First Chilean buckets!

[Droc]

I just started my first buckets from harford winery. I picked them up Saturday and left them sit in my kitchen all day Sunday as I was out celebrating Mother's Day with my mom, I woke up this morning and the buckets had started fermenting all by themselves. I asked the people I got them from and they told me they were not pre-inoculated, which leads me to believe that they started on wild yeast.
I had already added my carmenare grapes to my Syrah buckets, but I didn't add my Malbec grapes to the bucket yet. So I sterilized my equipment, added the rest if the grapes to the Malbec, some peptic enzyme, oak chips and Pasteur red yeast hoping that they over power the wild yeast that had already started.
Does anyone have any ideas of anything else I can do to ensure the wild yeast are overpowered or should I be okay with what I've done?


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[Boatboy24]

You've done what you can - at least as far as I know.

 

[Boatboy24]

How are things progressing?

 

[petey]

Just go ahead and pitch you're yeast. It'll take over,the only tough part is not knowing your starting gravity

 

[Droc]

It's going good right now. I went down and stirred this morning and it seems to be chugging along pretty well. I did get an estimated sg, I think it was around 1.090 or 1.095, so I should have an idea of alcohol content anyway. Now just waiting for it to finish so I can do the MLF.


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[Droc]

Got them racked over to the carboys around 1.000, so they're still going. I'm waiting until they go dry to do the MLF. So far, so good.


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[JohnT]

Very nice!!!

 

[DoctorCAD]

I'd bet there was some yeast in the juice to start with. Probably the resident strain of the vinyard that picked them, not "wild" yeast.

 

[Droc]

Yeah. That's kind of what I figured. I threw my yeast in and added a little nutrient and haven't had any problems. It smells fantastic!!!


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[heatherd]

Droc, I bet we passed each other at the vineyard - I picked up my buckets at Harford the Saturday before Mother's Day, as well.

Mine is a double batch of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. I split the juice in half in my two primaries. I had ordered a bucket of frozen Chilean Cab Sav must from M&M, so also split that in half into each primary. I pitched BM45 on each bucket. It has been bubbling away for two weeks now. My plan is to add medium toast french oak in secondary, and do MLF. Anything else I should consider adding?

Thanks,
Heather

 

[Droc]

As of now, I'm waiting for most of the gross lees to fall out and the wine to go dry before I do my MLF, then I was planning on using some oak spirals as I do not have a barrel yet and them letting them sit in the carboy for 6 months or so. After that I'm thinking about possibly adding some finishing tannins and letting them sit another 5 or 6 months before bottling.


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[heatherd]

Mine fermented to dry, then I racked and added the MLF culture. I am planning to stabilize in a few days. How are yours going?
Heather


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[Boatboy24]

Mine fermented to dry, then I racked and added the MLF culture. I am planning to stabilize in a few days. How are yours going?
Heather


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Is your MLF done already?

 

[Droc]

Mine are doing well, I inoculated them with the MLF and am planning in letting them go for three months or so. I stir once a day or so, but other than that I just sit and stare at them luckily I have an apple wine that's almost ready to be bottles along with some other kits I started. I just bottled a rq Chilean cab the other day and have about another month or two before I bottle my we Shiraz cab le. Both are tasting great. I can't wait until they hit a year and start to drink them.


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[heatherd]

Mine are still sitting - I bought a test kit to check when MLF is done. Looking forward to tasting the results!
Heather


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[Droc]

I still need to get a test kit for mine. I'm in between jobs right now, so as soon as that little problem gets cleared up I'll be taking care of that.


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[heatherd]

I know lots of folks on the forum recommend testing, but I figured that giving MLF a month should take care of it. I have been trying to stay low cost on this and the test kits are spendy. I bought the malic one because it was cheapest but didn't get all the other kinds.


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[Runningwolf]

I have seen mlf's take six months and others that never did finish.