# Appassimento



## NCWC (Apr 19, 2017)

Has anyone tried making appassimento style wine from fresh-picked grapes?

This style has become popular in Niagra on the Lake region in Canada. The wineries using it are making outstanding reds.

I live in the Cleveland Oh area and we have a large wine area east of Cleveland,
Geneva on the Lake. Some of the wine being produced there are pretty good. Some of the whites are excellent 

I was thinking of making a 30 gal barrel appassimento style or a Cab Franc 

I've read about doing it just wonder if anyone has tried it and the pro's and con's

Thanks


----------



## NCWC (Apr 25, 2017)

From the looks of it, no one has tried this style.


----------



## Boatboy24 (Apr 25, 2017)

I faked it with a Valpolicella juice bucket a few years ago by putting raisins in secondary. Worked OK, but not great.


----------



## NCWC (Aug 14, 2017)

Trying to restart this thread 
I will be making appassimento style wine like they do in Ontario Canada this fall. We will be using Cab Franc or Merlot. I had a bottle of Angles Gate Cab Franc 2014 Appassiemtno last night and it was very very good. 

Plan on using EC1118 yeast I would like to make 30 gal so I will start with about 1000 lbs of grapes


----------



## Boatboy24 (Aug 14, 2017)

How will you be drying your grapes? And can you share more specifics about your plan?


----------



## pgentile (Aug 14, 2017)

Curious on the drying method as well. Especially for a 1000 lbs. Here is a link with a photo of a "fruttaio". http://www.tommasiwine.it/en/the-appassimento/

Going to need a large drying space and it takes 3 months to dry. But the link is a winery in Italy, is it done different in Canada?


----------



## NCWC (Aug 14, 2017)

I have access to a barn with a hay loft
We saved the plastic bins from the Chilean wine from the spring. We plan to put about 10lb per plastic box we have over 100 of them

I read to place the grape bunches all one direction and cull out damaged fruit.

We will also have a fan blowing air across the grapes and inspect every few days for any rot or mold. 10-15 % botrytis is ok. Drying time about 20-60 days. Our goal is 26 Brix


----------



## Bartman (Sep 18, 2017)

So what benefit does this method have, other than concentrating the flavor/sugar/tannins? That should be enough, but is there anything else beyond that? Seems like a lot of work unless it creates a substantially better wine. Is this a necessary chore if the grapevines received a late rain that swelled the berries?


----------



## GreenEnvy22 (Sep 18, 2017)

I live in Niagara and I didn't know people around here do that drying method.
We certainly do lots of ice wine, but with that the grapes are left on the vine until its quite cold. then picked in the cold, crushed in the cold, and pressed in the cold.
My friends and cousins can't take winter vacations until harvest. Sometimes they get lucky and we get a few days in a row where temp doesn't rise above -10C, but sometimes it's not until March.


----------



## WeimarWine (Sep 18, 2017)

NCWC said:


> Has anyone tried making appassimento style wine from fresh-picked grapes?



NCWC, I posted yesterday under this forum about Vin Santo style dessert wine. We went from 19 Brix to 25 Brix in 4 weeks drying whole clusters in slotted harvest lugs and slotted harvest trays. Drying was inside my winery at about 60 to 69 degrees. Air was constantly blowing on the grapes from our AC and from 2 box fans.

WeimarWine


----------



## NCWC (Sep 19, 2017)

We have quite a few lugs from last spring grapes to dry the grapes in. WE will have a constant fan on them and will monitor for mold and Brix, we will hand place each bunch in the lugs. The point of the whole process is to make a higher Brix and higher intensity wine from grapes grown in a cold region like Cleveland Ohio area. The wine made this style up in Niagara of Canada are outstanding, price point is 30-40 a+ a bottle and worth it. I am leaning towards a 75 Cab Franc 25 Merlot blend


----------



## phasee (Sep 19, 2017)

GreenEnvy22 said:


> I live in Niagara and I didn't know people around here do that drying method.



Colaneri winery makes all of their wine in an appassimento style. Pretty good wines, little bit pricier, but I suppose that is down to lower yields with drying the grapes.

Good luck @NCWC with your appassimento!


----------



## jburtner (Sep 19, 2017)

I have done this with an amarone bucket and some extra raisins. Have not dried my own grapes for this but would be cool! I love a good amarone and mine isn't ready for bottle yet but planning to bottle next spring.

Cheers!
-johann


----------



## sour_grapes (Sep 19, 2017)

Bartman said:


> So what benefit does this method have, other than concentrating the flavor/sugar/tannins? That should be enough, but is there anything else beyond that? Seems like a lot of work unless it creates a substantially better wine. Is this a necessary chore if the grapevines received a late rain that swelled the berries?



The best wine I have ever had, bar none, was an Amarone. Granted, it was an expensive bottle, but, _dayummm_...


----------



## NCWC (Sep 20, 2017)

I agree Amarone is fantastic, THis is not Amarone but appassimento style of wine we will try to make. My main concern will be how the grapes will hold up drying. After we lay them out to dry I was going to spray them with an SO2 solution


----------



## WeimarWine (Sep 21, 2017)

Good luck with your Appassimento wine project. I am very interested in how it works out for you. Please keep us updated along the way.

WeimarWine


----------



## NCWC (Sep 26, 2017)

Well over the last few weeks the weather here has been Fantastic for grapes
90 during the day 60 at night. We may have gone from a pretty good year to a fantastic year
Very little rain so the grapes are stressed.

The idea behind the appassimento was to make wine from low Brix grapes which is what we get around here 20-22 Brix. I'm hearing reports of 24+ so we may S-Can this year


----------



## NCWC (Oct 7, 2017)

Did you SO2 the grapes in anyway. Like spray them 1st with a SO2 solution or dip the clusters in a bucket of SO2 water?


----------



## NCWC (Oct 7, 2017)

Got the grapes for appasimento yesterday. They look beautiful no apparent rot or mold


----------



## WeimarWine (Oct 7, 2017)

Yes, I mixed some metabisulfite in water and used a spray bottle to mist the grape clusters every couple of days.

WeimarWine


----------



## NCWC (Oct 8, 2017)

https://www.facebook.com/northcoastwineclub/
Here is a link to our facbookpage for The Appasimento Project updates

The Brix we a hair either side of 22 pH 3.3 T/A 5.0
Will test every week looking for brix 26 not sure what the pH and T/A will do
Will keep reporting


----------



## NCWC (Oct 19, 2017)

Update the brix were near 24 we are shooting for 25
Getting some "noble rot" coming along very nice
been almost 2 weeks 
So about another few weeks


----------



## NCWC (Oct 30, 2017)

We crushed and de-stemmed the Appassimento. The brix are in the 27-28 range it was 39 degrees. pH 3.4 I didn't do a T/A yet original was 5.0 5.5 range
Taste like a very rich full cherry, very flavorful. The issue now is, do I ferment this out at 27-28 Brix. I hate to water it down that defeats the purpose of the drying
But I may have to. WE yielded 96 gal of must from 1153 original lbs of grapes I feel we lost about 1/3 of the weight, we should end up with close to 60 gal. of wine


----------



## Johnd (Oct 30, 2017)

NCWC said:


> We crushed and de-stemmed the Appassimento. The brix are in the 27-28 range it was 39 degrees. pH 3.4 I didn't do a T/A yet original was 5.0 5.5 range
> Taste like a very rich full cherry, very flavorful. The issue now is, do I ferment this out at 27-28 Brix. I hate to water it down that defeats the purpose of the drying
> But I may have to. WE yielded 96 gal of must from 1153 original lbs of grapes I feel we lost about 1/3 of the weight, we should end up with close to 60 gal. of wine



That BRIX , 27-28, will get you an Amarone with ABV right in line with the range of that style of wine (which I happen to love). To add water after working to concentrate the sugars and flavors befuddles me, but I’ve never done it myself, is there more to consider?


----------



## NCWC (Oct 30, 2017)

I don't want to add water but I don't want to get a stuck fermentation and high a high ABV


----------



## Ajmassa (Oct 30, 2017)

Sounds like you're right on target to me. After a recent discussion about Amarone I did a little bit of reading. Just going from my limited prior knowledge and what I recently read your numbers sound essentially perfect. I would assume winemakers implementing the appasimmento method would use a very specific yeast to tolerate the high abv. I wonder how accessible those high abv yeasts are though. (other than the general universal high abv type)

Quoted from http://winefolly.com/review/why-amarone-wine-is-worth-the-price/

"During the roughly 120 days that this occurs, the grapes will lose 30-40% of their weight. The result is intense concentration and a very high sugar content, which in turn translates into 15% or higher alcohol levels. It also demands a premium price. You can do the math yourself: a hell of a lot more fruit goes into a bottle of Amarone than a bottle of Valpolicella. The drying process demands an investment of time and space on behalf of the winery."


----------



## Johnd (Oct 30, 2017)

Some of the finest Amarone's out there have ABV's in the 16%-17.5% range. As for stuck fermentations, select a proper yeast, maintain proper nutrient protocol, temps, etc., and you will be able to gobble through the sugar to produce what you have set out to produce, a higher ABV wine, heavy bodied, and loaded with very ripe black fruits. 

You concentrated the grapes by drying in order to increase the ABV, and flavor / aroma compounds, to add water at this point in time would, IMHO, be bailing out on what you set out to create, but that'll have to be your decision as the winemaker.


----------



## NCWC (Oct 30, 2017)

I have the yeast down. It will just come down to diligence in watching the fermentation and balancing the pH TA and RS
I am up for the job

I wish I could teleport the flavor of the juice just amazing


----------



## Johnd (Oct 30, 2017)

NCWC said:


> I wish I could teleport the flavor of the juice just amazing



You can always freeze and ship me a couple of buckets, that way you'll have something to compare to in the end.............LOL! 

Good luck, I'd love to give this a shot one day and have been following your posts closely!


----------



## WeimarWine (Oct 30, 2017)

NCWC, 

Thanks for the update on your Apassimento wine. I'm excited about your project and can't wait to hear about the finished wine.

WeimarWine


----------



## Ajmassa (Oct 30, 2017)

I just want to reiterate what others have said. This appasimmento project is cool as hell and you've got a fun Facebook page too with tons of pictures and videos. Sounds like a very welcoming and interesting wine club up there. 
I only know of 1 club near me and we happen to share the same grape supplier. But they are not the most welcoming group. They're secretive and to join it's almost like you gotta be Italian and already part of their cliche. So I can't even find out how to get 'made' even if I wanted to. 
It's ok though. I've seen some pics from their crush and could point out about a dozen different things I would have disagreed with anyway. (<--Sour grapes ya think!? wahahahaha)
So Keep the updates coming! And keep planting that appasimmento seed in the heads of everyone following along.


----------



## NCWC (Oct 31, 2017)

We do have a fun club, we have great members from all walks of life with one thing in common, Love Wine.

The Numbers on the Appassimento after crush and at 64 degrees pH 3.65 T/A 7.6 Brix 28.5 SG 1.122
Original was pH 3.30 T/A 5 Brix 22. I'm a little surprised at the acid but it makes sense.
The grapes were dried for 25 days 50% Cab Sav 25% Cab Fran 25% Melot

After digging and investigating I will ferment at the full brix this will be a challenge. The ABV should be around 16


----------



## NCWC (Nov 6, 2017)

Pitched Yeast 11-1-17 SG 1.112 yesterday already down to 1.043
Sheesh!


----------



## Johnd (Nov 6, 2017)

NCWC said:


> Pitched Yeast 11-1-17 SG 1.112 yesterday already down to 1.043
> Sheesh!



What yeast did you end up using ?


----------



## NCWC (Nov 6, 2017)

R2 very aggressive


----------



## Johnd (Nov 6, 2017)

NCWC said:


> R2 very aggressive



Never used that one before, according to the literature:

"R2 was isolated in the Sauternes region of Bordeaux by Brian Croser of South Australia. In addition to enhancing esters and mouthfeel, it has excellent cold temperature properties and will ferment as low as 50 degrees F, making it ideal for Icewine production. However, if it does not get proper nutrients it can tend to produce VA and H2S. For this reason, hydration with GO-FERM and the addition of Fermaid K is definitely recommended to optimize its' potential. R2 helps produce intense, direct fruit style whites by liberation of fruity and floral fermentative aromas. R2 also helps to enhance the varietal chacter by an enzymatic release of bound aroma precursors. It is recommended for aromatic white varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Vidal, and Seyval. It is classified asEnhances the varietal chacter by enzymatic release of bound aroma precursors. Perfect for aromatic whites like Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blanc, Vidal, and Seyval. Ferments down to 50F. Ideal for Icewine. 1g per gallon.a Saccharomyces cerevisiae bayanus. Best results from 50 to 86 degrees F, with an alcohol tolerance to 16%."

Never done this style wine, so I don't know a lot about producing it, any particular reason you selected R2 as opposed to a more red wine geared yeast like RC212 or BM 4x4?


----------



## NCWC (Nov 6, 2017)

The appassimento is prone to high VA with regular red wine yeast, this yeast and other Bayanas strains produce 30% less VA
Also this will be a high ABV 15-17 range it is also about 55-60 degrees in the winery now
I have dumped nutrients into it almost every other day the Must temp is 78 ambient 55-60
So it is vigorous


----------



## NCWC (Nov 14, 2017)

Pressed the Appasimento last Sat the 11th. We got 58 gal out of it. Started with 1153 lbs so we lost about 30%
the pH 3.65 TA 7.6 started MLF may drop the TA a bit all and all very rich dark color and very nice flavor
Didn't check the alcohol level yet with my new toy


----------



## NCWC (Nov 22, 2017)

Appassimento in full scale MLF right now


----------



## NCWC (Dec 14, 2017)

Update
Did a CuSo bench trial added 40 mL of 10% CuSo to 60 gal. Really opened it up
Still in ML after about 6 weeks (the room is 55-60 degrees) taste great going into barrel 
New french oak in about a week


----------



## NCWC (Aug 18, 2018)

Appassimento in a barrel for 8 months now ABV 16.3% PH 3.75 TA 5.8 taste fantastic smoothing out nicely


----------



## Ajmassa (Aug 18, 2018)

NCWC said:


> Appassimento in a barrel for 8 months now ABV 16.3% PH 3.75 TA 5.8 taste fantastic smoothing out nicely



That’s awesome man! I’m glad this has been a success. Seems like a realistic option to maybe try it at some point. 
2 questions. 
1. How was the new abv tool? Looks expensive. And like you got it from a museum. Lol Ebulliomteter correct?
2. And what type of barrel did you go with?


----------



## NCWC (Aug 18, 2018)

Got the Ebulliometer in an auction for about $300
Cadus Barrel French re-coup $400


----------



## NCWC (Sep 26, 2018)

Appassimento II
We got 1000 lbs Pinot Noir from Kingsville near Grand River Valley OH
Brix 20.5 pH 3.31 didn't do TA yet. Would like to get the brix over 23 and push 24. I like a bolder Pinot
like Russian River CA, Willamette Valley is nice but I always go back to the River.
He is a pic of the drying tower we made.


----------



## NCWC (Sep 29, 2018)

Checked the brix Friday already at 22.2 brix ta is 7.2 may be ready by Tue Wed


----------



## Y_No (Sep 29, 2018)

NCWC said:


> Checked the brix Friday already at 22.2 brix ta is 7.2 may be ready by Tue Wed


Checked out your "_fruttai" - very cool _and inspiring. I think we'll go out and buy some Amarone della Valpolicella today - maybe I'll be able to make some in the future.


----------



## NCWC (Dec 27, 2020)

I haven't posted for a bit. The 2017 Appassiemto was bottled in 2019 it was awesome and now all gone it was a touch 'hot'. We made a 2018 Appassiento that we bottled about a month ago, so almost 2 years in the barrel, three barrels worth. It is fantastic we entered it in the San Fransico contest. We also made a 2018 Pinot Noir 50/50 Appassimento. We also placed it in the San Fran contest. I will keep you posted as to how they fared. We currently have three barrels of 2019 & 2020 in barrels. The 2020 looks like it might be the best so far. Just for kicks, I did an appassimento Pinot Noir, then did a carbonic maceration, then a wild fermentation. Small batch only 23 gals. Going to keep it in stainless. Very Very interesting the nose is very fruity tastes rich has to mellow out though a bit harsh right now. All of the above are grapes from the Grand River Valley Oh GRV


----------



## NCWC (Oct 23, 2022)

Update
2018 Pinot Noir 50/50 Appassimento won bronze in the San Francisco contest. Our 2019 won Silver in the San Fransico contest.
I think 2020 will bring gold; I should know by Feb 2023.

We made separate barrels of Merlot, Cab Franc, and Cab Sauv, each appassimento from the Grand River Valley grapes in Fall 2021. They all came out great, especially the Cab Sauv. 

For 2022 we couldn't find any grapes from GRV as a frost in the spring wiped out 40% of the grapes.

I have offered to teach and share my knowledge on making appassimento wine from our cool climate grapes with other wineries in the area, but no one has taken me up on the offer.


----------



## David Violante (Oct 23, 2022)

Congratulations! This was a fun read and very interesting process… thank you for sharing!


----------



## justsgm (Oct 28, 2022)

Congrats. You really know what your doing. I hope you win the Gold.


----------



## Ajmassa (Oct 28, 2022)

Love this thread. I set notifications on this thread back in 2017 and kept up with all your updates. A helluva first timer appassimento experiment on a large scale and I love the ‘screw it go big/go home’ attitude. 

Congrats on the quality wines and the well earned ribbons. Hey btw, are you still using that ebuiliometer abv toy/antique?


----------



## NCWC (Oct 29, 2022)

Ajmassa said:


> Love this thread. I set notifications on this thread back in 2017 and kept up with all your updates. A helluva first timer appassimento experiment on a large scale and I love the ‘screw it go big/go home’ attitude.
> 
> Congrats on the quality wines and the well earned ribbons. Hey btw, are you still using that ebuiliometer abv toy/antique?


----------



## NCWC (Oct 29, 2022)

A few times, it is a PITA to use


----------

