Mosti Mondiale MM buttery Chardonnay question

[Joanie]

I know this has been covered in the WE threads and a little bit under MM but I'm not sure how to do this with a MM Chardonnay.

WE has you rack off the lees but MM has you rack with them. Right now I have my Chard in the secondary with the lees. (Here's the question part!) Do I add the 1/4 tsp of k-mets now and stir up all the lees every few days for a month or do I rack again, then add the k-meta and do the stirring?

Thanks!

 

[grapeman]

<TABLE =ingNew cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TD>Buttery Chardonnay </TD></TR></T></TABLE>
<TABLE =maintable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width="100%">
<T>
<TR>
<TH scope=col>
Our kits tend to have a softer, more complex flavour profile than you might expect. We achieve this partly by carefully choosing our oak styles and the protocols for using them. By including the oak in with the fermentation (instead of after) we get a much softer profile, which includes some butter and vanilla notes, as opposed to woody or smoky characters.
Now you can’t do malolactic on the kits. It will end in tears if you try. However, there is a technique called ‘battonage’ that will help fatten up the finish of the wine, and give it a rich, creamy mouth feel. Here’s the deal:
<DIV align=left>
<UL>
<LI>Make you kit up as normal, and rack to the secondary carboy on day 5-7 as directed.
<LI>After ten days, ignore the instructions about fining and stabilising. Instead, add one-quarter teaspoon of metabisulphite powder to the wine, and gently stir it up with a sanitised spoon.
<LI>Get all of the yeast sediment in to suspension, make sure it’s nice and cloudy, but don’t splash or agitate.
<LI>Top up with some decent Chardonnay wine (this is better than using water for this technique). At three or four day intervals, go back and stir the yeast up again.
<LI>Repeat every three or four days for a month.
<LI>Let the wine settle for two weeks, rack it into a clean, sanitised carboy, and follow all the remaining instructions on schedule, omitting no detail however slight. </LI>[/list]
By stirring the yeast into suspension repeatedly you get the benefits of the amino acids they carry, along with a host of compounds—principally mannoproteins, which give they creamy aroma and mouth feel.
Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your kit.
Cheers,
Tim Vandergrift
<DIV align=left>Technical Services Manager
</TH></TR></T></TABLE>Even WE says to leave the lees in there and stir it up.

 

[Joanie]

But aren't these the directions for the WE Chardonnay?

 

[Dean]

They are the directions for WE, but the technique is the same for all wines, even those not done with kits. Basically, just keep the yeast in suspension for them to give off their goodness.

Just don't try it with reds. It makes them taste like bacon, which is not good.

 

[Joanie]

LOL Bacon?? Do you know this first hand?

 

[grapeman]

Ditto that on the reds Joan. You can also get bacon from Sabrevois if it sits on the skins too long or ferments too hot. You want a nice cool ferment with them. I'm not sure if it's from being on the skins too long with the batch I did this year or if it is the type of oak I used, but the Sabrevois tastes a very slight bit like hickory smoked bacon! I guess you can drink that with Bacon, Lettuce,Tomato sandwiches

It really isn't bad, but I wouldn't want it any more pronounced.


Like Dean said, that technique applies to most kits(if not all). That's why I posted it for you.

 

[PeterZ]

When I did the battonage on my MM All Juice Chard I used all the lees, including the oak. It's too soon to tell, but it certainly didn't seem to hurt.

 

[Joanie]

Thanks, Peter. Appleman, all the info was great but that's what I was looking for.

 

[uavwmn]

Joan, which MM chardonnay kit is this?
I would like to make some for gifts in the Fall.

 

[Joanie]

It's their Outback All Juice with raisins.

Thanks for the reminder.. I need to go stir!

 

[laneygirl]

Ditto that on the reds Joan. You can also get bacon from Sabrevois if it sits on the skins too long or ferments too hot. You want a nice cool ferment with them. I'm not sure if it's from being on the skins too long with the batch I did this year or if it is the type of oak I used, but the Sabrevois tastes a very slight bit like hickory smoked bacon! I guess you can drink that with Bacon, Lettuce,Tomato sandwiches

It really isn't bad, but I wouldn't want it any more pronounced.


Like Dean said, that technique applies to most kits(if not all). That's why I posted it for you.

What is considered "too hot" of fermentation on these? The RJ Spagnols kit for Australian Chardonnay said to keep it above 70...I think as high as 75 and I'm wondering if it's better to target the 70 vs 75?

 

[grapeman]

Either of those temps is fine. When you are doing larger batches, they generate more heat and if it gets up around 85-90 for too long, it isn't good for it. You will be fine with 70-75.

 

[Jeff H]

At what temperature would Tim's technique work best at? Fermenting temp 70-73 deg F or cellar temp. approx 59 - 61 deg. F? I'm at the point of trying this with a WE VR Chardonnay and possibly a MM VN Pinot Noir I have going. I'd prefer to get the brewbelts off of them for a bit. Also, since clarifiers are added after approx. a month, if cellar temp is best, do you then raise the temp and add clarifiers since they seem to work better at the higher temp?


Thanks. Jeff



P.S. Bacon taste - what about a Pinot Noir...possibly add a little more body?


P.P.S. I'm thinking of doing this with the Pinot Noir because I want it as an early drinker while some other kits mature. Getting some extra body out of a wine that I believe will be kinda weak body wise is my desire here. Edited by: Jeff H

 

[PeterZ]

Jeff, I have no cellar so all of my wine making and storage is at room temp - low 70's.

 

[uavwmn]

Joan, sounds yummo!!!

 

[Joanie]

I'm really pleased with it, uavwmn.