Chardonay
- Thread starter Boone1964
- Start date
Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2005
- Messages
- 15,188
- Reaction score
- 1,211
If you have put it through malo, your options are very limited. If you try to sweeten it now and needed to add sorbate to do so safely, you run the risk of ruining the wine as sorbate and malo don't play well and ruin the wine. Your best bet is to cold stabilize it and see if you can drop some tartrates to lower the acid a bit. Other than that, time will help take the edge off it. good luck with it.
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2010
- Messages
- 10,069
- Reaction score
- 5,947
That bitterness you taste might simply be the tanic compounds present in the wine. This will get better with age.
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2010
- Messages
- 10,069
- Reaction score
- 5,947
Chardonnay is a bit of a pain to deal with. It can be VERY tempermental!
You do not say if you are making wine from a kit, pail juice, or whole grapes.
If you are making from whole grapes, then you are most likely pressing the grapes too hard and absorbing some of the more bitter tannins in the grape. I find that enven if I crush and destem the grapes, a lot of that bitter tannin come through.
To fight this, I took on a more labor intensive method of NOT crushing/destemming the grapes. Just toss the whole clusters into the press and simply press under light pressure over an extended period of time. I then allow the juice to cold soak for a day or two, then rack the juice into my primary. This removes any pesky seeds, skins, or pulp that is present in the must.
The results were well worth the effort. The chardonnay turned out crisp and very clean.
You do not say if you are making wine from a kit, pail juice, or whole grapes.
If you are making from whole grapes, then you are most likely pressing the grapes too hard and absorbing some of the more bitter tannins in the grape. I find that enven if I crush and destem the grapes, a lot of that bitter tannin come through.
To fight this, I took on a more labor intensive method of NOT crushing/destemming the grapes. Just toss the whole clusters into the press and simply press under light pressure over an extended period of time. I then allow the juice to cold soak for a day or two, then rack the juice into my primary. This removes any pesky seeds, skins, or pulp that is present in the must.
The results were well worth the effort. The chardonnay turned out crisp and very clean.
Tyroneshoolace
Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2010
- Messages
- 87
- Reaction score
- 4
I agree to all that has been said prior.
I would give cold stabilization a go first.
Unfortunately if it is a bright fruity chard you are looking for, the Malo has rounded that out. Since you did a Malo you could also let it sit on a little oak for some time which may help it round out a bit further
I would give cold stabilization a go first.
Unfortunately if it is a bright fruity chard you are looking for, the Malo has rounded that out. Since you did a Malo you could also let it sit on a little oak for some time which may help it round out a bit further
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2005
- Messages
- 15,188
- Reaction score
- 1,211
Malolactic fermentation converts the malic acid to a milder form of lactic acid giving it a rounder buttery characteristic you probably are after. If it is sharp and acidic (and not just tannins) then the CS will help drop some tartaric acid out, loweing the overall acid and making it a bit less sharp to the tongue.
Similar threads
