Bad computation

[Bruce53]

Problem: Figures at crush time do not fie. We carefully weighed a gross 360 lbs of merlot grapes, including stems and containers, and a net of 320 lbs of must. Using 6.25 gallons of must per 100 lbs of grapes, we figured we would have 20 gallons of must. We got 35 gallons, 33 gallons in a 33 gallon RubberMaid trash can plus two gallons. [We then removed ten gallons from the trash can to another container to allow for the cap.] Anyone with a possible explanation of the gained 15 gallons? Many thanks…

 

[ibglowin]

Your calculations sound about right. I would have guessed closer to 23 gallons off the bat. How many stems are in your must taking up room? That calculation is really for grapes only not grapes and a boatload of stems. The only other possibility I can think of is your grapes have a a lot more juice than normal. Are you sure you somehow didn't get more than 360lbs of fruit? Perhaps somebody lost count and you ended up with more than 360lbs. Are you sure you have a 33G Brute? Just throwing out things to double check.

 

[robie]

Yep, 23 or maybe up to 26, but 35? Surely does sound like a 20 gallon brute, not a 33.

 

[Bruce53]

Calculations...

Big mystery but the numbers were very accurate. My wife & I were most careful. Absolutely ALL the stems were taken out; again, my wife. The stems, wet, weighed 18 lbs and the containers 22 lbs. The must went to within 2" of the brim with 3 gal left over. The container is a 32 gal Ace can.
Anyhow, it is fermenting like mad now with a heavy cap. All's well that ends well. Thanks for the suggestions...

 

[naperwineguy]

The way I've always figured it was to divide the weight of grapes w/ stems by 10 to figure out how many gallons (approx of must I would have) then multiply by either .60 to .65 (depending on the red grape variety) to figure out approximately how much fermented wine I should expect at press time. In essence with a merlot grape, 3 36 lb lugs should produce around 6.5 gallons of fermented wine.