Mourvèdre Rose from grapes picked too soon

[Denden5136]

This is my first post and am seeking advice from the wisdom of all on this site.

I picked 100 pounds of Mourvèdre yesterday and it is only at 20 brix. pH is 3.77. I can’t test the TA until my NAOH gets here on Tuesday.
I tested before picking and my sachrometer didn’t lie. I should have walked off and not picked, but now here I am with the crushed, inoculated fruit.

Should I do a standard fermentation and create a red, or should I play with it and go for a rose? Thoughts? Advice?

 

[winemaker81]

You can go either way. Which do you prefer?

 

[Denden5136]

Good question. I chaptalized the must to get it up to 22.5 brix. Never tried making a rose. New territory.

 

[Vicky Habben]

OK so about a year ago I started making wine and pear was one of my first. It was not good right away but now it is very tasty. Course that’s not my problem my problem is it is full of gas so the pressure causes an explosion when you open the bottle. And I did have a bottle explode in my little wine cellar. Any ideas what I can do at this point to take care of the problem. Also was wondering if you have any thoughts about corks. My wine is dripping through my corks. I think I have a number eight cork.

 

[winemaker81]

Good question. I chaptalized the must to get it up to 22.5 brix. Never tried making a rose. New territory.

You can do either. If you want to explore new territory, get out the press! If you do this, you can also make a second run off the pomace.

 

[winemaker81]

@Vicky Habben, you're better off starting a new thread with a title that fits your question. You'll get better attention on this forum.

However, since you've posted your question -- the wine was bottled WAY to early. It was either still fermenting or it was not degassed. Either way, you have a problem.

I suggest you chill all the bottles to below 40 F for a few hours, then pull the corks and put back into a carboy.

Do you have a hydrometer? If not, you need one. It will tell you if the wine is done fermenting or not. The fermentation stopping does not mean it's done.

I do not recommend #8 corks. Use #9 corks for best results, although the leaking bottles are most likely related to carbonation in the wine pushing the wine out.

 

[Denden5136]

I guess I’ll decide within the next 24 hours.
pitched the yeast and the must is a light green. I’ve never experienced this. Maybe I’m spoilt with good east Contra Costa county grapes, but I’ve never seen green must for a red.
let the adventure begin!

 

[Vicky Habben]

@Vicky Habben, you're better off starting a new thread with a title that fits your question. You'll get better attention on this forum.

However, since you've posted your question -- the wine was bottled WAY to early. It was either still fermenting or it was not degassed. Either way, you have a problem.

I suggest you chill all the bottles to below 40 F for a few hours, then pull the corks and put back into a carboy.

Do you have a hydrometer? If not, you need one. It will tell you if the wine is done fermenting or not. The fermentation stopping does not mean it's done.

I do not recommend #8 corks. Use #9 corks for best results, although the leaking bottles are most likely related to carbonation in the wine pushing the wine out.

Yeah thanks I know now that it wasn’t done. But this was a year ago and I didn’t know anything. So I appreciate the info and I have a hydrometer now! At that time I didn’t know you needed to degas before bottling.. lol! Paying the price now!

 

[winemaker81]

Yeah thanks I know now that it wasn’t done. But this was a year ago and I didn’t know anything. So I appreciate the info and I have a hydrometer now! At that time I didn’t know you needed to degas before bottling.. lol! Paying the price now!

My first wine was not exactly memorable, well, not for good reasons, anyway!

Read the Beginners forum, looking for topics of interest. You'll find a lot of helpful; information.

 

[Denden5136]

Wanted to post an update on how the 21 "green" Mourvedre turned out. During the primary, there were green berries and green seeds, so I only left it on the skins for 3 days and pressed. At that time, the must was brown. Yes, brown! There was some bunch-rot in the clusters, and I had little hope for the future of this wine.

It did take time for the H2S aromas to die down (Mourvedre is famous for this).
So the ugly duckling has become a beautiful swan, um, dark rose, with wonderful balanced tannin and fruity aroma.