‘20 Spring wines (w/ crush pics)

[Ajmassa]

@PSlattery my notes for the Chilean Petite Verdot grapes, crushed 72lbs and tested a couple hours later.

ph meter #1- 3.93
Ph meter #2- 3.7
21 Brix
(did not test TA. And made pre-AF adjustments after blending with the other juice)

 

[Ajmassa]

All 3 fermentations went fantastic! Malbec, CS w/ PV & CF w/ PV—Healthy and complete with amazing color extraction. (I wussed out with the frozen water jugs btw)
Rosé still going at a nice slow & steady pace and is creamy pink. Its currently 1.014 finishing day 9 since pitching yeast.

I still gotta go thru all the pics from the week but in the meantime here’s the final haul after pressing and now awaiting the gross lees to drop out:

400lbs of Malbec yielded
26gal Malbec (got ~20gal free run)
7.5gal Malbec Rosé
[33.5gal from 400lbs is crazy I thought. Did not anticipate to yield that much]

Separately fermented Cab Sauv & Cab Franc buckets- w/ 72lbs Petite Verdot & 3gal worth of pressed Malbec skins from the rosé- all split between the 2
20gal total (~8gal free run each)

*Still separate apart from ~2gal of mixed press. I’ll likely blend them when adding to the 50L barrel. I’d like to keep as much unblended as I can just to have more variety of wines.

 

[PSlattery]

@PSlattery my notes for the Chilean Petite Verdot grapes, crushed 72lbs and tested a couple hours later.

ph meter #1- 3.93
Ph meter #2- 3.7
21 Brix
(did not test TA. And made pre-AF adjustments after blending with the other juice)

Thank you so much I’m looking forward to it coming in next week. My Cabernet had a great primary fermentation. The temps maintained a constant 71 deg with it getting up to 73 deg for the last two days. I rechecked my ph on one of the batches and the ph was 3.3 and the TA came up to 7.6. I did the same procedure as before but I microwave the sample and put it under vacuum prior to the test. I doubt the malo took because the ph didn’t change. I also had a high SO2 reading and will only add 35ppm SO2 going forward after crush.

 

[Ajmassa]

I doubt the malo took because the ph didn’t change. I also had a high SO2 reading and will only add 35ppm SO2 going forward after crush.

theres some crazy chemistry goin on during AF & MLF. I really don’t even check acid again until after MLf. I wouldn’t be surprised if your malo did take despite the so2, but only one way to know for sure.
Our spring lugs ship with those So2 pads and possibly even kept in a so2 gas filled unit on the way. Between that and the healthy condition ya probably could get away with adding none they say. Normally I don’t add but started to last couple batches to halt the native yeast. The more $ I spend the less risk I wanna take!

 

[Ajmassa]

Some pics

 

[Ajmassa]

 

[Chuck E]

Outstanding!

 

[Boatboy24]

Good stuff! And you're right - 33+ gallons is a great yield. I'd have expected 28-30.

 

[Ajmassa]

Those nylon bags in the press were the result of trying to cut corners unsuccessfully. After pressing the Malbec and then cleaning I was trying to avoid a whole other press cycle. I have to admit I kinda hate pressing. It’s a lot of work & cleaning for one guy with little payoff—especially when using that racking cane filter and getting max free run pumped out.
Figured since there wasn’t tons from the CS and CF primaries maybe I could avoid filling the press again. But those bags filled more than I anticipated and squeezing by hand or bucket-inside-bucket style was not gonna get it done. Ended up loading them both into the press together and got another few gallons of wine. Live and learn.

 

[Mario Dinis]

Great pictures, thanks for posting.

 

[Mario Dinis]

Do you make grappa with that pommace?

 

[Ajmassa]

Do you make grappa with that pommace?

I saw some guys posting about using it to boost their soil in their backyard gardens. (I assume from the nitrogen). I tried that once. Smelled so bad and it was right up near the house. I just toss em now.

why, you want them?

 

[Mario Dinis]

I saw some guys posting about using it to boost their soil in their backyard gardens. (I assume from the nitrogen). I tried that once. Smelled so bad and it was right up near the house. I just toss em now.

why, you want them?

No thanks, I was only curious.

 

[Ajmassa]

No thanks, I was only curious.

I don’t even know what grappa is tbh. I mean, I heard of it. I know it’s within the home fermenting world. But that’s it

 

[Mario Dinis]

I don’t even know what grappa is tbh. I mean, I heard of it. I know it’s within the home fermenting world. But that’s it

In Italy it's called Grappa, in Portugal Aguardente. It's distilled from the pommace. Pretty strong, but tastes and smells beautifully. Everything is used during winemaking. LOL

 

[Mario Dinis]

I saw some guys posting about using it to boost their soil in their backyard gardens. (I assume from the nitrogen). I tried that once. Smelled so bad and it was right up near the house. I just toss em now.

why, you want them?

If I had the equipment to distill it, i'd gladly would take it off your hands.

 

[mainshipfred]

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A lot of work I'm sure. I inherited two 54 liter demijohns but as light as they are I'm afraid to use them. I'm sure people have been using them for years and they are fine it just scares me a little. BTW, nice job on the pressing blocks.

 

[Ajmassa]

A lot of work I'm sure. I inherited two 54 liter demijohns but as light as they are I'm afraid to use them. I'm sure people have been using them for years and they are fine it just scares me a little. BTW, nice job on the pressing blocks.

Thanks though I never did get to doubling them up like I wanted. And I pressed the hell out of those grapes too. More than I have before. Also fluffed up the Malbec and went for another crank getting another 1.5gal I think it was.

I know they say your not supposed to go hard... but I did anyway. I don’t think my press is crushing seeds even if I was the Incredible Hulk. And you know what? That heavy press tasted better. Tasted quite good.
It was late when I initially finished so I just covered and would clean in the am. But obviously overnight a lot of pressure released and I was able to pick back up pressing more wine out. So the extra o2 I’m sure played a big part (all?) in the taste. But still was reassuring to see the wine improve like that.

*and I think the round shape of the demijohns in strong by design. My family has been using them since before I was born. No issues. But I inherited 2 to start and became comfortable with them. Plus I think it’s cool to use the same vessels my grandfather used.

 

[cmason1957]

@Ajmassa Perhaps this will give you some hope about your rose. I kept forgetting to take a picture. Firs is of the for carboys of rose. On the right St. Vincent on the left Chambourcin. And the two glasses. They look really dark in the carboys, but in the glass, such a pretty pale redish pink.

 

[CDrew]

I am super jealous how nice your Rose is coming along. It looks absolutely perfect. Mine ended up more orange than pink. Tastes good tho....