Wine no1 experiments- Body

[krakowmike]

http://www.winesathome.co.uk/forum/s...ghlight=banana


This thread has some useful information with regards to the use of banana for added body.

Thanks Ted for the link. Unfortunately I did not read this tread. I just threw the banana into the jug. They swelled up and float-

The first day was a very strong banana smell, now just a delicate tropical note. Hopefully it will mellow out.

What do you think I should do? Just leave it be of fish out the lazy floaters

[malcmackenzie]

I would say fish it out quickly. It has probably imparted the flavour or essence already.

If you leave it there when you open a bottle it smells of baby puke...... Mmmmm nice.

Best of luck

Malc

[krakowmike]

I would say fish it out quickly. It has probably imparted the flavour or essence already.

If you leave it there when you open a bottle it smells of baby puke...... Mmmmm nice.

Best of luck

Malc

Thanks Malc

I'm going to rack tomorrow. The Mrs said she hopes it tastes like banana's so if it does, no problem

[krakowmike]

I've stablized and racked. The banana, sultana, and wgc are darker in color than the control all have a richer bouquet. The banana smell is going away and is smelling less tropical. I'll give a taste test maybe tomorrow. Clearing should be finished over the weekend. I'll filter and bottle. Pictures to follow.

How much glycerine should I add without having that metal taste?

[malcmackenzie]

I have always used a product from Richies called 'quick clear' Its very good clear in 24 hours and as far I know does not impart flavour. I use 1 teasoon 5ml from each bottle to 1 gallon not the 2ml on the instructions. When you have doesed it up move it somewhere much cooler where you can rack it off without moving it again.

Look froward to the pictures

Malc

[krakowmike]

I have always used a product from Richies called 'quick clear' Its very good clear in 24 hours and as far I know does not impart flavour. I use 1 teasoon 5ml from each bottle to 1 gallon not the 2ml on the instructions. When you have doesed it up move it somewhere much cooler where you can rack it off without moving it again.

Look froward to the pictures

Malc

I use the same but follow the instructions. Still clearing, might add another 2ml. The sultana, wgc, and banana are clearing faster than the control and have a darker richer, darker color.

[malcmackenzie]

I have never had it clear properly with the smaller dose. It does say on the instructions use more for stubborn wines.

Perhaps mine are stubborn. But the one thing that realy makes a difference is the temperature.

With the weather we hav now I would add the finings and then put in the shed for a afew days and rack it off from there without moving it.

[krakowmike]

Bottle

They are cleared, filtered and bottled.

Tasting before bottling-

1. Control- standard wine no1, not bad, not great, just good.

2. Glycerin - I added about 1t. This added the most body and mellowed out any sharpness I tasted in the control. I was expecting a metallic/ medicine taste but just body.

3.WGC- added a nice dark clean color. Heavy body (not as much as the glycerin) but gave what tasted like a higher quality mouth feel.

4. Banana- didn't give body at all. Smells tropical, and is slighty hazy in color.

5. Sultanas- gave some body, but has a strange metallic/ oxidised taste to it. Slightly hazy in color.

All of them, expect glycerin, had the fresh wine taste, slightly sharp. I'm really looking forward to the first tasting- probably in 2 weeks, where I'll give details.

In all, my overall impression is that the WGC and glycerine came out a success while the banana and sultana came out worse than I expected. Maybe time will mellow the flavour a bit.

[krakowmike]

Control after bottling

Week 1 after bottling-

I couldn't resist trying the control Wine no 1. I know its still early and might be in bottle shock but nonetheless-

It tastes like a standard Wine no 1. not great, not bad, but good. No particular smell (slight woody smell), beautiful yellow color, slightly bright on the tongue. Not acidic, just young. Body is rather thin. Perfect quaffing wine.

Other reviews to follow soon-

[krakowmike]

Day 1 after of Control week 1 after bottling. Some of the sulphites have disappeared however there is a slight, salty?/ MSG (can't describe it fully) after taste that makes my tongue watery. Still good for a Wine no 1. As the wine warms (was chilled) the strange taste appears. I did not use any Na products, only K-meta etc. hmmmmm. Any ideas?

Next couple of days I will open up either the GWC or glycerine. What I do in the name of science!

[krakowmike]

Glycerine after bottling

I opened the glycerine wine no 1 the other night. Very well balanced- the glycerine gave a very nice mouth feel that smoothes out any roughness the control had so early after bottling. Slight yeasty/ creamy aroma but otherwise a fine wine to share with friends.

Day two, some of the sulphites dissipated and through the rich body, a clean apple taste shines through! I'm very impressed with the effect the glycerine had on the wine. I'm curious to see if aging will improve it or not.

Nonetheless, I'll seriously consider using glycerine again. I wonder if anyone has tried using it in budget kit reds to improve body? A little goes a long way!

[owlwithoutfeathers]

Hi there,

Good to see the glycerine worked! I will certainly be trying this on a WN1 at some point! Well done in your efforts!!

Owl.

[Leon]

This is a wonderful thread, and a good idea. I'm looking forward to the results, already adding glycerine to my shopping list. If anybody wants to suggest a similar experiment for me to carry out I would be happy to. I have all the will in the world, just not the know how to isolate an 'aspect' of wine and come up with variables to explore it. Unless the size of the idiot you make of yourself after you've drunk it, can count as an 'aspect'.

[krakowmike]

This is a wonderful thread, and a good idea. I'm looking forward to the results, already adding glycerine to my shopping list. If anybody wants to suggest a similar experiment for me to carry out I would be happy to. I have all the will in the world, just not the know how to isolate an 'aspect' of wine and come up with variables to explore it. Unless the size of the idiot you make of yourself after you've drunk it, can count as an 'aspect'.

Thanks Owl and Leon for the positive comments. I believe that we all learn from each other and that wonderful things can happen if that knowledge is easily assessable. I think for those reasons, this forum is awesome with so much to learn.

Leon, something I was planning in for the summer was comparing different ways of improving bouquet; flower- dried, fresh; cordial, essential oil, etc. Another experiment would be making the tastiest strawberry wine; canned, fresh, cooked, mashed, put in at end, etc. Or maybe- making the strongest red; red concentrate, adding red juice, elderberries, etc. I'm sure whatever you decide to do, there will be plenty of people to advise you on the journey. I'll be looking forward to your findings

[krakowmike]

Hi there,

Good to see the glycerine worked! I will certainly be trying this on a WN1 at some point! Well done in your efforts!!

Owl.

I love the bananas- next couple of days I'll open up the wine no 1 with banana. In hindsight, I messed up how to utilise the banana. Instead of boiling the banana, I just added 100g or so. There was a slight tropical smell that I may or may not like. I know, I'll try to be subjective heh.

So for the 1st taste after bottling, there remains the WGC, sultana, and banana additions.