punch down
- Thread starter Siwash
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I work from my house. I punch down morning, noon, evening and sometimes right beside going to bed. I punch down vigorously enough to get all the must as wet as I can get it. I use a rake to do my punch downs.
GEM
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NorCal
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3-4, if I worked from home, it would probably twice that.
Billpizzaiolo
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I do the same if I am around during the day. Otherwise it is when I get up in the morning and before going to sleep in the evening. Today it is reading 1.013 S.G. and I think that tomorrow I will press the must and start Malolactic.
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3 times a day. Morning noon and night.
GreenEnvy22
Senior Member
I'm at work during the day so I usually just do morning and evening, or sometimes once right after work too. Weekends I might get an extra one in.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Before work, after work, before bed.
balatonwine
The Verecund Vigneron
Like all things in wine making, the frequency of punching down the cap will change the type of wine created. To understand that it is important to understand why the cap needs to be punched down. The basic reasons include are related, but not limited, to skin and pulp contact with the fermenting juice below and to aerate. Minimum rule of thumb is at least twice a day. More vigorous fermentations may require more. So there is not really one "simple" answer. You do what you think is best given your time constraints and the type of wine you want to create. For example, doing more punching creates more cap contact with the fermenting juice, which results in different color and flavor profiles in the final wine due to this action.
The cap should be punched down and broken up each time so the top of the fermenting wine is all wet, even and smooth(ish).
KevinL
Senior Member
I punch down when I get the opportunity. So sometimes 2 times a day, sometimes 4. Depends if the kids will let me after I get home from work. In that way, I guess my 2 year old is helping to shape the flavor profile of my wine.
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I punch down twice a day, when I first get up in the morning, and the minute I get home from work.
I punch rather vigorously to provide some level of aeration as well as exposure of the skins.
I also take temp and brix measurements at each punch down to track how fermentation progresses.
I punch rather vigorously to provide some level of aeration as well as exposure of the skins.
I also take temp and brix measurements at each punch down to track how fermentation progresses.
Twice a day till it stops making a cap. Then it's time to press.
Question - how hard do you press: just enough to get the grapes under the wine; or, do you mash to the bottom?
Question - how hard do you press: just enough to get the grapes under the wine; or, do you mash to the bottom?
I push the skins down gently, repeatedly, until all are completely saturated and none are floating above the surface of the wine. I typically avoid smashing to the bottom, my stainless punch down tool would break seeds if they are mashed, you don't want that.............
What about no punch at all? My grandparents were devout about never touching the must and their wine was pretty good by all accounts!
Maybe I'll experiment and report back with punched and un-punched!
wow! never heard of that... my must would overflow if i did that!
Cannot speak from experience, as my must is always punched down, I have read that the risk is that it gets exposed to oxygen and starts to grow unwanted microorganisms which can infect your wine.
From the MoreWinemaking Manual:
"Punching the cap protects the wine, aiding with extraction of color and flavor compounds from the skins, along with the dispersal of built-up heat. If the cap is exposed to the air for too long, the surface can dry out and allow the colonization of airborne bacteria. The most common one is acetobacter, (vinegar bacteria), though pretty much any one will ruin your wine. Since the rising alcohol levels in the fermenting must are high enough to kill airborne bacteria when it washes over them, submerging the skins helps to protect the wine from spoilage throughout the fermentation."
