V.B. Ice Wine

[s0615353]

I picked up 3 gallons of Vidal Blanc Ice Wine juice from Canada on Saturday and had a little trouble getting it to ferment with ProDessert encapsulated yeast. Yesterday it finally began fermenting after switching out the bad batch of yeast (I am still not sure why it did not take off). At any rate, I am able to keep the temp down to 65-70 F and it seems to be fermenting at the rate of about 1-2 Brix a Day, so it will be at the desired ABV/Sugar in at least another 7-10 days. Is there any risk to keeping the fermenter covered with a towel for 2 weeks, or should I switch to an airlock?

 

[Arne]

I have never done a ice wine, but as far as I know, it is fermented like any other wine. When it gets down to 1.010 or so, snap the lid on with an airlock in it or transfer to a carboy with a airlock. Til then, the towel over it and stirring should be good. Arne.

 

[s0615353]

I appreciate the help, but if I ferment dry it will be 20 ABV, lol! It started at 1.150 and I will be pulling the yeast at 1.080-1.070. I was just wondering if leaving a wine open topped for a couple weeks put it at risk for spoilage?

 

[DoctorCAD]

Wow...all this time thinking that yeast would need to be killed or sterile filtered to finally discover this!!!! Encapsulated yeast http://www.scottlab.com/product-97.aspx that you can simply remove when the alcohol level is where you want it.

Wonder if they sell home winery size portions of this stuff?

 

[salcoco]

I believe More Wine sells a version of encapsulate yeast. Once you pull the yeast add an airlock.

 

[s0615353]

I got 83 grams from Morewine for $35. It is not as cost effective as the regular stuff, but how often do we make desert wines? I think the only mistake with the first batch was that I did not have enough yeast, I used 8 grams the first time and 16 grams the second. By doubling the amount for 3 gallons, it started right up. I will keep you posted on how well it works once I pull out the yeast.

 

[s0615353]

Just pulled the yeast at 1.080 and racked to a 3 gallon carboy with 3 tsp. sorbate and 1/8 tsp. sulfite. They warned on the instructions that it will still ferment a little while after pulling the yeast, so lets see where it stops.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Keep us informed, please.

 

[s0615353]

The yeast did not just stop as advertised, but it was not a big deal to get it where I wanted it. After pulling the yeast, it continued fermenting from 1.080 to 1.078. Just to be safe I put the carboy in the fridge to kill off the leftover yeast. Overall, much easier than having a full yeast culture in the batch.

 

[seth8530]

You sure you do not want to keep it fermenting a little bit longer? I am not an ice wine expert but 1.078 sounds incredibly sweet to me.

 

[Zog]

The yeast did not just stop as advertised, but it was not a big deal to get it where I wanted it. After pulling the yeast, it continued fermenting from 1.080 to 1.078. Just to be safe I put the carboy in the fridge to kill off the leftover yeast. Overall, much easier than having a full yeast culture in the batch.

I am so happy to learn about this encapsulated yeast. I made a cider ice wine last year and it was very, very tough to stop the fermentation. Eventually succeeded but it took cold crashing, high SO2 and sterile filtering. Came out delicious though. Never heard of encapsulated yeast until this thread. Thanks.

 

[s0615353]

Seth, I based my recipe on the data for Inskillins V.B. ice-wine. You are right, the wine is incredibly sweet, but the sweetness is balanced by 13 g/l TA. When tasted a month ago, the initial taste is of a fresh sweetness, which gives way to a firm acidity on the mid-palate and a creamy soft finish. It is wonderful stuff, my wife was ready to drink it out of the gallon jug!!!

 

[seth8530]

Alright, as long as it taste how you want it to taste then that is all that matters. I have never made an ice wine so that was just my suspicion. Glad it taste great though!