August 1, 2008

Water – 11
Concentrate – 2 cans
Sugar – 8 cups (4 lb)
Yeast Nutrient – 5 tsp
Ascorbic Acid – 5/4 tsp
Acid Blend – 6 tsp
Yest (71B-112 Saccharomyces Cerevisiae) – 1 packet

Specific Gravity = 1.092

I see a note that says for white Wines. when racking should add 1/2 Campden tab/gallon.

Campden slows down yeast.

Yeast starter (for 5 gallon):

• 2 cup water
• 2 table spoon Sugar
• 1/2 tsp nutrient
• 1/4 tsp citric acid
• 1 packet yeast

Mix, shake, add to must next day.

August 5, 2008

Have stirred must each day. SG = 1.006
Must is still bubbling pretty fiercely

August 10, 2008

Moved must into secondary. Nice purple color. added 6 capden tablets. added ~1 gal water to top off. Filled airlock with Gin.

August  16, 2008

Racked wine. added 1 cup water. Still smells of bread.

October 6, 2008

Racked cab, topped off with 1 cup of water.

January 6, 2009

Cab SG = 0.998
Cab has no noticable particulates. Should be stirred at each racking to release CO2.

January 24, 2009

Stirred Cab to release CO2.

April 28, 2009

Bottled the batch. Boiled #9 (45mm x 23mm) corks in water to sterilize. Filled two 3 L bags, 7 375 mL bottles, and 19 750 mL bottles. There was about 300 mL left. No sugar was added.
SG = 0.996 @ 75°F for a finished alcohol content of 12.97%

The tannins are very nice in this wine. The wine looks a little watery, and feels a little weak on the palate. I think that’s the kind of thing that aging fixes. There is still a fruity semi-sweet aspect that is pleasant and not overwhelming. It’s definitely right to characterize this wine as ‘young’.

I'm not sure how long to age the wine for. I suppose trial and error is the way to go.