2012 Riesling

[Deezil]

SG Readings :

R-HST : 1.022
W15 : 1.020


So it looks like theres a chance i may be getting all 180lbs of Riesling, which would bring the seasonal total to 330lbs.. The readings from their test were 21.5 Brix & .75 % TA

There's a few different ways i could do this, and i dont know which way to go.

Do i destem them all, and use another 2 different yeasts from R-HST & W15?

Or... Do i look at the effects of destemming vs whole cluster pressing; whole cluster press the 180lbs & use R-HST & W15 again?

Or... Do i do something else, that i havent considered yet?

Thoughts?

 

[ibglowin]

I would try 2 more different yeast. Then down the road you can play with some blending bench trials.


D47
GRE
BA11

 

[Deezil]

Just checked my email & had one waiting from another grower i contacted, letting me know he still had grapes & they're in cold storage... Was wondering if i wanted some still almost-delivered in early-Nov, and theres a high likelihood i'm going to say "yes" after some number-crunching (dont wanna leave him hangin, i know what that feels like)

So.. There's probably going to be a 2012 Riesling #2

NOW what do i do!

Well.. Scratch that. Guess the grapes started to brown for one reason or another, so the growers dont want to sell sub-par fruit. And i have to commend them for that, this day & age when anyone will do just about anything for a buck. There's always next year.

 

[Deezil]

SG Readings:

R-HST : 1.014
W15 : 1.012

Just made the mental-decision, since 2012 "fruit processing" for me is over - no new fruits coming in until next year - that im going to bypass my usual summer fermentating & instead focus more on getting things in order for grape harvest next year - crusher/destermmer, press, vinmetrica sc-300

Also have to try a couple Pinot Noir, Barbera, Merlot & maybe Pinot Gris - those are the other grapes i "could" have got my hands on this year, but didnt because Riesling stole my heart and i dont have enough exposure to the other varieties

 

[The_Wine_Gnat]

Riesling steals alot of folks hearts. How often are you stirring your carboys? When/if you are stirring, are you also stirring up the lees to help with the fermentation. Been reading about a couple different methods and curious which you prefer.

 

[Deezil]

I havent stuck anything inside the carboys except for the wine theif & hydrometer
And i've had the airlocks on since i took the low 1.020 SG Readings

I had been picking up the carboys and swirling them until that same airlock-day, as well.. Now they're just sitting.. The swirling was rather vigorous and would stir up all the yeast & lees at the bottom of the carboys

I usually only stir wines until i take the solids out, but that approach doesnt work well with my first white grape fermentation no solids! So i figured when the airlocks went on and the wine was virtually protected, that it'd be alright to quit stirring things up

 

[Deezil]

SG Readings:

R-HST : 1.012
W15 : 1.010

............

No off smells
No off tastes

 

[Deezil]

SG Readings:

R-HST : 1.008
W15 : 1.006

 

[tfries]

We finally brought in our Rieslings yesterday. They were not very pretty. Probably a lot like what your grower did not want to sell to you. Anyway, we ended up with 130 lbs. After pressing and racking off the junk, ended up with 8 gal. The Brix came in at 19 and 3.1ph. I'll be using GRE yeast. This will be our first time for a Riesling.

 

[Deezil]

Your volume was a little higher, but sugar a little lower - did they see some rains?
First crop? Congrats!

Good luck with the GRE, i plan on trying that one next year

 

[Deezil]

SG Readings:

R-HST : 1.006
W15 : 1.004

The acidity tried to make me pucker up today
Starting to stand out

 

[Deezil]

SG Readings:

R-HST : 1.003
W15 : 1.002

 

[The_Wine_Gnat]

Ohhh good acids? Do you know what the TA/pH levels are currently? Do you plan on back sweetening to balance the acids as well?

Any perceived difference between the two yeast strains at this stage?

 

[Deezil]

Last nights SG Readings:

R-HST: 1.001
W-15: 1.001

The TA was somewhere between .50 - .60 %
Wish i had a ph meter

Gonna cross the backsweetening obstacle next year, theres a chance this could make a very nice dry white wine & im not cancelling that out yet, gonna let it age some... There's a chance i'll backsweeten to some degree because i'd really like to see if this stuff can make it 5-10 years.

Big differences at this point, in the yeasts, its just difficult to differentiate with words
I plan on doing better side-by-side once they're finished fermenting & i have a chance to degas them, that usually chances the profile drastically.

 

[The_Wine_Gnat]

Do you have the Allinonewinepump? I've heard it's quite good at degassing.

 

[Deezil]

I have a medical grade vacuum pump, its a similiar set up to the allinone, but i bought mine before he'd started selling his system... Does do a pretty good job at degassing

 

[Deezil]

SG Readings:

R-HST : 1.001
W-15 : 1.000

Pretty sure the R-HST is done.. Its starting to clear.. The W-15 is still going though

 

[Deezil]

Last nights SG Readings:

R-HST : 1.001
W-15 : 0.999

 

[Deezil]

Didnt take SG Readings

The R-HST is about 50% clear
The W-15 was beginning to clear

So i racked the R-HST into 1 gallons; 3 1/2 gallons of R-HST
Then racked the W-15 into 1 gallons; 3 1/3 gallons of W-15

Count my "spill" & i had somewhere between 7 & 7 1/2 gallon yield off of 150lbs of grapes, which aint too shabby considering my ..... circumstances?

Into a 5-gallon carboy went:
2 1/2 gallons R-HST
2 1/3 gallons W-15
The 5 gallon is full to just-above the shoulder

1 gallon of both R-HST & W-15 set aside

 

[ibglowin]

That was pretty good all things considered!