[Review] Sadlers Reserve - House Red

[LordEoin]

I think with the 6 bottle kits they sometimes end up thinner because we fill the demijohn instead of stopping at the 4.5L mark... 

[Tom]

So pay attention to the fill and Beaverdale are OK?

It'd be nice to dip the toe in with a 6 bottle kit, rather than an eye-watering 30 bottle.

[Shane Phelan]

Yeah I would definitely recommend trying the 6 bottle kit. Gives you are real feel for the process which is easy but certain things are a bit more difficult with larger batches. Degassing being one example.

[marc]

hi folks
hope you dont mind a newbie jumping in here with a few questions..

I got the sadlers reserver cabernet sauvignon and had it in primary for about 2 or 3 weeks (am useless for writing stuff down) and then I racked it off and have left it about another 2 weeks. during this time I shook it a couple of times to help degass it.  I added the other three sachets this evening to ensure fermentation has stopped, stabalise it  and clear it. I'd added some oak chips while in primary and added some more again after transferring into secondary. I've a couple of questions I'm hoping ye can help me out with

- the oak chips...I added them straight out of the bag and fear this may have been a mistake, should I have sanitised first?? (am afraid of the answer..)
- the three sachets I added this evening, could I have done without adding these? Are these the artifical additives to an otherwise pure concentrate that I couldve done without?
- rather than bottling, I'd spotted a 20ltr water container with a tap at the bottom in the local co-op. Could I just use this rather than bottling. I'd probably bottle 7 or 8 bottles regardless o store for longer but wouldnt mind having the rest in a bigger container like this to fill a glass when i like rather than opening a bottle etc. would the air in the container affect the freshness of the wine?

thanks for any advice.
marc

[LordEoin]

 - the oak chips. should I have sanitised first?? - yes, a quick boil or soak in vodka. don't worry about it now, lets hope for the best

- the three sachets I added this evening, could I have done without adding these?  - they're there for a reason, they make better wine. most of it drops out anyway

- rather than bottling, I'd spotted a 20ltr water container with a tap at the bottom in the local co-op. Could I just use this rather than bottling. would the air in the container affect the freshness of the wine? - as the wine empties it lets air in, this will spoil your wine. if you want to have one big container, use something like a winebox that has a shrinking bladder

[marc]

nuts...fingers crossed on the oak chips then..

probably knock that water container idea on the head as well then.

thanks

[LordEoin]

No Problem, I hope it works out well for you

[Shane Phelan]

Was too impatient to wait a week , checked the gravity again and it hasn't changed that much since I last checked it. A drop of one point at most. The sweetness as lessened slightly with a mildly bitter after-taste although the body is retained and a lot of fruitiness. I have just added the B sachet to kill the yeast and another sachet C to begin the clearing process. Would highly recommend having one of the degasser tools that attach to your drill to mix it, makes it very simple.

[LordEoin]

that degasser looks the business.
I've always been scared to use them though in case i scratch the FV or something nasty falls off the drill.

[Shane Phelan]

"Bottled" the wine this week, it has a sharp, bitter taste off it currently but I expect that to dissipate with age. Now the wait begins!





Absolutely worth the money to not have to bottle these, the capacity of those things are supposed to be 10L each but I got 23L into them so either the bucket volume is off or they have a bit of extra space.

[Shane Phelan]

Just lost one of the vinotainers to a very small leak which I didn't notice until now. I don't know what caused it, potentially the weather, but the thing is infested. It was in a dark space ageing so I wasn't checking it that often and didn't notice the growth. I had tasted it a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't in that state!! Fucking raging. 



Its out of the box and in the bath and even when I push on the bag there is no leak.

[irish_goat]

That's a balls.

[Shane Phelan]

Not really sure whether the wine itself is salvageable or not, as all the mould is on the box rather than the wine itself. Not mad about drinking mould tbh!

[irish_goat]

Could you try bottling it?

[Shane Phelan]

If the wine was ok I would just leave it inside the plastic pouch. I managed to get the lid to turn another 1/4 turn so it must definitely be the weather. I nearly drew blood from my fingers when I tightened them initially.