Red wine color

[njsnyder]

This is my first year making wine from grapes. Last year i used juice. It turned out ok

This year my Cab Sav grapes i crushed about 112lbs- 7 gallons. I checked sugar and acid levels and balanced them before fermentation. Fermentation completed in a week to around 0.996. I wanted more tannin and complexity so i left the must sit for another 1.5 weeks. I have sealed 35 gallon tanks and i covered the must with argon after fermentation was complete.

So last week i pressed the grapes. Despite this my color is light red. not as dark as i would expect. taste seems fine. Can i correct just with grape skin extract? im a little disappointed.

My old vin zin/petite verdot/ cab franc all are dark. same process.

 

[winemaker81]

So last week i pressed the grapes. Despite this my color is light red. not as dark as i would expect. taste seems fine. Can i correct just with grape skin extract? im a little disappointed.

From what I've read, the grape skin extract works, and the color is usually stable. If the color disappoints you, it's a reasonable option.

Another option is to blend in some Petit Verdot -- this is a fairly common recommendation on this forum. In addition to providing color, it will increase complexity.

The big question is: What does the Cabernet Sauvignon smell and taste like? If it's good as a very green wine, count your blessings!

My 2019 Merlot and Zinfandel were both initially lighter than I liked, although the color has darkened a bit in the bottle. In hindsight, I'm not fussed about the color as both taste and smell good. Of all the things I could be unhappy about, the color is the least thing. At this point I'm satisfied with the Merlot:



For comparison, this is my 2020 Meritage blend:



For future batches, try enzymes. I used Scottzyme ColorPro last year and it produced inky wines. Folks use enzymes from other vendors with great results, so you have many choices. Other folks can chime in with their preferred enzymes -- you have a good variety to choose from.

 

[jburtner]

You can use various tannins and enzymes during fermentation to improve color retention and extraction.. This year I fermented Zin, Petite Syrah, and Mouvedre using Lallyzyme ExV (enzyme) and no additional tannins - Extraction has yielded deep color. I didn't make a control to test and compare so not sure how much it really helped..

Cheers!
-johann

 

[njsnyder]

Thanks to both of you for the input. ill be using an enzymes next year for sure.

as for the taste and smell. it smells good for a young pressed wine. some harsh tannins and boozy but those will settle down too.