11/12: Temp = 77F, Brix = 11.5.
Taste of must is much less sweet, and highly carbonated. Kind of like a warm, carbonated red punch, but really not quite as good as that. I hope this is how it's supposed to taste....
For fun, here's a shot of Katie hiding out in the wind machine at the vineyard:
11/13: Temp = 77F, Brix = 9.0.
If sugar conversion stalls out, we'll add Champagne yeast and more nutrients. Seems OK at the moment, but we are monitoring this closely.
COMING SOON: Malolactic fermentation ( click here for an explanation.) Once the sugar is down to zero, we will press the must, and move the resulting wine into a secondary fermentation vat. There, we'll convert malic acid to lactic acid, which will make the wine taste really nice. (The easiest place to taste what malolactic fermentation does is a buttery chardonay. Without a second fermentation, there would be no butter flavor, but more fruit. )
THE QUEST FOR FERMENTATION VESSELS: For the malolactic fermetation, we'll need airtight containers. During yeast fermentation, the "cap" of grape skins forms on top of the must, protecting the wine from oxidation. During malolactic, the skins are gone, so we'll use an airlock to protect the wine. Pros use stainless steel vats. I will use food-grade plastic. Hoping to find two 30-gallon barrels, since they are much easier to work with than full 55-gallon drums.
11/14:
Air temp = 77F
Must temp = 77F
Brix = 5.0
We now have malolactic fermentation barrels. 30-gallon barrels proved hard to find, but Questar in Newark CA took care of us. List price was $56 each for open-head, clamp-lid barrels, though in the end they gave them to us for $36 each. If you are in the area, they can be reached at 510-324-1333. Don't get the reconditioned barrels, since they may have contained all sorts of nasty chemicals. The new, blue drums are made out of HDPE, just like 1-gallon milk jugs.
11/15:
Air temp = 78F
Must temp = 78F
Brix = 3.0
Getting close to press time!
11/16:
Air temp = 77F
Must temp = 78F
Brix = 2.0
11/17:
Air temp = 78F
Must temp = 78F
Brix = 1.0
Oak Barrel says we press on Monday!
At current Brix, there is less CO2 offgassing, therefore 2x a day is plenty for punching down. Also, now is tme to make sure anything that touches the wine is sterile (not enough CO2 being produced now. The CO2 is what has been protecting the wine up to now. )
To-do list for Malolactic fermentation:
__ Drill barrel heads for #7 stoppers ( 1.25" diameter holes) for air locks.
__ Prepare to sterilyze barrels.
1 comment:
You are not kidding around. Looks like loads of fun and can't wait to taste it. I have a local wine producer contact in SF if you may need any help. Good luck.
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