Buttery Chardonnay

[s0615353]

September can not come soon enough! I was looking to make a 6 gallon batch of Chardonnay from California juice once the season rolls around. I really am a big fan of commercial Chardonnay that has that classic balance in between fresh fruit (citrus, apples, pears, etc.) and buttery/vanilla creamyness (from MLF, sur lie, and French Oak). Can anyone offer up some tips on how to achieve this for a homebrewer. From all of my reading on this forum and the web here is what I was thinking:

1. Ferment with Lalvin 71B-1122 (20-40% MLF and preservation of fruit flavors sounds good to me)
2. 13 -14 ABV with just a hair of residual sugar
3. Shoot for 3.6 TA after fermentation and cold stabilization (if needed)
4. Stir the fine lees once a week until desired smoothness/nuttyness is achieved.


Let me know any tips/suggestions that you have for this next project.

 

[Julie]

September can not come soon enough! I was looking to make a 6 gallon batch of Chardonnay from California juice once the season rolls around. I really am a big fan of commercial Chardonnay that has that classic balance in between fresh fruit (citrus, apples, pears, etc.) and buttery/vanilla creamyness (from MLF, sur lie, and French Oak). Can anyone offer up some tips on how to achieve this for a homebrewer. From all of my reading on this forum and the web here is what I was thinking:

1. Ferment with Lalvin 71B-1122 (20-40% MLF and preservation of fruit flavors sounds good to me)
2. 13 -14 ABV with just a hair of residual sugar
3. Shoot for 3.6 TA after fermentation and cold stabilization (if needed)
4. Stir the fine lees once a week until desired smoothness/nuttyness is achieved.


Let me know any tips/suggestions that you have for this next project.

Don't forget to add the oak.

 

[s0615353]

*5. Add Medium Toast French Oak

 

[edv]

One thing I did with a recent Chardonnay was this: I threw in about 2.5L of off the shelf juice from the grocery store... the product was from Sun-Rype and it was an Apple-Pear-Vanilla blend (a clear non-pulp juice).
The result was delightful...the vanilla taste was amplified (my wife loves that) and the apple goes well with the oak.

Just an idea.
I think it's always good to experiment!

 

[joeswine]

No water on the fire

NOT ALL THE TIME WE CAN ACHIEVE WHAT A EXPERT WINERY LIKE COPPOLA CAN ACHIEVE WITH ITS CHARDONAY'S,IT SHOULD TAKE A YEAR TO ACHIEVE THE BASIC WINE WITH OUT THE MLF ADDITION AND RESTIRRING OF THE LEES BACK AND FORTH INTO THE MIX AND THE SETTLING OUT ITS A STRAIN ON THE QUALITY OF THE JUICE WE'VE USING,ITS GREAT TO WANT TO TRY TO GET THERE AND I APPLAUD YOU FOR WANTING TO ,I HAVE TAKEN THE PATENTS TO DO THIS ON MORE THAN 10 OCCASIONS AND TO A CERTAIN EXTENT HAVE DO IT ,BUT NEVER QUIT.

JUST A LITTLE INSIGHT ,THERE ARE OTHER WAYS................................

 

[Turock]

I like buttery Chard also. When we did an MLF on some Pinot Noir, that rich buttery taste is what I was going for but it didn't turn out that way. Later on, I was doing some reading on how to obtain that effect and it was said that you need to stop the MLF as soon as your chromotography test shows no malic. If you let the MLF go too long, the buttery effect is lost. So test your MLF every day as you approach.maybe, 2 weeks into the MLF and keep an eye on it daily. Stop it by sulfiting it.

 

[JohnT]

I like buttery Chard also. When we did an MLF on some Pinot Noir, that rich buttery taste is what I was going for but it didn't turn out that way. Later on, I was doing some reading on how to obtain that effect and it was said that you need to stop the MLF as soon as your chromotography test shows no malic. If you let the MLF go too long, the buttery effect is lost. So test your MLF every day as you approach.maybe, 2 weeks into the MLF and keep an eye on it daily. Stop it by sulfiting it.

Can't agree more. MLF is perhaps the best way to achieve that "buttery" taste. As said above, the MLB (malo-lactic bacteria) will convert malic acid (much like a garpefruit) to lactic acid (found in milk). This ends up taking the bite out of you wine and presenting you with a wonderfull softness.

 

[robie]

Nothing will take the place of getting everything just right, but
If after you have done everything you still have a little bite and lack of smoothness, try adding some Biolees. It will take out some of that bite and add a tiny hint of what comes across as sweetness.

Always do a bench test on a small quantity to determine if you like what Biolees will do to a Chardonnay.

Just don't overdo it!

 

[s0615353]

Turock, I have never done a MLF before, but I do have a package of Bacchus and a MLF tester that has been collecting dust. If I go the route of MLF, can anyone recomend a different yeast strain since the 71B will no longer be nessisary?

P.S. Joes wine: I know that commercial winemakers who do this for a living have a major leg up on people making it in their garage as a hobby. But where would the fun be in the hobby if we did not try.

 

[s0615353]

One other question that I had thought of on the MLF topic is that in order for my Bacchus to work the wine needs to be below 20 ppm of SO2. Does anyone know most California juice is under this number. On my last batch from Chile the number was right around 25 ppm for the Cab Sauv and Pinot. If not, should I get an extra batch of grapes to press just in case I need to drop the SO2? The location where I get my juice is http://www.ginopinto.com/ if it helps answer the question.

 

[MalvinaScordaad]

I like buttery Chard also. When we did an MLF on some Pinot Noir, that rich buttery taste is what I was going for but it didn't turn out that way. Later on, I was doing some reading on how to obtain that effect and it was said that you need to stop the MLF as soon as your chromotography test shows no malic. If you let the MLF go too long, the buttery effect is lost. So test your MLF every day as you approach.maybe, 2 weeks into the MLF and keep an eye on it daily. Stop it by sulfiting it.

The problem as you state is due to the ML bugs when finished eating the Malic Acid turn to the Diacetyl ( the chemical in Buttery Microwave Popcorn) that was also produced during the conversion of the Malic to Lactic acid. Some methods to enhance the buttery flavors in Chardonnay are first to use a weakened amount of MLF culture so as to not have too many bugs burning through the Malic and then feasting on the Diacetyl. The second is to arrest the MLF before it is finished when you can detect the strong presence of Diacetyl and then using Lysozyme to stop the MLF. Kmeta is not the best way to stop it and no insurance it will stop in time to preserve the Diacetyl.
Malvina

 

[Turock]

Yeah--maybe Lysozyme is the better way to stop the MLF--I'll have to go back and try reading on that some more. There is a ton of info on MLF if you Google the process so that your first attempt at it is successful. You really should follow the directions very well.