# Must Finally Arrived



## stickman (Oct 31, 2015)

Just got started thawing and preparing 11 pails of must. There are 9 pails of Sonoma Cab and 2 pails of Sonoma Petite Verdot; the Cab has very small berries. They'll be dumped into the vat and co-fermented with DV10 and Lallzyme EX-V. The combined starting numbers are 24.4 brix, TA 6.8g/l, PH 3.36, YAN 80ppm. The must nutrient level is fairly low, so I'll be using Superfood with additional DAP. I sulfited the 45F pails today at 30ppm, so I'll probably get them into the vat tomorrow and turn up the heat and pitch the 2gal yeast starter I made today.


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## stickman (Nov 1, 2015)

By the evening the temperature was up to 55F in the pails, so I added 150ppm Lysozyme, and then added the yeast starter to all of the pails. I'll sleep better knowing it's all set, and I'll dump them in the morning.


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## GreginND (Nov 1, 2015)

I'm curious why you are using lysozyme. Are you worried about lactobacillus at this point? It may delay your MLF.


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## stickman (Nov 1, 2015)

You're correct, I'm trying to minimize lactobacillus growth at this stage, just a little insurance. I've done this several times before without MLF delay, it's a fairly low dose. The enzyme wont be active for long with all of the tannins being released. I'll post a few pictures here shortly once I get the must into the vat.


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## stickman (Nov 1, 2015)

Everything is in the vat and already seeing some activity. Warming it up a bit with warm water on the jacket. I included a shot of the homemade temperature controls, nothing complicated, it just turns on and off a hot water heating element inside the pipe section while water circulates past, it's controlling only the temperature of the water flowing through the kettle jacket. For cooling I just shut off the heat and throw ice into the water bucket and let that circulate through the jacket.


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## GreginND (Nov 1, 2015)

That is a cool vat. Nice setup.


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## sdelli (Nov 1, 2015)

GreginND said:


> I'm curious why you are using lysozyme. Are you worried about lactobacillus at this point? It may delay your MLF.




I don't understand..... Where does it say it has this effect? I have been using it for years and performing successful mlf...

Lallzyme EX-V is an enzyme designed for use on premium red wines that are destined for long aging. Premium reds will benefit from the use of this enzyme tremendously, as it will result in a more structured wine, with deep, stable color.

Lallzyme EX-V is a pectinase with cellulase and hemicellulase side activities for red wines intended for aging. it has a specific action on both grape cell walls and cell membranes. This action allows for a complete and rapid release of anthocyanins and a more efficient release of tannins, leading to stable anthocyanin-tannin bonding. The end result of this bonding is a more structured wine, with a deep stable color that will last throughout its years of aging. Aromatic profile analysis indicates that Lallzyme EX-V increases the release of aromatic compounds while respecting the varietal characteristics of the grape.


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## stickman (Nov 2, 2015)

Different enzyme, we were talking about Lysozyme. It is used for killing certain types of bacteria, I just use it to help clear the slate, this includes all Lactic Acid Bacteria Pediococci, Lactobacilli and Oenococci. Microbes can propagate easily depending on conditions during the thawing of frozen must. I use it once at low dose in the beginning, and again right after the ML is complete.


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## TomK-B (Nov 2, 2015)

Huh. Well, that's why I come here, to learn new things.


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## JohnT (Nov 2, 2015)

Stickman.. 

What a cool vat you have there. Did you make this? If so, can you outline or describe the process?


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## stickman (Nov 2, 2015)

I got lucky and was in the right place at the right time. It's a used commercial jacketed kettle I purchased 10 years ago during the sale of a local business. At the time, there were a few other units available that were too large for my purposes. I built the temperature control and heating unit myself using standard materials, I can describe that if needed. I'll be doing a rack and return and will post a few other pictures soon.


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## stickman (Nov 2, 2015)

Drained all of the free run from the bottom valve and allowed the cap to drip drain for about 15min, then dumped the free run back into the vat. The third shot is what the cap looked like after the free run was drained. Temperature 67F, still 23.9 Brix.


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## ibglowin (Nov 2, 2015)

Nice looking fruit! I know that stuff is not cheap. Any concerns about the starting pH being so low?


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## stickman (Nov 2, 2015)

Not at all, I like the starting PH to be a bit low, it keeps the microbes in check at these early stages, it will rise by the time the skins are extracted of potassium(lots of skin) and the MLF finishes. I wouldn't be surprised if it hits 3.65 by the time it's all over. The Petite Verdot has larger berries, but the Cab was very small, looked more like blue berries. A group of us purchased maybe 50 pails or so, not many options where I live.


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## ibglowin (Nov 2, 2015)

Your lucky they have a freezer in Chicago, looks like that helps somewhat.


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## stickman (Nov 3, 2015)

Yes, that's where our shipment came from.


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## Masbustelo (Nov 3, 2015)

You guys are talking about Chicago. I don't know if you live in Illinois or the Midwest, but ; in Sept-Oct there are many opportunities to obtain or pick your own wine grapes. Both red and white varieties. Higher quality and less money than the frozen buckets.


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## stickman (Nov 3, 2015)

Doing 2 complete drain and returns each day, getting about 35gal free run at this point, brix 15, wine 75F, cap 82F. I hope you don't mind, just posting a few photos for fun.


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## JohnT (Nov 4, 2015)

Don't apologize! If anything, you can apologize for not posting ENOUGH pictures!


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## ibglowin (Nov 4, 2015)

What caught my eye early on was the must looks like whole berries and absolutely no sign of a single stem or leaf like the grapes were sorted and destemed on an optical sorter almost. Did they come that way or did you pick through and remove them all? Very unique setup for sure although draining 35G into buckets and pouring it all back on top twice a day sounds like ALOT of work. I am sure the finished product will be amazing.


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## stickman (Nov 4, 2015)

The grapes came that way, I didn't touch them at all. Peter indicates on his site that he uses a crusher destemmer that is very gentle leaving more intact berries. I know there was a comment about buying grapes elsewhere in Chicago, but I'm sticking with Brehm, I started making wine in 1990 and I've used his must since 1999.

You're right, the drain and return is a fair amount of work, the draining is easy, takes about 15min, but you have to be careful dumping it back in. I could use a pump, but that would be too easy. I'll slow down to just a few pails twice a day once it drops below 3 brix. I usually press when dry .992 which is typically 8 to 10 days after pitching.

This morning the wine was at 12 brix, so I added the remaining third of the nutrients, the cap was 84F, wine 74F. I was curious and did a quick stab with the PH meter and got 3.60, but that number is not reliable, especially when adding nutrients and DAP. The PH swings high after adding DAP, but then drops back down after it is consumed.


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## stickman (Nov 5, 2015)

Brix dropping as expected, about 5 or 6 brix depending on the pail, wine temp 77F, cap 82F, PH 3.52. The weather has been unusually warm here in the mid 70's.


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## stickman (Nov 7, 2015)

The primary is winding down, now roughly 0 brix, wine temp 72F, cap 74F. Probably looking at Sunday or Monday for the press.


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## stickman (Nov 8, 2015)

Pressed today at .993, the skins look like they gave all they could give.


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## JohnT (Nov 10, 2015)

Thank you so much for the pictures! That looks so deep, dark, and delicious! 

I know that you tasted it as it was coming out of the press. It is so easy for a glass to get under that stream... How did it taste???


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## ibglowin (Nov 10, 2015)

Looking good! How much pressed wine did you end up with?


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## NorCal (Nov 10, 2015)

What a great set up. Looks like some gentle handling of the fruit, with nice, clean execution.


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## stickman (Nov 11, 2015)

Thanks guys, of course myself and the neighbor did a little tasting during the press. In the glass it is absolutely black, rich, slightly tannic, and with a minute of swirling you begin to pick up the aroma of the original must. Monday I did the 24hr racking, and the final yield was 38 gallons, 7gal of it was press wine, the PH of the free run was 3.67, and the press wine was 3.72. I may add a bit of acid to drop the PH to 3.5 during the next racking, which will be this evening, and we'll move it to the basement and add the oak staves and the ML culture. I'll post a few more photos maybe this evening.


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## stickman (Nov 11, 2015)

The neighbor came over and we completed the second racking this evening, the wine is now in a flex tank in the basement with 4 French oak staves, 1 fire toast M+, and 3 convection toast M+, ML culture has been added. Here's a few photos; it's difficult to capture the true color under these conditions. It appears in the second shot the camera captured what I was seeing after drinking a couple of glasses....


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## Boatboy24 (Nov 12, 2015)

Looks really nice in the glass already.


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## JohnT (Nov 12, 2015)

That looks simply awesome!


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## stickman (Nov 16, 2015)

Malolactic fermentation is moving along quickly, CH16 at 67F, no nutrients.


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## JohnT (Nov 17, 2015)

This year, I swiched MLB strains to CH16. Got fantastic results! CH16 is my "go to" strain going forward.

Wine is looking great. I bet you can not wait to taste it!


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## Dentman (Nov 19, 2015)

great thread thanks for sharing! without getting too far off topic; can malolactic fermentation occur anytime? In other words if I had 3 carboys from juice buckets in secondary can i add CH16 to achieve MLF? My 2 whites are undergoing MLF on their own but I do not recall the reds doing it. thank you


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## stickman (Nov 19, 2015)

It can occur any time, it sometimes occurs whether you want it or not, it is largely dependent on nutrients and PH as well as so2 content and temperature. Low/no so2, high PH, warm temperature, and lees present, are all positive factors. It is more difficult if the wine has been clarified and in glass with so2. You really need to test for malic to ensure it hasn't already occurred.


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## JohnT (Nov 19, 2015)

Just to put my own slant on this.. 

Most MLB need a low SO2 environment to thrive. Also, many strains can not withstand ABV over, say, 14%. 

So, for many wines, it is a race against time. with some winemakers, MLB is introduced even before yeast fermentation is complete (while ABV is low and SO2 is normally low). 

The strain, CH16, though has a surprising tolerance for alcohol and can survive in environments up to 70ppm of SO2. If your wine has been bulk aging in the glass with SO2 (kmeta), then this is the strain to use.


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## stickman (Nov 23, 2015)

Just a quick update. I added the ML culture on the 11th, it's only been12 days and it has moved rather quickly. I did the first chromatogram, the 5gal carboy is nearly complete, the flextank is not far behind, the other one is a gallon that I left un-inoculated and you can see the difference, I swapped some wine today to get the gallon moving. It won't be long now.


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## stickman (Sep 19, 2016)

Just an update on this wine; I decided to filter, sending the wine to the tank on the rack, in preparation for bottling in the next month or so. I'll have 90 gallons moving through the winery this season and thought it would be best to move this one out. After ML completion, I racked the wine 3 times over the 10 months. The photos are from the filtration I completed last night. I sampled the wine and it is good, good balance of fruit and astringency, it seems like when I taste the wine on its own the oak is less noticeable, but when compared side by side to other wine, I detect the oak immediately. We'll know more after some time in the bottle.


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## sdelli (Sep 19, 2016)

Cannot see the name on that tank.... Can you tell me the name and where you got it?


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## stickman (Sep 20, 2016)

All of the tanks that I have are from Flextank, I started buying them when they first came out, and the early ones didn't come with a decal. You can see there is a spot molded into the side, but I assume they just didn't have the decals on hand at the time.


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