Using Pecto enzymes to make white wine?

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sjors86

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I have experience with ciders, but this year I'm going to make the first wine from my own grapes. I understand what Pecto enzymes do with the grape, but when I crushed the grapes and add the Pecto, will the crushed grapes don't turn the white wine into rose/red as I understand, letting the grapes stay in the juice for a while, is the difference between white and red wine making process.
 
If you want a true white wine from red grapes you will want to wait to add the enzymes until you have your pressed juice. And you'll also have to press very quickly and gently after crushing. I think it may be quite difficult to get a true blanc de noirs unless you have a bladder press and can press whole cluster. If you're going for a rosé though you can give a little skin time and add enzymes at the crusher, ideally ones intended for white wines that have side activities designed to enhance aroma without breaking down the skins too much, but regular old pectic enzyme would work fine.

If you want a red wine, you leave the grape solids in the fermenter for the whole primary, and "punch down" the rising cap of skins that will form a few times a day. Then press at or very near the end of primary.
 
White grapes makes white wine, red grapes make red wine or rose if you take it off the skins quickly. I only use enzymes to fix a problem. If you can get good grape, less is more.
 
What kind of grape(s) do you have?

The typical white grape process is to crush and press, fermenting the juice only. However, whites can be fermented on the skins like reds, which produces an "orange" wine, so-named because these wines often have an orange caste to them.

Most red grapes have white flesh and juice -- the color is extracted from the skins during soaking and fermentation. As has already been noted, to make a white wine from red grapes, it's necessary to crush and press immediately. Rose wines are typically made by crushing red grapes and letting them rest for a while before pressing. The longer the period before pressing, the darker the rose.

There is a class of red grapes called Teinturier, where the flesh and juice are red. I have no experience with such varietals, but it's obvious white wine cannot be made from them -- fermenting the juice will look like a rose.

Use of pectic enzyme should increase yield during pressing, as the fruit is more broken down.
 

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