First real grape run. Help.

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Smok1

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Ive been making kits and fruit wines for a while i have all the nessasary tools required for that. This is my first real crush using grapes. I am getting 300lbs of merichal foch from a local vineyard. Ive got a grape crusher, press i will have to figure out still, does this list of ingredients look good? Am i missing anything?

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See my fermentation planning worksheet, give you some idea on the qty of yeast, go ferm, ferm. Are you doing mlf?

Thanks, yes i plan on doing mlf, wasnt sure which one to buy so i choose the one in the list, not sure if thats my best option, i havent placed the order yet, if you know of a better option for mlf bacteria please let me know.

Ml viniflora oreono is what i picked out, but i can still change it.
 
I bought this $10 delivered pH meter. pH meter. . The more I use it, the more I think it is better to just buy one of these and plan on replacing once per year. It has provided better results then my other meter, which, grant it, is due for a $70 probe replacement.
 
Thanks, yes i plan on doing mlf, wasnt sure which one to buy so i choose the one in the list, not sure if thats my best option, i havent placed the order yet, if you know of a better option for mlf bacteria please let me know.

Ml viniflora oreono is what i picked out, but i can still change it.

Ah, sorry, missed that. I'm not familiar with the variety you are getting, so won't be of much help. Since the MLB is so expensive, I also use acti-ml, to be sure its given every chance possible to succeed. Hasn't failed yet.
 
I'm going to agree on the pH meter. I have a similar one from Amazon that has been in use for a couple years now. IIRC, I paid ~$15 for it and it has been much better than my $80 pHep 5. It has a manual calibration, which I just love. Simply get your 4.01 and 7.01 solutions, place the meter in and dial it into the proper reading. I've found it stays spot on and measures pretty quickly.

225g of Go-Ferm seems overkill for me - and do you have that in twice? You certainly don't need 12 packets of yeast either. For 300lbs of grapes, 3 packets should be enough. Make use of @NorCal 's spreadsheet if you can. Otherwise, those products have good descriptions and suggested amounts on the MoreWine site.
 
Cant seem to find any acti-ml on there website, whats the name of the manufacture? My other options for mlf are
Lalvin mbr 31
Lalvin mbr vp41
Ml viniflora ch35
 
I'm going to agree on the pH meter. I have a similar one from Amazon that has been in use for a couple years now. IIRC, I paid ~$15 for it and it has been much better than my $80 pHep 5. It has a manual calibration, which I just love. Simply get your 4.01 and 7.01 solutions, place the meter in and dial it into the proper reading. I've found it stays spot on and measures pretty quickly.

225g of Go-Ferm seems overkill for me - and do you have that in twice? You certainly don't need 12 packets of yeast either. For 300lbs of grapes, 3 packets should be enough. Make use of @NorCal 's spreadsheet if you can. Otherwise, those products have good descriptions and suggested amounts on the MoreWine site.

225g go ferm is the smallest batch i can buy, and im buying extra yeast packs because i the only yeast sold in my area is ec1118 so i was just buying extra to have some stock. Ill look on amazon for a cheaper ph meter right now, unfortunately i dont have much time because these grapes are going to be ready to pick within the next week or two. Im starting to think i should wait till next year so im better prepared but ive wanted to try my hand at real grapes for a while now, unforunatley where i live we have hundreds of wineries but they all have exclusive contracts with all the vineyards so its very difficult to find a good vineyard willing to sell me grapes. I finally found one yesterday and its only 1.5 hours away, so now im in a scramble to get my ingredients.
 
How is this one? $30 with buffer solutions and it delivers in 5 days

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Looks fairly complete. Couple things that stand out to me:
* I'm assuming you have sulfites already since that is not on your list.
* You also probably will want some pH standards for calibration of your meter. Check on which standards you need for that pH meter model.
* I don't recommend 71B to ferment the Foch. I like RC212 since it brings out some pepper and really enhances the color of the Foch. I've made Foch for the last 4 years and prefer that yeast.
* You may want to get a acid testing kit so you can lower the TA of the must. Foch often can have a high TA, upwards of 9g/L.
* Along with the acid testing kit, you will want some potassium bicarbonate to lower the acid. Watch the pH as you do this so you don't get it over 3.6ish. The MLF will drive it higher still, so be careful.
* I wouldn't trust the SO2 kit results very much.
* Be careful with too much skin contact. I shoot for no more than 4 days. Foch gives a strong flavor to the wine.
 
Ok so i ordered
So2 test kit
Mlf bacteria ( they didnt have any acti-ml)
Goferm
Fermaid
Rc212
Ph meter (ebay)
French oak
Pottasium bocarbonate

And yes i already have kmeta and an acid test kit

Good to go?
 
So for anyone living in the okanagan/shushwap area in canada,bc. And has had a hard time finding a grape supplier after much searching i just found one, the mediteranian market in kelowna bc. Not very well advertised but i found someone who told me the brought in fresh juice pales every september/october so i decided to give them a call. They import lots of varietals from washington and california, fresh grapes by the lug, approx $36 per 36lb case, i just ordered 3 cases of Syrah and 3 cases of reisling. Very stoked i finally found a local supplier as it has been like pulling teeth to get any of our local vineyards to sell me any grapes and most local vineyards only grow foch kerner and gertweihiemer (im sure the spelling is incorrect) so i am very pleased to finally get onboard the grape crushing trane. Im only doing 2 small batches this year but if everything goes well i will be stepping it up next year. Baby steps.
 
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See my fermentation planning worksheet, give you some idea on the qty of yeast, go ferm, ferm. Are you doing mlf?

Thank you for this spreadsheet norcal, this has all the info i need, thanks for sharing.
 
Good advice I think from @jgmillr1 above.

I was going to post similar about yeast selection. I use 71B to bring down some of the malic. It's kind of a moot point if doing MLF so I'd look at another yeast favorable for reds.
I was going to suggest being prepared with some calcium carbonate as well. If your grapes come in with high pH and high TA at the same time, calcium carbonate will drop the acid with less bump in the pH than potassium carbonate. And I *think* (don't quote me on this) that Foch is one of those grapes which can have high pH and high TA together.
 
My new members of the family.
Grape press: $350
Grape crusher: $75
Ph meter: $30 ebay, sent back to seller because it was a piece of crap and wouldnt calibrate or read accurate so i went out and got a hm digital ph80 for $80

Just about ready for my grapes, still need to order a chromtography test kit and i believe thats it.

The 71b yeast is for my reisling grapes, the rc212 is for my syrah and foch grapes.

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