Pinot too light, needs body?

[davidmancuso]

Hello All,

I have a Cab Franc and a Pinot that I didn't take good care of all winter. Tough, busy time. So...

To the point, they're in good shape now, but the Pinot Noir tastes too light to me. It just doesn't have much, if any, body. But I don't want to mess with it, because otherwise it's in good shape.

I was thinking of adding a tiny bit of tannin powder to it. It does almost taste sweet. Would that add a little bit of balance and body to it? I have a feeling that this is wishful thinking and I think that tannin adds a different kind of structure, not body?

I don't want to mess with it--I've already been very lucky to bring it back from accidental refermentation, acidic (almost grapefruit juice) taste.

What to you think?

 

[shoebiedoo]

I can't help but feel you should leave well enough alone. Pinot by nature is a lighter wine. Too much tannin could throw it off. I felt that way with the 1st batch I bottles but after 1 year in the bottle it tasted a whole lot better.

Those are my thoughts

 

[JohnT]

+1 on what shoebedo said..pinot is a much lighter wine than cab franc. I would recommend that you use toasted oak cubes rather than tannin powder.

 

[grapeman]

I agree with these guys. If you don't want a light wine, don't do more Pinots.

 

[byathread]

Is this from a kit, juice bucket, fresh grapes?
In any case, if you're considering adding tannins I would suggest Tannin FT Rouge Soft which is specifically designed for Pinots. It can be used post-fermentation (just wait at least 3-6 weeks before racking or bottling). Also, you could do some bench tests before deciding if and how much to use. It will enhance mouthfeel but not sure if it or anything else at this point will increase the perceived body.

 

[Norton]

I thought the same thing after I made a Pinot kit. I think it is just the nature of the beast.


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[davidmancuso]

I hadn't read your replies yet, but I added 1/16 teaspoon to the five gallons of it last night--I'm glad I didn't add any more, but it did add just a little structure to the Pinot. The tannin I used was American Chestnut powder. So it helped, but I'm done. I'm amazed that this Pinot turned out so well--it tasted almost like grapefruit juice at one point. It had also started refermentation earlier. Heck it didn't even ferment initially due to cold temp and I had to restart initial fermentation. I did about everything wrong with this wine that could be done. Fixing it was an experimental challenge.

The things I did, in order: Malolactic fermentation for smoothness and body, added SO2 to stop the renewed fermentation, used chitosan to help clarification, filtered the wine when doing the last racking (to help clarify the taste, which was not sour but not much better, and that worked), added a small amount of acid blend to balance it, added a little bit of glycerin to give body, and finally added the tiny bit of tannin.
Every step was very delicate, but the wine tests OK and tastes good too. Amazing, considering what it tasted like last month. It seemed to settle a lot after I filtered out the sediment.

I dunno. I wouldn't recommend this process to anyone. I was shamefully lucky, I think. But I have 5 good gallons to bottle now. Thank you for your replies and recommendations--I will definitely follow them in the future.

 

[byathread]

I enjoy Pinots for what they are, light-to-medium bodied, more "feminine" reds. Sometimes I want a red wine for fish and chicken!

Glad it worked out for you. I bet if you make another Pinot you'll get even more of what you want out of it.

 

[Tony Rose]

I also have a very light body pinot noir from grapes from 2+ years ago in bulk aging. I will simply bottle some and hope for the best.

However, I have been previously successful in kegging and carbonating a cheap-is there any other kind?-white zinfandel from fresh juice pails and adding a splash of red wine concentrate in a refrigerated keg to make a bubbly rosé

I'd really like some suggestions on what (white wine) to add to the pinot to lighten it up a little bit more. It's dry but adding bubbles gives you the perception of sweetness so I don't need sugar. Chardonnay? Riesling?