Wine making with grapes only?????

[travolta1179]

Hi guys, I want to make my own wine. My dad makes his wine the same way they made it 100 years ago. We live in Montreal, September is the month where grapes come from California. Who knows what is the quality of these grapes. Once purchased, the grapes are crushed and the then the whole mixture which includes the stems are fermented for about 6-7 days. Then comes the press until it is completely dry and no juice comes out. I have to admit that wine is good but better with food. Now I want to make wine differently but don't know where to start. Any suggestions. Is the bladder press a really good investment? What about removing the stems during the fermentation. Should sulfates be added, sugar sirup be added or yeast????? I need help!!!!!!

Regards,

Fred

 

[robie]

Lots of questions, there. Are you wanting to make whites, reds, or both?

Just curious, why do you want to deviate from the way your relatives made wine in the past? Did it not turn out well?

 

[JohnT]

Bladder press: a matter of choice. Rather expensive. Personally, I am happy with my traditional press.

Pressing dry: I would recomend that pressing go low and slow. There is not rush, take you time with it and be gentile.

Stems: I, myself remove them. I find that stems tend to add a bitterness to the wine. This is from the tannins that the stems carry. Others prefer to have the stems present during fermentation. Again, its a matter of choice.

Yeast/k-meta: Again a matter of choice. I use k-meta to help slow the growth of wild yeast and bacteria. I do add a stable wine yeast (rather then rely on wild yeast that is wither in the must or in the air. Other prefer a more natural approach and do not add either.

I am a big believer in NOT adding sugar. I read the sugar levels in all of the grapes that I purchase and will not purchse any fruit where the sugar level is too low.

All of the choices that winemakers have to make is what makes winemaking an art form. Decide what you like and go for it!

 

[travolta1179]

Hi Robie,
I'm making red wine. To be honest with you, I just want to improve the final product. I guess I think by processing the grapes, measuring the sugar content and ph, I believe that I ca improve the taste of my dads wine. I might be wrong but would like to try.

 

[robie]

Hi Robie,
I'm making red wine. To be honest with you, I just want to improve the final product. I guess I think by processing the grapes, measuring the sugar content and ph, I believe that I ca improve the taste of my dads wine. I might be wrong but would like to try.

You are NOT wrong.
That makes lots of sense, and I was just wondering. Didn't know but maybe your dad didn't have a lot of success; maybe you just want to improve on his successes.
If you do the things you mentioned above, you should have good success.

That expensive bladder press is not going to make as much difference as better controlling and improving the process. They let you fine tune the pressure and control it in small increments. This does help but at a great expense, compared to the benefit gained by learning to use and buying a good PH meter and free SO2 test setup, to name a few.

Good luck!

 

[travolta1179]

Thank you Robie,

Any suggestions on wine making?

Regards,

Fred

 

[JohnT]

Travolta,

100 years ago, much of the science of wine was unknown. Even the role of yeast in the fermentation process was unknown until about the mid 1800's.

It is very easy to simply follow the roles of tradition and folklore. This is NOT to say that traditional methods will produce a bad wine. In fact, traditions are born of expeience and should always be considered.

It is the science of wine, however, that will give you the best chance at the best wine possible. I would recomend that you get one of the several books listed on this site and master the science end of things.

 

[robie]

I was out for a couple days.

Here is a pretty decent manual on making red wine from fresh//frozen grapes. Take a look. I would read it from cover to cover before you start your next batch. The same site has a manual for white wine.

http://www.morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/wredw.pdf

Good luck

 

[travolta1179]

Thank you so much for the info. I really appreciate