Hi all. You may remember from my occasional posts that I have been winemaking 'au naturel' the last few years, but with a disappointing batch this year have decided to start adding stuff. So here’s my plan, and I’d be really grateful if anyone wants to reply with ‘this man’s a genius’ or ‘you’re gonna do WHAT!!’ I have 25 crates of Montepulciano d'abruzzo trundling their way to me from bella Italia, which should net about 130 litres/29 gallons. Weed out leaves and mouldy bits, then crush and ferment on skins and stalks. (how do you de-stalk?) I have 6 sachets of Lalvin EC-1118 that hasn't been refrigerated (they were kept in a drawer in a cool garage, but it did get hot this summer...) which works out at about 1g per gallon, right? Not sure if I need to bother with nutrient ?? Will add 22 campden tablets (=1/2 to 1 tablet per gal) but not sure at what point in proceedings to add them? I use a hydrometer and control temperature by keeping my barrel nice and cosy, but have never tested pH – is that strictly necessary? Sorry to sound like a headless chicken, but this a steep learning curve in a limited time, and I don’t want to cck it up!
Richard
Richard
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