Watery wine

[Snafflebit]

The Cab has been pressed is in carboys. My first thoughts is that the wine is watery. It has been 4 years since making wine and my memory is hazy how wine progresses.

I am not doing an acid adjustment for now, but oak cubes seem like a good idea. Is it natural for the wine become less watery tasting over time?

details on the grapes 25.5 Brix, 3.75 pH, 0.875 %TA

 

[BernardSmith]

I am just thinking aloud but I wonder how long the wine was allowed to sit on the skins and I wonder if you perhaps reduced the volume of juice the grapes released post crushing so that the skin to juice ratio would have increased during maceration

 

[Chuck E]

The Cab has been pressed is in carboys. My first thoughts is that the wine is watery. It has been 4 years since making wine and my memory is hazy how wine progresses.
I am not doing an acid adjustment for now, but oak cubes seem like a good idea. Is it natural for the wine become less watery tasting over time?
details on the grapes 25.5 Brix, 3.75 pH, 0.875 %TA

Did you separate the "free run" juice from the pressed juice? How long did you let the juice sit on the skins? In my view, those two things have the most influence on wine body.

 

[BernardSmith]

Did you separate the "free run" juice from the pressed juice? How long did you let the juice sit on the skins? In my view, those two things have the most influence on wine body.

Combining the free run with the pressed juice decreases the thinness or simply increases the astringency and tannic quality of the wine?

 

[Snafflebit]

Did you separate the "free run" juice from the pressed juice? How long did you let the juice sit on the skins? In my view, those two things have the most influence on wine body.

The wine I tasted is from the first carboy, not 100% free run, but mostly. I will taste the last carboy. The must cold soaked for 2 days and fermented for 8 days, and I used enzymes. So, I expected to have lots of extraction. Maybe I am becoming spoiled by all the wineries that perform a saignée and get that wonderful concentration.

 

[cmason1957]

It's more than just doing a saignée. Don;t forget that one of the big things you get from a barrel is concentration and evaporation of liquid.

 

[Chuck E]

Combining the free run with the pressed juice decreases the thinness or simply increases the astringency and tannic quality of the wine?

I think it does both. The skins deliver the body & mouthfeel," while the seeds/stems deliver the tannins.

Some folks prefer to blend the free run with the press run in proportions that suit them.