fermenting temperature

[rrussell]

I have made quite a few kits and have not tried to control the temperature as the yeast does its thing, letting the temp rise as much as it will. I have never had any problems as a result but was wondering if this was a dangerous practice and what could happen. I was also wondering if the taste of the final product is affected by this practice and how would the taste be improved if the temp was kept in the low seventies instead of letting it rise at will. Thanks for any input, Ron.

 

[ibglowin]

Cooler is usually always better. At extremely high temps > 86 degrees F you risk killing off the yeast as well as losing lighter volatile compounds in the wine. As long as your less than ~80 degrees you should be OK and not have any worries.

Here is a pretty good article on the effects of fermenting temperature on red wines from Wine Business Monthly:

Continuous Temperature Monitoring During Red Wine Fermentation

 

[IQwine]

How do U monitor the temps?? ibglowin

 

[ibglowin]

I just use one of those adhesive temp strips that usually come with the primary's. They are accurate to within a degree.

Adhesive Thermometer

 

[rrussell]

that is also what I was using but have recently invested in a floating thermometer. The strips do seem to be pretty accurate according to the thermomometer though.

 

[rrussell]

Ibglowin, thanks for the article. I will definitly read it.

 

[vcasey]

See this article as well since its referring to making wine from wine kits.
http://www.winemakermag.com/stories/kit/article/indices/25-kit-winemaking/813-maintaining-fermentation-temperatures-wine-kits

 

[ibglowin]

Forgot about that one. Thats a good one too!

 

[ASAI]

Interesting information. I am of the opinion that the ambient temp in my wine room(Pantry) of 78-82 is too hot to make/age wine. So I need to keep my 2 red (Megoili and Cru Premium) in storage until Sept or Oct.
Any one want to suggest other wise?

 

[ibglowin]

We have people online from Florida and even Arizona that make kits in the Summer months without any problems. Just try and keep it as cool as you can when fermenting. You can always use a wet towel wrapped around the primary with a fan to get the evaporative cooling effect going. It will usually drop things a few degrees at least depending on the humidity levels.

The main things that will hurt a wine are wide temperature swings. Try and dampen the temp swings if you can. The bigger the swing the more your wine will "breath" and the faster it will age. Use an inside closet that is insulated if you can. And certainly keep your wine away from direct sunlight and don't store your wine in the kitchen above the oven!