I want to know why

[jrvernon]

As I am learning patience in this new hobby of mine, I am finding myself wondering why things work the way they do and looking for a book or blog that goes into the science of this amazing hobby. Just an example of these questions are:

How does apv affect taste? How does acid level affect yeast and are they yeasts that are designed by higher acid wines? How does the head surface area of a primary fermenter affect the fermentation process?

 

[hobbyiswine]

I am sure there are books on the topic but if you spend time on this forum you can get answers to all those questions and more. Check out the many areas of this forum not just the "winemaking" section and there is a tremendous amount of info. Best part is that it is not 'by the book' but real situations from winemakers like yourself.

To answer your first three questions, alcohol is "thinner" than water so yes it effects the taste but also the feel of a wine. Seems most of my wines have more flavor if I keep them under 12% (general rule, not a law) than wines over 12%. Lalvin makes a yeast that metabolizes some acid, other yeasts are more tolerant of harsh environments such as low nutrients, high acid, etc than others. Primary fermentation needs oxygen so a fairly large surface area will help fermentation but once most of the sugars are eaten by the yeast you want to protect the wine from oxidizing by putting it in a container with less surface area like a carboy.

Call in sick to work for a few days and read the posts on the forum. Will be time well spent!

 

[Turock]

You can undertake some reading from some of the labs. There is a wealth of info from them on the science and practice of winemaking. Scott labs has a fermentation handbook that is available online and also Lallemand. Lallemand has tons of info on their site at http://www.lallemandwine.com

 

[TonyP]

While not exactly on point, I received The Wine Maker's Answer Book by Alison Crowe for Christmas. It's written in fairly brief topics and good just to pick up and read in 5 minute increments. I believe it will answer a lot of whys, raising (and answering) some questions you hadn't thought about

 

[grapeman]

Look up Allison Crowe's book WineMakers Answer Book. It is comprised of questions such as you have and she explains them all. I believe they have all been in the WineMaking Magazine's Ask the Wizard's column.
http://www.winemakermag.com/store?p...page=flypage.tpl&product_id=48&category_id=13

Dang you typed faster than me Tony!