Chardonnay juice bucket questions

[corinth]

I just came home from Marabella winery in San Pedro where i bought a 3 gallon juice bucket of freshly squeezed chardonnay juice and Now I am home with questions. i have not checked the brix, ph or ta,etc on it since I literally just go home but i do have some questions. I want to first apologize as I usually do quite a bit of research before asking my questions but...

1. The juice has not had any K-meta yet so I assume i should do that first.
2. What temperature should I keep the juice at during fermentation. I assume cooler than reds, like the low 60's?
a. Since there are no skins--no pectic enzyme?
b. Should I add tannin to it?
c. How about oak-to oak or not to oak?
3. What type of yeast should I use. I have read that montrachet can be an option as can lavlin 71b-1122 but right now I am only guessing as I have not yet looked at the charts.
4. I know I need to keep the fermentation cool so I am considering putting the three gallons into a big igloo and surrounding it with ice to keep it as close to a temp you folks recommend.
5. I expect the fermentation to go slow so when the sg goes around.0994 , I should transfer it to a carboy and what temp should that be.

I apologize for all the questions but I had the opportunity and took it since they had the fresh juice and I was able to make the trip.

I again apologize since I usually do a lot of reading before( and I will as soon as I put away groceries) I ask questions but this juice is fresh and about 60 degrees right now and i do not want to blow it.

Lastly, I think I should partly put my appreciation to several threads, such as juice buckets versus kits and lastly, to John T who has been most kind as others have , convinced me to go for the bucket and I find it a honor to be mentored by him but not annoyingly so.(or is it tormented-only kidding)

I look forward to all of your informed feedback
Corinth

 

[Rocky]

Hi Corinth,

You probably need to get moving on your wine as soon as possible. Keep the wine as cold as possible until you are ready to pitch the yeast.

You will need to add about 1/8 t of K-meta to the juice to kill off any wild yeast. I would dissolve the K-meta in about a half cup of the juice and then stir it in thoroughly. Let the wine sit for about 12 hours with the K-meta. During this time, the temperature should rise to something close to ambient. As far as at what temperature to ferment the wine there are two schools of thought for white wines. One is to ferment in the low 70's F and one is to ferment in the mid 60's F. The latter requires more time to completely ferment and some feel it results in a more flavorful and softer wine. There is a wide choice in yeast. I have had good luck with Red Star Pasteur Champagne and Cote des Blancs. There are a number that you can use and the old standby, EC1118 is one of them. As far as tannin and oak are concerned, that is a personal choice based on your taste. Personally, I would not use tannin and I might lightly oak my Chardonnay.

On your question on "0.0994" I believe you meant SG 0.994 and at this SG, fermentation would be essentially complete. I would transfer from primary to a carboy at or about SG 1.020 under airlock. Fermentation will go slower at a lower temperature. You will probably need a 3 gallon carboy if you do not have one at present. At that point, you should be well on your way.

Let us know how you make out. Good luck.

 

[altavino]

the manual will help .

http://www.morewinemaking.com/public/pdf/wwhiw.pdf

you can freeze the juice to give you some time to get ready.

 

[corinth]

Chardonnay juice bucket questions

Great minds think alike...Rocky and Altavino.
since my original post yesterday(long day) I have been reading a lot including the white wine guide from more wine (thanks altavino) that I downloaded last year. Rocky, you are right about the numbers as I was fading as I was typing. I will try to keep the fermentation termp down as I am looking at all my igloo's and seeing which one will work that i can put my fermentation bucket into. I hit it yesterday with 1/8 of k-meta and todayI was calling everyone I know for an opinion . I will look over the yeast profiles. Another yeast which was mentioned by a wine maker I know who works for a winery near my son was D-47. I need to decide pretty soon as time is a wasting. As for Oak and tannin, not sure. still need to read more.
Thank you both for your time and effort.
Any other opinions out there?
Best regards
Corinth

 

[ColemanM]

No mention of oak yet so I will jump in. Powdered French oak or oak shavings/chips in the primary will give your chard a buttery flavor. If that's the wine you are going for, bam oak. If not, and want a more mineral crisp taste, "or not to oak" is the answer. Either way, I would try for a slow low temp (65*) ferment. Good luck!! Hope you get all the info you need.


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[Boatboy24]

Are you planning a malolactic fermentation?

 

[corinth]

Chardonnay juice bucket

ColemanM,
I was just reading about oak, the types and methods. I think I will but I think I will start a new thread on that one.
Thanks.
PS: Boatboy24, I am not sure. the Malolactic fermentation kinds scares me as I read about it. I may give it a try but I need to do a lot more reading on it though I have read it does appear to make a better chardonnay.

"into the valley of death rode the 600" or is it
"two roads diverged in the yellow wood and I...I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference!
Corinth

 

[syncnite]

What scares you about Malo fermentation? It's pretty simple and mine have all gone smoothly, even if a couple have taken a long time. I like the mouthfeel that results and I like knowing the wine is more stable after Malo.


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[Rocky]

Corinth, not to be a pedant, but "into the valley of death rode the 600" if you are referring to the Charge of the Light Brigade.

 

[corinth]

Chardonnay juice bucket questions

Hi Rocky,
You are right. I stand or should I say, I sit corrected.
Pedantic? Nah, possibly pushing erudition a bit?

Corinth

 

[corinth]

Chardonnay juice bucket questions

Syncnite:

What scares( not literally) is that I am still new to all of this. I need to read more about it, read some stuff on forums, make the info almost second nature and then I will be ready to give it a go. I need to organize my facts and then..I will know what to ask specifically about process.

Corinth