Headspace

[Paulie vino]

The last 2 vintages were my first with grapes and I had some oxidation issues so this year I want to improve. After primary I pressed into carboys with a few inches of headspace to account for any unexpected volume increase and left for 4 days. I racked again and the picture below is the result. That headspace looks good right? Thanks

 

[Ohio Bob]

The last 2 vintages were my first with grapes and I had some oxidation issues so this year I want to improve. After primary I pressed into carboys with a few inches of headspace to account for any unexpected volume increase and left for 4 days. I racked again and the picture below is the result. That headspace looks good right? Thanks

Looks good to me. Are you using Kmeta. It helps prevent oxidation.

 

[Paulie vino]

I did not add any at crush or this racking to allow for a natural mlf (if it happens). Plan to add kmeta in 6 weeks or so and then every 3 months until bottling.

 

[Ohio Bob]

I did not add any at crush or this racking to allow for a natural mlf (if it happens). Plan to add kmeta in 6 weeks or so and then every 3 months until bottling.

Indigenous yeast/MLB work because they have been essentially “cultivated” into the local ecology over decades/centuries. I would not be surprised to hear of failures from any native fermentation outside of Bordeaux/Tuscany/Napa/ etc. I would not consider Long Island in that category.

Remember that commercial yeasts were isolated from wild populations, the same for MLB. You would probably have more success, as well as reliability and repeatability, by selecting a commercial yeast for your wine style and tastes.

 

[Paulie vino]

I used avante yeast for the primary fermentation. Previous years I've used ch16 for malolactic fermentation but this year I decided to forego it and see what happens. I had a hard time sourcing it locally and didn't want to pay $30 for MLB plus shipping costs.