Ok, it has been a long day. The last thing I want to do is work on my wine! But Double Golds do not come to the weary.
Tonight I will add sulfites. The last count was 19 ppm. I want a total level of 30 ppm. So using the earlier equation, I will need…(picture calculations here!)…(whew, this is harder when I am tired!)…= 5.11 tablets.
I will also clean out my other barrel and prepare it for storage with a solution of potassium metabisulfite and citric acid. I wish I had the ability to treat it with sulfite and leave it dry, I hate to leach any more of the tannin out of the oak. But a girl must do what a girl must do.
August 12 2008
August 12, 2008 – 8:16 pm
August 6 2008
August 12, 2008 – 8:11 pm
On August 1, I added enough sulfites to theoretically boost the levels to 30 ppm, a level I want since my cement/wine room has been getting pretty warm as the garage around it gets hot. I also added 0.46 lb of Tartaric acid to take the pH down a bit and slightly boost the TA. But I was surprised at the lack of response!
After a few days, these were the levels.
pH: 3.84
TA: 0.62
SO2: 19 ppm
No change in the pH, though the TA is up a bit. I can taste an increase in the tartness of the wine. So I will not add more tartaric at this time, but will continue to work on the sulfite level. The wine still tastes young. I can taste the tannins and the pepper, but not much to speak of mid-palate yet. It is young though, I will not despair!
July 30
July 30, 2008 – 9:18 pm
I racked last night. Today’s numbers are:
SO2: 14
pH: 3.84
TA: 0.58
VA: 0.64
EtOH: 13.9%
Tonight I will add 7 Campden tablets and 1/2 lb of Tartaric acid. I would like to lower the pH a bit and boost the TA, to avoid a flat flavor to the wine.
May 25 2008
May 25, 2008 – 3:35 pm
The free SO2, when Janice tested it a few weeks ago, had diminished to 8ppm. Today, I will boost the levels back up to 30ppm. I know I should have done this weeks ago!
Using the 72 gal amount, and the formula listed in the earlier post, I ground 11 camden tablets finely. I will dissolve them in boiling water, then top off the barrel with a grenache/syrah bottle of wine. Maybe with the holiday, we will rack early tomorrow. I was listening to the Cellar Dwellers podcast and it recommends racking every 3-5 weeks. I will try this this year, since it is one of the improvements I noted would be needed to improve our 2005 vintage. I wish I would have racked that one a few more times. But live and learn.
…Note to self: I topped off with 750ml Rosemount Grenache/Shiraz and 200ml (approx) Brassfield 2004 Cab Sauv. yum!
Weather: After the long frosts, we had a heat wave, 100+ for days and our vineyards and gardens just exploded with growth! This weekend, the skies have been cloudy and the temps in the 60’s, our typical spring weather. The cement room temp is steady at 60.
April 24 2008
April 24, 2008 – 8:07 pm
I took a barrel sample to Steele today for testing. Recently I added enough SO2 to have 30 ppm, for stability and preservation of the wine during aging. Typically, however, much of this is absorbed and so I was surprised to find that my SO2 levels are actually only at 8ppm, not 30ppm. I topped off with a bottle of Rosemont Grenache Shiraz this morning, but luckily there is a wee bit of room to add MORE sulfites this weekend. Today’s total stats:
SO2: 8ppm
pH:3.86
TA:0.86
VA:0.067
EtOH: 13.3%
A 2008 update: We have been experiencing frost almost nightly here for the last few weeks. Many of our vines are suffering with this constant attack of cold, just when the buds are beginning to break out and are at their most vulnerable to the weather. Even frost control measures can only go so far.
What will this mean? It is likely the winegrowers will depend on the later bud growths for their crop, which will push the harvest times later this year. Also, with a later harvest, the cooler Fall weather will keep the sugars lower, the acids higher and will also boost the flavor components. It should be a VERY interesting year for Lake County wines! So far, Walking Horse Ranch seems to have escaped the frost damage. The vines remained dormant and yesterday, I noticed the popcorn-like buds are breaking out. At this time of year, the buds that looked like little brown nubs on the vine, soften and take on a white fuzzy appearance, like popcorn. From that softened state, the first leaves and clusters emerge from the bud and these clusters are the main harvest. These are the buds our Lake County winegrowers are fightinig to save.
March 29 Sulfites
March 30, 2008 – 2:24 pm
I am pretty sure the malolactic fermentation has neared its end. I will turn in another sample for analysis, but for now, I am concerned about leaving the wine unprotected. So today I am adding sulfites.
I used two different calculations, and will list them here:
First, the formula listed in The Winemaker’s Answer Book, by Alison Crowe, listed this one: (I don’t know how to underline yet, so the nominator is in bold, the denominator is below in italics.
(gallons of wine) x (3.785) x (free SO2 mg/L)
(1,000) x (.57)
I have about 72 gallons, so that formula gives me 14.34 g. Using Campden tablets:
14.34 g/ .44 (avg. wt. of tablet) = 32.59 tablets
Before I found the above formula, I had tried to wrap my mind around the math and figured the following:
72 gallons x 30ppm/gal = 2160 ppm total/(66 ppm/tablet) = 32.72 tablets.
So both formulas got me to about the same answer. I ground 33 tablets with a mortar and pestle until a fine powder and dissolved it in boiling water. It is cooling now, for addition shortly.
NOTE: Avoid breathing the powder or the fumes when it is mixed. This stuff is nasty and VERY bad for you, especially if you are asthmatic. I am, and even a small amount of exposure makes me feel drained and achy later in the day, not to mention the wheezing. Its yucky for sure.
But what it does for wine makes it worth the effort. When I take a whiff of the barrel, the fruit jumps out first. Syrah has a strong berry aroma and to smell it already, when such a young wine is not expected to have such a nose, is of great encouragement. I have high hopes for this varietal. The cool summer last year allowed for a slow, prolonged development of the flavor components not seen in a hot summer. Hope I don’t mess it up!
February 20 Rack
February 23, 2008 – 9:10 am
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It was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, fluffy white clouds passed high overhead. And in my wee cement room, we had an interesting situation. The wine in the barrel had completed malolactic fermentation. It was ready to rack. The 15 gallons in the carboys however, halted MLF at 50%. Most likely reason was pH too low. It tasted fruity, but with a tang that could probably take the paint of my car. The barrel, on the other hand, has a smooth, almost soft flavor. Its ph was high, with a low TA. Combining the two wines would make both of them better.
Janice, my wine guru at Steele Wines, recommended I go ahead and rack, combining the two wines. The ML would restart when the pH balanced out. So that is what we did.
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We called our good friends, Shalean Smith and Nicolai Lipscomb, cuz why make wine if you can’t make a party out of it! Pictured above are Nicolai, our world famous chef friend, and Willy, my better half. It took a bit of practice to perfect the art of starting the siphoning process…but that is all part of the fun.
Now the wine is settled gently in the second oak barrel, a carboy and two magnum bottles. Mixed together, the pH should be condusive to restarting the MLF. I must order to smaller carboys and switch the wine from the magnums to them before they explode. Just ask my friend James, exploding wine bottles makes a dramatic statement to a home winemaker. It says, “Don’t mess with nature, buddy!” in a most compelling fashion. And even though it is interesting to see just how far and how random the spray can travel, cleaning up is definitely not fun.
I will check the barrel, keeping it topped off, until MLF finishes, then stabilize with SO2 and let it rest out the winter.
Till next time!
Let the Winemaking Begin!
November 13, 2007 – 8:36 pm
image/jpeg
Mireya Turner
Candidate – Kelseyville School Board
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Nov 1
November 1, 2007 – 7:02 pm
The time has flown by! I have been busy with the School Board campaign, it will be great to finally reach Election Day. I have been neglecting the wine though. I had better get a sample in for Janice to do a chromatography test to determine the progression of the malolactic fermentation! Will shoot for Monday.
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Oct 22
October 22, 2007 – 6:31 pm
Started malolactic fermentation today. I started rehydrating the bacteria yesterday in 500 ml of watered down apple juice. Most of the wine will go through secondary fermentation in the barrel. The rest is in carboys. It is a deep, purple-black color; just lovely.
Oct 19
October 19, 2007 – 8:25 pm
Willy took a sample into Steele today. Results are: pH 4.19, TA: 0.64, VA 0.42. 14.4% alcohol. I plan to bring the pH down to 3.6, so tomorrow I will add 2 lb of Tartaric Acid. Once that is mixed in well, we will begin the malolactic fermentation by adding the bacteria. Adding the acid will take the TA up, but it will eventually go down. I would like the alcohol to go lower. Since the primary fermentation still isn’t complete, the alcohol level is going to increase. Is there any way to decrease it?
Oct 15
October 18, 2007 – 7:25 pm
Ambient Temp: 76°, Must Temp: 67°. I don’t remember the must being so cool he last time. But the brix is still dropping, so fermentation hasn’t stopped. And it still smells great!
Oct 14
October 18, 2007 – 7:22 pm
Ambient Temp: 74°, Must Temp: 68°. Two punchdowns today. The must is becoming less crusty and stays more fluid in between punchdowns. Brix testing: 1.1°, 0.8°, 0.0°, 2.2°, 1.2°.
Oct 13
October 18, 2007 – 7:17 pm
Ambient Temp: 72°, Must Temp: 66-687#176;. The fruit flies have arrived! Three punchdowns today; it still looks like there are a bunch of whole berries in there. But when I picked one, it was hollow inside. I had forgotten about that part!
Oct 11
October 18, 2007 – 7:10 pm
Ambient Temp: 75°, Must Temp: 707#176; in the AM, 667#176; in the PM. Finally, my hydrometer came in the mail! Did three punchdowns today. Brix testing results: 2.6°, 1.7°, 1.8°, 3° and 2.6°.
