cayuga white juice

[cfmiller]

Local winery is selling this starting this week. Want to buy 6 gallons. They are selling a lot more types in the next several weeks, but not for at least 3 more weeks. That will be plenty of time for me to get this into the secondary, but I want to make sure I don't overextend myself, as I have a limited amount of space, buckets, and carboys.

Questions:
Anything I should add to the must besides the yeast to ensure optimum results?
How long should I plan on having this in the secondary?

Thanks!
Charles

 

[Julie]

check your ph and adjust if necessary, and add some nutrient.

 

[Runningwolf]

...also check the sg. I bet it's already half way through fermentation. This is probably last years juice they're getting rid of before this years harvest. It is perfectly ok i'm sure and you should take advantage of it.

 

[cfmiller]

No, it's this year's juice. Due to the very mild winter and hot summer, it is ripening way ahead of schedule. It is due to arrive Friday.

How long should I plan on having this in the secondary?

Thanks for the other suggestions!

 

[Runningwolf]

Grapes are early this year. Harvest along the Lake Erie will be about 3 weeks early. You'll be looking at about a week in the primary and then another week or two in the secondary to finish fermentation. You'll still need at least 4-6 months in the carboy to clear and age. You'll probably also want to cold stabilize this wine.

 

[Chateau Joe]

You'll be looking at about a week in the primary and then another week or two in the secondary to finish fermentation. You'll still need at least 4-6 months in the carboy to clear and age. You'll probably also want to cold stabilize this wine.

This is one of my favorite wines. Like everyone has said, check your ph because it can be acidic. If you can find a way. After 3-4 months, cold stabilize the wine and it will be awesome!! Enjoy some NY grapes!

 

[cfmiller]

I now had had this bulk aging since August. I would like to bottle it now, but looking at it, I am concerned that color is overly dark and it might have gotten some oxygen. How dark should this wine be? It's like the color of honey. Is this just due to the large quantity in the carboy?

Also, would you recommend backsweetening this wine? I don't have the capability to do cold stabilization, so I am trying to figure out what's best.

Thanks!

 

[spaniel]

I now had had this bulk aging since August. I would like to bottle it now, but looking at it, I am concerned that color is overly dark and it might have gotten some oxygen. How dark should this wine be? It's like the color of honey. Is this just due to the large quantity in the carboy?

Also, would you recommend backsweetening this wine? I don't have the capability to do cold stabilization, so I am trying to figure out what's best.

Thanks!

Did you keep the carbuoy completely topped up with wine? It does sound like oxidation. I once did a batch of this grape that I hadn't topped up and let ferment too hot (had to go out of town, less than ideal situation) and it did what you described. All you can do is taste it and see what it is like.

Did you check the SG (sugar) before you fermented, and where did you get it from? I am local to you and have 20 of these vines; I made ~15gal this year. I harvested well after they did, and the sugar was still too low and I had to add quite a bit due to the drought, even though I irrigated. I am concerned your alcohol may be too low to properly stabilize the wine.

Here is what my 2011 Cayuga White looks like:

 

[joeswine]

Question???????????????

WHAT TYPE YEAST ARE YOU USING AND AT WHAT TEMPERATURE IS YOUR OPERATIONS IN?

 

[JohnT]

I agree with the questions above, but I would add..

What is the PH of the wine? PH has a direct impact on wine color and also oxidation.

 

[cfmiller]

Thanks folks for the advice, I haven't had to time to open it up and look at it and measure somethings. I did keep it topped up. The picture is of great help, let me get it out of the bulk aging and see what color it appears.

I will keep you informed.

 

[cfmiller]

I tasted this today. I put the wine in a glass, and the color was not that of honey, but of, well, quite frankly, of urine. So too dark for this varietal. I tasted it, but could taste no hint of oxidation. It did seem somewhat out of balance and a bit too acidic, but since it tasted alright, I went ahead and bottled it up. I guess we will see!

 

[randomhero]

I was just going to post asking the same question about my Cayuga wine....it was harvested later than yours but when I bought it I had no idea what I was getting since I was so new to wine making. Does it look like this?

 

[cfmiller]

Yep...that's the color.

 

[spaniel]

I was just going to post asking the same question about my Cayuga wine....it was harvested later than yours but when I bought it I had no idea what I was getting since I was so new to wine making. Does it look like this?

View attachment 6420

It's going to look darker in the carbuoy than in a glass or clear bottle, simply because the light is passing through more wine. There is nothing wrong with the color in this picture. One of the three carbuoys I have from 2012 is darker than that even.

 

[randomhero]

Hmm I'll have to check it out then....its still cloudy too