Beginner's diary - Shiraz making

[Obelix]

Cheers Slappy.
Good to hear. Some plastics seem to perform better

I'm planing to buy another variable capacity stainless steel tank for the next season. With this one, the top sits on the wine and slides down as you empty it. Paraffin oil around the edge keeps the air out.
This way I won't need to bottle a portion of wine.

Yes, the Shiraz is nice.
I'm not drinking wine at the expected pace so it will last me longer Still on the first keg.
Thinking if I should also try Merlot next year....

 

[Slappy]

Cheers Slappy.
Good to hear. Some plastics seem to perform better

I'm planing to buy another variable capacity stainless steel tank for the next season. With this one, the top sits on the wine and slides down as you empty it. Paraffin oil around the edge keeps the air out.
This way I won't need to bottle a portion of wine.

Yes, the Shiraz is nice.
I'm not drinking wine at the expected pace so it will last me longer Still on the first keg.
Thinking if I should also try Merlot next year....

Glad your wines going well. I like the idea of the variable capacity tank but wouldn't use one myself as I don't drink wine quick enough and give a lot away.
I am going to need more storage next vintage so hopefully can score a few more kegs for next to nothing if I'm lucky.

Merlot would be interesting I found a bit for sale around the place last vintage. I want to do some shiraz next vintage (crush quarter tonne) and also do a couple of small batches of whatever else I can rustle up (50-100kg of fruit). Last vintage I saw chardonnay, pinot, merlot, cabernet and a few others for sale by the kg. But struggled to find shiraz going under 1 tonne quantities for good quality fruit.
Guess I just got to wait and see what comes up. I can get the same grenache again if I want to as a back up plan but don't really want another 250 bottles of it. I want to make a few wines that I can cellar 5+ years if I can.

 

[Obelix]

As per Ajmassa advice I added a bit of Tartaric Acid to the non-MLF-ed wine.
Tried a sip before and it tastes more astringent than the MLFed wine. I now understand the difference better and will MLF the lot next year.
The PH was checked at 3.9 and I added 20g of Tartaric acid
(0.4g per litre) - being on the cautious side.

So I bottled the second keg - the one with the Tartaric as described above.
I find this wine slightly more "lively", although very similar to the first keg.
It's somewhat more drinkable but I think some of the complexity tasted in the first keg may have been lost.

The PH shows the same though, so the Tartaric did nothing for re: PH, but has impacted the taste.

My wife mis-approprited whats' left of the first keg for herself She considers it better.

Had a bit of a drama with the third keg yesterday. The summer kicked in suddenly - from 24C to 37C, and I had a 100ml spill through the water lock on the top.
The room is obviously more stable than the outside, but still experienced a jump in temperature - enough to affect the volume of the liquid. Or the keg expands/shrinks at the different rate than the wine.

I was scared at first that the wine re-started fermenting - but I MLF-ed the wine and added sulfites so it should not happen.
Drained 100ml - just to create some space in the keg - tastes exactly like the first keg. Somewhat better - as it had another 4 months to settle.
Another lesson - not to overfill the kegs.

Should I bottle it or leave it in the keg another 4-5 months?

 

[Obelix]

Slappy, you wouldn't be in W. Australia? IF so - I can put you in touch with this small Shiraz grower.

 

[Slappy]

Slappy, you wouldn't be in W. Australia? IF so - I can put you in touch with this small Shiraz grower.

Hey Obelix I'm in South Australia. Thanks for the offer though sounds like you're pretty happy with how your stuff turned out.
I'm going to crush 3/4 - 1 tonne next vintage. Most likely half tonne of the old vine grenache and quarter tonne of shiraz. I'm building a friendship with a small winemaker I know and am hoping to get some shiraz off his block. I'm going to be bottling the remainder of my wine over the next few weeks now I feel it's ready.

 

[REDRUM]

Good to hear it's all going well Obelix! I have moved most of my shiraz from the larger demijohn to a bunch of smaller 5L bottles, and bottled the remainder. It seems a nice medium weight and fairly well integrated (but some more time will help round off the edges a bit).
I'm thinking about buying a VCT for my father-in-law's shed, how have you found the floating lid paraffin seal option? Tossing up between that and another type of variable capacity tank that has an inflatable seal for the lid...

 

[Obelix]

Glad to hear your wine is developing nicely Slappy.
You haven't made much this year, and also had some damage. Do you have enough? Are you going to make more this year around?
Slappy seems to be making some serious quantities.

The keg that had some tartaric added is a hit with my family and friends and is disappearing quickly.
Wonder how much I'll have left by the next season's wine.

Haven't purchased the VCT with the floating lid yet. I'll purchase all the components in January (yeast, yeast food, MLF etc, etc.) and order that VCT then from the same WA based supplier to reduce the delivery charges.
I already know how the floating lid it works, as my brother in law uses them in Croatia. He makes about 600L of a great Merlot and uses 3-4 tanks and his wine is great, so...
Otherwise, they are simpler than the inflatable seal one. And cheaper.
However, the one with the inflatable seal comes with the fermentation lock - so good for the fermentation phase. Otherwise, I found it slightly cumbersome to align the top just above the wine.
These are minor worries though.
I also use a 195L plastic container as a temporary storage for bulk raking. This is a discarded olives import container I fitted with a plastic tap.

 

[REDRUM]

Yeah I don't have huge amounts. About 15L each of Shiraz, Grenache & red blend of Grenache / Shiraz / Primitivo (but my father-in-law also has about 150L that we made together, so I'm in no danger of running out of homemade wine).
As I think I mentioned the Grenache was picked way too early and it's very light.
I was talking to a guy at Winequip and he recommended the inflatable seal over paraffin oil seal for a range of reasons - but yeah they're more expensive.

Also, I'm still keen for a bottle swap if you're interested!

 

[Obelix]

Re: Bottle swap
Sure. Let's take this offline via messaging

 

[Obelix]

Excited about the next season as I found a Zinfandel grapes grower nearby.
Already reserved 14 boxes (around 280 kilos). My favourite wine - happy , happy

What's different this year is that the grapes will be ready 3 weeks before, and I'm planning to inoculate the MLF (VP41) with the yeast.
So, when I say "with the yeast" - I'm not sure if the yeast and MLF bacteria should go in together, or should I introduce the VP41 a day or two later?
Any advice would be great.

 

[Johnd]

Excited about the next season as I found a Zinfandel grapes grower nearby.
Already reserved 14 boxes (around 280 kilos). My favourite wine - happy , happy

What's different this year is that the grapes will be ready 3 weeks before, and I'm planning to inoculate the MLF (VP41) with the yeast.
So, when I say "with the yeast" - I'm not sure if the yeast and MLF bacteria should go in together, or should I introduce the VP41 a day or two later?
Any advice would be great.

I’ve been coinoculation for som time, and normally introduce the MLB when the first good, solid cap forms. At that point, your fermentation is underway, and that’s my signal. That said, I doubt it would make any difference a little earlier or later.

 

[Obelix]

Thanks John.
Sounds good.

 

[Obelix]

So the cycle is finally completed as the last (the 3rd) keg has been bottled.
This keg had no tartaric added, and seemed to have bulk aged better. The liquid is slightly clearer, and tastes different from the other two kegs again.
Still, aging, tartaric...no difference in the Ph, so wont' play with the Tartaric again.
Can't make up my mind which keg I like the best, but I stored 10 bottles from each keg to be consumed through the next 5-6 years so I learn how it changes due to the aging.

Also the new season grapes crushed - but it is Zinfandel/Primitivo this time around and this thread is about Shiraz so I'll conclude it here.

Really appreciate everyone's input. A lot of lessons learned Thanks

 

[mainshipfred]

So the cycle is finally completed as the last (the 3rd) keg has been bottled.
This keg had no tartaric added, and seemed to have bulk aged better. The liquid is slightly clearer, and tastes different from the other two kegs again.
Still, aging, tartaric...no difference in the Ph, so wont' play with the Tartaric again.
Can't make up my mind which keg I like the best, but I stored 10 bottles from each keg to be consumed through the next 5-6 years so I learn how it changes due to the aging.

Also the new season grapes crushed - but it is Zinfandel/Primitivo this time around and this thread is about Shiraz so I'll conclude it here.

Really appreciate everyone's input. A lot of lessons learned Thanks

Keep us posted on the new journey. Are you saying your harvest has already taken place? Our grapes from SA and Chili don't arrive until late April or early May and you are close to the same latitude. I realize there is shipping involved but not that long.

 

[Obelix]

Last year's Shiraz was ready around 20. Feb.
Primitivo is by default an early harvest. It seems also a bit shrivelled, so even possibly picked a bit late. I don't mind, the BRIX is correct at 23, the ph too at 3.4 and is quite juicy.

Not sure what's happening in South Australia, but in the West, the climate is dry and hot so it matures early.
I've seen advertisments for Shiraz being ready at 23 BRIX.

 

[mainshipfred]

Last year's Shiraz was ready around 20. Feb.
Primitivo is by default an early harvest. It seems also a bit shrivelled, so even possibly picked a bit late. I don't mind, the BRIX is correct at 23, the ph too at 3.4 and is quite juicy.

Not sure what's happening in South Australia, but in the West, the climate is dry and hot so it matures early.
I've seen advertisments for Shiraz being ready at 23 BRIX.

Actually I was referring to South Africa. We have no source for grapes from South Australia that I'm aware of, only juice.

 

[Johnd]

Actually I was referring to South Africa. We have no source for grapes from South Australia that I'm aware of, only juice.

We should find a source, I’ve tasted the Obelix Shiraz, and it’s quite impressive, well made, and good fruit seems very obtainable in Australia.

 

[Obelix]

Got that. I actually thought you were talking about South America.
South Australia is the largest wine region in Australia, and I'm not sure if the grapes are ready at the same time. Redrum may advise if he gets s chance to read this.

Still, definitely early. In Dalmatia (South Croatia) it would be ready a full month later.

 

[Obelix]

Do you actually get the grapes from South Africa and South America?
And crush it in your Spring?

 

[mainshipfred]

Do you actually get the grapes from South Africa and South America?
And crush it in your Spring?

Yes we do but it's not until April or May.