So i have been making wines from kits for a while now, and have been reading various websites and books and i think i am getting a handle on things, and its time to expand myself a bit.
So instead of wine kits, i am trying to make wine from fresh juice. Got two 5.3 gal batches of Cab Sav and Zin (both grown in Cali). They are at 22brix, SO2 is at 100ppm (roughly as stated on the containers), so they should be ready to go...
The guy i went with to get them, well, he is old-world Italian. His idea of sanitation is a garden-hose, and he keeps the wine in a barely insulated garage during the NY winters. His doesn't even own a hydrometer.
So far, nothing was shocking to me, as im sure this is how they made wines for thousands of years. Its only recently we have been geting out the chemistry sets to make simple wines.
however, when he said he DOES NOT add yeast, it knocked me back. I have never heard of NOT pitcing yeast. The books ive read dont even approach the subject as an option. From what i have understood, wine is two ingredients, grapes and yeast.
Now, i know there is natural bacteria/yeast on grapes that CAN create fermentation, just i thought that this was an almost never trusted source these days. Always better to pitch in your own.
So now i am left with a tough choice, either (a) not yeasting and dumping the juice in the carboy right away (for 6 weeks, according to him, before the first racking and adding meta. I guess w/o yeast, primary takes this long. Or (cool.gif dumping into my bucket for 10 days or so with some yeast, Then moving to carboy for secondary w/ meta.
My world has been flipped upside down!
Additionally, this morning i tested both juices with my Hydrometer, and was surprised to find the reading for the SG was, in the Cabernet, 1.005, and the Zin, 1.020!!!
They should be starting at around 1.100, or so i thought, which would be nearer to the 22-brix that the juice container states, and closer to the ideal starting level.
Also to note, the stated acid is 0.50
They are produced by Regina
Thanks in advance!
PS - he has been doing this for years, and his stuff tastes fine!
So instead of wine kits, i am trying to make wine from fresh juice. Got two 5.3 gal batches of Cab Sav and Zin (both grown in Cali). They are at 22brix, SO2 is at 100ppm (roughly as stated on the containers), so they should be ready to go...
The guy i went with to get them, well, he is old-world Italian. His idea of sanitation is a garden-hose, and he keeps the wine in a barely insulated garage during the NY winters. His doesn't even own a hydrometer.
So far, nothing was shocking to me, as im sure this is how they made wines for thousands of years. Its only recently we have been geting out the chemistry sets to make simple wines.
however, when he said he DOES NOT add yeast, it knocked me back. I have never heard of NOT pitcing yeast. The books ive read dont even approach the subject as an option. From what i have understood, wine is two ingredients, grapes and yeast.
Now, i know there is natural bacteria/yeast on grapes that CAN create fermentation, just i thought that this was an almost never trusted source these days. Always better to pitch in your own.
So now i am left with a tough choice, either (a) not yeasting and dumping the juice in the carboy right away (for 6 weeks, according to him, before the first racking and adding meta. I guess w/o yeast, primary takes this long. Or (cool.gif dumping into my bucket for 10 days or so with some yeast, Then moving to carboy for secondary w/ meta.
My world has been flipped upside down!
Additionally, this morning i tested both juices with my Hydrometer, and was surprised to find the reading for the SG was, in the Cabernet, 1.005, and the Zin, 1.020!!!
They should be starting at around 1.100, or so i thought, which would be nearer to the 22-brix that the juice container states, and closer to the ideal starting level.
Also to note, the stated acid is 0.50
They are produced by Regina
Thanks in advance!
PS - he has been doing this for years, and his stuff tastes fine!
