Chardonnay Recipe & Must Adjustments

[RylanJacobs]

I have a bucket of Chardonnay juice on the way. I want to ferment dry, do MLF, then age with a touch of oak cubes.

Here is the lab analysis provided by the supplier:
-Titratable acidity: 5.7 g/L
-pH: 3.45
-L-malic acid: 3.03 g/L
-tartaric acid: 4.9 g/L
-brix 23.2 degrees
-YAN: 169 mg/L

Once the bucket arrives, I plan to sulfite to 50 ppm and add pectic enzyme. I will wait 24 hours and then inoculate with Renaissance Fresco, made with an overnight starter. I'll add Fermaid-O around 48 hours after inoculation. Once dry, I will inoculate with MLF bacteria.

Questions:
1) Do you all agree with the pre-fermentation steps of sulfite (50ppm) and pectic enzyme?
2) Since I want to complete MLF, should I add tartaric acid to increase the titratable acidity >6.0? What is an ideal titratable acidity for chardonnay?
3) How much oak should I use if I want a *very light* oak influence? Should I add the oak during fermentation or bulk aging?
4) Any other tips/suggestions you have considering the lab analysis?

Thanks in advance! Love the WMT community!

 

[winemaker81]

Why are you using a cider yeast for Chardonnay? I'm not arguing your choice, just curious.

1) Do you all agree with the pre-fermentation steps of sulfite (50ppm) and pectic enzyme?

Pectic enzyme may not help, but it won't hurt.

MLB is very sensitive to sulfite, so I'd skip adding K-meta early. With a good starter, the yeast will overwhelm any competitors.

2) Since I want to complete MLF, should I add tartaric acid to increase the titratable acidity >6.0? What is an ideal titratable acidity for chardonnay?

Read the specs on the MLB strain you intend to use. That will tell you what range of TA and/or pH the strain likes.

Keep in mind there is no ideal number for anything. There are recommended or suggested ranges, but a lot of those can be as much opinion as anything. Don't chase a number.

3) How much oak should I use if I want a *very light* oak influence? Should I add the oak during fermentation or bulk aging?

I'd add 1 cup shredded oak or oak chips for fermentation, which will help with body, but won't contribute much (if anything) to aroma and/or flavor.

If you want a light oak influence, I'd go with 1/2 oz medium toast cubes for aging oak, and bulk age a minimum of 3 months on the cubes. For what I surmise your target is, I'd bulk age 6 months on the cubes. They are expended at ~3 months, but anecdotal evidence is that the wine is smoother with longer contact time.

4) Any other tips/suggestions you have considering the lab analysis?

Be wary to relying on numbers. Every wine is different so for every Chardonnay with a pH of 3.3 it's possible to find one that tastes just as good with a pH of 3.7 or 3.1.

Taste it every time you touch it, and record your impressions.

 

[NorCal]

No need to add sulfites, pectin or adjustments when it arrives, everything should be ready to go when the temperature is right. There are lots of proven yeasts and mlb for Chardonnay, depending on the style you are trying to make.

Half of the Ferm-O should be added at the first sign of fermentation, the second half at 16 brix. I’m partial to oak spirals and would do 1/2 of a light toast French, for a 5 gallon bucket, once mlf is complete.

 

[RylanJacobs]

Why are you using a cider yeast for Chardonnay? I'm not arguing your choice, just curious.


Pectic enzyme may not help, but it won't hurt.

MLB is very sensitive to sulfite, so I'd skip adding K-meta early. With a good starter, the yeast will overwhelm any competitors.


Read the specs on the MLB strain you intend to use. That will tell you what range of TA and/or pH the strain likes.

Keep in mind there is no ideal number for anything. There are recommended or suggested ranges, but a lot of those can be as much opinion as anything. Don't chase a number.


I'd add 1 cup shredded oak or oak chips for fermentation, which will help with body, but won't contribute much (if anything) to aroma and/or flavor.

If you want a light oak influence, I'd go with 1/2 oz medium toast cubes for aging oak, and bulk age a minimum of 3 months on the cubes. For what I surmise your target is, I'd bulk age 6 months on the cubes. They are expended at ~3 months, but anecdotal evidence is that the wine is smoother with longer contact time.


Be wary to relying on numbers. Every wine is different so for every Chardonnay with a pH of 3.3 it's possible to find one that tastes just as good with a pH of 3.7 or 3.1.

Taste it every time you touch it, and record your impressions.

Thanks so much for the reply, Bryan! I have been doing a fair amount of research regarding Renaissance yeasts and have read that Fresco makes a great white wine. The Beverage People, out of Santa Rosa, California, had a small batch for sale. My research indicates it makes a crisp white.

Would you suggest Bentonite over pectic enzyme, or should I just leave the must alone and begin fermenting?

I like the idea of oak during fermentation for added body. I think I will do that. I'm aging for a minimum 6-9 month aging time to really integrate the flavors of oak and lactic acid. I may even consider sur lie aging as I'm told the juice will have some lees. Only downside is that sur lie aging can lead to a longer aging time overall before the wine is approachable.

 

[RylanJacobs]

No need to add sulfites, pectin or adjustments when it arrives, everything should be ready to go when the temperature is right. There are lots of proven yeasts and mlb for Chardonnay, depending on the style you are trying to make.

Half of the Ferm-O should be added at the first sign of fermentation, the second half at 16 brix. I’m partial to oak spirals and would do 1/2 of a light toast French, for a 5 gallon bucket, once mlf is complete.

I appreciate the reply NorCal. So you are not worried about clearing out native yeasts with K-Meta prior to inoculating? That's good to hear, I just do not want to develop any off-characteristics.

Question: Is it possible to add too much Ferm-O during fermentation? I want to make sure I have plenty of nutrient, but unsure if there is a downside of using too much.

Thanks!

 

[winemaker81]

Would you suggest Bentonite over pectic enzyme, or should I just leave the must alone and begin fermenting?

It's not an either/or. You can use one, the other, neither, or both.

Grapes don't produce much or any pectin, so pectic enzyme is not typically required. However, I added some to a Vidal batch this fall, which is a F-A hybrid, and that jug dropped more sediment. I have not researched this.

Bentonite will eliminate any protein haze and start the clearing process early. Use is a judgment call.

I like the idea of oak during fermentation for added body. I think I will do that. I'm aging for a minimum 6-9 month aging time to really integrate the flavors of oak and lactic acid. I may even consider sur lie aging as I'm told the juice will have some lees. Only downside is that sur lie aging can lead to a longer aging time overall before the wine is approachable.

Is a longer aging time a problem? And is sur lie what you want? Be wary to trying every technique -- research and make sure it's what you want.

How much are you making? If it's more than 1 carboy, do sur lie in one but not the other. If you're making just one carboy ... buy a second one ...

So you are not worried about clearing out native yeasts with K-Meta prior to inoculating?

Commercial yeast are selected for many traits, and among those are typically rapid reproduction and a tendency to trample competitors, even if the strain doesn't have the killer factor. Currently, I add K-meta up front only if I have an issue to handle. Last year my Tempranillo had moldy clusters -- I discarded the worst clusters and hit it with a double dose of K-meta to kill the mold. [The wine came out great!]

I've had H2S during fermentation, and that also requires K-meta. But otherwise I don't use K-meta until after fermentation.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

I appreciate the reply NorCal. So you are not worried about clearing out native yeasts with K-Meta prior to inoculating?

I wouldn't worry unless you have reason to think there is a problem with your juice, in which case I'd probably go up to 30ppm, no higher if you're planning to do ML

Question: Is it possible to add too much Ferm-O during fermentation? I want to make sure I have plenty of nutrient, but unsure if there is a downside of using too much.

You have a YAN measurement for your juice so that combined with some basic info about your yeast nutritional needs is a big help in knowing how much if any nutrient to add. Scott labs has a really useful chart to help you with this. That being said, I typically just add 20g/hL Fermaid-O at 3 brix drop and another 20g/hL at 1/3 brix drop. The only time when you might add too much is if you try to do it too late in fermentation. I would not do any additions below ~11 brix unless there was a good reason to do so.

 

[NorCal]

I appreciate the reply NorCal. So you are not worried about clearing out native yeasts with K-Meta prior to inoculating? That's good to hear, I just do not want to develop any off-characteristics.

Question: Is it possible to add too much Ferm-O during fermentation? I want to make sure I have plenty of nutrient, but unsure if there is a downside of using too much.

Thanks!

The juice companies take care of the prep, the juice should have already been sulfited. You can add too much nutrient; you want all the nutrient consumed by your yeast and not leave any behind for spoilage organisms.

 

[winemaker81]

You have a YAN measurement for your juice so that combined with some basic info about your yeast nutritional needs is a big help in knowing how much if any nutrient to add. Scott labs has a really useful chart to help you with this.

The link to the PDF doesn't work, they may have changed the name. The link to the page the PDF is on is:

https://scottlab.com/fermentation-nutrition-planning