Some tips for making a Brunello

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Siwash

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Hey folks,

I am about to pick up some Brunello and Amarone from a local wine-making shop. I bought some BM4x4 yeast and some nutrient and yeast energizer.

Couple of questions:

1. At what temp should I ferment the Brunello? Amarone?
2. What kind of fermentation should I expect? Slow to start? Vigorous? etc...
3. Should oak both (I am assuming yes and bought some heavy toast hungarian)
4. Any other tips you could share?

These are my first of these two varietals.

Thanks!
 
Good practice to check the specs on your yeast. For reds I try to stay at the top end near the maximum allowable temperature. If you do that, expect a fast fermentation. Vigorous might depend on the yeast, how much sugar is in the juice, and wether it’s already starting, etc.
 
Got it, thanks.. So I'll check brix once I get it, check the upper limits... Also, I believe I've read somewhere that the must temp is generally higher than the air temp that the fermenters are situated in once fermenting gets underway. I guess I'll measure the must once she gets rolling! Do folks adjust your temps (up or down) while the must is fermenting? For example, lower it toward the end?

Thanks for the input!
 
Just read max temp 28C, low 16C

So given that, should I aim for a room temp of say 26C/27C? Or will the must get too warm so aim for a room temp of 24ish?

As well, I have never made wine from juice. I usually make it from fresh Cali grapes or the odd kit. So should I follow the rule of killing off the "natural" yeast in the must with Kmeta? I assume these musts have natural yeasts that weren't killed off in some sort of process when they were packaged.
 
Get a thermometer strip that you can masking tape to the side of the bucket/carboy. 26C sounds like an uncomfortable room to live or work in. A common practice is to use a heat belt, plugs into 120v outlet and can get to 80F possibly higher. I put mine on a timer, 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off. In a basement that’s 68F, my must is 74F. If I want higher I might go 60 minutes on, 30 off. If it gets too hot I simply unplug it until I figure out a timing that works.

Juice shipped (not sourced locally) I believe does not need the sulfite, that would/should have been done by the presser. If it was me I would not add sulfite here.

Again because my basement is 68F I leave the belt on through the primary fermentation, rack at ~1 week and add malolactic bacteria, leave the belt on for another 2-3 weeks. Then rack and add sulfites and either leave it at 68F or move it to the cellar (55F-65F depending on the season). The reason I don’t ramp the temp down is to insure MLF completion. If you’re not doing MLF then I suppose you might want to ramp down, or even off, after a week or two, when fermentation is complete.

Oak is a personal preference and for these varietals it is common. Add after fermentation is complete, when the oak has a chance to sit in the carboy for at least a month.

You asked for other tips.. These Italians age well, if you have the adventurous spirit, or like a high tannin wine, consider adding additional tannin. They will not be young drinkers, but after aging you might think it was worth it. Glycerin is another additive used at bottling to thicken up the mouthfeel and might be the icing on the cake for these well regarded Italians.
 
It's a small room we don't generally go in to.. so getting temp up is ok.. I don't know if i'll do MLF although I have a few Optimalo packets... I am going to ask the seller if the juices have had kmeta added at press...

So no oak while fermenting eh? Is that more of a kit practice?

No "gross lees" racking required either I assume?

I've added tannins in the past - will consider doing that depending on what happens after primary ferment.

I've never worked with glycerin. Hmm... some food for thought..

Thanks
 
Considering that oak releases it’s flavor based on time and temperature, you might have to add 4x, 5x the amount of oak if you only put it in the primary (1week) versus later. Kits I’ve done give you oak shavings, in my opinion because it’s scrap from other processes and therefore cheap, not that it’s the best thing to do. Just my take.

Tannins can be added at primary but will probably drop out in the lees, again not much time in the wine. I do mine after primary is done. The first racking to get rid of gross lees is probably at 1 week, rack again at 3-4 weeks, then every 3 months, until taste is perfect (your the judge) and bottle it. I’ve had a racking that didn’t taste as good as the previous racking so wether it’s 12 months, 15, 18, there is no rule. When your racking leaves no sediment it is eligible for bottling.
 

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