Poppyseed Cellars

I just measured my cold (32 F) 2008 SB. I used the new acid test kit.

• 32 F 3 gallon carboy:  
  • 9 g/L
  • pH 3.0. This came up a little from 2.9
  • It hasn’t really dropped. It has only been 5 days, but I thought that would do something. I will measure the other carboy, that has been in the garage at ~60F.
• Garage temp carboy
  • pH 3.0
  • Acid: 9 g/L

Seems like the cold stabilization isnt doing anything. I decided to try potassium bicarbonate on the cold carboy:

• 3 gallons = 11.4 L
• 1 g/L of potassium bicarbonate reduces acity approximatley 1 g/L, which is what I want.
• I added 11 g to the carboy. Lots of bubbles produced, which is what is supposed to happen. I will test the wine tomorrow

I stirred the syrah tonight, all three containers. Still lots of bubbles coming up, so the MLF is cranking along.

I also tasted a sample from each container. They were all very similar:

• Nose: Mostly oak at this point. I don’t know if that is normal or not, but the oak seemed to be the strongest aroma. The fruitiness seems subdued.
• Taste: Nice wine. The oak seems less noticeable on the taste.I can’t be sure, but I think some of the harshness has gone away, and the wine seems smoother.

Wow. I was experimenting with a new TA meaurement kit tonight. This time using a pH meter to find the endpoint. Worked great. At least with my 2008 SB.

I had opened the 3/4 gallon jug of 2008 SB to use as my sample. Phew! It stunk, big time. Totally oxidized, with smells reminiscent of sherry, but really foul. Yuck! I wonder what happened? There was still a lot of lees in the jug.

I looked back. This jug was the last racking of the 6 gallon carboy. So maybe I picked up too much of the lees. I don’t know. I hope my other 2 3 gallon carboy are OK. I opened one and it smelled great! 

Took a small sample to show my fellow winemakers at work. Poured the rest down the drain…

Just checked the syrah, and I can see many tiny streams of bubbles rising to the top. The MLF is moving right along.

I also added more ice to the SB. It must be down close to 32F. The ice is surviving through the day. Maybe tonight I’ll pull the carboy out and see if I am getting any tartrates. If so, this is a really nice way to lower the acidity.

Last night was pretty cold (41F at my house). I moved one of my high acid 2008 SB carboys outside for the evening, then in the morning went out and surrounded it with ice. I am trying to cold stabilize it, and maybe drop the acidity. It is around 9g/L now; I would like to get down to 8 g/L. We’ll see! I wish I had a big refridgerator.

Went out to the garage this morning to check on the malolactic. All three containers had a fine stream of bubbles rising. The themometer read about 66 F. So the MLF seems to be progressing fine.

I stirred each container. Lots of bubbles ame up. Everything smells good.

Erwin came over and we racked the syrah off the gross lees at 2:30 pm. It toiok us three hours to do everything.

• Racked most of the containers into 2 20 gallon tubs.
• Racked the rest of the last demijohn into the now empty and cleaned demijohn.
• Racked the tubs back into the demijohn + carboy.
• We ended up with almost 34 gallons of racked wine.
  • 2 14 gallon demijohns
  • 1 5 gallon carboy
  • 4 wine bottles.
• We started with 36, so we lost 2 gallons, or about 6%.
• We started the malolactic fermentation:
  • Enoferm Alpha malolactice bacteria
  • 2.5 g bacteria hydrated with 50mL distilled water.
  • 20 mL into each of 2 demijohns
  • 10 mL into the 5 gallon carboy
  • Put in the oak staves at the same time; apparently the staves give the bacteria a god surface to work on.
• We put medium toast french oak staves into the demijohns and carboy. The label suggested 3 staves/5 gallons. We put approximately 2 staves/5 gallons. I was worried about overoaking. This way there is no chance the oak needs to come out before the malolactic finishes, which should be in 4-6 weeks.
  • 6 staves each carboy
  • 2 staves for the 5 gallon carboy.

We got a Vinquiry 1 Panel done on our fermented wine. There were some surprises.

• TA: 7.48 g/L.  This was high. We expected 6 g/L based on our tartaric addition. Here is the history:
  • TA initial must: 4.42 g/L
  • Added 242 g tartaric acid.
    • We now have 36 gallons = 136.27 L. So this addition was 242/136.26 = 1.78 g/L. We should have ended up at 4.42 + 1.78 = 6.2 g/L.
    • What if we really only have 30 gallons (113.56L), after we remove the solids by racking. Then the addition was 242/113.56 = 2.13 g/L. We then end up at 4.42 + 2.13 = 6.55 g/L.
    • None of these calculations shows any way for us to get to the  7.48 g/L that we got.
    • How did it happen?
• pH: 3.8 . This is high, but tolerable. We won’t do anything to bring it down. We already have enough acid, see above. Here is the history…
  • pH initial must:  3.69 (me)
  • pH initial must:  3.81  (Vinquiry )
  • pH after tartaric addition:  3.41 (me)
  • pH after fermentation: 3.80 (Vinquiry)
  • pH after fermentation: 3.74 (me)
  • Question 1:   why did it come down to 3.41? I thought becasue of the tartaric addition, although I was surprised by the change.
  • Question 2: Why did it go back up to 3.8?

There were also some numbers that made us happy:

1. Alcohol: 13.69% This was pretty good, considering our sugars were at 23.5 brix. This is a conversion rate of 13.69/23.5 = 0.58. I think was is considered th enormal range  is 0.55-0.67.
2. Free SO2 of 2 ppm and total SO2 of 13 ppm are nice and low for the upcoming malolactic fermentation, which likes low SO2 levels. After the ML, we will need top sulphite pretty heavily becasue of our high pH.
3. VA of 250 ppm is nice and low. I had been worried because of the ethyl acetate aromas coming off the must near the end of the fermentation. I am sure of what I smelled; it just wasn’t enough to be a problem. At low levels it is considered one of the componenets of a fruity wine.
4. The sugar level was very low. 21 mg/100mL = 21 mg/100 g = .02% sugar. I measured .3% with the clinitest kit. Why am I not even close? In any case, it is very low.
5. The malic is at 2.51 g/L. This will get converted to lactic, which will lower the TA, and make it taste less harsh. The conversion ratio is ~0.67, so we will lose 0.33 * 2.51 = .83 g/L of TA, leaving us at 6.65 g/L. The wine should be smoother. The lactic acid that results is less harsh than the malic that was there.

• Pressed into the following containers
  • 2 14 gal demijohns
  • 1 6 gal carboy
  • 1 1 gal jug
  • 1 3/4 gallon jug
  • 1 750 mL wine bottle
  • 3/4 750 mL wine bottle
  • Total wine ~36 gallons
  • Measured sugars using clinitest:  0.3%
• Nose: good; fruity
• Taste: several glasses worth :-). Fruity. Can still get what I think is a strong acidity. But maybe it is just unsettled wine. We’ll probably do a vinquiry panel tomorrow, so we’ll get the numbers.
• Here are some pictures:

10PM: Since we might need a 6 gallon carboy for the syrah pressing tomorrow, I decided to rack the 2009 SB and clean up 1 carboy:

• Racked the 6 gallon, 6.5 gallon, 1 gallon into clean 6, 6.5 gallon carboys.
• Measured the SO2 at ~ 25 ppm.
• Added 25 ppm more SO2.
  • 6 gallon * 1.6 mL/gallon 10% SO2 solution = 9.6 mL, to each carboy
• Nose: excellent; fruit, citrus, grapefruit, no sign of H2S.
• Taste: also excellent. Good acidity, nice and crisp. I had a glass left over and drank it down.
• This might end up my best wine ever.
• The wine is still cloudy. I’ll let it sit 2 months, and check to see if it needs to be fined.

7:30 PM

There was a slight cap, and a little fizzle left in the must. I punched it down. I got a strong whiff of what I believe it ethyl acetate, but I am not sure. It seems to be there when I take the plywood and sheet off of the fermenting bin. Then it goes away. The wine smells and tastes fine. And the garage smells great. I put down a layer of CO2 with the tank to try and keep the O2 off of the must. We’ll get a panel done after pressing, and see how much VA there is.

We will press Wednesday evening, into 2 14 gallon demijohns, plus a 6 and a 3 gallon carboy, if needed. Hopefully that is enough glass.

8:30 PM;

• Punchdown
• Still actively fermenting
• Must temp 74 F.

7AM:

• punchdown
• must temp 75 F
• sugar: 0 brix!
• taste: lots oif fruit. Still pretty acidic. Slightly tannic, but not much. There is still some juice to come out of the berries. That may bring down the acidity. Or maybe I am competely wrong, and it is something else I am tasting. After we do the malolactic, we’ll probably run one more Vinquiry panel, so we’ll know.

We are ready to press. Maybe today!

Sunday 5PM:

• Punchdown
• Must temp 78 F

Time to plan for pressing!

Sunday, 9AM:

• Punched down
• Must temp: 78 F. Temperature is starting to drop.
• Sugars: 2.5 brix, so we are almost done.

Saturday:

• Punched down around 4:30PM, with Irwin.
• Must temp 82 F.
• Sugars: can’t remember…Erwin, if you read this, do you remember?
• Punched down again at around 9PM.
• Must temp 82F

• Punch down 7:30AM
• Musty temp 82 F.

• Punchdown at 5:30 PM
• Must temp 82 F.

• Another punchdonw at 6:45 PM.
• Must temp 82 F.
• Sugar: 9.5 brix
• Nose: good
• Taste: Still sweet. Very fruity. Distinct bitterness. I am guessing this will go away. I have noticed the same thing in my sauvignon blancs. I think it is pretty acidic. I hope we didn’t over do it with the tartaric addition. We’ll find out if we do another vinquiry panel. Also, the pH will give us a bit of an idea.

• Punch down at 7:15 AM
• Must temp = 80 F
• Sugars: 12.5 brix
• Nose: Good.
• Need to figure out the malolactic fermentation.
• Need to figue out what we will press into.

I went out to do some errrands this evening. When I returned and came into the house, the whole house smelled of fermenting wine. Not just the garage! It was wonderful. THis has got to be my favorite time of year. It rained most of the day, so no sun to warm the must.

• 9:15 PM: Punched down the cap.
• Must temp 76 F.
• Sugars: 16.5 brix. By tomorrow morning we’ll be below 13, so I did the nutrient addition.
• Added 19 g Fermaid K mixed into juice solution. Stirred it in really well.
• No more additions required at this point, although we need to decide when to inoculate for the malolactic.
• Put two 125W heat lamps pointing at the bottom of the bin.
• Put on the sheet and plywood, covered with blankets. I hope to get over 80 F by the morning.

Picked up a couple of heat lamp bulbs from Home Depot, and came home after work.

• Kids did the punchdown.
• Must temp = 74 F, so it came up on its own, without my heating pad.
• Sugar: 18 Brix! Zowee, that came down fast. I will need to put in the next nutrient additon tonight before going to bed. It is supposed to go in at 16 Brix.
• I will set up the heat lamps to try and keep it warm through the night. I think I will place two heat lamps on the floor, and heat up the underside of the bin, and cover the top with sheet, plywood and blankets.

7:15 Punchdown: Everything still going fine.

Must at 70 F. I will pick up a radiant space heater today, and see if I can use that to warm the must. This fermentation is ending up like a white fermentation…pretty cold. That should give us a nice fruity wine. But we won’t get the color extraction we need unless we get up into the 80’s.

Where is that sun when you need it! No Sun coming for a few days.

• 9:30 PM: Punched down the cap.
• Must temp still around 68 F.
• I placed a glass tray on top of the must, then placed a heating pad in the tray. I will try running it all night, and see if I can warm up the must a little.
•  

   

   

Left the garage door open all day; the fog never cleared

Still, I got home at 6PM and could hear the must bubbling. There was a decent cap; the kids did the punch down.

• Must temp: still 68 F. I somehow need to warm this up.
• Sugar: 24.5 brix.
• Nose: very nice. No problems.

I’ll take another look just before bedtime.

Just checked, and so far, no obvious fermentation. I stirred it up, and brought up a lot of foam, so maybe it is starting. The color is really deepening. These few days of “cold” soak are really drawing out the color.

I tasted the juice; still tastes great.

This morning I’ll leave the garage door open, so the southern sun will be on the bin most of the day. The bin is covered  with a sheet, and a piece of plywood. The plywood gets very warm in the sun, which should indirectly heat up the must.

• Tartaric addition:   Took ~ 1.5L of jiuce and mixed in the 242 g of tartaric. After stirring until dissolved, I poured it into the bin, and stirred it in.
• Fermaid K addition:   Took ~ 1 L of juice and mixed in 19 g of Fermaid K. Stirred until dissolved, and poured it into the bin, and stirred it in.
• Yeast addition:
  • The yeast datasheet says to use 20-40g/100L of juice. We picked 30 g/100L.
  • 151 L * 30g/100L = 45 g yeast. This approximately matches the 1g/gal number I have seen elsewhere.
  • The datasheet says mix the yeast with water, 10x the amount of the yeast. If we do 45 g yeast, that’s 450 g = 450 mL of water. I have always mixed 1/2 water and 1/2 juice. So I will take 225 mL distilled water and 225 mL juice.
  • Yeast solution temperature = 70 F. Here is the  yeast foaming after 20 minutes:
  • Must temp at time of yeast addition = 68 F. Datasheet says keep the temps similar.
  • Added the yeast and stirred it in after 20 minutes, per the data sheet.
  • We are off and running! Hooray!

Finally, I remeasured the pH: 3.41  Wow! It dropped a lot. But it will probably go back up, since we added tartaric based on the final wine volume, and a lot of the juice is still trapped in the grapes. once that juice comes out of the grapes, the pH will probably go back up.

The juice tastes great. I think the acid has made it crisper. The flavors are much stronger. The garage is smelling great. I wish it was inside the house!

The grapes, as I finished up….

5PM: Measured the must temperature…66 F. Good temperature. Plan is to start the fermentation tomorrow around lunchtime.

We got our Vinquiry report. Numbers didn’t really match our measured numbers which is a bit dissapointing.

• sugar:  Us: 25 brix;      Vinqiry:23.5 brix;   why the difference?
• pH:      Us: 3.69,           Vinquiry: 3.8;         why the difference?
• TA:      Us: 5.5g/l;        Vinquiry 4.4 g/l;     why the difference? This was a very hard measurement. It is difficult to see the endpoint when doing this.

Tartaric addition calculation:

• 40 gallons = 151.4 liters
• Current TA = 4.4 g/l
• Desired TA = 6.0 g/l
• Addition/l = 6.0 – 4.4 = 1.6 g/l
• Total Addition = 1.6 g/l * 151.4 l ~ 242 g tartaric acid

Sugar addition:

• We will not do a sugar additon. Potential alcohol ~= 13.4%, which is a good level.

 Additional SO2 adition:

• Because the pH came in at 3.8 in the Vinquiry report, we decided to bump the SO2 to 100 ppm.
• Based on the FermCalc calulator, this is 295 ml of 10% solution. We already added 220 ml, so we need ~75 ml more.
• Added 75 ml 10% soulution 9:30 PM

Yeast selection:  We chose to use ES488, purchased 500g from Vinquiry. With the additional SO2, we’ll probably wait until Wednesday to start the fermentation.

We picked the 2009 Syrah from Ken Hunt at Nolan Vineyards:

Here is some of the picking crew:

The dogs name was Syrah! Ken was really helpful. He drove his tractor with Erwins 1/2 ton bin on a trailer, so we dumped our grape tubs right into the bin. The picking was very efficient.

Here are the numbers:

• Clone: Durell
• Rootstock: 3309 or 1616 or 110R
• ~500lbs grapes picked into Erwins first half ton bin, 7:30 – 9:00 AM 11/1/2009
• Crushed at my house into Erwins second half ton bin
• Must temp 58 F.
• Sugar: 25 brix
• pH: 3.69
• TA: 5.5 g/l
• ~400 ml sample frozen for Vinquiry 3.5 analysis

Must volume calculations:

• Must volume in half ton bin: 44″x44″x6″ = 11616 in^3 = 6.72 ft^3 = 50.3 gallons must
• Wine volume estimate from grower: 7-8 gal/100 lbs grapes
  1. 7 gal/100 lbs: 500 lbs * 7 gal/100 lbs grapes =  35 gallons wine
  2. 8 gal/100 lbs: 500 lbs * 8 gal/100 lbs grapes = 40 gallons wine

SO2 calulations:

• Because pH is 3.7, add 70 ppm SO2
• From Beverage People catalog, 75 ppm SO2 = 4.9 ml/gal 10 % SO2 solution
• 4.9 ml * 70/75 = 4.6 ml for 70 ppm
• Pick 45 gallons, halfway between 50 gal measured must volume and 40 gal estimated final wine
• 45 gal * 4.9 ml/gal = 220.5 ml to get 70 ppm SO2 in 45 gal
• The fermCalc calculator comes up with 207 ml for the same conditions. Close enough.

6:30 PM: ADDED 220 ml 10% sulphite solution, and mixed it in

At some point I bottled the wine, but I took no notes. This fall I entered one of the last few bottles into the harvest fair. We drank all the rest, so it can’t be too bad!   

Here are the tasting notes from the three judges. Compare them to the SB tasting notes. The Zin  judges were a tad bit lazy!

One of my first two awards!

Here are the 3 judges tasting notes:

AM: Changed the ice jugs

PM:

• Must Temp: 48 F
• TA; 5.9 g/L
• pH: 3.5

I have been icing the the water bath every morning and evening. No bad nose until tonight. The 6.1 gal carbot has a very slight H2S coming out the bubbler.

• 6.6 gal carboy
  • sugar: 2.5% (~ -1+/day)
  • nose: mild citrus; not very strong aroma; some mineral
  • taste: bitter; I hope that goes away. Citrus
• 6.1 gal carboy
  • sugar: 1.5% ( ~-1+/day)
  • nose: same as above; no H2S on the nose
  • taste: good acidity; crisp; less bitter than the other carboy

Even with the slight H2S near the carboys, I am going to let it go. These should be done in a day or two. The plan is to move them to the farm as soon as they are dry. Then let them rest!

• 6.6 gal
  • sugar: 7% (-1.75/day)
  • nose: clean, light grapefruit
  • taste: crisp; acidic; grapefruit
• 6.1 gal
  • sugar: 6% (-2/day)
  • nose: same as above; stronger; still a mineral nose to it
  • taste: some bitterness; acidic; good clean nose and taste

A-OK!

• 6.6 gal
  • sugar: 10.5 brix (~-1.5/day)
  • nose: grapefruit;citrus; mineral
  • taste: same; good acidity; the same bitter finish as last year; it has gone away later on in previous years
• 6.1 gal
  • sugar: 10 brix (~ -2/day)
  • nose: mineral;citrus; taht gravelly mineral aroma is getting more distinct. It would be great if it stuck around for the bottle.
  • taste: same as above
  • This carboy foams more than the other whenever I disturb the wine. I wonder why?

I didn’t check the 1 gallon jug; I can see that it is still bubbling away. I’ll check it in a few days.

No H2S…everybody happy. But it is time to get the carboys topped up. The ferment is going to slow soon, and O2 will start being a problem. I picke dup a 6 gal Better Bottle carboy from BevPeople. So much easier top handle. First the measurements

• 6.6 gal
  • sugar: 11.5 brix (-1.5/day)
  • nose: modless than normal arama; citrus;grapefruit
  • taste: good, still mix of sweet and citrus, but starting to get crisp and tangy
• 6.1 gal
  • sugar: 12 brix (-2/day)
  • nose: same
  • taste: same
• 5 gal:
  • sugar: 11 brix (-2/day)
  • nose & taste: same, with some strong mineral aromas

Racking:

1. Racked the 6.6 gal -> 6 gal Better Bottle.
2. Cleaned the 6.6 gal carboy.
3. Racked the 6.1 gal -> 6.6 gal.
4. Cleaned the 6.1 gal.
5. Racked the 5 gal into 6.6 gal to top off, the rest into the 6.1 gal.
6. Racked the 6 gal Better Bottle to top off the 6.1 gal.
7. There was 1 gallon of leftover, went into 1 gal jug. I had to add a little distilled water to top it off.

Now everything is topped off with very little room for air. Now I can let the ferment finish, then move to the farm for the winter.

Got a bit of the funk H2S back. Not much, but a little.

• 5 gal carboy:
  • sugar: 13 brix (-3/day)
  • nose: still clean and cirtusy; same as yesterday
  • taste: fizzy; grapefruit juice
• 6.1 gal carboy:
  • sugar: 14 brix (-2/day)
  • nose: same as above
  • taste: same as above
• 6.6 gal carboy
  • sugar: 13 brix (-3/day)
  • nose: slight H2S; otherwise OK, same as above I wonder if this is wehre the H2S is coming from
  • taste: same as above…the H2S seems to have blown off…no more nose

I will try 1g/gal more of the DAP; this is corresponding to a very low nutrient grape. See BevPeoples catalog.

Overall, garage is smelling quite nice. No bad odors. I can tell if something is going bad just by walking near the carboys now.

• 5 gal carboy:
  • Sugar: 16 brix (-2/day)
  • Nose: strong citrus, grapefruit
  • taste: sweetness dropping off; grapefruit; odd minerally finish
• 6.1 gal carboy
  • Sugar: 16 brix (-2.5/day)
  • Nose: same as above
  • Taste: same as above
• 6.6 gal carboy
  • sugar: 16 brix (-2/day)
  • nose: same
  • taste: same

All is happy in the cellar!

All is well this morning. The H2S smells are gone. It smells like clean fermenting juice again. I guess the DAP did the trick. That is the first time I have used the stuff.

Also, I discovered the Fermaid K I am using is a year old. I am going to dump it and start with a fresh batch, although I have no idea if it goes bad.

Ferment is really going now.

• 5 gal carboy: 
  • Sugar: 18 Brix (-3/day)
  • Nose:Grapefruit, yeast
  • Taste: sweet, grapefruit, citrus, fizz…can I bottle this?
• 6.6 gal carboy; when taking a sample, pretty strong whif of H2S, that quickly dissipated.
  • Sugar:18 Brix (-2.5/day)
  • Nose: slight H2S;grapefruit, citrus, yeast
  • Taste: sweet, grapefruit, fizz
• 6.1 gal carboy
  • Sugar:18.5 Brix (-2/day)
  • Nose: I sniffed and tasted right away: brief whif of H2S; blew off pretty fast, then just as above.
  • Taste: Just as above

I am think I need to rack off the lees, whatever little there is. I shoudln’t need any more Fermaid K. I will let it sit until tomorrow night, then rack it. Actually, I think I’ll add some DAP (diammonium phosphate). Nitrogen is what it is to the yeast

• 1 g/gal * 14 gallons = 14g split up among the 3 carboys

Yes, I can smell a slight H2S poroblem. I don’t know what the &^&$^& I am doing wrong. So, I will add 1g/gal of Fermaid K. It solved the same problem last year, although the problem is showing up earlier in the ferment than last year.

• Add 1g/gal Fermaid K
• 5 gal carboy w/ 4gal = 4*1 = 4g Fermaid K
• 6.6 gal carboy w/5gal = 5*1 = 5g Fermaid K
• 6.1 gal carboy w/ 5gal = 5*1 = 5g fermaid K

Measurements:

• Sugar 5 gal carboy: 21 Brix
• Sugar 6.6 gal carboy:  20.5 Brix
• Sugar 6.1 gal carboy: 20.5 Brix

These numbers look great. The ferment is cruising along nice and slowly. Gotta keep adding ice, twice a day.

Nice nose; fruit, citrus ; so much grapefruit! I wish I could somehow retain this grapefruit, but each time I get it during the ferment, and each time it dissipates, and only traces are left in the wine.

Fermentation is going pretty strong now. No bad smells. It’s got the fruity, citrusy, yeasty nose.

I checked the sugars tonight.

Sugars: 22 brix.

So it is off to a nice gentle start! Taste was just like the nose: citrus, fruit, yeast. Nothing bad.

I have kept the water bath at 60F. Tonight I am pushing it down to 55F.

7AM: Iced down the juice again. It was sitting right at 60F.

10PM:

• Racked the juice off the gross sediment. Fermentation on the clear juice gives a lighter brighter wine…supposedly.
• Created a starter mixture of yeast: 40 ml of water, 40 ml of juice, 15 grams Prise de Mouse yeast, which is the same yeast as last year. I need to watch out for the H2S, which happened last year. This time I will do the full dosage of Femaid K.
• Added the yeast to the juice; iced it down (still at 60F) and cleaned up.
• Time to sleep.

I decided to try whole cluster pressing in an attempt to get a fruitier light wine. So no need to rent a crusher; just a press.

I drove to the vineyard in Healdsburg:

Got there at 8 AM. I met with the grower and we started picking. We dropped a lot of fruit, on the growers advice, because of mildew problems. I couldn’t really see it, but I dropped fruit that didn’t look good. Filled up 3 20 gallon tubs. Assuming 5 lbs/ gallon, that is 300 lbs, although I don’t think it was really that much. Here are two of the tubs:

After picking, drove to BevPeople and picked up a #35 basket press. Went home, cleaned up and got organized, and started pressing:

I pressed into a 23 L, 25L and ~2/3 of a 3 gallon carboy. So that is 6.1+6.6+2.5 = ~15 gallons. Not a lot for 300 lbs, so I probably didn’t have 300 lbs. Also, the whole clsuter pressing was difficult. When I checked the grape cake, there will still whole grapes. I stirred up the cake a few times and repressed. I’ll have to decide if I want to do this gains without a crusher. It is way easier with crushed grapes.

I finished the pressing and put the carboys in a cold water bath for an overnight settling. I want the temperature around 55F for start of fermentation.

The I did the numbers:

• Sugars: 23 brix
• pH: 3.08
• acids: 8.2 g/l

Damn good numbers! This should make a nice crisp dry SB, perfect for global warming and the summer of 2010.

Next, time to sulphite, to 50 ppm, using 10 % potassium metabisulphite solution:

• 23L carboy: 6.1 gal * 3.3 ml/gal = 20 ml
• 25L carboy: 6.6 gal * 3.3 ml/gal = 21 ml
• 3 gal carboy: 2.5 gal * 3.3 ml/gal = 8.3 ml

All done for the day!

If I have done some work on the SB, I haven’t written it.

Now I need some carboys for the ’09 SB. What am I gonna do? I took out some ’08 to get the numbers…can I bottle it?

• sulphites: 30 ppm (used the titret kit)
• pH: 2.9
• acids: 9 g/l

Still high acids. This is a crisp wine. The finish is quite sour. I wonder how it will do when it is chilled? I don’t want to bottle yet; maybe I can do something to “fix” the wine. So, I bottled 1 case; just enough to clear the 6 gallon carboy. The rest went into a 3 gal carboy. Now I have two 3 gallon carboys. I will see what I can do with these. If nothing..then just bottle and drink it. It is a vey fruity  wine with a very strong fruit nose.

Found some grapes…Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc, found on craigslist…heres the ad:

I currently have up to ~14 tons of Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc ready to pick.

This is available in any quantity up to 14 tons at a price of $0.75 per pound.

These grapes are currently measuring 22° to 24° Brix.

These are also available for late harvest for those of you interested in making dessert win!!!

Please contact Ken at (707)480-4300 for price an availability.

THIS MUST SELL!!! CALL TO COME BY AND L@@K AT THE FRUIT!!!

I am only buying 300 lbs…what would I do with 15 tons?

One carboy has been moved to the basement at the farm. I tried the wine in the carboy in the garage, and the wood was overpowering. Yikes! Get it out. I racked into another carboy. After racking, I tried it again, and it was much better. I must have used the thielf right near the staves or something. Anyways, now it is off the oak. The flavor was pretty good, nice and full of fruit, with moderate to strong tannins. Maybe still a little closed. I wonder if it getting enough O2. Next racking I will splash a little.

Need to get out to the farm to rack the other carboy. I am out of carboys at ths point. I may have to buy another. This is what happens when you don’t get last years bottles!

• Racked everything into clean carboys, 3 oak staves each.
• 2nd carboy still has some H2S smell. Need to go with one more round of Cu.
• Added 30 ppm meta to both carboys (13 mL 10% meta to 6.5 gallon carboy, 12 mL 10% meta to 6 gallon carboy.

I can still smell just a little bit of H2S.

So this is hopefully the last 0.1 ppm of Cu. The total added is 0.3 ppm, way under the legal limit for added Cu, and also under the limit for residual Cu. Actually, probably no more than 0.1 ppm residual is left, since I can still smell the H2S. The rest of the Cu has bound to the H2S and precipitated out.

I can still smell H2S in the wine, but much lower level.

So 0.1 ppm more copper sulphate.

Well, the H2S (rotten egg smell) is still with the wine. I tried a side by side trial using copper sulphate fining.

Using a pipette, I put 1 ml of 1% copper sulphate (way more than allowed) into one sample of wine (see picture). In seconds, the H2S smell was gone. This means that the copper sulphate will clear up the problem. I didn’t drink it…

Copper sulphate fining is common in commercial wines, but is not allowed in organically made wines. I don’t want to add it…but at this point it is either add it or pour the wine! imagine being an organic commercial wine maker with 1000 gallons with this problem…what would you do?

Copper sulphate as an additive is allowed 6 ppm (calculated as copper). The maximum residual copper sulphate is 0.5 ppm (as copper). The copper sulphate binds with the H2S, and precipitates out, leaving less copper than you added.

All the books say that 0.15 ml of 1% CuSO4-5H2O per gallon = 0.1 ppm.

• In the 6 gallon carboy I put 0.15 * 6 = 0.90 ml.
• In the 7 gallon carboy I put 0.15 * 7 = 1.05 ml.
• I stirred both carboys. Immediately the nose improved, but I could still detect the H2S. Tomorrow, if I can still smell the H2S, I will put in another 0.1 ppm.

I will do another post later on what is allowed in wine…you would be surprised.

1:10 PM:

• Finally have some time…
• Rack everything into a 20 gallon tub. Since I am going to aerate it, I will sulphite it to 30 ppm.
• 30 ppm:  13 gal * 2 ml/gal = 26 ml 10% sulphite solution
• I can see a little sediment on the top.
• I can still smell the H2S, but it is not strong.
• Nose: H2S, with some fruitiness.
• Taste: Light tannins. H2S. Medium acidity. Noticeable effervescence on the tongue. Must be leftover from the MLF.
• When racking, I let it flow down the side of the tub to aerate it.
• When racking back into the carboys, again let it go down the side.
• After this racking, I will let it sit for 2 weeks, and see if the H2S is gone. If not, I will bring out the Cu. Then, after it is OK, put in the oak sticks.
• Finished around 2:40PM, including cleaning!

How much time should I leave my wine sitting with oak staves in the carboys? As much as I need to make it taste correct! Silly answer, but the right one.

I thought I would perform a comparison of oak surface area to volume wine for a traditional oak wine barrel and the oak staves that I use in my carboys.

• Oak barrel surface area to volume wine ratio = 54 sq in/gallon
  • Volume = 59 gal
  • Approximate total inside surface area = 3178 sq in
    • Radius of barrel head = ~11 in
    • Height of barrel = 35 in
    • Area of end: pi * radius^2 = 3.14 * 11 * 11 = 380 sq in
    • Assume inside area is of a cylinder:
    • Cylinder area = 2 * pi * radius * height = 2 * 3.14 *11*35 = 2418 sq in

• Oak stave in 7 gal glass carboy surface area to volume wine ratio = 4.6 sq in/gallon
  • Volume = 7 gal
  • Stave surface area = (2 ends * .25 sq in) + (4 sides * (.5 * 16)) = 32.5 sq in
    • Stave ends cross section = 0.5 x 0.5  in
    • Length  = 16 in

Wow! That means it takes 54/4.6 = 12 times as long to get the same oak into the wine in my carboys as it does in a barrel. I always use  new oak staves. So 1 month in a new oak barrel is the same as 1 year with 1 stave in a 7 gallon carboy. Actually, the stave would be “worn out” pretty quickly. I really should be using multiple staves. Or barrels!

Measured the sugars with Clinitest at .1-.2 %, so the fermentation is finished.

Tasted some of the free run in a wine glass. I can still smell the H2S. Put in a penny, and a few minutes later it seemed gone. The acid and tannins seem well balanced. Some mild fruit flavors. I think that aging on oak will help this wine.

Next decision: more racking and aerating or use copper sulphate?

I racked the wine out of the carboys into the cleaned primary containers, with lots of aeration. I could really smell the H2S. Then I racked back into the cleaned carboys.

I also added another 30 ppm SO2, because of the aeration. I might have killed the malolactic bacteria, but I need to clean up the H2S. I can worry about the MLF later.

I brought a sample in when I returned the press to BevPeople. The kid behind the counter said, yes, you’ve got H2S. I also had Bob smell it, and he too said I have H2S, but not too bad. He thought I should wait awhile before trying anything drastic.

I will at least get the wine off the lees, as that probably has the worst H2S nasties going on.

6:30 AM:

• Must temp at 76 and 74 F.

4:30 PM:

• Rented a #35 press from BevPeople. I managed to fit it into the back of my Corolla. I think the next bigger press would not fit. I also purchased a packet of Enoferm Alpha to start the malolactic fermentation.

5:00 PM:

• Pressed the wine into:
• 7 gal carboy, all free run.
• 6 gal carboy, mix of free and press run
• 1 gal jug + 2 bottles, press run.

9:00 PM:

• Mixed the 2.5 g Enoferm Alpha to 60 mL of distilled water.
• Let it sit 15 minutes.
• Added 1 mL/gallon to the conatiners.
• Still can smell the H2S. Need to get another nose into the wine. Take a sample to BevPeople tomorrow.

6:30AM:

• Measured must temp at 80 and 82 F.

8:00 PM:

• Must temp 79 and 80 F.
• Sugars at 2 and 0 Brix.
• Tasted tart and tannic.
• Still can smell the H2S.

8AM:

• Must temps at 78F for 2 fermenters.
• Sugars at 17 Brix. Wow! It is coming down FAST! I hope that this isn’t a problem. Jeff Cox’s book says this can happen…no warnings!
• Added 12 g Fermaid K each vat. This is based on the Beverage People charts in their newsletter. I did not get a YANC nutrient analysis done (too cheap), so I assumed the grapes have medium nutrients. Rockpile yeast has low nutrient requirements, so I am going with program C: Add 1g/gal Fermaid K about 1/3 thru fermentation.

7PM:

• Must temp at 85 F and 88 F. Punched down and left the lids of the vats off to try and cool it down. Iversen suggests temps in the middle 80’s, so this should be OK.

9PM:

• Another punchdown.
• Sugars at 10 Brix and 8 Brix. WOW! Slow down!
• Must temp at 83 and 86 F. It is coming down. Leave off the blankets, but keep the lid on. The garage gets cold at night.
• Taste: Noticeable tannins, but not too harsh. Nice level. Some bitterness also. This should go away with settling.
• I think I am noticing H2S…ugh. Added another round of Fermaid K, hoping to end the H2S. 11g Fermaid K per container.

5 PM:

• Punched down for first time. The garage also smells wonderful.

9 PM:

• Must temperature at 72 F.
• Put blankets over the primary containers, hoping to warm it up as fermentation gets going.

10 AM:

• Cast 10g Rockpile yeast (Vinquiry VQ15) over top of each primary container.

9 PM:

• Slight sign of fermentation.
• Must temp at 65 F.

Picked 214 lbs Syrah from a Riebli Valley vineyard:

It was a family expedition. The farms location was stunning, with llamas to entertain the kids. The kids (5 and 6 years old) were actually productive!

I ended up with 214 lbs, at $1/lb or $2000/ton. I brought them home in 3 20 gallon plastic buckets. I crushed immediately, and returned the crusher to Frank.

• 25 Brix sugar level: perfect, should end up at <13.7%>
• 7.1 g/L TA: Also perfect, no additions necessary.
• 3.71 pH: This is a bit high. Most recommendations I have read say let it be.
• Final wine estimate = 214 lbs grapes / 16 lbs/gal = 13.4 gal
• I added 60 ppm SO2. I used the high value because of the large pH.
• 60 ppm = 4.4 ml/gal 10% SO2 * 13.4 gal = 59 ml = 30 ml/bucket
• Let it sit overnight.

9 PM:

• Racked the 1,3, and part of 6 gal into a 6 gal carboy.
• Racked rest of 6 gal into 3 gal + 3/4 gal.
• Let these sit for a month, and settle out. Plan on racking again end of October.