Last grapes of the year...

[CDrew]

Looking at it again, it still looks cross threaded. Maybe cross threading it is what cracked the fermenter? Plastic threads are always easy to cross thread, even when you're trying not to.

 

[sour_grapes]

I agree with @CDrew . However, to give @crushday the benefit of the doubt, a crack could lead to cross-threading as well as the other way around! George, just maintain your innocence!

 

[crushday]

I agree with @CDrew . However, to give @crushday the benefit of the doubt, a crack could lead to cross-threading as well as the other way around! George, just maintain your innocence!

I can tell you, if it's cross threaded it's been that way for 2 years and many batches of wine. It's never leaked before last night.

I can post pics of it closer tomorrow, when it's light.

I'm going to press the Cab Sauv tomorrow after work. I get home approximately 3pm tomorrow.

 

[David Lewis]

@crushday can you tell me how you use the Speidel and FastFerment. Are these just short term vessels or can you use the long term. If long term. How do you manage headspace. If short term, how long do you store them and what do you transfer your wines to.

 

[crushday]

@crushday can you tell me how you use the Speidel and FastFerment. Are these just short term vessels or can you use the long term. If long term. How do you manage headspace. If short term, how long do you store them and what do you transfer your wines to.

David, glad to. I ferment primary open. Depending on volume, I use stainless steel or Brute. Once primary is done, I pump the wine using a 1 GPM pump. I like that pump speed because the gravity flow of wine into the giga hole pipe is about that. I wrap the GHP with a muslin bag. This keeps seeds and a surprising amount of lees from getting into secondary.

I use the the FF conicals for secondary and I fill them right up to within a 1/2" from the top. This gives the necessary room for the Tilt hydrometers to float freely. The seal on the FF is tight. I might mention that it has been my practice to co-innoculate the MLF bacteria 1-2 days after the start of primary fermentation.

After secondary, I transfer the wine to an appropriate sized vessel for long-term storage. This can either be various sized Speidel (300L, 200L, 60L) or glass (6g, 3g, 1g jugs).

Ultimately, the wine gets transferred to barrels in approximately 1 year for barrel aging prior to bottling.

Note, the use of the Speidel during the leaky transfer is because I don't have replacement conical to transfer to. Or, I would have used that instead.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[crushday]

Here's a gravity update:

Cab Sauv: temperature adjusted gravity - 1.004 - 4 clicks in two days

I'm going to transfer to secondary this afternoon.

 

[crushday]

Got the Cab Sauv transferred. Was able to get the following quantities:

1. 24.5 gallons free run
2. 2 gallons of press (1 bar or less)
3. 1.5 gallons of press (3 bar)

Looks like the Avante did its job. Gravity is .999 and likely to continue dropping a few more points. I’m relieved.

The taste is very exciting and color is very dark. Not as dark as the Petite Sirah, but darker than most Cabs I’ve had.

Very happy with all the wine* this year.

*taste of Pinot Noir is great. Color right now appears light. I’ll know more after I rack.

 

[crushday]

Update November 29 -

Everything is going great, but there are a few gravity surprises:

Surprises:

Carignan: 1.000 (hasn’t budged for 13 days) - RP15 yeast, nutrients provided throughout
Petite Sirah: 1.001 (hasn’t budged for 7 days) - Avante yeast, nutrients provided throughout


Others:

Pinot Noir: Color is not looking so Rose’ and gravity is .997
Zinfandel: Gravity is .994 (color is nice for a Zin)
Petit Verdot: Gravity is .996 (color is inky and awesome)
Cabernet Sauv: Gravity is .997 (color is great!)

Any recommendations on blending with the PS? Of course, I’ll taste after secondary but I’m thinking it’s going to be too sweet.

How about blending the Carignan?

 

[mainshipfred]

I think it may have been @CDrew that posted Carignan and Zin were the same or similar grapes. I have 3 gallons of Carignan and about 12 of Zin I was thinking about blending. As far as the PS and depending on the starting gravity and acid a little sweetness might make for a nice balance.

 

[crushday]

@mainshipfred - that's a really great point to bring in the beginning gravity and pH. Original gravity was 1.114 and pH was 3.28. I haven't checked pH yet as I suspect I wouldn't get a clear reading with it still throwing CO2.

I suspect the MLF will be done mid-December. I'll likely rack to long term storage just before Christmas and give it taste then and run more baseline tests.

 

[CDrew]

I think it may have been @CDrew that posted Carignan and Zin were the same or similar grapes. I have 3 gallons of Carignan and about 12 of Zin I was thinking about blending. As far as the PS and depending on the starting gravity and acid a little sweetness might make for a nice balance.

I hope I didn't say that, but I have seen them planted and harvested together at Ridge for their Lytton Springs Zinfandel. But a blend at that level would be a similar idea to what Ridge does and I agree with you that it would be a good blend pairing.

 

[user 38734]

You may be surprised how many people like the PS as-is.

 

[sour_grapes]

I think it may have been @CDrew that posted Carignan and Zin were the same or similar grapes. I have 3 gallons of Carignan and about 12 of Zin I was thinking about blending. As far as the PS and depending on the starting gravity and acid a little sweetness might make for a nice balance.

I hope I didn't say that, but I have seen them planted and harvested together at Ridge for their Lytton Springs Zinfandel. But a blend at that level would be a similar idea to what Ridge does and I agree with you that it would be a good blend pairing.

No, it is Zinfandel and Primitivo that are the same grape.

 

[winemaker81]

Carignan: 1.000 (hasn’t budged for 13 days) - RP15 yeast, nutrients provided throughout
Petite Sirah: 1.001 (hasn’t budged for 7 days) - Avante yeast, nutrients provided throughout

Last year I had a stuck fermentation -- the wine stopped at 1.000, and nothing I did budged it.

So I put the wine in a barrel and carboy -- 2 weeks later the bung blew out of the barrel, several days in a row. I checked the SG, it was 0.996 in both the barrel and the carboy. That location gets morning sun (I've since installed curtains) and I strongly suspect the sun warmed both containers, which kicked off the fermentation.

Be patient with both. You might give both a good stir to introduce a bit of oxygen and put the fermenters some place warm, or use a warming belt if you have one.

 

[crushday]

Here’s the chromo test started on Saturday night. The second one from left is a wine kit - still showing malo.

The Petite Sirah, two instances, has malo still - ironically, those two have a gravity of 1.000. Everything else is dry and seemingly done on the mlf test. I’ll move to long term storage on all on December 20th...

 

[NorCal]

You may be surprised how many people like the PS as-is.

Yea, what do you blend with a blending grape? I did a few carboys of PS/PV and it’s going to need a few years to come into its own.

 

[sour_grapes]

Yea, what do you blend with a blending grape?

Well, you could blend in like 90% of a non-blending grape!

 

[user 38734]

Good PS grapes make delicious stand alone wines. A 90 to 95% ish PS with Zin is one of my favorites.

 

[crushday]

Thieved some Pinot Noir tonight - color is way better than I previously experienced and the taste right now is great for a young Pinot...

A few pics:

 

[CDrew]

That looks pretty good and appropriate for Pinot Noir. A little light, maybe, but this isn't a tannic, dark wine. If taste is good, I'd say it's a win. In the end this could be very good.