Beaverdale Rojo Tinto - 1st Kit

[Sharpyuk]

Hi,

This is my first attempt at making wine, I've done lots of reading and decided to make a couple of kits before experimenting with fruit wines.

I've bought a beginners kit from my local home brew centre, I went for a Rioja as this is what I tend to drink most of the time. They also recommended the Gervin wine yeast No.2 strain GV2, rather than to yeast which comes with the kit. Not sure if anyone has any experience with this yeast?

I was a little concerned that the instructions don't mention adding any sulphite throughout the whole process, but I've worked out that the stabiliser has sodium meta bisulphate included (E223), I presume I don't need to add any extra? Or perhaps I should add some when bottling?

I am hoping to use this as a kind of blog to keep track of my first attempt, following the instructions 100% to the letter (unless some experienced wine makers tell me otherwise). I am sure I will have some questions as I go along :-)

I'm excited to be part of this excellent forum, and can't wait to get started

Cheers

[fatbloke]

Hi,

This is my first attempt at making wine, I've done lots of reading and decided to make a couple of kits before experimenting with fruit wines.

I've bought a beginners kit from my local home brew centre, I went for a Rioja as this is what I tend to drink most of the time. They also recommended the Gervin wine yeast No.2 strain GV2, rather than to yeast which comes with the kit. Not sure if anyone has any experience with this yeast?

I was a little concerned that the instructions don't mention adding any sulphite throughout the whole process, but I've worked out that the stabiliser has sodium meta bisulphate included (E223), I presume I don't need to add any extra? Or perhaps I should add some when bottling?

I am hoping to use this as a kind of blog to keep track of my first attempt, following the instructions 100% to the letter (unless some experienced wine makers tell me otherwise). I am sure I will have some questions as I go along :-)

I'm excited to be part of this excellent forum, and can't wait to get started

Cheers

Dunno about that, I don't make much wine, I'm one (the only ???) mead monster that seems to be here.

Stabilising is a 2 stage thing. Sulphites, usually Sodium Metabisulphite in the UK, is used for all sorts of things. It can be made up (along with some citric acid) into a sanitiser (as per CJJ Berry's book "First Steps in Wine Making" among other uses. What it actually does, is provide a source of Sulphur that will "stun" yeast, it won't actually kill it. It also helps as it acts as a sort of anti-oxidant, and mild disinfectant.

The other part of stabilising, is Potassium Sorbate. Which is the chem that actually stops the yeast reproducing/multiplying.

Which is why you might read of the process whereby, you'd ferment grape juice, then once that's finished (stable hydrometer readings etc), you'd then rack (siphon) off any sediment that has dropped out, into a different fermenter/carboy/DJ etc, and add sulphites, usually in the form of campden tablets that have been crushed and "wine stabiliser" a.k.a. potassium sorbate.

There's a few other things that it helps to know as well, but get your head round that first is my suggestion.

You can use sulphites without the sorbate, but not the other way round - sciency, technical reason for that, not necessary to explain all that just for now though.

Apart from chaning the yeast, if you follow the destructions to the letter, you should be able to knock out a reasonable brew.

If you've read other stuff hereabouts, you'll follow that there's more to it than that. Either way, there's some brilliant and mega-knowledgable types that post too. No shortage of brains (me not included - after all, I make mostly meads, even if I did win the GF raffle last year........remember than Sir Richard of the Sharp ).

There does seem to be an overriding thing with kits though, the more you pay, the better the kit, quality of result, which, if you're as tight fisted as I am, is worth remembering.........

[lockwood1956]

hi

Change the yeast as suggested (will make a big difference) then make the kit following the instructions, omitting no detail no matter how slight

this kit will make a decent quaffable red

regards
Bob

[Sharpyuk]

Cheers fatbloke, the stabiliser also include potassium sorbate (E202), I assumed incorrectly that this pack was only sorbate, which is why I was originally concerned..

I think my problem is probably the fact that I've read so much before I've started, including CJJ Berry's books which I've read cover to cover.

I was planning on bulk ageing in a better bottle, but not sure how long I will be able to bulk age as it's not easy to work out how much active SO2 (need to read up on that a bit more).

I'm hoping to have a go with a Kenridge showcase kit once this is out of the primary fermenter and I can get hold of another better bottle, any suggestions as to which are the better ones would be good. I like a big, deep bodied red..

Eventually I'm intending to do it from grapes, maybe get some from grapefest which looks like a great event!

Thanks for your reply

[Sharpyuk]

hi

Change the yeast as suggested (will make a big difference) then make the kit following the instructions, omitting no detail no matter how slight

this kit will make a decent quaffable red

regards
Bob

Thank Bob, this was my intention on the first kit - as you've mentioned on many other threads

I was just a little concerned about the sulphite as there is none added until it is stabilised..

Cheers

[Duffbeer]

Thank Bob, this was my intention on the first kit - as you've mentioned on many other threads

I was just a little concerned about the sulphite as there is none added until it is stabilised..

Cheers

Their is no need to add sulphite to a kit pre ferment as the must will be sterile, sulphite is only added pre ferment to fresh fruit/grapes as a means to stun any wild yeast and allow your yeast to dominate fermentation.

In some kits it is advised to add additional sulphite at the end, this is usualy for wines being stored 18 months or more. Up to 18 months the sulphite in the stabiliser pack is sufficient.

[Sharpyuk]

Thanks for your comments that's reassuring, I won't worry then

Ok so I've now kicked off my first batch of wine.. I started by cleaning everything with the KVP which came with my kit, made a solution with 2 tsp in one gallon of warm water, gave everything a good shake and then left for about 15 mins followed by another good shake. I then rinsed everything 4 times to ensure there was no residue.

Followed the instructions to the letter, with the exception of the yeast as above. For the yeast I added it to 50ml of warm water with 1/2 tsp of sugar and gave it 15-20 mins to hydrate before adding to the must.

Interestingly the instructions suggest filling with water to just above 23 gallons, I wasn't sure how far above to fill so used a bit of guesswork here and suspect I probably put an extra 1/2 litre of water.

Added the sawdust they call oak which kind of just floated even after a good stir.. Here's my end result:

image.jpg

Temp approx 19C, room temp about 20-21C.
SG: 1.080


I've also prepped my better bottle by giving it a good clean in the VWP solution, obviously will do it again before racking..

image.jpg

Thanks to everyone for help so far and will keep updating on here as I go along

[oliver90owner]

Interestingly the instructions suggest filling with water to just above 23 gallons

Half a litre won't make much difference in that size of kit Where did you get one that big?

You will lose a small amount when racking, so to get 30 bottles at the end, you would only have a tad over half a litre to play with if filled to 23l exactly.

I generally start a little less and top up after the initial vigorous fermentation has reduced; but my FVs don't have too much head space...

RAB

[Sharpyuk]

Well spotted RAB, that should say 23 litres

I think that would have been a better option, as I could have topped up the better bottle to the correct level after racking.. Maybe one for next time, but this time just trying to follow the instructions as closely as possible. I will be interested to see what the level is in the better bottle when racked as it doesn't mention topping up anywhere in the instructions.

Oh well - if there's some left over after racking I can try it out

Cheers

[Duffbeer]

If you want to improve the quality of these kits then do not top up, start at 23 ltrs and leave at that, you may lose up to a ltr of wine due to racking etc, but the end results are worth it, I often start BDale reds at 21 ltrs, and find them much better as a result.

[Sharpyuk]

If you want to improve the quality of these kits then do not top up, start at 23 ltrs and leave at that, you may lose up to a ltr of wine due to racking etc, but the end results are worth it, I often start BDale reds at 21 ltrs, and find them much better as a result.

Interesting.. So how would you cope with the additional space in your carboy after racking? Do you use marbles or something similar to reduce the headroom?

I've also heard of people putting CO2 into the carboy to push out all the air..

[ukric]

I use glass beads (cheaper than marbles) if it's gonna be a while, if it's only a few days I don't bother

[Duffbeer]

I don't long term store in carboys any more, so do not worry about airspace, whilst fermenting in the carboy it's own co2 will keep it protected, then after stabilizing/clearing it goes to demi john for the last tannin's to drop out, then bottle. Once bottled I can forget about it.

[ToulouseLePlot]

Can you tell me what your Original Gravity was (if you took it)?

I made my first Beaverdale yesterday (Cab Sauv) and after stirring for a long time to ensure proper dispersal - I got 1.070 ... so I stirred some more, left it half an hour and got 1.070. Now the deal I have with wine involves a tad more alcohol, so I added 750g sugar to creep over 1.080. I just wondered if Beaverdal kits were a bit lighter than those I am used to.

Also swapped yeast for Harvest R56 and added 10g bentonite as there was none in the kit and i had some knocking around.

[Sharpyuk]

I don't long term store in carboys any more, so do not worry about airspace, whilst fermenting in the carboy it's own co2 will keep it protected, then after stabilizing/clearing it goes to demi john for the last tannin's to drop out, then bottle. Once bottled I can forget about it.

Are the DJs 1 gallon? I expect you would have loads of them doing it that way.. Doesn't it take up a lot of room?