Newbie with questions

[kirkusn]

Hello,

Ive been wanting to give wine making a try for awhile and i think im going to give it a try.... I have access to all the chardonay and ruby cabernet grapes i can handle. i was thinking about making my first batch with the ruby cab grapes here in a couple weeks when they are ready to pick. My biggest concern is where i should do the fermentation process. Its still around 100*+ here in the central valley so i cannot do it in my garage because it will be to hot in there. i was thinking about my laundry room because it has an A/C vent as well as an exhaust fan.

So here is my first question.... does the wine need to be in the dark during primary and secondary fermentation? and what temp should i keep the room that im going to be doing this in? During primary and secondary fermentation does the wine let off a bad strong smell that will take over my entire house?

Also. once the primary fermentation is complete and i have the wine in the carboy can i put them in a closet or do they produce a strong smell that will not want to leave the room?


Thanks for all the help people!

 

[robie]

Hello,

Ive been wanting to give wine making a try for awhile and i think im going to give it a try.... I have access to all the chardonay and ruby cabernet grapes i can handle. i was thinking about making my first batch with the ruby cab grapes here in a couple weeks when they are ready to pick. My biggest concern is where i should do the fermentation process. Its still around 100*+ here in the central valley so i cannot do it in my garage because it will be to hot in there. i was thinking about my laundry room because it has an A/C vent as well as an exhaust fan.

So here is my first question.... does the wine need to be in the dark during primary and secondary fermentation? and what temp should i keep the room that im going to be doing this in? During primary and secondary fermentation does the wine let off a bad strong smell that will take over my entire house?

Also. once the primary fermentation is complete and i have the wine in the carboy can i put them in a closet or do they produce a strong smell that will not want to leave the room?


Thanks for all the help people!

Laundry room is fine. Cabs ferment at a higher temp than chardonnays. 70-75F is fine for the room, since the fermentation will create 5 to 10 more degrees on its own.

Trying to keep the chard fermentation cool might be a challenge, but you can only do what you can and with what you have to work. A chard fermented at 75 to 80F might not win the world championship in London, but hey.

Don't worry about a dark room, just don't put the wine where the sun shines directly on it. When aging, it is best to be in a somewhat dark area, but it's not terrible critical as long s there is no sun shining on the wine.

Once fermentation is completed, there will not be any strong smell of any kind.

Welcome to wine making and to the forum.

 

[kirkusn]

Thanks for the advice! Another question for you guys..... Do i need to wash the grapes before crushing them?

 

[Julie]

Hi kirkusn,

Welcome to winemakingtalk. Robie has given you some very good advice, but then again, he really knows what he is doing.

I don't wash my grapes. You will add k-meta so there really isn't any reason to wash them.

 

[kirkusn]

So i have the chardonay fermenting around 74* thats the coolest i can keep it but its bubbling away!..... so on to my next couple questions.

Once its done fermenting should i put it my fridge in the garage and cold stabilize it if so what temp is best? and another one im not sure about is adding oak and if so how do i know what "toast" and how much to add for 6 gallons? again thanks fot the help!

 

[robie]

So i have the chardonay fermenting around 74* thats the coolest i can keep it but its bubbling away!..... so on to my next couple questions.

Once its done fermenting should i put it my fridge in the garage and cold stabilize it if so what temp is best? and another one im not sure about is adding oak and if so how do i know what "toast" and how much to add for 6 gallons? again thanks fot the help!

If that's the best temperature you can achieve, don't sweat it.

Later when you clear your wine, the temperature needs to be in a normal range. The lower 70's is perfect. Wait until the wine is clear, then rack it off the sediment. Then, you can CS it in your frig.

Chardonnay does not have to be oaked. Some do, some don't like it oaked. If you like it oaked, decide for yourself what toast you like. I would recommend a liter toast, but that's just me. A heavy toast chard might not be that great.

Since you haven't done it before, I'd put in 1/2 cup of oak in the carboy after clearing and taste it about once a week until it gets where you want it, then remove the oak. That's pretty often I know, but you need the experience. The heavier the toast or the more oak you add the more careful you need to be about tasting regularly. If the oakiness stops increasing on its own before you think the wine is oaky enough, the oak has given all it can, so adds some more fresh oak.

You can use chips, cubes, spirals, or even oak dust. NEVER TRY TO ADD OAK FROM YOUR OWN TREE! I would use either cubes or a spiral. For chips, dust, and cubes, just remember that the smaller the size of the oak pieces, the faster its oakiness will be extracted, so taste it regularly. A spiral can oak pretty fast, too.

Remove the oak completely when it gets to where you like it. However, oakiness tend to back off just a little after a while. For that reason some experienced wine makers will leave the oak in until it just starts tasting like the wine has too much oak; then they remove it. Since this will be your first attempt, try this at your own risk.

Sounds great that you have such a good supply of Chardonnay. Is it OK for me to be jealous?

Have fun! Keep us informed as to how your wine making experience goes.

 

[kirkusn]

Thanks for the quick reply, I do have a pretty good supply of juice and grapes as i need it. I have chardonnay, ruby cabernet ruby red and cabernet..... its not napa grade wine were in the central valley of ca where its a lot hotter and doesnt cool like northern ca but hey hopfully i will make somthing that i can drink and whats even better is its FREE!

Im going to do this 6 gallons of chard and if its not to big of a pain in the *** then do 6 gallons of the ruby cab and in october when they pick the cab hopefully do 12 gallons of that.

so one more question to your reply so when you say when im ready to "clear" the wine do you just mean when im done fermenting and put in a carboy? then stick it in the fridge or do i put it in a carboy let it set up once more then rack it in to another carboy then fridge it?