I made a Beaverdale Chateau de Roi kit which was nice. Unfortunately it didn't get much chance to mature but even after just 3 weeks it was improving. I'm learning fast that bulk kits are better as 6 bottle kits don't last long! I'll make a 6 bottle to try then make a 5 gallon if it's good.
It just seemed really slow. I used a wine wand on a drill but didn't get a huge amount of froth in fairness. It was clearing but after 3 days it was still slightly milky although less so than after day 1. From the other posts I was expecting it to clear nicely with the 3 stage finings. I'll see...
Should be another good one. I dissolved the sugar in the boiling water before adding it to the FV. I also like the suggestion in the Sauvignon Blanc thread to only use 3 litres of boiling water as I had to wait ages for the temp to drop when I used 5 litres.
I ended up having to rack mine into 5 glass DJs and adding Kwik Clear as it just wasn't clearing with the included finings. It cleared in 2 days after that and I got 26 bottles. Tastes good and I gave a couple of work colleagues a bottle which they were impressed by. I left the usual 1 cm or so...
I used a degassing wand so hopefully CO2 out of it. I'll leave it another day then rack off into glass DJs and if still not clear I'll add Kwik Clear as I have some already. Initial sips taste good so eager to try it!!!
I added the finings on Fri evening and still waiting on mine clearing. Probably due to living in a new build flat so room temp doesn't really drop below 18 degrees so I guess it'll just take a while longer to clear
I came home to find mine had the same ring around the top from the froth. I scraped it off with a plastic mixing spoon and splashed it with the wine to remove. It certainly gets active quickly and stays that way!
As an aside the Beaverdale Sauvignon Blanc I bottled yesterday is a very welcome...
The tap worked fine last time leaving the sediment behind in the bottom. Picked up a longer threaded tap so started this at 5pm. Bubbling nicely at 5.20!! I was tempted to add the 2 litres of WGJ I had but thought I'd try it as is first.
Doh! We were all waiting too! Got my kit but whilst sterilizing my wine fermenter I found it was leaking from the tap seal and the locking nut inside won't tighten properly so it's going back tomorrow , I've only used it once. I thought it would be easier with a tap rather than having to siphon...
I use a wine wand for degassing but I'm not sure how long I need to use it for. Any suggestions? I've run the wine wand in the drill for about 5 mins at a time until the bubbles stopped then left it and run the drill again a few times.