# Nebbiolo



## smcalli1 (Mar 17, 2013)

Has anyone made a wine with Nebbiolo grapes that was successful? I understand that the grapes are high in acidity and tannins. M&M is selling a 27 liter bucket of destemmed grapes and I was considering getting some to try it out. (This time I'll know to crush before fermenting. :-(. )


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## deboard (Mar 18, 2013)

Nebbiolo is the grape that makes Barolo. I haven't made a barolo from grapes, but I've made a kit that is really good, so I know a good wine can be made from nebbiolo. The trick will be balancing the acid, and probably some patience to let it age. I'd wait until after fermentation to balance acid if I were you. 

The M&M grape bucket I had was already crushed, I just added yeast after it thawed out. Unless that has changed, but usually crushing and destemming are one process. But you'll need to press the wine after it's done fermenting to get the most wine out of it. I lost some during that step since I didn't have a press. (Tried to do it by hand, partially succeeded)


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## smcalli1 (Mar 18, 2013)

deboard said:


> Nebbiolo is the grape that makes Barolo. I haven't made a barolo from grapes, but I've made a kit that is really good, so I know a good wine can be made from nebbiolo. The trick will be balancing the acid, and probably some patience to let it age. I'd wait until after fermentation to balance acid if I were you.
> 
> The M&M grape bucket I had was already crushed, I just added yeast after it thawed out. Unless that has changed, but usually crushing and destemming are one process. But you'll need to press the wine after it's done fermenting to get the most wine out of it. I lost some during that step since I didn't have a press. (Tried to do it by hand, partially succeeded)



Thanks. I've done the M&M Sangiovese and the grapes weren't crushed all that well and I didn't get very good color extraction. The result was a rather thinly colored (and tasting) wine that isn't common for a Sangiovese wine. I'll have to ask when or if I order if the Nebbiolo grapes have been crushed.


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## deboard (Mar 18, 2013)

I did a Syrah, and it turned out very nice, after a couple years aging anyways. I did add pectic enzyme to the bucket to help with color extraction though.


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## smcalli1 (Mar 18, 2013)

deboard said:


> I did a Syrah, and it turned out very nice, after a couple years aging anyways. I did add pectic enzyme to the bucket to help with color extraction though.



I did the pectic enzyme as well and still ended with a thin wine. It looks like a dark rose or a light red. I actually blended it with a Cabernet juice which didn't help the depth of color either. It still has pretty good flavor, though the body tends to be a little light. That's why I was thinking that a crush or a better crush would have produced a better wine.


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## deboard (Mar 18, 2013)

I don't think it would hurt to crush it some more, especially if it needs it. Hopefully it turns out better this time.


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## wineman2013 (Mar 20, 2013)

Crushing has little to do with getting good colour extraction.
You can get good colour from whole berry ferments, go out and buy some high end Oregon Pinot noir and drink it , great color from a pale grape that crushing is minimized on.

Getting the ferment good and warm ir above 85 for 24 hours , if you can't do this heat spike just ferment as warm as you can. This is very important.
Using a proper enological enzyme and not pectin enzyme ( which is for fruit wines not grapes) enological enzymes target the skins cellulose and allow the pigment to come out . Pectin enzymes work best on the flesh of stone fruit and apples. There is very little pectin in grapes. 
Using some oak powder or tannin in the primary , this will bind with and stabilize the sangioveses tannins and color.
Using an SIY product like booster rouge or optired .this also stabilizes colour.

These are all important tricks to get good color from a notoriously weak colored grape like Sangiovese. 

Some amount of whole berry in a must is a good thing , this gives you great fruit forward flavors. My crusher is intentionally set with wide rollers so I get lots of whole berries. 

Sound winemaking technique is critical . You could pulp the grapes to mush and still not get stable color. It's not m&m 's fault , they aren't the winemaker.


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## smcalli1 (Mar 20, 2013)

wineman2013 said:


> Crushing has little to do with getting good colour extraction.
> You can get good colour from whole berry ferments, go out and buy some high end Oregon Pinot noir and drink it , great color from a pale grape that crushing is minimized on.
> 
> Getting the ferment good and warm ir above 85 for 24 hours , if you can't do this heat spike just ferment as warm as you can. This is very important.
> ...



Excellent post Wineman. Just goes to show that I have a lot to learn about this. By the way, I didn't mean to suggest that it was M&M's fault. As the winemaker, I did expect it was my fault, which is why I'm looking for a crusher. I may be changing that pursuit now.


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