Two Viogniers, two different wines, let the judges decide

Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

NorCal

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
Joined
Apr 18, 2014
Messages
3,980
Reaction score
6,030
Location
Sierra Foothills, Nor Cal
The back story is: @4score and I went in on a half ton of Viognier last year. We crushed, pressed and settled the grape juice at my house and then we parted ways.

23.7 brix, 3.5 pH, I used D47 yeast and beta mlf with a final pH of 3.6. I aged in glass, 1 med oak spiral per carboy. The result was a sharp tasting, undrinkable in my view. I associated due to the high TA. I added 1.5 g/l potassium bicarbonate as a last resort and dropped the sharpness substantially. In my view made the wine drinkable.

I shared what I did with @4score, he chose to not be as heavy handed as I and bottled as is.

Both wines are being entered in the CA State Fair tomorrow. We have a bet. Who ever gets a higher ribbon owes the other a bottle of Viognier. A tie we swap.
image.jpg
 
The back story is: @4score and I went in on a half ton of Viognier last year. We crushed, pressed and settled the grape juice at my house and then we parted ways.

23.7 brix, 3.5 pH, I used D47 yeast and beta mlf with a final pH of 3.6. I aged in glass, 1 med oak spiral per carboy. The result was a sharp tasting, undrinkable in my view. I associated due to the high TA. I added 1.5 g/l potassium bicarbonate as a last resort and dropped the sharpness substantially. In my view made the wine drinkable.

I shared what I did with @4score, he chose to not be as heavy handed as I and bottled as is.

Both wines are being entered in the CA State Fair tomorrow. We have a bet. Who ever gets a higher ribbon owes the other a bottle of Viognier. A tie we swap.
View attachment 54255

That's some high stakes gambling!
 
Well, I think you've over-simplified my end of the winemaking. In fact, another difference is that I used Prelude non-sac yeast for a minimal 2-brix reduction (24.5 to 22.5) before introducing D47 yeast to finish the job. I sampled part of my batch with American oak but chose to go without oak on the majority. Also, tried MLF, but it never completed and I gave up (SO2 and bottled). I rather prefer the zesty acidic punch. I felt I let the wine stay generally what it wanted to to become with gentle urging. My hands were like angel wings....light and whispy. :)
 
Well, I think you've over-simplified my end of the winemaking. In fact, another difference is that I used Prelude non-sac yeast for a minimal 2-brix reduction (24.5 to 22.5) before introducing D47 yeast to finish the job. I sampled part of my batch with American oak but chose to go without oak on the majority. Also, tried MLF, but it never completed and I gave up (SO2 and bottled). I rather prefer the zesty acidic punch. I felt I let the wine stay generally what it wanted to to become with gentle urging. My hands were like angel wings....light and whispy. :)

lol
 
Well, I think you've over-simplified my end of the winemaking. In fact, another difference is that I used Prelude non-sac yeast for a minimal 2-brix reduction (24.5 to 22.5) before introducing D47 yeast to finish the job. I sampled part of my batch with American oak but chose to go without oak on the majority. Also, tried MLF, but it never completed and I gave up (SO2 and bottled). I rather prefer the zesty acidic punch. I felt I let the wine stay generally what it wanted to to become with gentle urging. My hands were like angel wings....light and whispy. :)

Can I buy Prelude in small quantities? 500 grams is too much for a home wine maker.
 
Another manufacturer makes a Torulaspora delbrueckii called BioDiva (same as Prelude). You may try searching for that. Good luck.
 
Another manufacturer makes a Torulaspora delbrueckii called BioDiva (same as Prelude). You may try searching for that. Good luck.

I ordered a couple packages from White Labs on their "From the Vault" program. It's a contingency program, whereby if they get enough orders, they will make the run to fulfill the orders. It might not be here in time for my spring ferments, but hopefully for fall.

https://www.whitelabs.com/yeast-vault
 
I ordered a couple packages from White Labs on their "From the Vault" program. It's a contingency program, whereby if they get enough orders, they will make the run to fulfill the orders. It might not be here in time for my spring ferments, but hopefully for fall.

https://www.whitelabs.com/yeast-vault

Chuck, you're a braver man than I. Considering they primarily concentrate on brew yeasts I would be skeptical. Not to mention the only White Labs product I ever used was an MLB that never worked even after 5 tries.
 
Where's John Bonham when you need him?


Ted Zeppelin:

MhmRCTp.jpg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top