Mourvedre from winegrapesdirect

[gitmo234]

Just pressed and racked my Mourvedre, from winegrapesdirect.

For starters, this was the first wine that I've ever had blow through the airlock. The must was super thick. Overwhelming amount of grapes. It felt like I needed a 10 gallon bucket. I was provided opti-red, go ferm, and fermaid-o to compliment BM 4x4 yeast.

This was also the most complicated press/rack I've ever had. The hydrometer stopped at 0 brix but I dont think that was accurate. The must was always too thick, even when put in a beaker, and i could push it further down and sometimes it would stay down, others it would come up just a little. But the smell was really strong alcohol and tannin like smell.

I dumped the grapes into a bag in a bucket, and then racked off what was just liquid at the bottom. It wasnt much - about 2 gallons. The rest was in bag with the grapes but it was so thick it didnt want to come through the small holes.

The pattern consisted of press, dump, rack, and then repeat. In the end, it was a labor of love. I ended up with about the same as I always get. 4 gallons of wine.

Pic is attached. Dont panic. It's only in this carboy for 1-2 days, while it clears a touch, and i have the AIO wine pump and the vacuum/headspace eliminator. So the vacuum is strong enough that it actually raised the level of the fluid just a touch.

 

[NorCal]

Love Mourvèdre. Good luck with it.

 

[gitmo234]

I'm gonna have a tough time clearing it. I've now got about 2 inches of gross lees and its not even beginning to clear

 

[Johnd]

I'm gonna have a tough time clearing it. I've now got about 2 inches of gross lees and its not even beginning to clear

It’s typically not difficult at all to clear red wine made from grapes, you’ve only just pressed. You’ll get off of your gross lees in a day or two, another couple months to complete MLF (if you are doing it), and the CO2 will stat bleeding off. Bulk aging / oaking for some more months, it’ll clear up nicely with nothing other than time and patience.

 

[NorCal]

I agree with @Johnd. Give it a year and 3 or 4 rackings along the way and it will be clear. There is a lot more solid matter that needs to fallout when making from grapes.

 

[pgentile]

@gitmo234 I've been looking at the frozen musts all winter, couldn't pull the trigger. I'll be real curious how this turns out. Also any numbers as far as pH and TA? Are these musts pre-adjusted in anyway? Good luck with this.

 

[gitmo234]

@pgentile I've done 3 frozen musts so far this winter. A nebbiolo and Sangiovese from vinosuperiore and this one from winegrapes direct. I may be wrong (I dont have the ability to test PH yet) but I believe winegrapesdirector adjusts the overall harvest and then packages it into 5 gallon buckets for freezing.

I think vinosuperiore takes a reading then busts it up in 5 gallon buckets and provides you with the most likely numbers.

The furthest along is the Nebbiolo and its really phenomenal. Tastes young but also tastes of commercial quality. This batch is way too early to tell. Initially it was like a chocolate and raspberry explosion the as it fermented those because hints and it got exceptionally dry and "strong" which will fade with age.

 

[Johnd]

@gitmo234 I've been looking at the frozen musts all winter, couldn't pull the trigger. I'll be real curious how this turns out. Also any numbers as far as pH and TA? Are these musts pre-adjusted in anyway? Good luck with this.

I’ve just done my first batch of fresh grapes this past fall, all others have been from frozen must. I’ve used Musto / Lanza, Brehm, and GrapeMasters, and have been pleased with all of their frozen must products. Though I always test on my own, I’ve been able to get pH / TA numbers prior to receiving the must, it’s usually close. Brehm has pH, TA, and BRIX of all of their musts posted on their website, and sometimes also have the YAN. As far as I know, none of the three suppliers listed above make any adjustments to their musts, they are crushed, destemmed, frozen and then shipped.

 

[pgentile]

@gitmo234 and @Johnd thanks for the info, might give this a go during the summer doldrums

 

[gitmo234]

I recommend it. I'm the type that likes to be "involved" in the making. So punching the cap down, measuring, and the stuff that's a bit more involved in making it from grapes scratches that itch for me.

 

[Cibb]

I don't wish to side track your thread but what would their 5 gallon yield in bottles after pressing?

 

[gitmo234]

Well, I racked this today after just under 48 hours, I had a full 3 gallon carboy and about a quarter of a gallon in another glass 1 gallon jar. I had some time wondering what I was going to do with the quarter gallon, scratched my head a bit and decided to blend it with the 3/4 gallon jar i had of sangiovese that was topped up with oak and marbles.

I freshened up the oak blended the two in the jar and put some of the old oak in with it as well. We shall see how frankestein works. I couldnt google any examples of 60% Sangiovese and 40% mourvedre mixed (rough percentages). could be interested.