Cake Anyone?

[PCharles]

Hey friends,

I had an exciting day pressing Merlot, Cab fran, and Petit verdot grapes. We started about 9AM by draining a 1000 gallon primary filled with Merlot. After draining the wine from below the cap, we took the cap/grape skins and pressed them. I'm including photos of the full primary, empty primary, and pressed cake. After we took care of the big primary, we moved to two other larger ferments, each holding about 400 gallons and several smaller ones. In each case we drained the wine and pressed the grapes. After collecting the wine, MLF was added to each of the containers. We finished about 3:30 PM and boy was I whipped!

The grapes in the last photo will be harvested next weekend and will complete the grape harvesting at my friends winery.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Paul

 

[ibglowin]

Paul,

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. I did some volunteer winery work today myself. Hows the chemistry on these grapes?

 

[rob]

Paul, I have often wonderd is it better to fill the press all the way to the top or would you get more juice by pressing smaller amounts.....does it make any difference???

 

[Wade E]

Best thing to do is layer some stems in the press to let the juice flow freely.

 

[rob]

Wade, I have always read and heard that stems in the press can give the wine alot of off taste

 

[PCharles]

Regarding Wine Press

Hey fellows,

We pressed lots of big loads and several smaller ones. It didn't seem to make a much difference. Left over hulls were just about the same.

Regarding pressing with stems, are you saying that stems would be added back into the mix? There might be sime advantage, but I wonder if the tems might impart some unwanted flavors?

Paul

 

[PCharles]

Regarding Mike's Question

Paul,

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. I did some volunteer winery work today myself. Hows the chemistry on these grapes?

Mark, here is the info that my friend shared with me following the initial crush of these grapes. I don't what the chemistries are now.

Merlot – 22 brix, ph was 4.0.

Cab Franc – 21.5 brix, ph was 4.06

Petit Verdot – 21 brix, ph was 3.9

These grapes were harvested one week early due to tropical storm Lee.

I had the pleasure of meeting the fellow who planted the vineyard and sold it to the current users. We discussed addition of acid (Tartaric Acid). Frank said he has always tested the wine for TA and pH, but never made any adjustments. Their wine has won many awards.

Paul

 

[ibglowin]

Paul,

That must is in need of some serious adjustment. What was the TA?

 

[Runningwolf]

Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing Paul.

 

[PCharles]

Not sure Mike

Mike,

I'm sure things are just fine with their settings.

 

[ibglowin]

I just spent all day yesterday helping to crush 10 tons of Cab Sauv with a similar pH of 3.9.

This must was being corrected into a proper pH range of 3.5-3.6 before fermentation which will make the wine more resistant to bacterial spoilage, need less SO2 to protect it from oxidation, mature slower, age longer, retain its color better.........

Again, thanks for sharing!

 

[PCharles]

Making Wine

Mike,

10 Tons, I hope they have some good equipment... any pics?

I mentioned earlier that the original fellow, Frank, who started the small vineyard, never adjusted his acid levels. I was surprised to here this as I've tried to be a good student of wine making... reading what I can. The pH levels you mentioned are the levels quoted in all the references I've seen. And yet these wines are excellent. In addition, they've had no problems with contamination which is described with higher pH's. My guess is that the pH is low enough to protect the wine.

As you know, there are two kinds of knowledge. One is book knowledge and the other is experience. There is nothing like experience. My new friend Frank has just that. I'm there to learn what real wine makers do. Far be it from me to question their techniques. You've likely heard the question "if you ask 10 wine makers for their opinion".

When I make my own wine I'll likley go by the book as much as possible. One thing I'm finding though, is that there is latitude regarding procedures in winemaking. Obviously there are limitations which exceeded will cause you trouble. These folks seem to have found their way of doing it. Frank, the vineyard planter and original winemaker is sharing with Jim, the new owner (2 years) the ropes. I'm glad to have the opportunity to assist and learn.

Like I said, "will work for wine".

I hope your not too sore from all your work yeasterday. I ready to head for some Advil myself.

Next weekend will be exciting for me. I'll be present with the last of the grapes are brought in. I'll be getting 18 gallons of freshly crushed grapes for me to work a little magic one.

One other thing I've learned is that no matter what scale you work at, 1 gallons, six gallons, or 1000 gallons, there are always unexpected challanges that one has to deal with. Some how we overcome.

Have a blessed day,
Paul

 

[FreshWineMaker]

I have found that dealing with fresh grapes, that you want to press in smaller amounts, but when you are dealing with fermented skins, you can just load them in, they tend to squeeze rather easily.