must temp at 94

[lieu]

Hello all

I have approx 16/17 gallons of Cab Franc must fermenting right now in a 35 gallon barrel. The temp of the must is staying at 94/95 degrees. This seems rather high to me. Is this ok or should I try and cool it down a bit somehow?

 

[Wade E]

I would try and cool it a little as its right on the edge of being too high. This is 1 problem with fermenting a lot in one big batch.

 

[lieu]

Thanks Wade,The temp is down to 84 now. This must went from 1.098 to 1.010 in about 58 hrs. Is this super fast and ok or is it faster than you would generally want a must to ferment down ? This is only the second time that I have started with grapes so kind of a new experience for me. ( the first time was last year and I threw out the batch) Do you think if I used say a 55 gallon drum in stead of a 35 gallon drum it might not have gotten so hot due to more surface area ?

 

[Wade E]

For a red wine its ok but if this is or was a white then Id be worried about burning off a lot of the esters which can really take away almost all the aroma.