Making in summer

Great wine kit and a great sale price!

I tried this for the first time. I was presently surprised. This does deserve 4 stars.

Not unusual for me to experience stuck fermentation when using wine kits. I find that adding a few pounds of fresh grapes and some citrus will help the fermentation process. After the first day I did not see any fermentation, so I added my own starter saved from an earlier batch. Shortly after, the batch started to boil and foam as if it was on a burner. After about three days, it settled and waited another day to transfer the batch to a six gallon carboy. Began to clear naturally so did not add any fining additives, It seems to have a pleasant floral aroma somewhat like Zinfandel. Carménère grapes contain a high level of aroma compounds called pyrazines. Will let it age a bit without oak before tasting and making any final adjustments.

We recently tested and bottled Chilean Carmenere, and the bottles are resting comfortably in our cellar where they will remain. Our test was quite surprising; we expected something "red winey" but experienced something entirely unexpected. Very young yes, but refreshing with distinct flavor of vanilla with a light fruitiness (pear perhaps). We're looking forward to seeing what we get when it finishes out. We labeled 6 of the 30 bottles for differing aging times for "testing"; however, 2 cases will remain in the root cellar for 20 months. This red wine will probably pair nicely with lighter dishes, or enjoyed by itself on summer evenings...