# How can I darken my Red Wine



## Dcdeangelo (Sep 27, 2016)

Hi, I am in the process of making a Cabernet from grapes. My primary is complete but the wine is a bright red rather than dark red or purple. Skins were in contact for 8 days and were punched down 3 times a day. Is there anyway to make it darker?... thanks


----------



## mennyg19 (Sep 28, 2016)

Dcdeangelo said:


> Hi, I am in the process of making a Cabernet from grapes. My primary is complete but the wine is a bright red rather than dark red or purple. Skins were in contact for 8 days and were punched down 3 times a day. Is there anyway to make it darker?... thanks




Is it bright red after stirring or before? Usually the sediment will make the wine look brighter/lighter red than it really is. I suggest you wait a few days for it to settle and see how dark it is... good luck!


----------



## jgmann67 (Sep 28, 2016)

Dcdeangelo said:


> Hi, I am in the process of making a Cabernet from grapes. My primary is complete but the wine is a bright red rather than dark red or purple. Skins were in contact for 8 days and were punched down 3 times a day. Is there anyway to make it darker?... thanks




Did you use an enzyme to break down the skins or a tannin to extract the color from the skins? Most folks here will recommend lallzyme-ex and opti red in the primary. This is my first wine-from-grapes experience, so I'm no expert. But, if you've added as suggested, and gotten your wine above 75-80* during your ferment, I think you've done all you can. 

I'd you haven't done the additions, I wonder if it would do you any good 8 days in, when you should be pressing.


----------



## pebbles2015 (Sep 28, 2016)

I am by far no expert, having NEVER made wine directly from grapes, but I have heard of people putting a small amount of petit syrah in their wines to make it more red. I've also heard about something called mega-purple which the cheap commercial wine makers use to increase the color in their wine. Of course, you may consider this cheating, or even evil. Shrug.


----------



## Dcdeangelo (Sep 28, 2016)

jgmann67 said:


> Did you use an enzyme to break down the skins or a tannin to extract the color from the skins? Most folks here will recommend lallzyme-ex and opti red in the primary. This is my first wine-from-grapes experience, so I'm no expert. But, if you've added as suggested, and gotten your wine above 75-80* during your ferment, I think you've done all you can.
> 
> I'd you haven't done the additions, I wonder if it would do you any good 8 days in, when you should be pressing.



I did add pectic enzyme at the beginning of primary. I was probably at 70-73 degrees and never made it to 75-80 so maybe that's why. I've already pressed and am seeing the lighter color. It looks fine I was just hoping for a darker wine...thanks for the reply


----------



## Boatboy24 (Sep 28, 2016)

Like @pebbles2015 said, add a darker wine or look into Mega Purple. I'm not even sure if Mega purple is available to us 'little guys'. 

One thing to note: even though you've pressed, there are a lot of solids in your wine and that will lighten the color. 24-48 hours after press, you should rack off the gross lees. Another 24-48 hours from there, and the wine should be looking darker (though it will continue to darken a little more as the last of the solids fall out).

Edit: I found some. But it ain't cheap. 

http://thevintnervault.com/index.php?p=view_product&product_id=4177


----------



## jgmann67 (Sep 28, 2016)

As others have said - your wine will darken as the solids settle out. Personally, I wouldn't mess with the wine before it's clear. I did that with an WE Enigma kit and was not happy with the results.


----------



## orto (Sep 28, 2016)

If after it's done you still can't live with the color. there is this stuff, its made from grape skins, thats all I know about it, I just saw it while browsing this site.
http://www.keystonehomebrew.com/shop/red-wine-coloring-2-oz.html


----------



## Spikedlemon (Sep 28, 2016)

pebbles2015 said:


> I have heard of people putting a small amount of petit syrah in their wines to make it more red.



Blending in a very dark wine would add color.
Touriga Nacional is another that's very dark and easy to find in a wine store.


----------



## garymc (Sep 28, 2016)

The yeast still floating around will give a milky appearance, but when it settles, and the wine clears it should be darker. In a week or two or three. After transferring to the carboy from the bucket, I usually rack after 2 or 3 weeks, then get on a schedule of racking every 3 months with the addition of potassium metabisulfite (K-meta for short) at each racking.


----------



## Turock (Sep 28, 2016)

Use grape skin extract--it only adds color,no flavor


----------

