Rank newb - planning my first wine from grapes

[milbrosa]

Good news then. I shouldn't have much trouble with primary fermentation. I presume the temperature will subside as primary fermentation ends. Then after pressing and first racking, MLF takes place. Is 65 degrees OK for MLF?

 

[PCharles]

Good news then. I shouldn't have much trouble with primary fermentation. I presume the temperature will subside as primary fermentation ends. Then after pressing and first racking, MLF takes place. Is 65 degrees OK for MLF?

I used the White Labs MLF product. Here is a link to their instruction sheet. Temperature tolerance limits are detailed and you should be fine. I'm sure other MLF products would have similar tolerances.

http://www.whitelabs.com/wine/malolactic.html

Check out the MoreWine procedure for MLF.
http://morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/mlf09.pdf

 

[Mikael]

I really haven't read much of the replies, but I noticed on your wish list you wrote down crusher/de-stemmer. you will save a HELL of a lot of money if you just buy the crusher you DO NOT NEED A DE-STEMMER!!! You will get people *and i know I will get people on me for saying this* but a LOT of people say you don't want stems in the fermenting juice...that's mallarky and I can vouch for that because we use a normal crusher and everything goes in even the stems and our wine came out PERFECTLY FINE!!!! You will be saving 500 dollars if you buy a regular electronic crusher because crusher/de-stemmers from what I have seen run about 1,200 and up. If there is a lower price than that it would be maaayyybe 900 perhaps? But they are still up there. It's a waste of money in my opinion. The stems don't give any off flavorings or tannins or anything.





Cheers!!!!!!


Mikael

 

[milbrosa]

Thank you for that insight, MIkael. What you are saying seems reasonable to me, but I've never researched it. I didn't even know that it was a point of contention. Actually, I did not know that one could buy just a crusher without a destemmer. I hadn't really researched it. I have always heard the two used together, so I assumed that all crushers also destemmed.

Fashioning a homemade crusher without a destemmer should be relatively easy.

For now, I plan to buy grapes from Fine VIne Wines. I live just a few miles away. They make it easy for me since I can use their crusher/destemmer when I pick up the grapes.

 

[ibglowin]

You have it made for sure living so close, no need to purchase since you can rent for almost next to nothing. To get a hold of the same quality equipment I would have to drive 200 miles round trip twice, once to crush/de-stem, once to press. For that reason plus I am growing grapes now as well I chose to go with the ease of owning.

BTW the Winemaker's Toy Store has the manual crusher de-stemmer for a very reasonable price right now especially if you have the growers discount. George is expanding into more professional winemaking equipment this year so it should be fun to see all the new toys we (dream of needing) and owning some day.

 

[JohnT]

I really haven't read much of the replies, but I noticed on your wish list you wrote down crusher/de-stemmer. you will save a HELL of a lot of money if you just buy the crusher you DO NOT NEED A DE-STEMMER!!! You will get people *and i know I will get people on me for saying this* but a LOT of people say you don't want stems in the fermenting juice...that's mallarky and I can vouch for that because we use a normal crusher and everything goes in even the stems and our wine came out PERFECTLY FINE!!!! You will be saving 500 dollars if you buy a regular electronic crusher because crusher/de-stemmers from what I have seen run about 1,200 and up. If there is a lower price than that it would be maaayyybe 900 perhaps? But they are still up there. It's a waste of money in my opinion. The stems don't give any off flavorings or tannins or anything.

Cheers!!!!!!


Mikael

A couple of thoughts..

I have spoken to many that would agree with you, but need to speak of my own experiences.

For white wine, I agree that you do not need to buy one. For my whites, I toss whole clusters of grapes directly into the press and press under little pressure over sveral hours. This, I have found, reduces the amount of tannins in the white wine, thus making the wine softer. This is mostly due to the fact that the juice is exposed to the stems for only a short time.

For reds, on the other hand, I use a crusher destemmer. I then take the must and ferment on the skins for at least a week. This gives the wine a lot of structure, color, and body without the typical bitterness that stems seem to yield. also, The crusher/destemmer does a perfect job of bursting grapes, allowing for more contact of the juice to the grapes skins while not crushing the grape seeds (which, I find, can also make wine seem bitter). This also aids in color and body.

If it were me, I would examine my situation. If I were just trying a limited batch from grapes, and do not plan on making much more, then it is hardly worth the $500 expense. If I were planning on using grapes from here on out, then the investment might be worth while. My cursher/destemmer was bought in 1995 and has handled a lot of grapes over the years. It has never needed repair or replacement.


A nice "middle of the road" option is to simply get a crusher (hand crank, without a destemmer). These can be aquired for a fraction of the price. I would then run the crushed grapes through a milk crate to "strain out" the stems. For small batchs, this could prove a much more cost effective way to go.

 

[milbrosa]

You have it made for sure living so close, no need to purchase since you can rent for almost next to nothing. To get a hold of the same quality equipment I would have to drive 200 miles round trip twice, once to crush/de-stem, once to press. For that reason plus I am growing grapes now as well I chose to go with the ease of owning.

BTW the Winemaker's Toy Store has the manual crusher de-stemmer for a very reasonable price right now especially if you have the growers discount. George is expanding into more professional winemaking equipment this year so it should be fun to see all the new toys we (dream of needing) and owning some day.

Mike, that manual crusher de-stemmer looks like just the ticket for a small operation. Though like you said, I don't need it so long as I live within spitting distance of FVW.

George has really expanded his operation over the years, and I'm happy to see that. I brew a lot of beer as well, so now I buy all my grains and beer yeast and hops from him too.