Mosti Mondiale Starting the Buttery Chard

[PeterZ]

I started the MM All Juice Chardonnay on Sunday. As of this evening the SG is down to 1.032, so I will probably transfer to glass Saturday morning.

I'm planning to do the "buttery chard" thing, which involves stirring the lees twice a day for a month. My concern was that sanitizing my stirrer twice a day and then putting it into the carboy would result in over sulfiting the wine. Masta's cork humidore set off a light bulb in my head.

I used the pail that the kit came in to create an equipment humidor. I took an old 12 oz glass jar and filled it half full of sanitizing solution and placed it in the bottom of the pail. I put my Wine Whip in there with it. When I need to stir I will take the WW out, stir, rinse, dry, and put it back. It will stay sanitized in the humidor due to the SO2 gas the sulfite solution gives off.

I'm thinking about putting other equipment in there, like hygrometers, funnels, thiefs, etc. A BIG WORD OF WARNING: no grade of stainless steel we use can withstand an SO2 atmosphere. Don't put any metal in there. That includes spring loaded bottlers. Virtually any metal you have will start to corrode in a few days. Only plastic and glass need apply. Winemakers can hold sulfited wine in stainless tanks because the SO2 concentration is about 1/100 the concentration in the sanitizing solution.

Edited by: PeterZ

 

[grapeman]

PeterZ,
I wouldn't think that the sanitizer would be an issue since Tim V says to add a 1/4 teaspoon of K-Meta when beginning the Battonage. He also says to do once a day every 3 or 4 days for a month.


http://www.finevinewines.com/Buttery-Chardonnay.htm


I like the idea of the large humidor using the pail. Very thrifty. Are you sure you aren't a Yankee?

Edited by: appleman

 

[Wade E]

Ah, a little Battonage sounds very good there Peter.

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

I've contemplated getting another Chardasia and doing battonage on it to compare the differences. Sounds interesting, do keep us updated as this one progresses.

 

[bovinewines]

Perfect idea Peter!

 

[Jack on Rainy]

I tried the Buttery Chard technique with a MM All juice Chardillon
started in June. I have high hopes for it. Bottling it tomorrow.

 

[dfwwino]

Another option is to use Iodophor Sanitizer. I clean the kitchen sink, fill it with water, and then soak first one side, then the other, of the stirrer in the solution of iodophor and water for a few minutes each.

 

[PeterZ]

Appleman, I'm planning to start the Battonage right after sulfiting and stabilizing, so the SO2 will be sufficient.

dfw, way too much like work!!

 

[PeterZ]

The Chard went into glass yesterday at an sg of 1.011. Bubbling away happily with about 4" of headspace in the carboy. Most of the oak chips are floating, but since they will be in there for the whole month of stirring I'm sure they will be fully extracted. After I've fined I will decide weather to add more oak.

 

[dfwwino]

dfw, way too much like work!!

Which is exactly why I don't do battonage.I'm definitely a lazy winemaker. But your idea is certainly very good. I'm just very sensitive to breathing sulfite fumesand avoid using them except as a stabilizer or in the cork humidor for lack of a better alternative. Do you plan to do MLF?Edited by: dfwwino

 

[PeterZ]

If you are sensitive to SO2 fumes don't try the equipment humidor. I am not sensitive to chemical odors (most of my adult life spent in a chemical lab or factory) and every time I open it if I forget to hold my breath it knocks me on my a$$. I've developed the technique of taking a deep breath, open the humidor, grab what I need, close the humidor, turn on the vent fan (my wine making foom is a bathroom), and leave for a minute or two.

 

[bovinewines]

Yeah...I struggle with this to. I have some environmental masks that I picked up years ago at home depot. I would use them during the spring when I work out in the yard since I'm allergic to anything that's green and grow!


I keep forgetting to try one of those when dealing with lots of SO2(such as cleaning and sanitizing) to see if it could compensate for my forgetfulness!

 

[PeterZ]

The kind of masks that lots of people wear to filter out dust when cutting the grass won't work. What you need is the type of mask commercial painters use. They cover your nose and mouth (you won't need a full face shield unless it bothers your eyes as well) and has a little screw-on canister on each side. These canisters can use a variety of inserts. Painters use "organic vapor" and "particulate" inserts, but what you will need is an "inorganic vapor" or "reducing atmosphere" insert.

I would buy at least the inserts from an industrial hygene supplier. Tell them the contaminant you have to be protected from is a few ppm of sulfur dioxide and they can supply the correct inserts.

 

[dfwwino]

I started the MM All Juice Chardonnay on Sunday. As of this evening the SG is down to 1.032, so I will probably transfer to glass Saturday morning.

I'm planning to do the "buttery chard" thing, which involves stirring the lees twice a day for a month.

How's the battonage coming along Peter? Have you taken a sample yet to see how it is changing your wine?Edited by: dfwwino

 

[PeterZ]

DFW - I am stirring every other day, mixing the oak chips and lees up well. I'm not tasting for 2 reasons - first, if I taste every time the subtle change from day to day will probably mask the effect, and second, I'll drink it all before I bottle!!

After I finish with the forum tonight is time for another stir. The MM instructions are a little different from the WE in that they call for racking all of the lees into the secondary, and then another rack leaving the gross lees behind efore stabilizing, degassing, and fining. That is perfect for battonage, as I can do that in a secondary that is about 3" below the neck. By the time I rack off the gross lees the wine will be the most degassed wine I have ever made!

 

[Jack on Rainy]

PeterZ,

Why do you transfer MM all juice to secondary at all? Why not just stir
in the oak and let fermentation complete in the primary?





Edited by: Jack on Rainy

 

[PeterZ]

Simple answer - because the instructions say to.

More complete answer - MM instructions call for an extra racking. The first is at at an sg of <1.020 (approx. day 6) with all of the solids. The second is when fermentation complete, but not before day 20, and you leave most of the solids behind. MM feels you get better oak extraction in the 14 days in the presence of alcohol. The oak chips are too big to rack.

RJS has gone to full fermentation in the primary, but as soon as fermentation is complete you are supposed to rack it into a secondary. I would not want to leave the wine in a primary for 20 days because of the potential for air intrusion. I certainly would not do the battonage in the primary, opening it every other day to stir. Doing it in the secondary greatly reduces the potential for air contamination.

 

[Jack on Rainy]

Thanks Peter,

We always get an insightful response from you. I suspected the battonage would be a big reason for glass.



I actually tried that technique with my MM Chardillon but used the
shipping pail as my secondary and racking as instructed. (I was short a
carboy at the time!) At bottling, it was the best of my wines bottled
to date. Do you suppose increased O2 exposure during secondary could still be a problem? Maybe I should drink it soon?

 

[PeterZ]

If it tastes good now then it should be OK. If it had had too much O2 exposure in the secondary you would know it as it would taste oxidized.

Of course, how fast you drink it is up to you.

 

[Joanie]

Peter, what does "oxidized" taste like?