I posted this earlier under the 'drying out my red wines' but I'll
repost under a new subject in hopes I can obtain an answer.

I have 15 gallons of Cab Sauv and 5 gallons of Zin, so not an
inconsequential amount. I oaked, MLF'd, and otherwise ran the reds
through the same processes as the whites (processed gently at 68-72F
in the basement heated booth).

The juices were obtained pressed without skins and both weighed in
around 1.08. Reading more on the topic it would seem that I should
have pressed the juice (if I had had skins) down around 1.05 to 1.00
or so.

The Zin has a gorgeous smoky bouquet- exactly what I was looking for
with no hint of diacetyl and the Cab has a solid oak aroma that
encourages that first sip- yet when that precious liquid touches the
tongue there is nothing behind it. No taste but runny red juice.
There is a residual sweetness that the Clinitest estimates at 0.25% to
0.5%.

At this late stage in the game, is there any way to salvage these
wines? Should I consider blending them away with better 'cheap
bottle' wine (Banrock Station is inexpensive) to mask the failure for
this year? Would adding Grape Tannins so late in the process (I'd
like to be bottling in 2 months) be advisable?

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide,

Jason

You can add tannin but that will only help with the structure of the
wines - it sounds like there are other things missing. I've started
with red juice and then moved to grapes and for my taste, there is a
big difference in taste and quality. I still buy red juice occasionally
but ferment it as a "2nd run" on pressed skins - this gives a very good
wine that's ready to drink earlier than the 1st run from grapes.

Which brings me to the second option - you could wait until fall, get
some grapes and referment the wine. To avoid dilution, do a grape batch
before, press and add the skins.

Alternatively, do a grape batch in the fall with heavy extraction, don
an ML on it, and then blend it with your current wine.

If that's not an option, then grape tannin is your best bet. If you can
split the order with somebody or can buy in lower quantities, I'd get
the good stuff (Biotan) from Scott Labs or similar rather than what's
usually sold at winemaking shops. Here's the link

http://www.scottlaboratories.com/pro...on/tannins.asp

You can do a blend trial, but my guess is you'd need too much of the
commercial stuff to make a difference.

If you decide to wait unitl fall, addins some tannin now in any case
should help to preserve the wine.

Pp


wrote:
> I posted this earlier under the 'drying out my red wines' but I'll
> repost under a new subject in hopes I can obtain an answer.
>
> I have 15 gallons of Cab Sauv and 5 gallons of Zin, so not an
> inconsequential amount. I oaked, MLF'd, and otherwise ran the reds
> through the same processes as the whites (processed gently at 68-72F
> in the basement heated booth).
>
> The juices were obtained pressed without skins and both weighed in
> around 1.08. Reading more on the topic it would seem that I should
> have pressed the juice (if I had had skins) down around 1.05 to 1.00
> or so.
>
> The Zin has a gorgeous smoky bouquet- exactly what I was looking for
> with no hint of diacetyl and the Cab has a solid oak aroma that
> encourages that first sip- yet when that precious liquid touches the
> tongue there is nothing behind it. No taste but runny red juice.
> There is a residual sweetness that the Clinitest estimates at 0.25% to
> 0.5%.
>
> At this late stage in the game, is there any way to salvage these
> wines? Should I consider blending them away with better 'cheap
> bottle' wine (Banrock Station is inexpensive) to mask the failure for
> this year? Would adding Grape Tannins so late in the process (I'd
> like to be bottling in 2 months) be advisable?
>
> Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide,
>
> Jason

Jason,
Forgive me if you mentioned this already but is this your first
experience with new wine? If so, I can tell you the evolution over the
first year or two is amazing. What you think is light and insipid today
may be pleasantly different in a few months. Time is almost always
your friend with dry red wine.

Joe


yet when that precious liquid touches the
> > tongue there is nothing behind it. No taste but runny red juice.
> > There is a residual sweetness that the Clinitest estimates at 0.25% to
> > 0.5%.
> >
> > At this late stage in the game, is there any way to salvage these
> > wines? Should I consider blending them away with better 'cheap
> > bottle' wine (Banrock Station is inexpensive) to mask the failure for
> > this year? Would adding Grape Tannins so late in the process (I'd
> > like to be bottling in 2 months) be advisable?
> >
> > Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide,
> >
> > Jason

A RS reading of 0.25 to 0.50 would be considered fine for a dry red wine.
It should mellow out nicely.

Ray

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>I posted this earlier under the 'drying out my red wines' but I'll
> repost under a new subject in hopes I can obtain an answer.
>
> I have 15 gallons of Cab Sauv and 5 gallons of Zin, so not an
> inconsequential amount. I oaked, MLF'd, and otherwise ran the reds
> through the same processes as the whites (processed gently at 68-72F
> in the basement heated booth).
>
> The juices were obtained pressed without skins and both weighed in
> around 1.08. Reading more on the topic it would seem that I should
> have pressed the juice (if I had had skins) down around 1.05 to 1.00
> or so.
>
> The Zin has a gorgeous smoky bouquet- exactly what I was looking for
> with no hint of diacetyl and the Cab has a solid oak aroma that
> encourages that first sip- yet when that precious liquid touches the
> tongue there is nothing behind it. No taste but runny red juice.
> There is a residual sweetness that the Clinitest estimates at 0.25% to
> 0.5%.
>
> At this late stage in the game, is there any way to salvage these
> wines? Should I consider blending them away with better 'cheap
> bottle' wine (Banrock Station is inexpensive) to mask the failure for
> this year? Would adding Grape Tannins so late in the process (I'd
> like to be bottling in 2 months) be advisable?
>
> Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide,
>
> Jason
>

First experience with new red wines, yes. Whites are fun (though I did
learn MLF this year) and thought them to be at least somewhat similiar
in processing- that'll learn me something good.

Any idea what Biotan runs for the smallest quantity or how long it
keeps?

Thanks much!

Jason

Biotan-Shelf life is 4 years at 18C or 65F if kept tightly sealed and
dry, you can add an additional 10% per year for any loss in strength.


http://www.scottlab.com/products/fer...IOTAN1_000.pdf

Missed that tidbit about 10%/yr update. I've got plenty of freezer
space that I keep yeast cultures from beermaking in.

Now to find a price- I hope it's reasonable (which means <60$ ....)

Presque Isle does not handle that that I am aware of but sells about 10
different tannin products. I use the cheap stuff... You can call and
ask them, they stock many items that aren't in the catalog. You can't
go wrong with Scott Labs products though.

Joe

Jason,
I second Joe's advice. Cabernet in particular seems to take on weight with
time and transforms itself into a fine wine. At the very least you could
wait until the fall and if it hasn't improved you could employ some of the
strategies suggested by Pp. Don't give up yet, patience may be the key.

Tim

"Joe Sallustio" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Jason,
> Forgive me if you mentioned this already but is this your first
> experience with new wine? If so, I can tell you the evolution over the
> first year or two is amazing. What you think is light and insipid today
> may be pleasantly different in a few months. Time is almost always
> your friend with dry red wine.
>
> Joe
>
>
> yet when that precious liquid touches the
>> > tongue there is nothing behind it. No taste but runny red juice.
>> > There is a residual sweetness that the Clinitest estimates at 0.25% to
>> > 0.5%.
>> >
>> > At this late stage in the game, is there any way to salvage these
>> > wines? Should I consider blending them away with better 'cheap
>> > bottle' wine (Banrock Station is inexpensive) to mask the failure for
>> > this year? Would adding Grape Tannins so late in the process (I'd
>> > like to be bottling in 2 months) be advisable?
>> >
>> > Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide,
>> >
>> > Jason
>

Thanks Tim and Joe (and others).

I'll bottle as needed, and I'll reserve maybe 5 gallons or so for
tannins... and we'll see. 15 gallons of Cab would seem like such a
waste, but since it's summer I figure I'll be drinking the 30 gallons
of chard (or at least feeding it to those that are going to help put in
the yard ;P).

Now to figure out how to make "Le Crema" style Chard....