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Grapefest 2012 Ferments

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  • #16
    I like the numbers, but of course I also taste and wouldn't do one without the other. However there are acceptable ranges of acidity for various wibne styles, and it is simply that....a style choice.

    I like my reds acidity on the lower end and my whites and roses on the higher end.
    N.G.W.B.J.
    Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
    Wine, mead and beer maker

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    • #17
      Wines by style guide

      N.G.W.B.J.
      Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
      Wine, mead and beer maker

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      • #18
        I now have two trains chugging away in my kitchen. Bit of a funny smell to one of them though it is quite feint, hopefully nothing serious.

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        • #19
          funny smell?

          can you be a tad more specific?

          which varietals did you get?
          N.G.W.B.J.
          Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
          Wine, mead and beer maker

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          • #20
            Cold soak is ongoing. Starters prepared for pitching later tonight. Heater is on in winery, internal temp 30 degrees, waiting for must to warm.

            Grenache 1.115 equiv 27 brix. Its sweet, its intense. It will be diluted a little. Good news is TA is 6.5 as tartaric.
            Tempranillo 1.095 TA 6 as tartaric.
            Merlot SG 1.099 TA 4.8 as tartaric tested again tonight - 4 tests now concur. Too low that so I will be upping it. Also as I mentioned in the other thread a slight taste of mould, less pronounced than I thought but definitely there. Going to be tricky this.

            Colour intensity on all 3 after the cold soak looks pretty good.
            Simon
            "I can certainly see that you know your wine. Most of the guests who stay here wouldn't know the difference between Bordeaux and Claret." - Basil Fawlty

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            • #21
              Pete

              What is the significance of diluting the Rose must so much? Is it just to get the volume up or to tone down the flavours?

              Rob

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              • #22
                Originally posted by lockwood1956 View Post
                funny smell?

                can you be a tad more specific?

                which varietals did you get?
                I got tempranillo Bob. Harder to pick it up now without getting a nose full of CO2 but it's an earthy smell. Fruity but in a less pleasant way (as opposed to a nice fruit smell that is). A bit sweaty sock/ cheese type of smell, maybe mouldy but not a musty/ damp smell. All a bit new to me and describing aroma isn't one of my strong points..!

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                • #23
                  I think I'll have a taste when I knock the cap down again in the morning...

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                  • #24
                    Ferments have a life of their own and a smell as you describe is not necessarily a bad thing.....


                    perhaps add a tad of nutrient and stir thoroughly in these early stages to introduce more oxygen....which will not hurt at this stage of fernmentation


                    My tempranillo doesnt smell fruity at this stage either


                    hope that helps

                    regards
                    bob

                    ps if you get really worried about it, you can pop a sample over here and i will be more than happy to have a sniff of it (it wont taste that good once ferment is underway though)
                    N.G.W.B.J.
                    Member of 5 Towns Wine and Beer Makers Society (Yorkshire's newest)
                    Wine, mead and beer maker

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                    • #25
                      Originally posted by robwrx View Post
                      Pete

                      What is the significance of diluting the Rose must so much? Is it just to get the volume up or to tone down the flavours?

                      Rob
                      Mainly to get the SG down.

                      Remember that the grapes had been crushed for about 48 hours when I drew the juice off, so quite a lot of extraction had happened too, so there is an element of toning things down too.
                      Pete the Instructor

                      It looks like Phil Donahue throwing up into a tuba

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by goldseal View Post
                        Mainly to get the SG down.

                        Remember that the grapes had been crushed for about 48 hours when I drew the juice off, so quite a lot of extraction had happened too, so there is an element of toning things down too.
                        Thanks for that Pete, I will do the same.

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                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Delmonteman View Post
                          A bit sweaty sock/ cheese type of smell, maybe mouldy but not a musty/ damp smell. All a bit new to me and describing aroma isn't one of my strong points..!
                          This is probably the yeast lag. I often refer to it as 'carpet glue'. Keep the faith. It will disappear as soon as the yeast going well. Rotten eggs is fragrance to watch for.
                          Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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                          • #28
                            Pitched yeast starters this morning. Natural fermentation in the Tempranillo had just about started - cap had risen, 25c all night in the winery so insulation/heating is working well. Fruity aromas starting to come through in all 3 now. I don't know maybe that is a function of the cold soak?

                            Colour extraction after nearly 3 days cold soak with Rohapect is excellent on Grenache, Merlot and Tempranillo. Intend to dilute the Grenache tonight a little to lower the SG a tad.
                            Simon
                            "I can certainly see that you know your wine. Most of the guests who stay here wouldn't know the difference between Bordeaux and Claret." - Basil Fawlty

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                            • #29
                              Note To Self: Don't try to do as many different wines at next years Grapefest!!!!

                              What a mad couple of days it has been. Everything seemed to be going to plan on Sunday evening. Merlot, Monti and Tempranillo were transfered to 60 litre fermenters. Drained approx 8 litres from the Monti and Tempranillo to allow to settle out to make Rose with. Got about 6 litres after settling. Wanted to pitch yeast on Monday so Sunday night I put heat pads and brewbelts on the big fermenters. Tested temperature at 9.15am Monday Morning and they were all around the 12c area, bugger! I'd forgotten that last year, using 30 litre fermenters, I had put everything in the house overnight to warm up. Drastic measures were called for and I remembered Brians talk from last year about heating a pan of grapes on the cooker to get the temperature up. Luckily the wife was taking the children out yesterday morning

                              I carried two of the 60 litre fermenters across the water logged garden and parked them in the kitchen and decided that the third would be ok on a heat pad with four brewbelts around it. It was easier than carrying it! A combination of the warmed grapes and the central heating got the temps up to 20c/21c so I could pitch the yeast, Vintners Harvest R56 for Merlot, RC212 for the Tempranillo and BDX for the Montepulciano. That pretty much took up the whole morning.

                              The next job was to press the skins on the Trebbiano. I had decided to have a go at cold maceration and left the skins in for 48 hours in an attempt to extract more flavour from the grapes. Unfortunately the screw on my 2nd hand homemade press decided to seize and I had a pig of a job to get it freed. What should have taken an hour or so ended up taking the whole afternoon.

                              By the end of the afternoon all three red musts had good signs of fermentation so I moved them back to the garage and wrapped the insulation around them and punched the caps down. I pitched the yeasts into the Rose, Lalvin 71B for the Tempranillo Rose and Vintners Harvest CY17 in the Monte Rose.

                              Finally in the evening I tested the Trebbiano. SG1.090 that will need diluting, but only TA 4.4g/l which will need to be increased. I also retested the Merlot and Montepulciano and confirmed Sundays tests so this "numbers man" is happy

                              This morning I was greeted by the fantastic sight of three very thick caps on top of the fermenters. The Monte is a cool 24c, the Tempranillo was hard work pushing down and 27c but the Merlot was an eye watering 32c so I've turned the heat off!

                              Brian,

                              I don't know how many grape ferments you have done but this is only my second and I'm still trying to educate my taste buds All the musts taste like sweet grape juice and I can't yet tell the subtle difference between the Monte at TA4.8g/l and Merlot at TA6.8g/l. Being an engineer, I am used to empirical evidence but I appreciate that I can't "engineer" wine. Saturday evening proved what a fantastically talented bunch of winemakers that inhabit this forum and I want to learn and improve my skills to be able to make wines like them. The numbers help but I understand now that balance is key and only your taste buds will truly get you that.

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                              • #30
                                Rob I have been trying to find your number to call you - get that temperature down to below 30 C.




                                "engineering wine" I cannot tell the difference either in must - but I can in the finished wine. Acidity can be corrected in the finished wine, often more easily and more accurately to taste ( typing underneath the desk now to avoid incoming mortar fire).

                                IMO There are a lot of things going on in fermentation that we cannot possibly control some of which may compensate for the acidity. I believe it is better to wait and correct it in the wine.

                                A fun and very informative exercise is to get a bottle of wine (red of course) and split it into nine glasses.
                                Into three of them add .2g .5g & .7g* of tartaric respectively, repeat with citric and then with malic acid.
                                Each class will taste very very different. This give you a good appreciation of the effect of different amounts of acid and also the effects of the different types of acid.

                                *I think these are the right measurements I might go and check.
                                Last edited by Cellar_Rat; 25-09-2012, 06:03 PM.
                                Gluten free, caffeine free, dairy free, fat free – you gotta love this red wine diet!

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