So, you have a passion for Italian wines and wish to make them! What would you say if I told you that you could get your hands on ultra premium Sangiovese grapes that were organically grown in Tuscany? What if these grapes were picked at the optimal time, destemmed, crushed and frozen in 5 gallon pails? That is exactly what you can get from a company named Vino Superiore.
Introducing Vino Superiore – Ultra Premium Wine Grape Must From Italy!
Sangiovese is a popular grape used to make Chianti Wines.
While I am not affiliated with Vino Superiore in any way, I thought that this product is way too cool to keep to myself. I ordered a pail of the Sangiovese grape must and I have to say that I am delighted with it. Please note that this is not a wine kit, but rather actual grapes. As such, a 5 gallon pail will only make a little over 3 gallons of finished wine. So, if you have only made wine kits and want to try your hand and making wine from grapes, this may be a great product to start with.
Vino Superiore partners with Italy’s world renowned vineyards to source some of the finest wine grapes in the world. While the price of a 5 gallon pail may seem a bit high to a kit maker, if you consider what it is you are getting, it is quite remarkable to have this product available.
This is a link to where you can order these grapes. I ordered my pail from Keystone Homebrew Supply and they provided excellent service. However, I would recommend ordering from a supplier who is closest to your geographic location. The folks at Keystone were so awesome, though… They actually called me to make sure that I would be available to receive the grapes at the time they were to be delivered to ensure that I got them at a good time. They were also willing to co-ordinate with me to do so. Very top notch.
Keystone packed my pail of grape must so well. Despite their excellent packing and marking every surface of the package with an arrow stating which end was up, the Fedex driver handed me the package UPSIDE DOWN! Needless to say, I was upset about that, but upon opening the package and seeing how well it was packed by Keystone, I am happy to say that it was protected and arrived safely.
Vino Superiore Sangiovese Grape Pail
It took about two and a half days to completely defrost at which time I transferred the grapes to a mesh bag in a larger primary fermenter. I added some Pectic Enzyme and waited a day before pitching the yeast. I chose to use BM 4X4 yeast for this wine.
 Vino Superiore Sangiovese Grapes being transferred to Primary Fermenter. |
 BM 4X4 Yeast |
While the initial numbers listed on the pail suggested that I may need to make an Acid Adjustment, a representative from the company told me to wait before making that determination until two days into the fermentation, then take measurements. Sure enough, the numbers came into line and only a very small amount of acid was needed.
Vino Superiore Sangiovese Label
After the fermentation was completed, I pressed out the grapes and transferred the wine to a glass carboy. But, not before sneaking a taste! It tastes wonderful, which was a shock to me at this very early stage in the winemaking process. Most of the wines I have made from grapes have not tasted nearly this good right after the Primary Fermentation. I decided to take the grape skins from the pressing, which were still in the mesh bag, and make up a Fontana wine kit. I made the kit to 5 gallons and added the mesh bag with the grape skins to that kit to do a “Second Run” on the skins. Waste not, want not…
Malolactic Culture
The next thing I did with the Sangiovese wine is add a MaloLactic culture to the wine, which is what I did yesterday. This wine is coming along wonderfully. Malolactic fermentation takes time, so look for an update in several weeks. I am so excited about this Sangiovese Wine. Wow! The smell of the wine is intoxicating by itself. I hope to be drinking a bottle of this special wine to celebrate at my daughter’s graduation from college.
