What's going on in your winery today..

[goldseal]

It's quiet round here, isn't it?

I'm still in 'all work and no play' mode. All I have managed to do recently is rack, degas and sulphite my Grapefest reds. I have hardly bothered with them due to time pressures, but they seem to have benefitted from that (which might reveal much about my winemaking prowess ).

Nothing will be happening for a month or so, but then I'll be embarking on a monster bottling-to-free-up-better-bottles-so-I-can-work thorugh-the-backlog-of-unmade-kits session.

Next job will be replacement of BottleStore Galactica (my shed). The poor thing was on its last legs, and the recent lively weather has stripped the felt off the roof, and the wood is now soaked.

[Rich]

I'm with Pete on the all work, no wine making recently. Did manage to find time to bottle 2 carboys of white wine. They were for drinking last summer, so at least I'll have them this year. Got a few minutes the other day to go through some of my equipment, so will be making a list of stuff to replace I think. Beer making has been slow too!

[NorthernWiner]

It's quiet round here, isn't it?

I've stopped by the forum here a few times over the last few weeks and thought the same thing.

This is the time of year I don't do much of anything related to winemaking. It's all just sitting around in carboys and barrels right now doing its own thing.

[Cellar_Rat]

It's been so quiet on here I can hear myself working !

[Technotrucker]

I've not done a single thing in making any wine, kit or juice type since late last year. We were away from Dec to Jan so that's one of my excuses, another project is simmering in the old noggin and to top all that I've had a 48 hour monitor on the old ticker and have to see the top nob at the hospital tomorrow.

Otherwise I hope to get the grapes that have been in the frezzer since last year out soon so that I can use the Hydropress I had as a chrimbo prezzie. Just got to wait for a dry weekend.

[RTPFUN]

Well it's getting warmer time to start brewing. On goes a Kenridge with grapes kit ( came with E1118 and not the usual RC212 but lets go with the kit and not mess about could ruin it) a wine number one and ingredients ready for a second run on the grape skins to make a rose. The Xmas pudding wine and the 2nd run have now have their final racking and have had sorbate sulphite and finings added to clear. i thought they might have been more......xmas puddingey but we shall see what they're like after sweetening all that alcohol and no sweetness is not nice on the lips. I feel the need to add some honey along with the sugar to help out in sweetness stakes.

[ToulouseLePlot]

A little bit of a lesson discovered in my winery today. Garnacha from frozen started in June 13 - so must have been 2012 stock. Stuck into 3 DJs by end July - really awful note here says "really sour, tastes like a white". I keep DJs in a cool room - gets to about 6° over winter. I noticed a significant crystalline deposit, type that sparkles in the light of my torch, so I racked again last night. Really quite an extravagant bed of crystals, some 3cm long. Wine now tastes great - just like the Tesco 'simply' garnacha. So I racked a carboy of 2013 merlot - same thing, heavy bed of crystals and a much softer wine.

I guess it's Tartaric acid is a white crystalline diprotic organic acid. It occurs naturally in many plants, particularly grapes, bananas, and tamarinds; is commonly combined with baking soda to function as a leavening agent in recipes, and is one of the main acids found in wine. It is added to other foods to give a sour taste, and is used as an antioxidant. Salts of tartaric acid are known as tartrates. It is a dihydroxyl derivative of succinic acid. Tartaric acid was first isolated from potassium tartrate, known to the ancients as tartar, c.

So it's added to food to give a sour taste (should have saved it for the vindaloo) and presumably it precipitates better in the cool, because I didn't see any in the autumn. Anybody know if you get more the colder you go? Should I leave some DJs in the shed next winter?

[Cellar_Rat]

Good morning and welcome - to the process called cold stabilisation

I am a little concerned that for me it has not really been cold enough this year to effect this. I normally wait for a two week cold snap and then rack off, knowing there will be an inch of tartaric deposit.

You racked at just the right time - it is possible for this stuff to dissolve back into the wine.

PS. Consider drying it out - this is cream of tartar!

[ToulouseLePlot]

Oh Crud! That means I've got about 20gals to rack over the weekend. Maybe we'll have a nice snowy April again.

[Cellar_Rat]

nah - get your hose out !!

[mark g]

I have four gallons of rice & raisin and two gallons of pomegranate & blackcurrant juice and two gallons of 5alive tropical fruit blend & cherry juice, wine i like to make two gallons every couple of weeks.

[fatbloke]

I have four gallons of rice & raisin and two gallons of pomegranate & blackcurrant juice and two gallons of 5alive tropical fruit blend & cherry juice, wine i like to make two gallons every couple of weeks.

I keep meaning to try the rice and raisin recipe....... I do which other stuff would stop getting in the way of my home brewing........

[Cellar_Rat]

I do which other stuff would stop getting in the way of my home brewing........

I will second that comment !!

[robwrx]

I haven't done much wine making so far this year (became a little disillusioned after Grapefest) but my mounting pile of empty bottles spurred me into doing a spot of bottling.

First up was the 2011 WE ltd ed Traminer Spatlese which has been bulk ageing for quite awhile and has turned into a very drinkable off dry white with a sort of honeyed spicey note to it. That was followed by a WE Savignon Blanc which I'm relieved to say is streets ahead of the somewhat more expensive Kenridge Showcase Marlborough Savignon Blanc and then lastly I sorted out my over oaked GF2011 Merlott.

I had 2 gallons of oaked and 1 gallon of un oaked so I racked the lot into 1 bucket and bottled the lot. I can't taste any oak now so hopefully it is salvaged.

Now I just need to get started on some of the back log of kits that are collecting dust in the corner of my winery.

[goldseal]

... (became a little disillusioned after Grapefest) ...

Why was that?