AN EXPERIMENT IN METHODOLOGY
(maybe we have been doing it wrong for years?)
Two wines, made from the same ingredients, at the same time, but using different methods of extraction, the hope being that we can demonstrate that adding fruit later in the ferment retains more of the phenols (colour and flavour compounds) or goodness of the fruit by not exposing it to the more violent early stages of a normal pulp fermentation, and having these elements "blown away" with the CO2.
The ingredients for both wines are the same
To make 4.54 Litres (1 Imperial gallon)
500ml (16 fl oz) (2 cups) Red grape concentrate
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Elderberries
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Blackberries
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Raspberries
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Blackcurrants
113g (4oz) (1/2 cup) Bananas
540g (19 oz) (2.4 cups) Sugar
2 teaspoons Pectolase
No yeast nutrient required.
(How about that for international measurements?...likely all wrong!)
You could if you wished alter the amounts or indeed remove some ingredients if you didn't like them, raspberries for instance, but as long as both wines contain the same ingredients this is the basis of the experiment.
Make up a large (500ml) yeast starter with a good quality yeast using 100ml Red grape concentrate a pinch of yeast nutrine a pinch of acid and 400 ml water, and allow to build up a head of steam overnight.
( I would recommend Lalvin K1V-1116 as it is great for red fruit flavour retention but you could use Lalvin 71B-1122, or Gervin varietal D as good fruit expression yeasts)
more info on yeast starters here
Prepare Wine B using standard techniques
patuerise the red fruits by bringing just to the boil with 500ml water and cooling rapidly then adding the (peeled) bananas and mashing using a potato masher, place the pulp in a straining bag and add the red grape concentrate and three pints of water, add 2 tsp pectolase and pitch 250ml of the pre prepared yeast starter, after two days add the sugar, and ferment on the pulp for a further 2 days (4 in total) remove the straining bag and dunk gently in 1 pint warm water, then add this water to the must transfer to demijohn and top up to just below the neck of the DJ and ferment to dryness, racking and topping up etc in the normal manner.
Age for two to three months before the side by side trials
Wine A prepared as follows
starting the same time as wine B add 250ml yeast starter to the red grape concentrate, and ferment adding the sugar in two stages, half at three days and the other half at six days, keeping an eye on the SG and when it dropped below 1.010 patuerise the red fruits the same way as in the recipe for wine B adding the banana and mashing with a potato masher, adding it with the pectolase to the already fermenting must and ferment on the pulp rack when residual sugar is all gone, then rack, top up and finish as normal.
Age for three months before running the side by side comparison.
The wines should finish within a couple of days of each other. The main difference here in the two wines is the late addition of the fruit to wine A.
When it comes time to do the side by side comparison, it is best to do this blind (i.e. not know which wine is which) so maybe get someone else to label them for you, or cover up the labels and have someone "shuffle" the bottles for you.
From an idea by Bill Smith in "award winning wines"
ISBN 1-85486-209-X
I have been meaning to run this experiment for some time and conduct the tasting as a "talk" at pontefract wine circle next year...
maybe I will get it started now ...... thanks for the push
regards
Bob
(maybe we have been doing it wrong for years?)
Two wines, made from the same ingredients, at the same time, but using different methods of extraction, the hope being that we can demonstrate that adding fruit later in the ferment retains more of the phenols (colour and flavour compounds) or goodness of the fruit by not exposing it to the more violent early stages of a normal pulp fermentation, and having these elements "blown away" with the CO2.
The ingredients for both wines are the same
To make 4.54 Litres (1 Imperial gallon)
500ml (16 fl oz) (2 cups) Red grape concentrate
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Elderberries
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Blackberries
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Raspberries
227g (8oz) (1 cup) Blackcurrants
113g (4oz) (1/2 cup) Bananas
540g (19 oz) (2.4 cups) Sugar
2 teaspoons Pectolase
No yeast nutrient required.
(How about that for international measurements?...likely all wrong!)
You could if you wished alter the amounts or indeed remove some ingredients if you didn't like them, raspberries for instance, but as long as both wines contain the same ingredients this is the basis of the experiment.
Make up a large (500ml) yeast starter with a good quality yeast using 100ml Red grape concentrate a pinch of yeast nutrine a pinch of acid and 400 ml water, and allow to build up a head of steam overnight.
( I would recommend Lalvin K1V-1116 as it is great for red fruit flavour retention but you could use Lalvin 71B-1122, or Gervin varietal D as good fruit expression yeasts)
more info on yeast starters here
Prepare Wine B using standard techniques
patuerise the red fruits by bringing just to the boil with 500ml water and cooling rapidly then adding the (peeled) bananas and mashing using a potato masher, place the pulp in a straining bag and add the red grape concentrate and three pints of water, add 2 tsp pectolase and pitch 250ml of the pre prepared yeast starter, after two days add the sugar, and ferment on the pulp for a further 2 days (4 in total) remove the straining bag and dunk gently in 1 pint warm water, then add this water to the must transfer to demijohn and top up to just below the neck of the DJ and ferment to dryness, racking and topping up etc in the normal manner.
Age for two to three months before the side by side trials
Wine A prepared as follows
starting the same time as wine B add 250ml yeast starter to the red grape concentrate, and ferment adding the sugar in two stages, half at three days and the other half at six days, keeping an eye on the SG and when it dropped below 1.010 patuerise the red fruits the same way as in the recipe for wine B adding the banana and mashing with a potato masher, adding it with the pectolase to the already fermenting must and ferment on the pulp rack when residual sugar is all gone, then rack, top up and finish as normal.
Age for three months before running the side by side comparison.
The wines should finish within a couple of days of each other. The main difference here in the two wines is the late addition of the fruit to wine A.
When it comes time to do the side by side comparison, it is best to do this blind (i.e. not know which wine is which) so maybe get someone else to label them for you, or cover up the labels and have someone "shuffle" the bottles for you.
From an idea by Bill Smith in "award winning wines"
ISBN 1-85486-209-X
I have been meaning to run this experiment for some time and conduct the tasting as a "talk" at pontefract wine circle next year...
maybe I will get it started now ...... thanks for the push
regards
Bob
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