RJ Spagnols En Primeur Winery Series - Italian Amarone Style

[joeswine]

Wine making is a process and you can to a certain extent modify that process .
And then you need to return to that process to finish out .
The wine waits fir know one it has a timing and process of its own .,
Just my thoughts

 

[silverbullet07]

I was wondering after my EM is finished and when I remove the grape skins, would it be worth pressing the skins or would draining and squeezing them be as good? I have a small 3 gal press if it would be worth doing.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Absolutely!

 

[She’sgonnakillme]

I just give it a good hand squeeze and call it a day.

 

[winemaker81]

I was wondering after my EM is finished and when I remove the grape skins, would it be worth pressing the skins or would draining and squeezing them be as good? I have a small 3 gal press if it would be worth doing.

I made triple batches of FWK Forte kits last fall, drained, then pressed the skin packs (6/batch), netting 1.5 liters from each triple batch. Based upon that, the net from each kits is about 500 ml.

 

[silverbullet07]

I made triple batches of FWK Forte kits last fall, drained, then pressed the skin packs (6/batch), netting 1.5 liters from each triple batch. Based upon that, the net from each kits is about 500 ml.

I saw this little press on Amazon that seems would be good for a single kit skins. Easier to clean and sanitize then my larger 2-3 gal press. May get more juice out then by hand. Seems that 500ml would be flavorful to add to the rest.

 

[winemaker81]

I saw this little press on Amazon that seems would be good for a single kit skins. Easier to clean and sanitize then my larger 2-3 gal press. May get more juice out then by hand. Seems that 500ml would be flavorful to add to the rest

That hand press may be a bit small, you'd have to press numerous times, but it would probably work.

I have an ancient apple press that is small, probably 2 quarts. My next project is to clean up the rust and paint it with food grade paint. It's a good size for a 2 skin kit.

Hard pressed wine is typically heavier and harsher. Some or all blended into the free run and/or lighter pressed wine will increase body and flavor.

 

[Old Corker]

I just give it a good hand squeeze and call it a day.

I have thought about getting a press but the difference between pressing and hand squeezing is probably less than 100ml. I only do kits so i didn’t want to buy a press just to say I have one. If I ever get to doing fruit wine or from grapes I will get one.

 

[winemaker81]

I have thought about getting a press but the difference between pressing and hand squeezing is probably less than 100ml. I only do kits so i didn’t want to buy a press just to say I have one. If I ever get to doing fruit wine or from grapes I will get one.

It makes sense to get only the equipment you'll realistically use.

I used a #40 press to press 6 packs at a time -- this is serious over kill.

 

[silverbullet07]

I have thought about getting a press but the difference between pressing and hand squeezing is probably less than 100ml. I only do kits so i didn’t want to buy a press just to say I have one. If I ever get to doing fruit wine or from grapes I will get one.

Makes sense. I think I will squeeze what I can out. I have this little press I used for blueberry’s. I might just try it and measure what comes out to decide if it will be worth it later.

 

[silverbullet07]

So I am getting close to racking my wine from my primary bucket after 6 weeks EM. The kit tells me to add the packets of potassium sorbate 3.25g and Sulphite 4.8 g during the stabilizing and clearing step 3.

If the wine is dry and not going to be sweetened back, can’t I skip the sorbate? Also can I just use my normal dose of 1.74g of potassium Metabisulfite in place of the 4.8g sulfate?

 

[Brant]

So I am getting close to racking my wine from my primary bucket after 6 weeks EM. The kit tells me to add the packets of potassium sorbate 3.25g and Sulphite 4.8 g during the stabilizing and clearing step 3.

If the wine is dry and not going to be sweetened back, can’t I skip the sorbate? Also can I just use my normal dose of 1.74g of potassium Metabisulfite in place of the 4.8g sulfate?

Yes, skip the sorbate and dose with a 1/4 heaping tsp of kmeta. Dose with another 1/4 tsp of kmeta after you rack from clearing to bulk aging.

 

[winemaker81]

If the wine is dry and not going to be sweetened back, can’t I skip the sorbate?

IME, all kits include sorbate as a preventative for folks that can't follow the instructions and bottle a wine with remaining sugar.

I write the date on the package and drop it in a drawer. Twelve months later (or so), if I haven't used it for another purposes, I bin it.

 

[silverbullet07]

So I racked my wine from primary this morning and it was a pain with all the raisins floating. The instructions did not have me put it in a bag. So wrapped a mesh bag around the racking cane. Took awhile to get it moved but I still have a few raisins floating in my carboy.

How soon should I rack again to try to eliminate any in the carboy?

The wine seemed to turn out nice. Nice aroma’s. Sg was .996. Ended up 13.5% abv.

 

[Brant]

So I racked my wine from primary this morning and it was a pain with all the raisins floating. The instructions did not have me put it in a bag. So wrapped a mesh bag around the racking cane. Took awhile to get it moved but I still have a few raisins floating in my carboy.

How soon should I rack again to try to eliminate any in the carboy?

The wine seemed to turn out nice. Nice aroma’s. Sg was .996. Ended up 13.5% abv.

If you're in the fining stage and added k&c, I would wait at least 1 to 2 weeks and then rack again. Depending on how long you want to bulk age and if you intend on racking every three months, dropping sediment will occur naturally anyway so racking again to remove the remaining raisins is less of an issue. I wouldn't want to leave them in the finished wine for longer than necessary. Just my opinion.

 

[silverbullet07]

I do plan to rack again at least in three months or if not before depending how much lees drop out. It will stay in carboys at least a 9 months before bottling racking as needed. I just did not know how important it was to get those raisins out.

 

[silverbullet07]

Wine finished at sg .996 13.5% abv ph 3.27 ta 7.2 g/L on to clearing and aging.

 

[Huba Huba]

Question. I started this kit 4 days ago and it's down to 1.020 and I have a question about an EM as discussed earlier in this thread. I am a little confused. If I do this in a bucket, to I rack to another bucket and add the skins back or can I just leave it sealed as is in the primary for a couple of weeks or more?

 

[Brant]

Question. I started this kit 4 days ago and it's down to 1.020 and I have a question about an EM as discussed earlier in this thread. I am a little confused. If I do this in a bucket, to I rack to another bucket and add the skins back or can I just leave it sealed as is in the primary for a couple of weeks or more?

IF you have a bucket with a gasketed lid that seals, you keep skins in and close the lid at 1.01 and lock it down under airlock. Do not open it until you're ready to rack to secondary (clearing and fining stage) after the EM period is finished. In order to do extended maceration you need to remain on the skins. If your primary container does not seal under airlock, and you do not have a means to keep everything (wine, skins, etc) in a sealed container, you cannot do an EM.

 

[Huba Huba]

so if it's in the bucket and sealed you just leave it there? you do not rack it off the lees/oak chips/raisins and skins?