First time making wine "Properly"

[K-OS]

Ok, let me just start with an intro..

My grandparents and father used to make wine the old school way (we are Italian) without any yeast or sulphites. For many years, this has been all we knew, strong wine that will put hair on your chest and knock you out cold after 3-4 glasses.

However, this year I am trying to do it under a little more control. We just crushed the grapes and placed them into large 30 gallon barrels (3 of them) awaiting to be pressed in a few days.

Now I added the yeast and tartaric acid directly to the large barrels (1 packet of yeast and 1 Tbsp of tartaric acid) and mixed it. However I noticed in the kit my local wine store gave me a bag with Sulphite powder, Tartaric Powder, and tablets of Metabisulphite i think.

My question is, is it too late to add the Sulphite or Metabisulphite? Not sure which one to put and whether it is too late or not.

Thanks very much, I wish I discovered this forum before i fell for the advice of others hahaha. Hopefully this year I can make the wine a little more drinkable lol

BTW, the grapes we used are Cabernet Sauvignon with a mix of Merlot.

 

[xanxer82]

for a 30 gallon batch you'll want a lot more yeast in your starter. at least 5 packets per barrell. Did you do an acid test? you may not need to add tartaric acid right away. Maybe some goFerm would be good too.
If you've already pitched yeast it is too late to add kmeta. If you add your vigorous starter right after crush you don't necessarily need to sulfite.

 

[Wade E]

Since you have already added your yeast dont add any sulfite. Sulfite powder and tablets are the same just in different forms. Use the tablets for small batches where trying to measure out powder that small can be troublesome. Once the wine is done fermenting (verified by taking gravity readings 3 days ina row with no movement then its time to either do a malo lactic fermentation on this wine OR sulfite it and let the clearing begin. Did you take PH and TA readings on this wine as adding acid blindly is not good and probably wasnt needed or may have actually needed to lose some acid instead of gaining it. Malo Lactic fermentation is the process of fermenting out the excess malic acid out which can be astringent by turning it into lactic acid which is much smoother. This is done naturally or by adding a malo lactic bacteria into your wine. I would personally add it as waiting for mother nature at this point with out any sulfites in your wine is a tad risky cause without sulfites your wine is less counter active against bacteria which can turn your wine into something undesirable.

 

[K-OS]

Wow, you guys know your stuff

I didn't take any ph readings before adding the tartaric acid, I assumed it was necessary (the salesman told me add some). Is there a simple formula to follow? I will measure the ph with a meter I use for measuring soil acidity (digital).

Thanks

 

[Tom]

Wow, you guys know your stuff

I didn't take any ph readings before adding the tartaric acid, I assumed it was necessary (the salesman told me add some). Is there a simple formula to follow? I will measure the ph with a meter I use for measuring soil acidity (digital).

Thanks

Welcome to a great OBSESSION ! .. LOL
We R here to help U make better wine.
Ask here 1st if not sure.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard - feel free to ask away - that's how we all learn..

 

[djrockinsteve]

BTW, the grapes we used are Cabernet Sauvignon with a mix of Merlot.

This is a great blend. What percentage did you do?

Welcome to the forum. There are many here who can help you along.

 

[K-OS]

I'm starting to regret not finding you guys before crushing the grapes lol

So I measured the ph level and the 3 barrels measured 3.9. Would it be too late to add more yeast now? It's been 24hrs since crushing them.

The mix I did was an old recipe from my grandfather: 5 boxes of cabernet Sauvignon to 2 boxes Merlot.

Thanks for the hospitality

 

[robie]

You can adjust your TA and PH after fermentation is completed. It would have been better to have adjusted it before fermentation, but it is not a big problem to adjust it later.

I'll assume it has been less than 24 hours since you pitched your yeast.

NO, IT IS NOT TOO LATE.

What size was the packets of yeast, which you put into each 30 gallons of must?
Did you stir it into the must or just pitch it on top?

If yeast was a 5 to 8 oz size, that is a very small amount of yeast for that much must. It will take so long for it to get going that your naturally occurring yeast, which was already on the grapes (and highly outnumber the other yeast), might win out and do the fermentation anyway. That may or may not be a problem if you don't mind. Without knowing a lot about the load of grapes, one never knows what kind of yeast is on them and what their results might be.

IF YOU DON"T WANT TO FERMENT WITH NATURALLY OCCURRING YEAST:
Assuming you pitched the yeast last evening, it will likely take a few days for either the naturally occurring yeast or the store bought yeast to win out and start fermentation on a large scale. If you get home this evening and fermentation has already gotten going in a big way - lots of bubbling, heat, and foaming, there is not much you can do but let it ferment. (You can use a thermometer or sanitize your hand and stick it into the must to see if it is much warmer inside than in the room.)

If you do want to use packaged yeast, here is what I would do - FOR EACH OF THE THREE BARRELS I would repeat the following:
I would go back to the store and buy about four additional 5 to 8 oz packets of the same kind of yeast as you already pitched. (For 3 barrels you would buy 12 packets of yeast, of course) I would go ahead and add that 4 packets of yeast to about 2 cups of 104 F water and let it set for about 30 minutes, without stirring it. This is re-hydrating the yeast.

After 30 minutes, it should show activity in the solution, like little explosions of yeast blooming up in the water. Now, stir it lightly,then add about a tablespoon of your must to the solution. Within a few minutes the solution (now called a yeast starter) will start to bubble and foam, indicating the yeast are consuming the sugars in the must.

After about 15 more minutes add about 1/3 cup of must to the starter and let it set for about 30 minutes. Making sure the temperature of the starter is within a few degrees of your barrel of must, add it on top of the must, then stir it in for a few minutes. That's quick to start and pitch, but it will be fine.

Repeat this same process for each barrel or just make one starter, three-times the size and split it between the 3 barrels.

 

[K-OS]

Robie, copy paste save as new document "wine making 101". Awesome breakdown I must admit.

However, I cheated since I didn't have Internet and forgot all the steps lol. So I just poured the yeast that I dissolved in some warm water. And then I poured it over each barrel (4 extra packets each). I also increased the temperature of the room, since upon mixing it with my hands I noticed the juice felt cold.

Is there a specific time to start pressing?