First time Catawba

[JohnA]

I've just pressed some Catawba grapes from the backyard...a whopping 1.5 gallons...but hey, I couldn't let them go to waste.

These were hand-pressed and hit with a dose of yeast nutrient and I put a spin on it: used Lalvin Bourgovin RC 212. I realize it's good for light reds but I just thought to make it interesting with zinfandel-type grapes. What the heck.

It pressed out at a marvelous 10 percent alcohol.

I pl;an to add tannin when turned into secondary and dilute it.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.



<a href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cjandre%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml" target="_blank">

</a>

 

[grapeman]

John how is the acid this year? Last year mine was so acidic that I didn't even harvest them. They are already way more ripe then they ever got last year. I usually end my picking season with them. I checked brix yesterday and they are already running 18-19 brix.


Good luck with it! I will probably use 71B-1122 to knock the acid down, unless they ripen so much the acid is low enough already.