What Would you Ask Winexpert's Winemaker?

[TxBrew]

I thought it would be really cool to attempt a series whereas we develop questions for a well known winemaker, submit them and see what ones they are open to answering. Wine can be very proprietary I know but I think it would be fun if we could get a few win's and they were open.

So if given the opportunity, what questions would you ask the Winexpert winemaker?

 

[bhbldon]

Does sunlight exposure influence wine during fermentation?

I have for years fermented my wine in a sunny room and am mostly happy with the results. Could my wine have been better had I covered the carboys?

There are many posts that suggest sunlight effect Hops in beer. I have researched this quite a bit and find so many sources that say yes sunlight does affect the wine but nowhere can I can find how and why.

Can you shed some light on this? Pun intended.

 

[DoctorCAD]

What is the minimum time that wines should sit after bottling before opening?

Obviously, this will be based on type of wine.

 

[StevenR65]

With the growing of grapes and the many types that are available. Is there going to be or are you going to try for a better quality juice or grape that is GMO free and not chemically treated? There is so much garbage that the industries have dumped into our food chain unnecessarily that is there was such a grape the wine would be 100 times better than some of the garbage juices that are sold today.

 

[bchilders]

What are the top two or three biggest mistakes you have seen from home winemakers and then from commercial makers.

 

[Rocky]

In the US, the Federal Government requires at least 75% of juice of the indicated variety in order to specify that variety of wine on the bottle label for vitis vinifera varieties. States may have even more restrictive rules, e.g. Oregon requires 95% for some varieties. When indicating a variety on a kit, e.g. Zinfandel, what percentage of that variety is present in the kit?

 

[Tom123055]

Is MLF recommended for kits wines?

 

[OdinsBrew]

In my first wine kit and in some store bought wines I often taste something I would describe as medicinal or chemical. Is it possible this is coming from the chemical packets used for clarifying and such in the wine (sorry I don't have the names of those chemical additives in front of me). And can I just leave them out?

 

[Spikedlemon]

In the US, the Federal Government requires at least 75% of juice of the indicated variety in order to specify that variety of wine on the bottle label for vitis vinifera varieties. States may have even more restrictive rules, e.g. Oregon requires 95% for some varieties. When indicating a variety on a kit, e.g. Zinfandel, what percentage of that variety is present in the kit?

That being said: many of the kit companies are Canadian where, domestically, we have an 85% requirement.

 

[Rocky]

That being said: many of the kit companies are Canadian where, domestically, we have an 85% requirement.

Interesting, Spike. Is that for wine bottle labels or for kits? My concern is that our laws address labeling wine bottles of varietals but say nothing about wine kits.

 

[Spikedlemon]

Less a question about the wine but more a couple "why" about the instructions:

Why is there no mention of cold stabilization as an optional process to improve a wine's clarity?
Why are the "degass" instructions so, woefully, inadequate?

I think most people would appreciate, as well, a 'trouble-shooting' list to help as an FAQ of common questions in the kit's instructions. What are those top questions?

E.g. Why does my wine taste sour? Possible cause includes inadequate degassing.

 

[Spikedlemon]

Interesting, Spike. Is that for wine bottle labels or for kits? My concern is that our laws address labeling wine bottles of varietals but say nothing about wine kits.

Wine only. The kit would qualify as a juice or juice concentrate as it's not alcoholic at that time. Hence why it's taxed entirely differently.

 

[TxBrew]

Great questions everyone! Keep them coming.

 

[David219]

This is a long question, but basically, how do red kits have such deep red color?
If juice from red grapes is not deep red at first...if color extraction is achieved by long contact with the skins during fermentation...how does the juice get its color having not undergone fermentation?

 

[mennyg19]

This is a long question, but basically, how do red kits have such deep red color?
If juice from red grapes is not deep red at first...if color extraction is achieved by long contact with the skins during fermentation...how does the juice get its color having not undergone fermentation?

I was actually wondering the same about grape juice etc. thanks for bringing this up!!!

 

[jgmann67]

Less a question about the wine but more a couple "why" about the instructions:

Why is there no mention of cold stabilization as an optional process to improve a wine's clarity?
Why are the "degass" instructions so, woefully, inadequate?

I think most people would appreciate, as well, a 'trouble-shooting' list to help as an FAQ of common questions in the kit's instructions. What are those top questions?

E.g. Why does my wine taste sour? Possible cause includes inadequate degassing.

Along these lines, why don't kit makers include suggestions on how to "turn up the volume" on certain aspects of a kit? Suggested tweakery right from the manufacturer.

 

[heatherd]

What processes does the juice undergo during the kit manufacture process?

Do certain varietals sell more than others?

 

[Boatboy24]

This is a long question, but basically, how do red kits have such deep red color?
If juice from red grapes is not deep red at first...if color extraction is achieved by long contact with the skins during fermentation...how does the juice get its color having not undergone fermentation?

I was actually wondering the same about grape juice etc. thanks for bringing this up!!!

Maybe some of this?

http://vinepair.com/articles/what-is-mega-purple-and-what-is-it-doing-in-my-wine/

 

[joeswine]

They put s product together and your instructions are your guide nothing more,to create what they presume to be the process and finished product that there looking for,they don't know your shills,sanatation methods or environment that there product is made in ,they can give you most of the answers your looking for do to the above factors.you would do just as good and in some cases better just posting here.Building body,texture and flavors .In the past 20 years of experience in wine making and asking my peer's questions ,I have learned more then reading wine maker's magazine.dont get me wrong reading keeps me informed but asking questions and getting reply for Rocky,tonyt,johnt,vaccumepumpman,grapeman,Ibglowin and many others that to me was more on time and one on one.j just my thoughts.��

 

[David219]

I'm bumping this thread to see if this went anywhere. Did we submit the questions? Will any answers be posted here, or will another thread be created? Just curious.