First crack at Riesling

[Phrazier]

Hey all,
Very new to all of this but have quickly fallen in love with wine making. Right now I’m just focused on the basics but can’t wait to experiment. I’ve made 3 kits so far, 2 Cabs and a Malbec, all WE. Just started a Riesling kit, also WE VR, but have a question on fermentation temperature.

The kit says to make sure it’s in the 70’s but I’m reading everywhere that lower temps are better for whites, some places saying as low as 45. But then I read that some yeasts won’t work in the 60’s. Now I’m all sorts of confused and not sure what temp to keep it at. Don’t want to mess this up so it’ll be ready for summer.

Help!

 

[cmason1957]

Kits aren't fresh grapes. All those keep it as low as possible are for fresh grapes. You are still a relatively new winemaker, following kit directions is never a bad idea.

Now that being said, I do my white wines as low as I can and swap out the yeast for something that works better at lower temps. All yeast manufacturers have suggested temp ranges for all their yeasts.

 

[salcoco]

I would ferment at temp of 60-65 degF. One method to get to this temp is place the carboy in a water bath. add frozen water bottles every 12 hours. drape a cloth over the carboy insure it reach the water. direct a fan onto the wet cloth. evaporation will get the juice down to temp. works great. fermentation will take longer at these temp.