Ideal Zinfandel fermentation temperature

[Hazelemere]

18 celsius. try it both ways and taste the result 1 cool and 1 warm

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Below what temp does "cool" start?

Cheers!

Less than 65 degrees

 

[Paulie vino]

Bumping this thread since I plan on doing a zinfandel/syrah blend this year. Probably 2 lugs zin and 1 syrah. My garage temp is around 80 right now. Planning on getting grapes this weekend so I'd assume it will be around the same during the ferment. What's the highest temp I can ferment at without being concerned. I assume once the fermentation gets going it will gain 10 degrees in temp, putting it into the 90's potentially. I will be using avante yeast which can go up to 95degrees according to their website. Any recommendations? @Nebbiolo020

If it's getting too hot I can leave the door cracked open overnight to let some cool air in if needed, I also thought about using wet cold towels to jacket it or somehow strapping ice packs to my fermenter which is a an 80qt stainless steel pot that doubles as my tomato sauce pot for canning tomatoes. I used the pot last year and wasn't sure how I felt about it's heat conductivity. I felt it retained heat too much, but it was my first time working with grapes so I'm learning as I go.

 

[Cap Puncher]

Last year, My Zin got to close to 95F briefly with Prelude+Avante, the color and aroma are very nice. Avante fermented hotter than other fermenters. I had a Prelude+BM4x4 fermenter as well (with same amount of grapes). It only got to 85F comparatively. I was aiming for 78-82F. I was fermenting in SS. Keep yours SS fermentor off the concrete floor, it'll make it like a hot stone if the fermenter heats up. I think I would stick to <85F if you can, maybe briefly up to 90F if you are feeling up to it. I would have frozen 1 gallon jugs (de-labled and sanitized) ready to help cool it down if needed. Just don't let it get away from you!

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Bumping this thread since I plan on doing a zinfandel/syrah blend this year. Probably 2 lugs zin and 1 syrah. My garage temp is around 80 right now. Planning on getting grapes this weekend so I'd assume it will be around the same during the ferment. What's the highest temp I can ferment at without being concerned. I assume once the fermentation gets going it will gain 10 degrees in temp, putting it into the 90's potentially. I will be using avante yeast which can go up to 95degrees according to their website. Any recommendations? @Nebbiolo020

If it's getting too hot I can leave the door cracked open overnight to let some cool air in if needed, I also thought about using wet cold towels to jacket it or somehow strapping ice packs to my fermenter which is a an 80qt stainless steel pot that doubles as my tomato sauce pot for canning tomatoes. I used the pot last year and wasn't sure how I felt about it's heat conductivity. I felt it retained heat too much, but it was my first time working with grapes so I'm learning as I go.

Keep it as cool as possible and I will add personally my favorite and in my opinion the best Zinfandel yeast is Rp-15

 

[askins3097]

I make Zin every year. The people that taught me how to make wine made Zin for many years the same way…. It gets fermented in a garage that fluctuates between 60-80F for 6-8 days. I never had a problem, but then again I have no way to control the temp even if I wanted to. It turns out great every year. It’s a very forgiving grape to work with. I think that’s why the old timers liked it so much. That and the high alcohol content….

 

[winemaker81]

That and the high alcohol content….

One of my early mentors made a Zin blend and chaptalized it to 30-32 brix. It tasted a lot like jet fuel, only more potent.

 

[Rocky]

One of my early mentors made a Zin blend and chaptalized it to 30-32 brix. It tasted a lot like jet fuel, only more potent.

We made a Zinfandel/Muscat blend (75/25) every year at home in the late 40's and early 50's. The Muscat was our means of "chaptalizing" in that the Muscat normally had a higher sugar content. The wine was usually very good with an occasional "bad year" as well as an occasional "spectacular year." We did not have refractometers, hydrometers or K-Meta. I would have to say our "refractometer and hydrometer" was my grandfather.

 

[winemaker81]

We made a Zinfandel/Muscat blend (75/25) every year at home in the late 40's and early 50's. The Muscat was our means of "chaptalizing" in that the Muscat normally had a higher sugar content. The wine was usually very good with an occasional "bad year" as well as an occasional "spectacular year." We did not have refractometers, hydrometers or K-Meta. I would have to say our "refractometer and hydrometer" was my grandfather.

It's far easier to make consistently good wine these days!

Tony (guy I mentioned) used mostly Zin with some Muscat, and I think a lug or three of something else. I recall he purchased a 50 lb bag of sugar every year.

Grapes came in to Utica NY by train from California, and certain varietals were always present (Zin, Muscat, Alicante, Ruby Cab), while others varied by year.

This isn't different from what I do today -- my local group makes a single purchase centered around when CS is available, and we can purchase lugs of anything else that's available in that window, so we have certain varietals available every year, and other vary.