1 Gallon of Port from Portion of 5 Gallon Frozen Pail

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

syncnite

New Wine Maker
Joined
Mar 25, 2011
Messages
66
Reaction score
27
I’m using a portion of a 5 gallon frozen pail of Zin must to make 1 gallon of Zin Port. I only occasionally enjoy Port, so I didn’t want 3 gallons of it. I am posting the steps I used here because it may help someone else with a similar objective, and/or someone will point out some possible improvements in my process.

I started with a 5 gallon frozen pail of Zin I purchased from WGD (winegrapesdirect dot com). Normally this would result in 3 gallons of wine. I am splitting it before fermentation to make 2 gallons of Zin and 1 Gallon of Zin Port. Here are my Port steps:

  1. Take out 1.5 gallons of must from Zin bucket. I’m targeting 3 liters of wine from this.
  2. It started at 31 Brix naturally. I would later add sugar to raise it 2 Brix.
  3. Start fermenting with a low-alcohol tolerant yeast. Add sugar two days in. (To raise 1 gallon of must by 1 Brix, add 1.5 oz of sugar dissolved in 80-90 degree water).
  4. Ferment down to 8-9 Brix. There’s my residual sugar.
  5. Since my target alcohol is 19-20%, I’ll blend with Cognac at a 4:1 ratio based on Pearson Square. Conveniently, this requires 1 bottle (750ml) Cognac to 3 liters base wine, which fills a 1 gallon jug.
  6. Pour 1 bottle of Cognac (750ml) into a sanitized 1 gallon jug.
  7. Press the grapes by hand (the must is at 8-9% Brix). Discard the solids. Filter Zin through sieve and top off the 1 gallon jug with the Cognac already in it.
  8. Later that day, there was lots of sludge and some bubbling. So racked off sludge and topped off with a bit of port and Zin. Whatever. Added a tiny bit of PMBS.

That last step was a few days ago, so it’s still in the gallon jug with an air lock. At some point, I’ll rack it again and add some oak cubes. Age for 6-18 months before bottling.
 
Syncnite, nice! Is there ever a reason to put a port through MLF? I'm about to do the same, I have 6 gallons of finished port from grapes just coming out of a round of oak. I want to make 1 gallon of port with some of it so I am still trying to figure out how much brandy and if I'm going to use sugar or a grape concentrate. I'm still trying to figure out the Pearson Square on that one, it is at 14 ABV right now. And I want to finish with 1 gallon of Port so I am assuming I should start with about three-quarters gallon of the zinfandel before fortification?
 
I'm still trying to figure out the Pearson Square on that one, it is at 14 ABV right now. And I want to finish with 1 gallon of Port so I am assuming I should start with about three-quarters gallon of the zinfandel before fortification?

Correct. I just ran your #s through a Pearson square, and 3/4 gallon at 14% + 1/4 gallon at 40% gets you 1 gallon at just a tetch over 20%. (20.5%).
 
Yes that looks right. So now do you think I should just use simple sugar or grape concentrate to back sweeten after afterward? Have you done it this way? This is my first port. And thank you!
 
I made Petit Syrah Port a few years back and used a can of Alexanders Zinfandel concentrate and it worked out well. The wine finished up at ~17% abv so not a whole lot of brandy was needed to reach 19% then I added the concentrate until it hit my taste profile
 
Cool! And yeah I plan on just doing some taste tests to get the sweetness right. Where did you find your zinfandel concentrate? You remember?
 
I got mine off Amazon but it was sold through Midwest Supplies

If you add too much brandy and other things that dilute your port wine you may have to add some extra Tartaric Acid.
 
Cool and thanks for the tips. I will let you know how it turns out! Cheers!
 
Syncnite, nice! Is there ever a reason to put a port through MLF?

From what I've read, you do not want to put a port or any other dessert wine through MLF. They need that malic acid to balance the sweetness.

Also, using my method of interrupting the primary fermentation to ensure residual sugar, I couldn't put it through MLF if I wanted to, because it's been stabilized. This is one aspect of traditional port making as well - interrupting fermentation with high alcohol brandy.

FYI - this port from 15 months ago is still aging in the gallon jug and remains my first and only port attempt. I think I'll taste it soon. Keep us updated on your progress!
 
I tasted it tonight and was pleasantly surprised. It's so much better than it was a year ago. Still, I added some oak cubes. Will leave them in for a month or two and plan to let the wine sit for another 6-12 months before bottling.
 
That's awesome! Glad it is improving, which oak did you add? And that does make since about the MLF, I suppose you wouldn't do it after halting fermentation. It should be interesting making a gallon of mine that has gone through MLF and a round of oaking into a port style.
 
I think you are right on track. I did a Zin port from fresh grapes at 7 brix 20% and 5 brix 20%. The 5 brix was more like a dessert wine, the 7 brix more like a traditional port. You can throw a lot of oak at it.
 
I suspect you're right - it can take a lot of oak. I have French and American oak cubes on hand, medium toast. I threw in the American oak.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top