2018 Grape Season Underway

[mainshipfred]

I only started drinking or knowing anything about wine for about 3 years now. When I first started we did a tasting in a loud tasting room. When the poured told us it was Cab Sauv I heard Caps Off. So the name will be, you guessed it, "Caps Off" and the juice bucket will be "Caps Off Too". Hopefully it will be caps off to the winemaker as well.

 

[jburtner]

I only started drinking or knowing anything about wine for about 3 years now. When I first started we did a tasting in a loud tasting room. When the poured told us it was Cab Sauv I heard Caps Off. So the name will be, you guessed it, "Caps Off" and the juice bucket will be "Caps Off Too". Hopefully it will be caps off to the winemaker as well.

And it’s going to be caps off to the closure capsules as the wine is glugged by the gallons! That’s a great name with a cool story.

Cheers!
-johann

 

[pgentile]

Nope it's good enough to stand on it's own. Can't wait to get my hands on a barrel.

I will be pressing the carmenere\malbec tomorrow or monday I have two buckets of carmenere and 1 of malbec to throw on the skins after press.

 

[Ajmassa]

Are there any negative effects from pressing early? Around 1.010 - 1.015 ish??
Aside from less time on skins for more extraction that is. With use of enzymes getting enough extraction is not really a concern.
But timing of the press is not something that is routine for me. I haven’t done it enough to have a preference. I guess I’m asking if given the choice to press above 1.000 or below 1.000 which would be the better option if circumstances don’t allow pressing at ideal 1.000?

 

[ceeaton]

Are there any negative effects from pressing early? Around 1.010 - 1.015 ish??
Aside from less time on skins for more extraction that is. With use of enzymes getting enough extraction is not really a concern.
But timing of the press is not something that is routine for me. I haven’t done it enough to have a preference. I guess I’m asking if given the choice to press above 1.000 or below 1.000 which would be the better option if circumstances don’t allow pressing at ideal 1.000?

I've heard from 1.010 to dry, as long as a nice cap is still being formed. If that cap gets thin, it means the CO2 production is dropping and it's protective properties could be more easily compromised, especially in an open fermentor, which a brute pretty much is, even with the lid on it. At 1.020 I try to schedule in my mind when I can do it, expecting a .008 to .010 drop the next day, a bit less each succeeding day as dryness is approached, depending on the yeast (AMH normally has half that change).

 

[stickman]

I agree with Craig above. Oxygen protection is probably a greater issue with delicate reds and less an issue with dark tannic grapes. I think generally short maceration is used for fruit forward early to drink wines, as well as when you want to limit extraction of harsh tannins, for example, when the grapes are under ripe or uneven ripeness and green seeds, mold or rot, etc.

 

[mainshipfred]

I don't have enough experience with grapes either but my preference is not only color but tannin extraction. I was looking for a high tannin wine in my Cab and judging from my grapes I thought I was able to get it.
I fermented 3 different yeasts and prior to pressing 2 were below 1.000 and the third was 1.010 but all still had a nice cap. My bigger concern was the S02 levels since the grapes were around 6 ppm and I didn't add any sulfites. 2 days after pressing I racked and added sulfites to get to 15 ppm. Trying to be careful since I'm using MBR 31 which has a relatively low S02 tolerance.

 

[stickman]

You didn't add much so nothing to worry about, but generally I would hold off on adding sulfite if there is any fermentation happening. The reason is that yeast release a small amount of acetaldehyde that usually binds beneficially with color and tannin making the color permanent, but if free sulfite is present the acetaldehyde will bind with the sulfite instead.

 

[mainshipfred]

@stickman, thanks for that, I didn't know but when I pressed, all three went into the same carboy. The combined gravity when I added the sulfite was .996. I still have the Malbec, Carmenere and Merlot to ferment and since I'm reusing the skins I have another few weeks before I MLF and wanted to error on the side of caution.

 

[Ajmassa]

Just so much going on this weekend stretched my time very thin. Making sure Mother’s Day, Which got off to bad start, ended strong and successful was my #1 priority. Wine took a backseat.
I ran out of time last night after transferring the free run to glass. But did not yet press. I have no clue if this is acceptable or not, but I left the skins to be pressed in the brutes and put some sanitized plastic across the surface and then the lids.
Hoping the press this afternoon still goes as planned.
IIRC I saw something similar done to the grapes for an extended maceration by @zadvocate.

 

[JohnT]

View attachment 48531

I have to admit, that is a pretty nice crusher you got there @Ajmassa5983 !!! Perhaps you could send me a bottle of this vintage??

Use it in good health!

 

[JohnT]

I am crushing my Chilean grapes on 5/19. Apparently the cabernet was late in coming.

 

[pgentile]

So yesterday at 6pm I was racking off the free run, and before I could press the grapes I got called back into work and couldn't. Has anyone ever taken the free run and then pressed the next day? Everything still smells good, but won't get a chance to press until tonight. Free run carmenere/malbec taste was pretty darn good.

 

[Ajmassa]

So yesterday at 6pm I was racking off the free run, and before I could press the grapes I got called back into work and couldn't. Has anyone ever taken the free run and then pressed the next day? Everything still smells good, but won't get a chance to press until tonight. Free run carmenere/malbec taste was pretty darn good.

Lol. Yeah dude. Just about 12 hours ago actually. 24 hrs after pumping free run. That’s why I covered the surface in plastic a few posts back. Mother’s Day/work/softball etc... can’t pause it!
It worked well. No off smells or anything. Just another day on the skins. The press run measured .992 SG. Gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[JohnT]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jMNyPqC12O4&ved=0ahUKEwi0vuSonIjbAhUQtlMKHVbjAt8QwqsBCC4wAg&usg=AOvVaw3l8tSRmoiawjWmk7_qBL38

Sorry, I could not resist....

 

[Ajmassa]

I bought a Syrah juice pail almost as an afterthought. Kept it frozen until grape ferments were complete.
I pressed the grapes very lightly knowing I would be re-using. Started it last night and already kicked off.
I’m not sure if it’s going to be disgusting or amazing. I added 300 lbs worth of Malbec skins to only 6 gal of juice. I now have 10 gallons of slop. And now the cap is bigger than the very thick wine.
I bumped the sugar to over 1.100 thinking this thing will be loaded with tannin and I’ll need high abv and high acid to balance. Not going for traditional Syrah here. Going for my own creation.
Anyone else fermented slop? Am I on target with my thought process ? Or have I ruined this?

 

[Johnd]

I bought a Syrah juice pail almost as an afterthought. Kept it frozen until grape ferments were complete.
I pressed the grapes very lightly knowing I would be re-using. Started it last night and already kicked off.
I’m not sure if it’s going to be disgusting or amazing. I added 300 lbs worth of Malbec skins to only 6 gal of juice. I now have 10 gallons of slop. And now the cap is bigger than the very thick wine.
I bumped the sugar to over 1.100 thinking this thing will be loaded with tannin and I’ll need high abv and high acid to balance. Not going for traditional Syrah here. Going for my own creation.
Anyone else fermented slop? Am I on target with my thought process ? Or have I ruined this?

I've done the same, combining juice with a large quantity of skins of a different varietal, although, in my case, the juice was a kit. You're right, it does make a very thick and sloppy concoction, but follow your normal protocol, punching down as best you can, checking SG of the juice (which is hard to pull out for a test, best done immediately after a punchdown), press around 1.000 as normal. In my batches, wasn't really able to draw off any significant amount of wine prior to pressing, so just scooped slop into the press and allowed the wine to flow out on its own through strainers. IIRC, a little stirring of the must in the press helps to release the wine from the press before actually applying any pressure to it. If you don't get most of the wine out before pressing, you might get some slop squishing out around the press plate. In the end, the product was just fine, and the wine was way better than just a simple kit, and didn't have any of the normally discernible kit characteristics. In the end, the yield was just fine, ended up with a full 6 gallon carboy after racking off of the gross lees. You'll do fine with this process, but it's a little more time consuming.............

 

[pgentile]

I bought a Syrah juice pail almost as an afterthought. Kept it frozen until grape ferments were complete.
I pressed the grapes very lightly knowing I would be re-using. Started it last night and already kicked off.
I’m not sure if it’s going to be disgusting or amazing. I added 300 lbs worth of Malbec skins to only 6 gal of juice. I now have 10 gallons of slop. And now the cap is bigger than the very thick wine.
I bumped the sugar to over 1.100 thinking this thing will be loaded with tannin and I’ll need high abv and high acid to balance. Not going for traditional Syrah here. Going for my own creation.
Anyone else fermented slop? Am I on target with my thought process ? Or have I ruined this?

My bet it is going to be good.

Last night I was going to press the carmenere/malbec that I had syphoned the free run off the previous night. But I got home late from work and threw the 2 carmenere and 1 malbec buckets I had picked up at lunch time right into the unpressed grapes. I was just too tired and didn't want them sitting another night, cap was pushing up the towel this morning smell was great. Did add nutrient.

 

[Ajmassa]

I kinda feel ya there. Pressing is a whole lotta work for little bit of payoff for the volume we make. Easier to buy a pail and dump right in.
This thing is so thick tho I know I won’t get that much free run. Gonna be some work to separate everything with pressing and extra racks probably. Just hoping I didn’t overdo it. Might be a Syrah on steroids.

 

[Ajmassa]

I've done the same, combining juice with a large quantity of skins of a different varietal, although, in my case, the juice was a kit. You're right, it does make a very thick and sloppy concoction, but follow your normal protocol, punching down as best you can, checking SG of the juice (which is hard to pull out for a test, best done immediately after a punchdown), press around 1.000 as normal. In my batches, wasn't really able to draw off any significant amount of wine prior to pressing, so just scooped slop into the press and allowed the wine to flow out on its own through strainers. IIRC, a little stirring of the must in the press helps to release the wine from the press before actually applying any pressure to it. If you don't get most of the wine out before pressing, you might get some slop squishing out around the press plate. In the end, the product was just fine, and the wine was way better than just a simple kit, and didn't have any of the normally discernible kit characteristics. In the end, the yield was just fine, ended up with a full 6 gallon carboy after racking off of the gross lees. You'll do fine with this process, but it's a little more time consuming.............

This is a good thing. Reassurance is what I was looking for. Thanks for the insight.