ChrisinCowiche
Posts: 7841
Joined: 12/16/2009
From: Cowiche, WA
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Hey, we've a got a conversation going...
quote:
First bought a kit and thought I'd start slow and try to learn the technique. As soon as that entered secondary fermentation I was offered barbera and viognier grapes. How could I pass those up, even if it was a trial by fire? So now I'm in the middle of the primary fermentation (at roughly 55 degrees) for the viognier, and more or less just finished the primary fermentation for the barbera. Now doing a cold-soak extended maceration for the barbera, although I'm realizing a tank of CO2 and a hose with a male adapter would be much preferrable to dry ice for purging the air from the top of the fermenters.
Any advice on how long I should do a post-fermentation extended maceration for the barbera? I also plan to run it through malolactic fermentation, then add a bit of oak during bulk aging. Any thoughts? Am I way off the mark? Haven't drunk a lot of barbera, but it was the varietal offered me at the last minute, so am trying to make the most of it.
ckinv368, question for you, how are you keeping the Viognier at 55 F?
I have no real advice on the Barbera except that it typically is a HIGH acid grape. The one I made in 2009 was off the charts, like 1.5 TA, when I tested the must. (my grapes were free and at the time I realized why those rows probably were left behind by the winery). But like you said I was learning more than shooting for fine wine. My Barbera is now used mainly as an acidifier for cooking sauces.
Extended maceration is something I'm trying for the first time right now in a few more days, so I can't help there either except going in my idea will be do press when the flavors and color of the free run juice "feel right", whatever that means. I don't have ANY way to keep air off the wine totally, my fermenter is a garbage can, so this may affect my confidence level for extended masceration.
Oaking with chips is something I have done (finally), and again no hard answers, but my rule of thumb has been STOP when it tastes "right". One way I did this was to split batches. i.e. one carboy oaked, one not oaked, and tasted them side by side after 1 week, 2 weeks, etc... When "oaked" carboy got where I wanted it, I mixed and re-split the batch and went another week or two and called it good. This time I expect 3-4 carboys and will stagger chip amounts and do a similar sampling every week for 2-3 months (guessing).
quote:
Has anybody used oak chips in the must when they are fermenting?
champinhand, I don't see why this wouldn't work fine, but my taste as you go approach I describe above is much harder when you have two things happening as once, fermentation and oaking. I've found this time tasting my syrah during fermentation and punchdowns has been valuable. Last Friday, at ~15 Brix left and big bubbles it was a dead ringer for Grape Nehi. Sunday night at ~ 5 brix, much less grapey, more winey. This morning at ~2 Brix, all the brand new! alcohol was very noticable, but I can start to taste the tannin profile and backbone of the wine (I think). I want all those primary acids and reactions to be done before I initiate an oaking or aging regimen. Again these are all words of an amateur, so it all may be total bunk.
FWIW, too I've never done any kit winemaking, but in reading those instructions on-line the use of various additives, sparkloids, flavor packets, acids, etc... this seems like unduly manipulating the grapes to me. With time most solids will settle out and can be racked off. I've done it that way every time and never had crunchy wine and it's always been clear enough for me. But maybe kit making preprocessing makes the wine behave differently than fresh grapes. I dunno.
My own batch of Syrah, started 9 days ago, cold soaked for the first ~4 days after dose of sulfite and peptic enzyme, then I innoculated last Thursday, my primary fermentation went faster than expected at 75-80 F and I described the flavors and status above up until today. I'm expecting to press it off by this time next week at the latest. Then into carboys where I'll try to mostly ignore it for a few months.
In other news, my vineyard goddess called today and reported my Riesling was still hovering at 22-23 Brix, no more sugars, acids still high. I decided to give it a go anyway, and will be picking up those 150 pounds on Thursday. My 2009 Riesling was 24-25 Brix and ideal start to finish. This one may require more skill than I have, but if I don't try, I'll never know.
< Message edited by ChrisinSunnyside -- 11/8/2011 2:19:55 PM >
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