WM81 Fall 2024 Experiments

[winemaker81]

The chromatography kit arrived yesterday. I just read the instructions, and it's a bit obtuse. Or maybe it's ME that's obtuse. I haven't done a chromatography since high school or first year of college, so it wasn't making sense. Therefore a went to font of all things, sane and not: YouTube.



This guy speaks in a monotone, but his instructions are clear. After watching his video, the instructions now make sense.

I was planning on starting the test tonight, but am going to wait. I have 8 carboys that need racking, and I'm going to do that tonight. Or at least get a start on it.

 

[winemaker81]

Side note -- I fermented the Chardonnel in 2 batches with QA23 and 71B, respectively, and reserved 1.5 liters of each batch. It may not be clear in the following picture, but the QA23 is a bit darker.



Over the weekend I plan to rack both and bottle a 750 ml of each. The wine is not ready for bottling at this point, but this secures both bottles.

In May or June we'll taste test these against the blend of both batches, which will probably be bottled in March or April.

 

[winemaker81]

I just finished racking the Chardonnel and Vidal.

The Chardonnel is WAY different from what it was at pressing. The sharpness is gone and while it's still got enough bite for a white, it's not overpowering. Without testing the malic, I suspect the Lalvin 31 did its job.

The median dose of FT Blanc Soft I calculated as 15.2 g, and since I have about 11 gallons, I went with 15.6 g. Ok, let's be honest -- I got tired of frigging with trying to get the exact correct amount and decided 15.6 g is good!

I bottled a 750 ml each of the QA23 and 71B wines, and added the remainder to the homogenized blend. The final result (including the 2 bottles) is exactly 11 US gallons -- this includes extra 750 ml and 1.5 liter bottles.

Next I racked the Vidal, which was in 19, 23, and 4 liter jugs. I had exactly 15.6 g FT Blanc Soft remaining, and it went in. The wine went back into the 19 and 23 liter carboys, and there was a 750 leftover.



I had about 3/4 of a 375 ml bottle leftover from the Chardonnel and literally a splash of Vidal, so I'm drinking that now. I'm honestly surprised how good this raw wine is right now.

Note -- both wines were fermented on the skins, so they will not turn out totally clear. I'm leaning towards hitting all 4 carboys with bentonite in February to see what happens.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Good luck with the chromatography! I too had not done one since school days until I started doing them for winemaking purposes.

It's pretty straightforward. I didn't watch your Youtube video but I am nervous about the inset picture which appearsto be dipping a capillary directly into carboy. Much safer to take a small sample in a tube/jar and dip into that, I would hate to drop one of those tiny capillaries into my carboy/keg/barrel!

Do be sure to hang it to dry in a well ventilated space - I do mine outside if at all possible. And I suggest using disposable gloves while you're handling the samples and paper (sweat contains lactic acid)

 

[Snafflebit]

One tip about the chromatography, if you don’t see any markings develop on the paper after letting it dry, heat the paper with a hair dryer.

 

[winemaker81]

@BarrelMonkey, @Snafflebit, thanks for the tips!

Given how the Chardonnel and Vidal tasted today, I'm not worried about them.

However, the Chambourcin and Chelois were both hit with K-meta when put in barrel, so they may not have completed. However, the extra 2 carboys of each have not yet received K-meta, so they may complete.

I'll find out this weekend!

 

[mainshipfred]

You really don't have to use the standards since the acids are always in the same location. Plus it will give you more room for wines to test. I can't find it but the test is not the completely accurate and there is a margin for error. The absence of a malic dot doesn't necessarily mean the fermentation is complete. I usually let it go a couple more weeks. If you put the paper in front of a light you may see a faint malic spot not noticeable otherwise.