2020 Pinot Noir
April 2020
My niece asked me to make her — yet — another wine. She expressed an interest in Pinot Noir, and last time I was in American Brewmaster, they had one on clearance. So … it’s in production.
Ingredients
| Kit | R J Spagnol Grand Cru Pinot Noir kit |
| Bentonite | 30 g |
| Fermentation Oak | 1 oz French oak chips |
| Yeast | Lalvin EC-1118 |
| Sulfite | as needed |
| Sorbate | N/A |
| Kieselsol | provided in kit |
| Chitosan | provided in kit |
Method
| Added 4 cups hot tap water to the primary fermenter and sprinkled the bentonite on a bit at a time, then stirred until dissolved.
Added contents of grape juice bag. Rinsed it with warm water and added to fermenter. Topped up to 5.5 gallons, as my per usual method. Sprinkled oak chips and yeast on top. |
04/26/2020 SG 1.088 |
| Racked. Moved to carboy. | 05/05/2020 SG 1.004 |
| Racked. Kieselsol & Chitosan added | 05/24/2020 SG 0.993 |
| Racked. Add 2 oz medium toast oak cubes. Difference in SG from last time is likely due to difference in temperature and an imprecise reading on one or both occasions. | 06/06/2020 SG 0.995 |
| Racked, oak removed. | 08/21/2020 SG 0.995 |
| Added 5 oz glycerin for body. Bottled. | 09/27/2020 SG 0.995 |
Notes:
| Yield | 27 bottles |
| Alcohol | 12.6% |
| 09/27/2020 | Wine has good taste at bottling, 2.5 months of oak seems to be the right amount. However, a year in the bottle will tell the tale. |
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