what are the lower brix levels for rose and sparkling?

[nwpinot]

A cool year in Oregon has left me with pinot noir still hanging. At this point it's still clean, the seeds are brown, the grapes are softening; but I'm only at 17-18 brix!

The weather is overcast with scattered showers... Real winter weather is expected to move in by next Friday.

So, what can I make with these grapes?

 

[homer]

My guess is some pretty darn good wine. Throw in some more sugar if you want more alcohol. bk

 

[Racer]

I've only made a few batches of sparkling wine but have always used 19º brix as a starting s.g. The home wine makers manual by Lum Eisenman shows a starting range of 17 to 20º brix. My valvin muscat was picked on the early side due to raccoon problems this year. It is just about ready to go into bottle for the second fermentation.
A rose' wine might not be a bad idea either if the acidity is lower then the range you want for sparkling purposes.

 

[AKsarben]

Grapes are softening so unless you want a lot of color in the sparking, just pick, crush and add some more sugar to make up for the lack of brix. Drain off a small amount of juice (about 5%) and it will concentrate skin to juice ratio. French do that all the time as we do here in Michigan at Fenn Valley Vineyards. Make a rose out of the drained juice, and maybe bump the sugar on the free run up to 22' brix. Otherwise, the red would be nice at 24-25 brix and let it ferment.