What's going on in your winery today..

[NorthernWiner]

Steve, i've read elsewhere on this forum that using sorbate with wines that have undergone MLF results in the dreaded geranium fault. so how do you properly stabilise such wines?

Karl's answer is right.

Sorbate is only required for stabilization of wines containing fermentable sugar. The wines I typically put through MLF are those that will be finished dry. Mostly reds, although I have a Chardonnay that's gone through malolactic, too.

[ms67]

cheers for those replies folks ... i'm getting ever closer to mastering some basics.

and back on topic ..... today bottling a gallon of orange and a gallon of elderflower. there'll be six bottles of a blend (50/50 - my initial experimentation was none to accurate and i overdid the orange proportion so losing the elderflower nose, but an accurate repeat revealed that 50/50 was indeed a decent mix) and 3 of each as they are. Also a gallon of parsnip which is now over a year old and was good stuff some months ago. we'll have a bottle of that tonight! Many of the orange/elderflower/blends are going out as xmas gifts.

[ms67]

bottled and labelled the 50/50 orange/elderflower blend. just gotta wrap em now. all this bottling gave me an appetite for wine, so i've been through various combos ... such a martyr .... and thoroughly enjoyed it! now where is the sticky tape, wrapping paper and the silly little cards .... bleh i know i'll find them eventually meanwhile there some banging tunes coming through the laptop speakers to keep me amused.

[Cellar_Rat]

HIgh pressure Champoise

I have just added 100psi C02 to a 4 gallon keg of this years Seyval and left it outside to chill. What a bodge, but I reckon it will work.

PS does anyone know anything about fermenting melons?

[NorthernWiner]

PS does anyone know anything about fermenting melons?

My advice: don't.

I've tried and failed twice myself with watermelon. Melons have a tendency to spoil before fermentation completes. Even the great Jack Keller concedes a good melon wine is extremely difficult to make.

But if you decide to precede, I'd at least suggest freezing the juice and then concentrating it by doing a partial thaw.

[wisp]

Bottled 5 gal Cranberry and Blueberry, 5 gal pineapple and 5 gal apple.

[Cellar_Rat]

Watermelon.

Well here goes ..wish me luck. Due to the freezing conditions then I might be on to something. I have hollowed out 30 - 40 partially frozen melons into a bucket. Blitzed it all with a power drill and plaster paddle. Brix 11 adjusted to 21. Temp 21c. Added a prev frozen starter.

The melons are over stock, that I get for pig feed so this is a not cost experiment.

Someone else suggesting that it is really good jacked...

Lets see...

Brian

[NorthernWiner]

Good luck. Don't say you weren't warned.

Here's what old Jack Keller has to say on the subject:

http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/watermel.asp

[goldseal]

Managed to sneak in a couple of SG checks whilst Mrs.G wasn't looking. I have a couple of DJs which have fermented out, but I can't do anything until 27th - frustrating

[goldseal]

Lots of SG checks and racking.

[lockwood1956]

Bottled a 5 gallon ltd Edition Alsatian Reisling (not my winery though, does it still count?)

s'pose it doesn't matter.....I'll get to drink it just the same

however that leaves an empty fermenter, and thats a crime, so I may pop to the supermarket and buy some grape juice and apple juice! or maybe they have something more interesting here in Germany

[goldseal]

however that leaves an empty fermenter, and thats a crime

In that case, I'm deliberately flouting the law

I have 3 empty Better Bottles, but I simply don't have any room. My garage shelves are at capacity with full DJs, mainly stuff from Grapefest, which won't be ready for bottling for ages . The floor is covered in carboys.

[lockwood1956]

hmmmmm


maybe not...my car wont start...deep joy battery flat.

[goldseal]

You have obviously charged your battery with German electrons, which are metric. British electrons are imperial.

[lockwood1956]

the car is run every day at home, so never really gets low, this time it has stood for a while in very sub zero temps (-14) and today just wouldn't have it.....

I will either buy a new battery and fit it, or maybe get some jump leads and start from martinas car...the drive to rotterdam should charge it enough hopefully

will wait and see cost of battery here (halfords want 94 UK pounds)

this is always the time of year batteries get found out....


worst case scenario?...i have european breakdown cover