I thought I'd document my process here so that other beginners like myself might have an idea what their first batch from grapes would be like! Also so I don't lose my notes.
The Plan:
To make a fruit forward dry red wine from Chilean Carmenere grapes. I plan on using a slightly extended maceration and making sure my fermenting temperature hits at least 85F-90F. I will seperate free run and second run juice if possible as an experiment. I plan on sulfiting after crush, adding D254 and adding yeast nutrient when I add yeast and at 18 and 12 brix through the process. I will most likely oak later after it has gone through MLF.
5/21 - The Crush
I picked up 15-18lb lugs of Chilean Carmenere grapes from my local supplier today. I brought them home and set them outside while I cleaned the crusher/destemmer and plastic primary fermenter tub I bought. After careful cleaning of both including spraying with sulfite/citric acid solution and scrubbing, I was ready to crush.
I saw that my grapes weren't in perfect condition and many had been broken open and a couple had white mold on them. I decided that I would add 3 grams of K-Meta per 50 pounds as referenced in "The Way to Make Wine" by Sheridan Warrick. I had 270lbs of grapes total so 270lbs/50lbs=5.4. 5.4x3grams=16.2 grams K-Meta added to achieve this goal. I checked my calculations again and measured out the amount on my grams scale.
I put my crusher/destemmer on my primary bucket and fired that bad boy up. I started trying to sort the grapes and make sure no bad ones went in but it proved to be tedious and I just dumped them in and picked out the few that were really bad (not many.) After about 10 minutes of trying to keep up with the crusher, I stopped to catch up and check everything out. The stems had bound up in the destemming auger and I had to remove them for the machine to keep running.
I PLACED THE MACHINE IN ZERO MECHANICAL STATE by unplugging it and pushing in the emergency button. Don't get your fingers near the moving parts, it was bad enough I was skimming the less than perfect grapes out of the hopper while it was running. A coworker (firefighter) just had half his hand chopped off in a lawnmower a month ago so I was extra careful. Seriously, it's not worth it, don't F around.
I crushed the last few lugs and looked at the mess I had in my garage. I had forgotten to add the K-Meta in all the excitement so I did it then. I poured it over the top and took a deep breath and held it while I mixed it with my arms. I picked up a few unbroken grapes that had fallen and tasted them. They were really sweet and delicious. I squished the last couple in my hand and put them in the fermenter instead of eating them, I'd rather get an alcohol buzz than a sugar buzz...
I then took the crusher and destemmer and started the long and arduous process of cleaning it. I found that I could take off the plastic shroud and the metal part where the grapes fall through but the stems do not. It took one bolt and a washer to get it off. After that I picked up the mess and got testing.
Test results:
Temperature: 54F
pH: 3.60
TA: 0.56
Brix: 24
Sulfites: 90ppm
I am extremely pleased with the condition of the grapes and the numbers I got from testing. I feel like the money I've invested in equipment and effort has maybe paid off. Not to mention the help I've gotten from the great people on this site. I'll be uploading the only pictures I could take with my phone shortly.
UPDATE: Here are the pics!
This is what the aftermath looks like when one person is doing everything!
5/22 - Added 10g of Fermax and 4 packets of D254 yeast. Yeast was activated and poured over the top @20:15 and let sit.
5/23 - Signs of fermentation, temperature 60F. Yeast mixed into must @ 15:40. 23 Brix
5/24 - 62F, 21.5 Brix
5/25 - 68F, 17 Brix
5/26 - 74F, 11 Brix. Added 10 grams of Fermax.
5/27 - 75F
5/28 - 73F, 0Brix. Tastes fruity with a velvety mouthfeel.
5/31 - 65F, blanketed with argon gas and secured the top with shrink wrap to seal it off for extended maceration.
6/6 - Tannins seem to be getting stronger
6/9 - Tannins still stronger, maybe less fruit (or is it in my head?)
6/14 - Very strong tannins, blanketed down more argon for protection.
6/17 - Strong tannins
6/19 - Tannins mellowing out? Hard to tell with the alcohol heat. I will try it again in 2 days to see.
6/27 - Press Day. I dragged out the press and sprayed it with a sulfite solution and let it sit. I washed everything off with the hose and assembled the whole thing together including the press liner I made out of pet-resistant screen door replacement screen. I placed the whole press on my wooden stand that I engineered to be perfect for the height of a 5 gallon carboy plus a funnel. I placed some sanitized screen in the funnel to help catch anything that got through. I started scooping up wine and skins in a glass mixing bwl with a handle and pouring it into the press. The liner kept falling in but once a decent amount of skins were in there, it held the line in the right place. After the 5 gallon carboy was full, I pumped it into a waiting demi-john with my Superjet pump. The free run juice filled the demi-john and I estimated I would need one more 5 gallon carboy and a 3 gallon carboy.
The remainder of the free run juice and a very light pressing filled the 5 gallon carboy to the top. I then placed a sanitized 3 gallon carboy underneath the spout and started cranking down on the press. I backed off on the press and broke apart the pomace with a spoon and my hands and repressed it. I was sure to taste it after every few tunrs to see the tannins build. When I reached the point where I felt the tannins were starting to get harsh, I backed off on the press and pulled out the carboy. I filled airlocks with sanitizer solution and used the appropriate bung to close them off.
The cleaning was the worst part. Everything was painstakingly hosed off with copious amounts of water and allowed to sun dry. The remaining pomace (pressed grape skins) went into my garden. The inside of the primary fermentor was scrubbed and allowed to dry. Everything was eventually put away and I blew Argon on the 3 gallon carboy that wasn't quite full. I plan on seperating this into 2 - 1 gallon jugs later on but I am freakin' beat! Plus I've got a nice buzz from tasting the wine and enjoying some delicious Anchor Steam Beers. It's cigar time now!
I forgot to mention, the SO2 levels were 40-50 and the pH was 3.53.
The Plan:
To make a fruit forward dry red wine from Chilean Carmenere grapes. I plan on using a slightly extended maceration and making sure my fermenting temperature hits at least 85F-90F. I will seperate free run and second run juice if possible as an experiment. I plan on sulfiting after crush, adding D254 and adding yeast nutrient when I add yeast and at 18 and 12 brix through the process. I will most likely oak later after it has gone through MLF.
5/21 - The Crush
I picked up 15-18lb lugs of Chilean Carmenere grapes from my local supplier today. I brought them home and set them outside while I cleaned the crusher/destemmer and plastic primary fermenter tub I bought. After careful cleaning of both including spraying with sulfite/citric acid solution and scrubbing, I was ready to crush.
I saw that my grapes weren't in perfect condition and many had been broken open and a couple had white mold on them. I decided that I would add 3 grams of K-Meta per 50 pounds as referenced in "The Way to Make Wine" by Sheridan Warrick. I had 270lbs of grapes total so 270lbs/50lbs=5.4. 5.4x3grams=16.2 grams K-Meta added to achieve this goal. I checked my calculations again and measured out the amount on my grams scale.
I put my crusher/destemmer on my primary bucket and fired that bad boy up. I started trying to sort the grapes and make sure no bad ones went in but it proved to be tedious and I just dumped them in and picked out the few that were really bad (not many.) After about 10 minutes of trying to keep up with the crusher, I stopped to catch up and check everything out. The stems had bound up in the destemming auger and I had to remove them for the machine to keep running.
I PLACED THE MACHINE IN ZERO MECHANICAL STATE by unplugging it and pushing in the emergency button. Don't get your fingers near the moving parts, it was bad enough I was skimming the less than perfect grapes out of the hopper while it was running. A coworker (firefighter) just had half his hand chopped off in a lawnmower a month ago so I was extra careful. Seriously, it's not worth it, don't F around.
I crushed the last few lugs and looked at the mess I had in my garage. I had forgotten to add the K-Meta in all the excitement so I did it then. I poured it over the top and took a deep breath and held it while I mixed it with my arms. I picked up a few unbroken grapes that had fallen and tasted them. They were really sweet and delicious. I squished the last couple in my hand and put them in the fermenter instead of eating them, I'd rather get an alcohol buzz than a sugar buzz...
I then took the crusher and destemmer and started the long and arduous process of cleaning it. I found that I could take off the plastic shroud and the metal part where the grapes fall through but the stems do not. It took one bolt and a washer to get it off. After that I picked up the mess and got testing.
Test results:
Temperature: 54F
pH: 3.60
TA: 0.56
Brix: 24
Sulfites: 90ppm
I am extremely pleased with the condition of the grapes and the numbers I got from testing. I feel like the money I've invested in equipment and effort has maybe paid off. Not to mention the help I've gotten from the great people on this site. I'll be uploading the only pictures I could take with my phone shortly.
UPDATE: Here are the pics!
This is what the aftermath looks like when one person is doing everything!
5/22 - Added 10g of Fermax and 4 packets of D254 yeast. Yeast was activated and poured over the top @20:15 and let sit.
5/23 - Signs of fermentation, temperature 60F. Yeast mixed into must @ 15:40. 23 Brix
5/24 - 62F, 21.5 Brix
5/25 - 68F, 17 Brix
5/26 - 74F, 11 Brix. Added 10 grams of Fermax.
5/27 - 75F
5/28 - 73F, 0Brix. Tastes fruity with a velvety mouthfeel.
5/31 - 65F, blanketed with argon gas and secured the top with shrink wrap to seal it off for extended maceration.
6/6 - Tannins seem to be getting stronger
6/9 - Tannins still stronger, maybe less fruit (or is it in my head?)
6/14 - Very strong tannins, blanketed down more argon for protection.
6/17 - Strong tannins
6/19 - Tannins mellowing out? Hard to tell with the alcohol heat. I will try it again in 2 days to see.
6/27 - Press Day. I dragged out the press and sprayed it with a sulfite solution and let it sit. I washed everything off with the hose and assembled the whole thing together including the press liner I made out of pet-resistant screen door replacement screen. I placed the whole press on my wooden stand that I engineered to be perfect for the height of a 5 gallon carboy plus a funnel. I placed some sanitized screen in the funnel to help catch anything that got through. I started scooping up wine and skins in a glass mixing bwl with a handle and pouring it into the press. The liner kept falling in but once a decent amount of skins were in there, it held the line in the right place. After the 5 gallon carboy was full, I pumped it into a waiting demi-john with my Superjet pump. The free run juice filled the demi-john and I estimated I would need one more 5 gallon carboy and a 3 gallon carboy.
The remainder of the free run juice and a very light pressing filled the 5 gallon carboy to the top. I then placed a sanitized 3 gallon carboy underneath the spout and started cranking down on the press. I backed off on the press and broke apart the pomace with a spoon and my hands and repressed it. I was sure to taste it after every few tunrs to see the tannins build. When I reached the point where I felt the tannins were starting to get harsh, I backed off on the press and pulled out the carboy. I filled airlocks with sanitizer solution and used the appropriate bung to close them off.
The cleaning was the worst part. Everything was painstakingly hosed off with copious amounts of water and allowed to sun dry. The remaining pomace (pressed grape skins) went into my garden. The inside of the primary fermentor was scrubbed and allowed to dry. Everything was eventually put away and I blew Argon on the 3 gallon carboy that wasn't quite full. I plan on seperating this into 2 - 1 gallon jugs later on but I am freakin' beat! Plus I've got a nice buzz from tasting the wine and enjoying some delicious Anchor Steam Beers. It's cigar time now!
I forgot to mention, the SO2 levels were 40-50 and the pH was 3.53.
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