[St Allie]

You think you could get too much tannin in a merlot from overcrushing Wade?

I would say yes for a shiraz or a pinot.

You don't think a merlot can take a bit more tannin?

It's to taste I suppose. I like a heavier oaked taste to a red.

Allie

[Wade E]

Too much tannin from sitting on the skins, probably not but stems and seeds are the culprit during crushing and that answer is yes easily. Imade a second run wine and while you pressing take frequent tastes and youll be able to start tasting the difference.

[St Allie]

Just completely off the wall question here,

If you over crushed a merlot grape and ended up with too much tannin.

a/ could you cellar the wine more to fix it?

b/ could you turn out a wine that was more cabernet sav to drink?

Allie

[Wade E]

You would have to blend it or dilute these kind of tannins as they are very astringent unlike tannins from skins. Skin tannins are desirable just like a fruit but when you crack open pits in leave to many stems on the fruit these also add tannins but a very different flavor. Its the reason why we use white oak to oak our wines instead of red oak which also has tannins but the profile it would add is undesirable!

[lacnlac]

Originally Posted by St Allie

25 gallons worth of merlot? (150 bottles)

Do you mind me asking how much the grapes and the pressing will cost you?

all I can say is yum!

Allie

The grapes are costing me 90 cents a pound and he is not charging for the crushing. The grower is very nice and helpful. I will say that I had a difficult time finding primaries that are 20 plus gallons. There are none sold in this area, so I had to have them shipped from Seattle. Does anyone know if it would be ok to use just regular plastic trash cans? Food grade are expensive and like I said difficult to find.

[lacnlac]

Originally Posted by Wade E

You would have to blend it or dilute these kind of tannins as they are very astringent unlike tannins from skins. Skin tannins are desirable just like a fruit but when you crack open pits in leave to many stems on the fruit these also add tannins but a very different flavor. Its the reason why we use white oak to oak our wines instead of red oak which also has tannins but the profile it would add is undesirable!

How long do I want to ferment the wine on the skins? Do I wait till fermentation is complete to press? I suppose the longer I leave it the more tannins I get out of it.

[dderemiah]

I think most of the Rubbermaid cans are polyethelene (look for the triangle with a "2" in it) which is food grade. You can get them at most hardware stores.

[Tom]

Not true. The # in the triangle is for recycling only. You want to see HDPE on the bottom

[Skyhawk]

I use the "basic gray" color "Brute" Rubbermaid cans, since they're 44 gallons. I have two of them filled with crushed grapes fermenting as I type. You can get them at Walmart, Home Depot, etc.

Speaking of which, someone please remind me to punch down the cap a little later...

[dderemiah]

Home depot says they carry the Rubbermaid Brute and Roughneck cans. I know the Brute ones are HDPE. I can't find any definitive answer on the Roughneck cans.