# CA juice pails, what do you do with them.



## 19taylorave (Oct 8, 2010)

Just got juice pails from Lodi CA. Just curious what forum members do with these. More specifically does anyone oak these or add any flavor of any kind.

I got Merlot, Cabernet savignon, old vine zin and sangiovese.

Any tips on making the best of fresh juice would be appreciated


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## ellijaywinemaker (Oct 10, 2010)

19taylorave said:


> Just got juice pails from Lodi CA. Just curious what forum members do with these. More specifically does anyone oak these or add any flavor of any kind.
> 
> I got Merlot, Cabernet savignon, old vine zin and sangiovese.
> 
> Any tips on making the best of fresh juice would be appreciated



adjust thhe TA and PH check the the sg add suger if you want more alc and pitch the yeast. You can oak that is intiraly up to your taste...


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## 19taylorave (Oct 10, 2010)

ellijaywinemaker said:


> adjust thhe TA and PH check the the sg add suger if you want more alc and pitch the yeast. You can oak that is intiraly up to your taste...



Thank you for responding, when is the best time to oak? now or toward the finish?


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## Wade E (Oct 10, 2010)

As said above somethings may need adjusting but some just let it go as is and add yeast. Not adviseable by me as incorrect pf and ta could lead to very unstable wine but thats up to you. Oak is a personal matter on each wine.


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## Wade E (Oct 10, 2010)

As far as oak goes that depends pn what type of oak you get. Staves, spirals, and cubes are usually used during aging while powder and chips are used mostly in primary as they have much more surface area meaning they will give off their flavor much faster.


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## 19taylorave (Oct 10, 2010)

Wade E said:


> As far as oak goes that depends pn what type of oak you get. Staves, spirals, and cubes are usually used during aging while powder and chips are used mostly in primary as they have much more surface area meaning they will give off their flavor much faster.



So I have some time with the oak, good.

i'll get the test kit(s?) for ta and ph tomorrow an post results. 

Another dumb question..when wine is descibed, for example, as having "a hint of chocolate and black currant..."etc., I'm assuming these are flavors used to describe the wine and generally not actually something that's been added... right?

Thank you


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## Wade E (Oct 10, 2010)

Correct, they are like hidden flavors in the wine itself depending on the type of grape used and also from what grows around the grapes on the land as the vines will pull in flavors from the earth. I have a vineyard not far from me that grows Cayuga(White grapes) right next to their green apple trees and the flavors pulled in can easily be tasted in the end result.


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## 19taylorave (Oct 10, 2010)

Wade E said:


> Correct, they are like hidden flavors in the wine itself depending on the type of grape used and also from what grows around the grapes on the land as the vines will pull in flavors from the earth. I have a vineyard not far from me that grows Cayuga(White grapes) right next to their green apple trees and the flavors pulled in can easily be tasted in the end result.




Thank you 
I guess I don't know what I don't know yet...but it gets more and more interesting as I go.

So with the juice, you can change the outcome with the type of yeast (don't know enough yet to even talk about it), you can control the chemistry(?), ta and ph, you can effect the alcohol content by adding sugar or not, you can monitor the temp where the aging takes place, and you can add oak for desired flavor. Is that about it? For someone at my stage of the game I mean.


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## Wade E (Oct 10, 2010)

Yep different yeasts will bring out different aspects to a degree of course. Different types of wine will do better with higher abv's while fruits like apple or raspberry are better lower. If you can afford one I would suggest getting a ph meter instead of all the paper tests as they can be very inaccurate. A hydrometer is a must and very cheap.


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## rodo (Oct 10, 2010)

I just started two batches from this same company.
12 gallons of Muscat which had a high SG 1.09 and also needed a bit of acid blend.
And 12 gallons of white Zinfandel that had a low SG of 1.065 but the acid and ph were OK.
Neither had been treated with Meta.

From what I have seen you are getting the juice just as it was pressed.


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## 19taylorave (Oct 10, 2010)

Wade E said:


> Yep different yeasts will bring out different aspects to a degree of course. Different types of wine will do better with higher abv's while fruits like apple or raspberry are better lower. If you can afford one I would suggest getting a ph meter instead of all the paper tests as they can be very inaccurate. A hydrometer is a must and very cheap.



Have a hydometer, I understand measuring specific gravity.
What is ta?


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## rodo (Oct 10, 2010)

Total acidity you will need a test kit for that.


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## 19taylorave (Oct 10, 2010)

rodo said:


> Total acidity you will need a test kit for that.



thank you

I guess the next question is, what should the ph and acid readings be?

I apreciate the help.


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## Wade E (Oct 10, 2010)

You can test the ph and TA more accurately with a digital ph meter if you can afford one. Ph should be between 3.4-3.6 and ta should be between .55 -.77. With grape wines you really should only use Tartaric acid and in adjusting the ta up will lower the pf down some. Dont go crazy doing so and ask here before adjusting please. We will be glad to help you.


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## rodo (Oct 10, 2010)

In addition to what Wade said here is a link to a short book that you can read or print out about red wines.

http://morebeer.com/public/pdf/wredw.pdf


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