Sunday, I started making my second batch of Chardonnay from Vintner’s Reserver. The first batch of 30 bottles were so successful that I ended up giving much of it away to friends. So… I decided I’d make some more.
As usual, the primary fermentation from a kit is very easy to set up. In a large 6 gallon food-grade bucket, I added the first round of ingredients, including the bentonite, juice, water, and yeast. Of course, we sterilized everything prior to touching the juice.
The starting specific gravity was 1.085, after I added 2 pounds of sugar to the must. It initally came in at 1.070, so the added sugar brought it up to a good beginning SG. The temperature of the juice was exactly 75 degrees F at the start, perfect for activating the wine yeast.
Covered the primary and now wait for the perking to start. Next Sunday, the juice ought to be ready for racking off the lees into a carboy for the second step of the process.