Syrah/Primitivo Big Day

[CDrew]

Some progress...

The Brix on the Syrah is now 8
The Brix on the Primitivo is 10

Both a fermenting quite well. It quickly reforms the cap after punching down. Steady ferment and without heat peaks like last year. I don't know if the difference is the yeast (D21 this year vs D254 last year) or the feeding program which was all Fermaid O this year vs Fermaid K last year.

Color and smell are great so far. I think by this weekend it will be ready to press but I'm working, so either a late night or wait until Monday.

I actually tasted the Syrah. It's still cloyingly sweet but the overall flavor is very good. I guess in 2 years, I'll know how I did!

 

[Carotz]

I don't know if I'll have time to document this thread in it's entirety, but I'll take a stab at it.

It's harvest season here in Northern California and today was the day when time, grapes and friends all fell into place for an interesting harvest. We were picking Syrah this morning at 7am in the Sierra foothills near Folsom Lake. Nice grapes, hill side vineyard but under some time pressure. So a friend and I picked 300 pounds more or less of the Syrah in an hour and a half, loaded the grapes in trashcans in the minivan and rolled up to another friend's vineyard between Auburn and Grass Valley. There we picked another 300 pounds of Primitivo, and crushed the Syrah and then the Primitivo in turn. Sulfited 50ppm with the crush, added dry ice to keep things cold, ate a delicious lunch, then loaded the minivan and rolled back to Sacramento. Lets just say that loading full fermenters with 4 people is a lot easier than unloading the same fermenters with 2 people. But it's done. Like most of you, I'm garage bound and all the grapes are now in--you guessed it---my garage. And it's too hot here this week. Nothing I can do about it. Pitching D21 in the morning.

The interesting thing is, I ended up with close to 400 pounds of Primitivo must in 2 Brute trash cans which is just a whole lot of must to deal with. I think I got the lucky end of the crush dumped into one of my cans when everyone had all they wanted and there were still picked grapes left. Just finished adding pectic enzymes (Lallemand EX) and I will pitch the yeast tomorrow morning.

Syrah-Ended up with probably 275 pounds of must. A bit less than I had hoped but what we had time to do. Brix 27, These grapes were delicious in the vineyard. The juice is delicious, I'm hoping the wine will be too. Planning a co-innoculated MLF (CH16) that I'll add when the cap forms.

Primitivo-Ended up with close to 400 pounds of must, Brix 24/25. pH 3.4 Really nice condition grapes from vines planted in 2008. I have high hopes for this wine. This will be the second primitivo I've made and hoping to increase the body and color with the enzyme treatment and some Opti-red which I'm trying for the first time. Also planning a co-innoculated MLF with CH16.

So comments and suggestions welcomed. This will be the bulk of my wine year but still have 250 pounds of Cabernet coming my way in October once it's ripe. Brix on those grapes are only 21 BRIX now, so likely 3-4 weeks to go. I could use some oaking suggestions, and some tannin addition suggestions. I have a 4 pack of wine stix that will go with the Syrah. Not really sure what to do about the Primitivo, but will likely do cubes. A barrel is out of the question for storage reasons.

I also make Primitivo but I add Petit Syrah instead (about 20% or a bit more) this year I believe from what I’m hearing brix levels should be in the normal range about 24, always comes out good and I barrel it for a year.

 

[CDrew]

I also make Primitivo but I add Petit Syrah instead (about 20% or a bit more) this year I believe from what I’m hearing brix levels should be in the normal range about 24, always comes out good and I barrel it for a year.

Good call-I was hoping that a source of Petit Syrah would appear this year but so far, not. I wanted to make a typical foothill blend with 10-20% PS. There are still a few weeks left in this harvest season, and if some PS comes my way, it will happen! I have ended up with enough Primitivo wine that there's plenty to do blending experiments. Barrels for me would be difficult logistically in my current house/garage. Thanks for the reply.

 

[CDrew]

Brix is/are dropping fast.

At 2 Brix for the Syrah, and I'm going to have to press that tomorrow (Friday) night when I get home.

Primitivo is at 5 brix, so hopefully it can wait until Sunday afternoon. Saturday would be the ideal day, but working 16 hours and so not happening.

1st world problem: Not sure I have enough carboys. It's going to be close. Will update!

 

[Ajmassa]

Sounds like it was a good call goin from d-254 and Ferm K to d-21 w/ Ferm O.
Haven’t used 21, but 254 and 80 together. The 254 was a little faster and hotter. And I believe FermO is just K without the DAP right? So more of a subtle nutrient- since the DAP can be like a shot in the arm.
Good luck with timing the press. I feel your pain when the wine tells u it’s ready but life doesn’t agree.

 

[CDrew]

Gentlemen, we have wine.

Today was pretty cool. I got home from work and my Syrah was at 0 Brix. I know everyone likes SG but I can see the Brix scale on the hydrometer better and so that's what I'm reporting. I pressed all the Syrah with my new bladder press. Holy s*** it's my new favorite toy. Super fast, super efficient. Pressed to 3 bar. The wine is fantastic already. This is a HUGE upgrade from the ratchet screw press I've used previously. It's much faster, much easier, much easier to sterilize and even easier to clean up. Get one.

Ended up with 24 1/2 gallons of raw wine. It will probably be 22 gallons in a couple of days when racked off the gross lees. Super happy with the results so far.

 

[CDrew]

So here's what's left. Pretty cool. Very dry grape skins and a nice left over glass of wine. Primitivo will get pressed on Sunday, but off to a good start for vintage 2018.

 

[CDrew]

After work today, a big wine making effort.

First I racked the Syrah into clean carboys. Have 23 gallons and a bit to drink tonight. Tastes and smells awesome. Still fermenting a bit. It's deep and dark. The vacuum racking with the allinone works great. It's a little slow with this much wine but it worked great and I racked from wine on the floor to carboys on a table.

After that was done switched gears to the Primitivo. It's still going a bit. Brix is near zero but in the carboys it's still fermenting. Ended up with 36 gallons. likely will be 33 once racked off the gross lees in a couple of days but it's a lot of wine. I got the leftovers at crush and it was a lot more than I bargained for.

I am close to out of carboys. I know that having too much wine is a first world problem, but there it is. Racking the Primitivo will mean filling, then cleaning, then filling then cleaning etc. I can't wait. I think I'm going to order some Intellitanks.

But I have to say the bladder press makes short work of the pressing. I like the romance of the screw press, but noone would ever go back to a screw press from a bladder press. Once it's full and the free run is done, it's maybe 10 minutes to press the rest. And the water pressure does 100% of the work.

 

[Ajmassa]

Well done! That’s a lot of carboys. Great pics. And nice to see I’m not the only one who ends up with wine everywhere!
I rented an 80L bladder last season and thought it was the coolest thing ever. Been making similar volume- <300lb for ~20gal batches. I like the demijohns a lot to cut the clutter and the cleaning. I end up with a demi and a carboy of finished wine.

 

[CDrew]

I need to do something to cut the footprint. That's why I'm thinking the Intellitanks. Flex tanks would work too. I do have a decent space to work with, but a 15 gallon carboy would be great, hence the thought about the intellitanks. I don't need to ramp up to 1000 case production.

 

[CDrew]

Update:

I racked my Primitivo off the gross lees this morning and was very careful to leave behind all the sediment. The wine tastes/smells excellent, some firm tannin that I didn't get last year that I think will be nice. The real star of the show was the Intellitank. It's basically a 15 gallon HDPE carboy with triclamp fittings. The floor foot print is the same as a 5 gallon carboy in a milk crate. As a bonus the manufacturer said you could vacuum rack into it, and so I did. Worked great. But I should have bought 2 of them because I ended up with 32 gallons of Primitivo, so I still have 3 carboys! The plan is the wine will stay where it is now until I bottle it.

https://www.catalyst-manufacturing.com/pages/intellitank-user-s-manual

I am going to re-rack the 23 gallons of Syrah later today, since it looks like I left too much sediment, and I don't want issues with spoilage organisms or funky smells.

And as a cellar update, I am hoping to pick some Petite Sirah and maybe some Cabernet tomorrow if I can get my son-in-law to give me a hand.

 

[CDrew]

The Syrah and Primitivo are racked and away in the dark completing MLF.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to harvest some Petite Sirah and since I had some help visiting from LA we picked about 300 pounds of Petite Sirah from a vinyard in Contra Costa county. Its a very nice wine growing area just south east of me, and similar to Suisun Valley. Enzyme treatment overnight with Lallemand EX, then pitched this morning with Avante yeast! I hope to have it off and running by tomorrow morning.

Brix 24.5 at harvest

I wanted to get some PS to blend with my Primitivo and this pick fell into place perfectly.

 

[CDrew]

I could use some oak advice at this point.

-I have French Medium "wine stix" that I got from MoreWine that I'm going to use in the Syrah. Looks simple. 1 stix per carboy!

-I have nothing for the Primitivo. I like the look of the round oak balls to toss in the carboy. Anyone use these?

-How do you sterilize the oak of any type prior to putting it into the wine? Spray with StarSan or KMBS ? I was considering steaming in a vegetable steamer. That should heat it to 212F without changing it like boiling would. Just curious if anyone has done that.

 

[Boatboy24]

The Syrah and Primitivo are racked and away in the dark completing MLF.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to harvest some Petite Sirah and since I had some help visiting from LA we picked about 300 pounds of Petite Sirah from a vinyard in Contra Cost county. Its a very nice wine growing area just south east of me, and similar to Suisun Valley. Enzyme treatment overnight with Lallemand EX, then pitched this morning with Avante yeast! I hope to have it off and running by tomorrow morning.

Brix 24.5 at harvest

I wanted to get some PS to blend with my Primitivo and this pick fell into place perfectly.

Great looking grapes!

Regarding the oak, I don't do anything to it. Just keep it sealed in its package once it is opened. I use chips in primary and cubes during aging (barrels are all neutral). I know a few people have used the spheres (I think they're called xoakers) - believe @ceeaton is one of them. Maybe he can chime in.

 

[Ajmassa]

1. I have French Medium "wine stix" that I got from MoreWine that I'm going to use in the Syrah. Looks simple. 1 stix per carboy!

2. I have nothing for the Primitivo. I like the look of the round oak balls to toss in the carboy. Anyone use these?

3. How do you sterilize the oak of any type prior to putting it into the wine?

Great pics man.

1. The stix/spirals I’ve been tying fishing line to em and fasten up through the bung to the airlock. Makes for simple removal, and ya can keep it suspended in the middle of the wine.

2. Boatboy beat me to it. Craig @ceeaton is THE xoakers man. I’m sure he’ll offer his wisdom momentarily.

3. A much discussed topic here. Not 1 accepted standard way. Tho many go right from packaging to wine, myself included. As long is my wine is properly sulphited I don’t worry about it. So far so good.

 

[CDrew]

Cool. Thanks for some oak help. I'm going to go for the xoakers at MoreWine's recommended dose rates. They have had excellent recs so far so will stay with the program for now.

An Update on the Petite Sirah picked yesterday:

I'll give a shout out to the Avante yeast. I pitched 1 gm per gallon after a GoFerm rehydration almost exactly 12 hours ago, and I already have a good cap formed. I did the first nutrient feed with Fermaid K 1gm per gallon this evening. Likely tomorrow evening, I'll give it 1.5 gm per gallon of Fermaid 0 and that will be it. Going to inoculate with CH16 MLB tomorrow too once it's really rocking. Very happy with progress so far, but the Avante looks like a long term winner. One of my wine making friends had a major H2S problem last year and nice to know that I'm genetically immune. It's like an H2S vaccine.

I have 40 grams of Avante yeast left over that I won't use this season, so if anyone wants it, I'll offer to mail it out tomorrow. This is enough for a 40 gallon ferment. Send me a PM with your address and it's on the way. I'll check in the am and get it on the way to you.

Just after punch down:

 

[CDrew]

Mainly to keep track of this:

Petite Sirah:

Last night just before bed added Fermaid K 1g/gallon

This AM (24 hours after pitching yeast) Fermentation is at full tilt.
Brix 25>>>>20 in the last 24 hours

The must has warmed a bit to 75F and so I inoculated with CH16 MLB culture

I assume I'll be at 18 brix or so by this evening and will add Fermaid 0 1.5 gm/gallon

This PS has beautiful color. It looks like purple ink.

Interesting, the smell of fermentation with the Avante is very clean. Even with clean ferments before, this is a whole different level of neutral wine smell. I'm impressed. Impressed enough I want to try other Renaissance yeasts like Muse, though the Avante as advertised is a better choice for high brix, quick fermentation and high alcohol levels. It also consumes Malic acid during fermentation so what's not to like!

Hope to press this Saturday or Sunday after work.

 

[Carotz]

After work today, a big wine making effort.

First I racked the Syrah into clean carboys. Have 23 gallons and a bit to drink tonight. Tastes and smells awesome. Still fermenting a bit. It's deep and dark. The vacuum racking with the allinone works great. It's a little slow with this much wine but it worked great and I racked from wine on the floor to carboys on a table.

After that was done switched gears to the Primitivo. It's still going a bit. Brix is near zero but in the carboys it's still fermenting. Ended up with 36 gallons. likely will be 33 once racked off the gross lees in a couple of days but it's a lot of wine. I got the leftovers at crush and it was a lot more than I bargained for.

I am close to out of carboys. I know that having too much wine is a first world problem, but there it is. Racking the Primitivo will mean filling, then cleaning, then filling then cleaning etc. I can't wait. I think I'm going to order some Intellitanks.

But I have to say the bladder press makes short work of the pressing. I like the romance of the screw press, but noone would ever go back to a screw press from a bladder press. Once it's full and the free run is done, it's maybe 10 minutes to press the rest. And the water pressure does 100% of the work.

View attachment 51323

With my Primitivo/pitit Syrah blend I usually yield 2.8-2.9 gal per 32lbs gross liquid

 

[Carotz]

With my Primitivo/pitit Syrah blend I usually yield 2.8-2.9 gal per 32lbs gross liquid

32lbs of grape that is

 

[Boatboy24]

This PS has beautiful color. It looks like purple ink.

Just one of the reasons I love PS. Crazy dark - stains everything, including the test glasses.

My neighbor commented on that as he was helping me press today. He wasn't familiar w/ the varietal, but he and his wife both like big, tannic wines. He subsequently went out and bought some after we pressed.