Temp to ferment a white

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Wild Duk

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I have a Pinot Grigio going. Qa23 yeast I heard the cooler the better. Is 60 optimal?? I can control it fairly well. Higher or lower.

Thx.
 
I've never used QA23, but... Reading suggests it can tolerate temps as low as 50F, although i dont think i'd go any lower than 55F and 60F is probably about ideal, maybe a "tad" cooler

Colder temps will allow the retention of more fruity aromas and flavors and keeps the yeast "cleaner" during ferment - they dont get 'as' finicky and throw off unwanted aromas/flavors/textures...

But keep in mind this will also drag out your fermentation time (not a bad thing in my eyes, but a consideration to remember) so you'll probably want to ferment in some sort of enclosed container - carboy+airlock or equivalent... The wine wont produce as much CO2, as fast as a warmer fermentation would, limiting its ability to protect itself

Once fermentation is "done" - same SG for a multiple days/maybe a week solid because of lower temps - i'd still take the wine out of its cold-spot, warm it up and degas/rack off gross & sur lees per normal
 
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While QA23 can function at 57F (by and large the minimum), there's no need nor benefit to do so. The optimal range is 57F to 64F. My suggestion is to keep the temperature around 60F.
 
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I would also add that you could bump the temp up through the growth phase (60) then lower the temp down to 55-57 for the "long haul".
 

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