Marquette Grapes

[whino-wino]

A friend gave me some frozen marquette grapes from which I managed to get 3 gallons of juice.


I'm not going to do anything super special with this one, although I will plan on running a MLF per appleman's recommendation.


Starting S.G. 1.090 - grown in Northern Minnesota and I didn't even have to add sugar!!! I even checked it twice to make sure my eyes did not deceive me. (and yes I spun the hydrometer to get the air bubbles off) I'm still not sure if I believe it.


TA = 1.1


Added the following today:


1 Tbsp Yeast Nutrient
2 tsp Pectic Enzyme
Lalvin K1-V1116 yeast


Not adding anything else at this time. I threw away most of the grape skins but I did keep enough to fill a straining bag which will float in the must during fermentation.


Hopefully I will have bubbles tomorrow.....

 

[grapeman]

I am surprised that the sugar levels of Marquette were that low actually. Normally it would be somewhat higher. Marquette is one of the highest in sugar of the cold hardy varieties. Acid is about as expected and is easily dealt with. Too bad you didn't just ferment with the skins for 5-7 days and then squeeze. That would have extracted better colors, tannins and more solids leading to a more rounded wine later. It may turn out to be a dark rose when done. It should turn out great for you. This isn't your typical Concord grape. Some people have too many expectations with the grape variety, but the truth is, it is one of the best non-vinifera grapes we have to work with presently.


I have used a few different yeasts on it over the few years I have made it and this year's choice was the best by far. I don't recall the strain right now, but I will look in a while since I plan on working in the winery building today.

 

[whino-wino]

I live in USDA zone 3 / borderline zone 2, that probably explains why the sugar was so low, although I still am amazed anything can grow here that produces even that much.


The skins are in a plastic bag in the back of my truck. Frozen solid right now, but I could thaw them if needed and put them into the primary. I didn't want to use them since there are a lot of stems in there.

 

[whino-wino]

I brought the frozen skins in this morning and put them in a bucket over a heat vent and covered it. They were thawed by 3:00. I warmed them up a bit by zapping half of them in the microwave in small batches and then mixing that with the cold skins. All the while I picked out stems.


The juice had a nice cap of foam on it about 1 inch thick and I dumped the skins in (with a little more pectic enzyme). Hopefully I don't wreck anything but I wanted a bit more color in the finished product so I bit the bullet and went for it. The only thing I have concerns about is that I did not treat the skins with sulfite prior to dumping them in as that could have killed my fermentation unless I delayed adding them yet another day. Like I mentioned before, I'll post pics as soon as I get a new battery for my camera, which should hopefully be this coming week.


As far as the yeast selection that was easy. It's the only kind I had in the refridgerator. Besides, I've had really good luck with that one when used on darker fruit wines such as blueberries or chokecherries.

 

[grapeman]

Best wishes to your fermentation going well. That yeast will work fine. It just won't really contribute much to it's flavor profile since it ferments clean. I found for Marquette, I have had the best luck so far with simple little RC-212.


Keep pushing the skins down as they form a cap. The color will be much better for it.

 

[whino-wino]

Phase 1 complete. Color looks really good and it's now in the secondary pushing bubbles through the airlock.
I do have one more question since this will be my first attempt at malolactic. Do I need to de-gas and clear the wine prior to adding the malolactic culture or do I just add it as soon as I'm certain that the fermentation is complete?

 

[grapeman]

No need to degas. It will create more gas during malo. It is far enough along you can add the mlb anytime now. Anytime past the active normal fermentation is alright to start the mlf. If need be you can add clearing agents after mlf is finished, but I prefer time to clear with.

 

[Boyd]

This sounds encourging. I planted 24 Marquett grapes last year and was woudering how good they would be for wine making.