Selection Estate Stag's Leap Merlot

Forget the glycerine and bananas. Why are you worried about the "oak chips" provided in the kit. BK ( and others) can't build up their reputation by making poorly designed kits. I have found that the "oak chips" do vary in texture from kit to kit. For the rest of it I believe you are getting over complicated in your approach and worrying too much about the temperature changes. But you also make no comment about your own experience! Which will affect your approach! A stable fermenting regime is much more important!

I would tend to start drinking it after about a year and just keep a few bottles a bit longer -- but you might be OK. I have only got one Selection Estate under aging -- a Lodi Old Vine Zin -- but it is only a couple of months old so can't make positive comment.

Bulk age for 6+ months ( up to a year) and then bottle. But that is what I do! it just seems to be good sense to bulk age for longer before bottling for better results.

Having said all that, if you make wine regularly, just do your own thing, -- I do -- I do add a bit of extra tannin to most of my reds.

I don't think you have to rack that frantically. After you get it off the fine lees which would be the second or third rack you could leave it longer. Go for 6 more months with one rack at the 3rd. When it's clear you would be better off not opening the carboy and just letting it bulk age.

Start more kits or you'll be dipping into this way too often.

I believe Ed Goist, who use to post here often, said he would add 1 tsp of grape tannin to any red kit. I wouldn't do it with researching it more. (...don't listen to one anonymouse poster in a news group).

Why would you want to add these - more body? It's an all grape high end kit?

Don

Your plan sound good to me, Lalvin RC212 is a better yeast than the one that came with the kit. Stavin oak cube is by far better than the one in the kit, i agree with you about that. 3 oz of Stabin oak cube is perfect.

I will let it aged longer in bulk. Like others said, let it age for 6 months minimum in bulk and than bottle it. You really don't need to rack every month. You rack when the wine need it, when you have some sediment on the botom of the carboy.

I would not add bananas or glycerine to this kit. Let it go as it is now, just with the oak and you can add some tannin if you whant.

Séb

---snip

I question racking before you passed SG 1.00? Can this not end up being to sweet?

SG Brix

No, the idea is to get it off the main body of the settled yeast and into a carboy for secondary fermentation which will take it down to full dryness. Keeping some sugar and raising the temp in the secondary fementation is to make sure it really does go to dryness. I'm doing a cool primary fermentation to try to keep as many volatiles as possible.

Ralph

There is no real primary and secondary fermentation unless you think of the first day or so during the reproductive phase of the yeast and the subsequent anaerobic phase as everything else. The name primary and secondary was invented by the kit makers to separate the explosive first fermentation when the kit could be in air contact from the later slower fermentation when air contact was not desireable and was thus done under an airlock in a carboy.

Thus, there's no real need to boost the temperature after the rack into the carboy to start "secondary" fermentation. If it was fermenting in the primary it should ferment in the carboy. If it gets stuck that's a different story. Keeping some sugar to make sure it goes to dryness almost sounds at odds with itself but I understand what your aiming at.

Don

Well, I've had problems towards the end of the "secondary" below 70F with the fermentation slowing to the point of looking stuck. I warmed it to about