My first Wines

[palomewok]

Just wanted to share my first attempt for wine making, and I would loved to see what others, specially the experienced ones think about it. I started 11 days ago and Im about to carboy them.

12 gallon of Cabernet Sauvignon
12 gallon of Merlot

both from california

6 gallon of Cab with 1.5 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116
6 gallon of Mer with 1.5 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116
6 gallon of Cab with 1.0 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116
6 gallon of Mer with 1.0 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116

I know is not very creative, but i wanted to make sure i dont mess up my wine. I tried the 1.5 lb of sugar, to try to get some wine at least with 13.5% to 14% of alcohol. I measured with the Hydrometer before adding the sugar and after. I did 2 small 1 gal. experiments thou:

first has the first cab (40%) blended mixed with the first Merlot (60%) and I added 1/2 cup of crushed Juneberries.
second has the secon cab (60%) blended with the second Merlot (40%) and I added 1 cup of crushed blueberries.

both have some oak chips, and where fermented with the same Lalvin yeast.

Now, I would like to add some pepper to some of my wine, not too much, but my question is, when? now? when I put it in the carboy? and How much should I use per gallon? Suggestions are very welcome
Last question: Is it possible and ok to add more sugar during the carboy period?

This is a great Forum, thanks in advance for any comments

 

[Julie]

Hi palomewok,

Welcome to winemakingtalk. I see you do not live too far from me and we a couple other members who live in Pittsburgh.

Glad to hear that you used a hydrometer. After you added the sugar what was your reading? And why do you want to add more sugar once you rack?

You can add the pepper at anytime. I would play around with a small amount to see what amount of pepper you would need to your liking, just make sure you are measuring then add the correct ratio to the rest of your wine that you want to pepper.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!

 

[JohnT]

Just wanted to share my first attempt for wine making, and I would loved to see what others, specially the experienced ones think about it. I started 11 days ago and Im about to carboy them.

12 gallon of Cabernet Sauvignon
12 gallon of Merlot

both from california

6 gallon of Cab with 1.5 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116
6 gallon of Mer with 1.5 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116
6 gallon of Cab with 1.0 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116
6 gallon of Mer with 1.0 lb of sugar oak chips and Lalvin KV-1116

I know is not very creative, but i wanted to make sure i dont mess up my wine. I tried the 1.5 lb of sugar, to try to get some wine at least with 13.5% to 14% of alcohol. I measured with the Hydrometer before adding the sugar and after. I did 2 small 1 gal. experiments thou:

first has the first cab (40%) blended mixed with the first Merlot (60%) and I added 1/2 cup of crushed Juneberries.
second has the secon cab (60%) blended with the second Merlot (40%) and I added 1 cup of crushed blueberries.

both have some oak chips, and where fermented with the same Lalvin yeast.

Now, I would like to add some pepper to some of my wine, not too much, but my question is, when? now? when I put it in the carboy? and How much should I use per gallon? Suggestions are very welcome
Last question: Is it possible and ok to add more sugar during the carboy period?

This is a great Forum, thanks in advance for any comments

Welcome....

This being your first wine, I recommend that you leave the pepper in the shaker. Once the pepper is in the wine, you will not be able to remove it. Simply check what your current process produces before you play with it. You may find that your oaking gives your wine enough complexity.

Another note: I would recommend using oak beads instead of chips for your next batch. I would also recommend that you take an acid measurement and make the recommended adjustments.

 

[rodo]

Welcome to the forum it's great to have another Pennsylvanian join.

When you have a few minutes please check out "The Map" and add a marker for yourself if you like.

Here is a link to "The Map"
http://www.michaelsouellette.com/apps/winemakingtalk/index.php

 

[Runningwolf]

Hi palomewok, Welcome to our forum. I was just down your way last week at Consumers produce on the strip. Lots of places to buy juice up this way if you're ever looking. We have lots of great winemakers on this forum to help you out with any questions you may have and a few of them are right in your town.

 

[Wade E]

Welcome, are you looking to sweeten this wine or are you trying to up the abv more with that added sugar? If looking to sweeten make sure you add both sulfite and sorbate or it will most likely start fermenting again and produce more alc making thios wine very hot and need a long time to age to mellow out.

 

[palomewok]

Thanks Julie, and thanks everybody for the welcome.
my readings after I put the sugar were between 25 and 26 bricks for both kinds (1.0 lb and 1.5 lb) so that should give some wine between 13.5 to 14% according to this hydrometer. Am I right?
About the sugar later, I just thought it will be good to put a little bit of sugar before bottle it, just because all the sugar I added before was eaten by the yeast. But i guess I wont do that.
Although, the pepper, I tried some of my friends wine he made last year, with some pepper and I just loved it. I will leave the oak chips in the carboys cause I just love that complexity too. If I had a french oak barrel I wouldnt hesitate

John: Why are the oak beads better than the chips?
The acidity measurements is for the tannins? how can I control that?

I feel very welcome here, thanks again guys.

 

[winemaker_3352]

25 - 26 brix will be a PA around 14 - 15%.

 

[JohnT]

Thanks Julie, and thanks everybody for the welcome.
my readings after I put the sugar were between 25 and 26 bricks for both kinds (1.0 lb and 1.5 lb) so that should give some wine between 13.5 to 14% according to this hydrometer. Am I right?
About the sugar later, I just thought it will be good to put a little bit of sugar before bottle it, just because all the sugar I added before was eaten by the yeast. But i guess I wont do that.
Although, the pepper, I tried some of my friends wine he made last year, with some pepper and I just loved it. I will leave the oak chips in the carboys cause I just love that complexity too. If I had a french oak barrel I wouldnt hesitate

John: Why are the oak beads better than the chips?
The acidity measurements is for the tannins? how can I control that?

I feel very welcome here, thanks again guys.

The complex compounds that most winemakers try to extract are found in a layer just below the char-toasted surface of the wood.

These compounds are almost non-existant in sawdust and (most) oak chips. This is due to the fact that most oak chips are not "char toasted". Chips are simply not thick enough.

Since Oak Beads are thicker, and are char toasted, I maximize the flavor that I want and have found an inexpensive alternative to the oak flavors produced by barrel aging..

I have experimented over the years. In 1995, I ran three batches of identical wine. One batch had a whole bag of chips added. One batch had the same amount of chips (by weight) where I only selected the large chips, and one batch had just the oak beads.

The "large chip" batch was clearly better than the "whole bag" batch. The oak beads, however, won hands down! The complexity added was sure worth it. The bead wine had wonderful overtones of vanilla... Yum.

I will never use chips again knowing how much better beads are!

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I found this passage in a article in winemaker magazine (by Tim Vandergrift)
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"Oak beans are interesting: on the surface, these little cubes perform much as any other chunked or chipped oak material. However, due to their uniformity of size, they can actually be subjected to graduated toasting: that is, they can be toasted on one side to a depth of a little less than 3⁄8ths of an inch (a few millimeters), with the remaining oak cooked, but not darkened. Manufacturers claim that this configuration gives a more natural “barrel-like” experience, since barrels are only toasted to a shallow depth, and wine penetrates well beyond this. "

 

[ffemt128]

Welcome to the forum. There are several other members from Pgh here. I think you'll like it here. There is a ton of knowledge.