meta | as needed |
| Bottling Sugar | 2 Global Vintner 16 oz Wine Conditioner packets, provided in kit |
| Glycerin | 6 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.
Instructions state to blend carbon and bentonite in fermenter with 1 gallon water, and let rest 10 minute for bentonite and carbon to bond. Did that. Added concentrate to the fermenter. The concentrate temperature was 72.5 F, which is fine. Rinsed the bag twice, adding the water to the fermenter. Two rinses did fine for this one. Added Packet A. 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. |
06/03/2022 SG 1.102 |
| The SG was 1.100, which seems high, so I stirred for 1 minute. After the swirling stopped, the SG was still 1.100. Inoculated.
Update 2PM: Checked the SG, which is still 1.100. This may be it, but I’ll check again later. |
06/04/2022 SG 1.100 |
| Wine is still too foamy to get a good SG reading, but there is strong activity, so I added nutrient pack C. | 06/06/2022 SG ??? |
| The SG dropped low enough, so I sealed the fermenter. The listed SG is approximate, as the foam made an exact reading impossible. | 06/07/2022 SG 1.020 |
| Racked the wine. My new process is to start the siphon, add 1/4 tsp K-meta and the kieselsol packet. After the siphon completes, I add the chitosan.
I racked the Blackberry first into the 6 gallon fermenter, and stirred that with the steel paddle. To keep the wines in parity, I did the same with this one, stirrings for 2 minutes with a stainless steel paddle, changing direction every 30 seconds. |
06/18/2022 SG 0.996 |
| Racked the carboy and jug, adding Packet D: finishing pack. Added 1 packet of wine conditioner. Topped with 1-1/2 bottle 2020 Second Run wine. | 07/09/2022 SG 0.996 SG 1.006 |
| Racked the wine, adding the second wine conditioner packet, heaping 1/4 tsp K-meta, and 6 oz glycerin. Stirred frequently during racking to ensure wine conditioner and glycerin are mixed in, plus another minute after racking. Bottled. | 10/05/2022 SG 1.015 |
Notes
| Yield | 31 bottles |
| Alcohol | 12.8% |
| Residual Sugar | 5.0% |
| At Bottling | The wine really needed the second wine conditioner packet. I’m honestly surprised. It’s a bit sweeter than I typically care for, but without it, the wine lacks fruit flavor. I conducted a couple of bench tests, then gave up, realizing it needed the sugar.
Note — this one really isn’t for me. It’s likely I’ll share and/or give away most of it, as folks will like it. |
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