2022 Spring Ferment (All Frozen Must)

[Nebbiolo020]

NorCal, it’s a bit of a different subject but I wonder if we, as winemakers, make too much of manipulating the must/wine instead of just gladly accepting what nature presents us. This notion has been at the forefront of my thinking the last couple of days…

On the more conventional approach, I had never considered staggering the additions, rather choosing to rely on my early memories of helping my mother bake in the kitchen. If a cake recipe called for 2 cups of sugar, all 2 cups went in at the same time with no consideration of how that much sugar might interact with the other ingredients. Understandably, this illustration looses some relevance as no straight line of comparison can be drawn.

Perhaps I will acidulate the water and add the remaining TA in equal parts over five days at morning punch downs. Worth a try…

I don’t feel that we do, I change what needs to be changed, if the acid is too high I reduce it. If it’s too low I add more It makes better wines.

Just like enzymes make better wines I’ve noticed much better tannin integration with enzymes. Less prone to being harsh and bitter.

 

[winemaker81]

I wonder if we, as winemakers, make too much of manipulating the must/wine instead of just gladly accepting what nature presents us. This notion has been at the forefront of my thinking the last couple of days…

Neither extreme is the best choice -- as Oscar Wilde said, "Everything in moderation, including moderation.”

Nature's bounty "as is"? I correct extremes that will negatively affect the fermentation and/or final result.

Brix is the easy one -- if the brix is too low, a weak wine is produced that may not have a good shelf life. Too high? The wine is unpleasantly hot. Correcting brix is easy and has few unhappy side effects.

TA/pH? This is a tougher one -- if the values are way too high or low, adjusting makes sense, else the wine may not ferment or may not be shelf stable. Adjusting acid up and down makes sense if extremely off, either high or low.

On the other side of the coin, focusing on individual numbers to fine tune the wine leaves out too many critical factors that we are unable to understand, much less control. The lack of correlation between TA and pH is a good example.

My changes to your batches?

4, 5, 6: water back to 23.5 to 24.5 brix.
4, 6: reduce the pH a bit.

Post fermentation -- taste the wines. Add tartaric little by little over succeeding months, letting the acid integrate with the wine. Base additions upon taste, not a pH meter (the pH meter will not drink the wine).

Keep in mind that the enemy of "good" is not "bad", the true enemy is "better".

 

[crushday]

@winemaker81 Bryan, super helpful information...

Thanks!

 

[winemaker81]

Bryan, super helpful information...

How so? I realize my opinion regarding testing is not exactly mainstream.

 

[crushday]

Quick update: I'll be pitching the yeast on all batches tonight, the last thing I do in the winery for the day. The Malbec is currently hovering around 58 degrees while the others are 60-62 - it's been a great cold soak. Since the Malbec is tucked in a corner of the fermenting room it's not getting the ambient heat like the others. Additionally, because of the size of the room and the number of units to ferment, everything is touching - side by side. Even after I pitch the yeast, it will take a couple days to really take off. I'm going to attempt to keep the ferment temps in the 70's hoping for a long 21 day primary. The weather is going to cooperate too as the lows this week dip into the mid 20s and highs in the 40s.

Color is great on all (pictures later) and I did add EX-V on all except the Zinfandel. I omitted it on the Zin because my experience with that grape is the skins turn to mush because the variety is thin skinned and create a headache for me in about 21 days during the press. The color already is great even without.

I'll be punching by Friday...

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Quick update: I'll be pitching the yeast on all batches tonight, the last thing I do in the winery for the day. The Malbec is currently hovering around 58 degrees while the others are 60-62 - it's been a great cold soak. Since the Malbec is tucked in a corner of the fermenting room it's not getting the ambient heat like the others. Additionally, because of the size of the room and the number of units to ferment, everything is touching - side by side. Even after I pitch the yeast, it will take a couple days to really take off. I'm going to attempt to keep the ferment temps in the 70's hoping for a long 21 day primary. The weather is going to cooperate too as the lows this week dip into the mid 20s and highs in the 40s.

Color is great on all (pictures later) and I did add EX-V on all except the Zinfandel. I omitted it on the Zin because my experience with that grape is the skins turn to mush because the variety is thin skinned and create a headache for me in about 21 days during the press. The color already is great even without.

I'll be punching by Friday...

Zinfandel does indeed have thin skins which is also why Zinfandel doesn’t tend to get very deep color, I use color pro as my enzyme on Zinfandel it helps with stabilizing and getting a bit more out of the skins but they weren’t too bad when I pressed last fall, Zinfandel is probably my favorite grape to work with because you can get a real broad spectrum of interesting flavors and aromas I’ve had zin that goes from barnyard to fruit candy on the spectrum.

 

[crushday]

Zinfandel does indeed have thin skins which is also why Zinfandel doesn’t tend to get very deep color, I use color pro as my enzyme on Zinfandel it helps with stabilizing and getting a bit more out of the skins but they weren’t too bad when I pressed last fall, Zinfandel is probably my favorite grape to work with because you can get a real broad spectrum of interesting flavors and aromas I’ve had zin that goes from barnyard to fruit candy on the spectrum.

Like you, Zin is one of my favorite varieties to drink. Like previously stated, these two drums are destined for a 225L French oak 2nd year barrel. I’ll likely have enough for at least one 59L barrel too. For a home guy, that’s a lot of wine.

The biggest challenge I’m faced with is getting enough bottles…. I’m literally about to go to the recycle depot and start pulling bottles from the 8’ x 20’ metal container!

 

[winemaker81]

The biggest challenge I’m faced with is getting enough bottles…. I’m literally about to go to the recycle depot and start pulling bottles from the 8’ x 20’ metal container!

Collect gallon/4 liter jugs. One of my mentors bottled everything in gallon jugs, and decanted into five 750's when he needed wine.

 

[CDrew]

This bottle shortage continues to be a thing. I have 30 gallons of 2020 wines I have not bottled. 30 gallons of 2021 white wines need to be bottled soon. It's soon time to look for alternatives like kegs, or wine on tap or whatever.

@crushday this looks incredible. Good luck with it.

 

[crushday]

Update: Punched down all six. As I suspected, the Malbec is the most loosely organized. That will change, no doubt, once the Bravo yeast colony begins partying and propagating. By Sunday it will resemble a mosh pit at an Iron Maiden concert...lol.

Let me describe the fermentation room. Simply, it's a framed off (standard studs) area of my garage, insulated and rough finished with particle board. Dimensions are 52 inches wide and 96 inches long. It's a small space. I heat it with a chicken coop heater ($15 at Lowes) attached to an ink bird controller ($25 on amazon). The controller is WiFi, which allows me to adjust and see the temps in the room with my phone via the app. The app also generates a history and I can see how fast the area heats up and how long it takes for the temps to come down enough to trigger the ink bird to supply more heat.

Here's a pic of the room from last fall...

 

[crushday]

Here I am getting ready for work and the idea just struck me…. Because everything is on casters, every fermentor is relatively easy to move around, albeit there is some weight to contend with. I’ll rotate everything so that the Malbec isn’t banished to the corner the entire time. Last thing I want is the Malbec batch to be even a day or two behind the others for press day. I want to press everything out on the same day so I don’t have to set up and clean equipment more than once. But, I'm also aware each batch has it's own schedule and I will likely have more than one "press" event given the advent of my pending opportunities...

 

[stickman]

Just be careful, you know all about those casters!

 

[crushday]

Just be careful, you know all about those casters!

SO TRUE!!!

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Curious to know what you finally decided for water/tartaric addtions?

 

[crushday]

Curious to know what you finally decided for water/tartaric addtions?

Here's what I have now:

I'm open to further adjustments, per taste and post ferment...

Malbec: None
Zinfandel: 200 grams of tartaric per drum. (two drums)
Cabernet Sauvignon: 150 grams of tartaric each (split to two fermentors, six buckets) - 3 gallons of water added
Cabernet Sauvignon: 150 grams of tartaric each (split to two fermentors, six buckets) - 3 gallons of water added
Syrah/Cab Blend: 164 grams of tartaric - 4.25 gallons of water added

 

[SCAndy]

Cool project to watch.
I am curious regarding the perceived benefits of a 21 day ferment over maybe a more traditional "heat it up and cool it down" approach. Most pros that I have talked to seem to wrap everything up in plus or minus 14 days. Or is that 21 days including extended maceration after ferment?
As I get into this hobby I'd love to have a mini temp controlled room in my garage. Both for heat and long term cooling. But divorce would ensue.
Look forward to seeing your progress. Appreciate your detailed post.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Here's what I have now:

I'm open to further adjustments, per taste and post ferment...

Malbec: None
Zinfandel: 200 grams of tartaric per drum. (two drums)
Cabernet Sauvignon: 150 grams of tartaric each (split to two fermentors, six buckets) - 3 gallons of water added
Cabernet Sauvignon: 150 grams of tartaric each (split to two fermentors, six buckets) - 3 gallons of water added
Syrah/Cab Blend: 164 grams of tartaric - 4.25 gallons of water added

Thanks, always instructive to see what other folks are up to. I wouldn't presume to make recommendations since I've never made any of these varietals, however I think it's a good decision to go more conservative than your original plan.

 

[crushday]

Cool project to watch.
I am curious regarding the perceived benefits of a 21 day ferment over maybe a more traditional "heat it up and cool it down" approach. Most pros that I have talked to seem to wrap everything up in plus or minus 14 days. Or is that 21 days including extended maceration after ferment?
As I get into this hobby I'd love to have a mini temp controlled room in my garage. Both for heat and long term cooling. But divorce would ensue.
Look forward to seeing your progress. Appreciate your detailed post.

You're likely aware of the phrase, "low and slow". That phrase is in relation to smoking various meats. Borrowing that concept and reading that a slower ferment greatly increase aromatics and maceration on the skins, which in turn provides deeper color and flavor for the finished wine, I thought I'd give it a try. Because it's still pretty cold outside, I have the opportunity to more control ambient temps. Unlike, in the late summer when it's hard to keep the heat from getting away from me.

 

[Bmd2k1]

Update: Punched down all six. As I suspected, the Malbec is the most loosely organized. That will change, no doubt, once the Bravo yeast colony begins partying and propagating. By Sunday it will resemble a mosh pit at an Iron Maiden concert...lol.

Let me describe the fermentation room. Simply, it's a framed off (standard studs) area of my garage, insulated and rough finished with particle board. Dimensions are 52 inches wide and 96 inches long. It's a small space. I heat it with a chicken coop heater ($15 at Lowes) attached to an ink bird controller ($25 on amazon). The controller is WiFi, which allows me to adjust and see the temps in the room with my phone via the app. The app also generates a history and I can see how fast the area heats up and how long it takes for the temps to come down enough to trigger the ink bird to supply more heat.

Here's a pic of the room from last fall...

View attachment 85623

What are the little blue/white things on top of the 2 Speidels?

 

[crushday]

What are the little blue/white things on top of the 2 Speidels?

Again, that pic was from last fall - those are fruit fly traps. Pesky critters those fruit flies…

And, the Speidels are filled with press wine and that’s when I introduce MLF bacteria, typically CH16.