Extended Maceration: 3 Weeks

[VinesnBines]

Good for you! I think you will be very happy with the results.

 

[clusterbuster75]

I must respectfully disagree with some of these comments. I have done an extended maceration on Norton almost every year for over 20 years. I use a slow acting yeast. Oxygen is your friend during fermentation, not your enemy. Open that tank, punch down a few times a day. Heck, blow a fan on it while punching down. I've had gold medal and best of show results. I only use quality fruit I've grown myself. My red fermenter is homemade and has lots of surface area.. I haven't ever attempted nor would I ever attempt this with chambourcin. I guess it kinda depends on your grape you are working with.

 

[buzi]

Yes, so where are we at?!?

 

[Kitchen]

32 days of total skin time. Wine went from a lighter mouth feel with a bit of tannin roughness right after fermentation finished, to being tough as nails in the 20s, and then rounded out to be pretty smooth with a nice mouth feel by the time I pressed. When pressing, I kept the free run and pressed separate, then blended enough with a 4:1::FR : Pr for a small barrel I have, and the rest (1:3::FR : Pr) went into a carboy. The barreled wine is rounding out nicely, becoming more velvety, darker in cooler with a nice flavor. The wine the carboy is not progressing as well, but I write that off as it not being in a wooden barrel and not receiving the effects a barrel gives.

 

[buzi]

Very nice experiment. Still a bit too gutsy for my blood. I am glad it worked out for you!

 

[JustinTG]

Very promising for us other amateurs looking to get some more skin time.

Curious, how long to you plan on keeping it in barrel (is it a new barrel?).

 

[Kitchen]

Just to make clear, after fermentation was over, I did shrink wrap the container, cut a small hole in the wrap, pumped in Argon gas, put the lid on and then shrink wrapped it again, and proceeded to taste test and punch down every two days while repeating this process each time. So, it produced great results but with a decent amount of work. Certainly worth it, although I want to make this clear. I hope for 8 months of barrel time, perhaps more if I can get it. This wine is very fruit forward and could get a decent amount of oak without being over powered. This was newer barrel; I aged a Chardonnay in the barrel previously for a solid month to decrease the oak impact so I could age this wine specifically for a longer time frame. I am hoping that was enough; we will see.

If I did not have a barrel, I am not sure if this would be worth it. The barrel is rounding out the tannin profile nicely. The carboy version not so much and will probably need more bottle time. Interesting the effects of gradual oxygenation and evaporation.

My next venture may be buying a few cooper tools, rigging a barrel rack so as to spin the barrels in it, removing the heads, pouring in crushed grapes, reselling the heads and barrel fermenting a red wine for 40+ days. It will depend on where I move on from here. My palette for wine is gauged toward Europe, focusing on the terrier. Perhaps a good side gig, but feel mead would be a better market too hit.

 

[pete1325]

Seed Tannins will come when you press. too much will make you pukker.

 

[meridaen]

I'm like you Kitchen I ferment in large food-grade bins. Always macerate to between 21-28 days, and haven't yet experienced any problems. Once the cap stops rising, I carefully transfer to 20L buckets so that each is totally full, then place a lid on them firmly without being fully sealed, removing them only when I press. Haven't had any issues to date (4 vintages), and this has worked with Shiraz, Cab Sav, Merlot, and Mourvedre. To be honest I didn't realise this was dangerous as I was simply following advice from my mate at the winery I purchase the grapes from.