14 Gallons of Syrah and a new toy

I've been meaning to write about my new winemaking toy for a few weeks, but have been struggling to find the time. It's the day before Christmas, my suitcase is packed, and I finally have some free time before I head over to a friend's house for Christmas Eve so here goes (hold your horses)...

I've mentioned the 2008 Chilian Syrah in the past (see post1, post2, & post3). It's been sitting in a Hungarian oak barrel for the past 9 months or so and is now ready for bottling. Now, I'll admit to dreading bottling this wine because it's a 14 gallon barrel. Bottling would mean pumping the wine out of the barrel into carboys so that I could bottle using the gravity siphon that I've been using for the past 3 years. That's a lot of stuff that needs cleaning when I'm done--groan......

What to do, what to do... Fortunately, modern technology has provided an answer in the Enolmatic! This a vacuum powered bottling device that gently sucks the wine into the bottle and then automatically stops when the bottle is full. Up to this point, I haven't been working on the scale that justified purchasing one of these units. But now that I'm facing a 14 gallon barrel, I took the plunge and bought one as an early birthday present to me.

After it arrived a couple of weeks ago, I sanitized 8 cases of bottles and got to work. In a little more than 30 minutes, I had 7.5 cases bottled, corked, and boxed. And all I had to clean up was the Enolmatic (I'm leaving out the 3 carboys of 2009 Syrah that I put into the now empty barrel, but that would have happened anyway). The Enolmatic truly rocks!

A picture is worth a thousand words, so hopefully these will fill the bill. It's a single bottle unit, but that allows me to turn around and cork a filled bottle while the next bottle is being filled. The close-up of the Enolmatic doesn't do it justice, but there is a vacuum trap chamber on back of the machine that captures excess wine once the bottle is filled. This chamber needs emptying back into the barrel now and then, which provides a little break time every so often. The one complaint I have is that setting the proper fill level is tricky. I had some challenge setting the level too low and having too much ullage or taking the bottle off the machine too slowly and over-filling. Spent a good deal of time pouring a little out of the bottle into a too-low ullage bottle. Still, even with that issue (which I should be able to fix with practice), I finished bottling, corking, and boxing 7.5 cases of wine in just 1-2 hours. And had very little clean up afterwards.

Get yourself an Enolmatic and you'll not regret it!

Salute,
a MA winemaker

Protein--be stabilized!

Last year, I had a stability issue with my 2008 Northern CA sauvignon blanc. It was crystal clear when I bottled (I swear--even filtered with a 0.5 micron filter), but as the summer progressed and temps in the basement cellar rose, some slight sediment fell out. Didn't affect the amazing taste or aroma, but the slight haze resulted in poor marks in the Winepress.US competition. The judges uniformly stated that without the haze, it would have been the Best of White by a long shot. Oh well, that's my bad. BUT--how to prevent this from happening again in the future???

The most likely conclusion that I've come to is a protein haze. My research tells me that Sauvignon blanc is notorious for protein hazes that form upon warming. These proteins are soluble at lower temperatures, but start to denature and precipitate as the temperature increases. A common preventative is to fine the wine with bentonite. The bentonite clay absorbs the soluble proteins and fall to the bottom of the carboy.

The main reason I've been looking into this is because I've got 15 gallons of 2009 Chilian chardonnay that I'd like to bottle soon. I had split the chard into 3 different 5 gallon batches to experiment with different yeasts, MLF, and oakings. Two carboys are crystal clear while the third is still a little hazy. I decided to do a light dose bentonite fining on the clear carboys for protein stabilization and a heavy dose on the hazy carboy for clearing & protein stabilization. Gets a little more complicated when one of the clear carboys has some lees at the bottom, so I have only had time to bentonite fine the other clear carboy. The other two will have to wait until after Christmas when I can rack them off the lees deposits.

That all said and done, I hydrated a 1.5 g/gallon dose of bentonite in 3/4 c of warm water--swirling like crazy and then letting the mixture sit for 24 hr. Only then did I pull some wine out and dump in the bentonite suspension and top off the carboy. After giving a good swirl to mix, the suspension has been slowly falling out over the past couple of days. I may have to bring the carboy upstairs to warm to room temperature before racking and bottling, but will see after Christmas.

By the way--the left over wine that I had to taste was AMAZING! Clean & crisp, with bright green apple & citrus flavors. Ooh, boy! Can't wait for this one!

Salute,
a MA Winemaker

Wine, wine, everywhere...

I played "holy hookey" from church today. That's becoming a theme while God and I work some things out between us, but the main reason I stayed home was so that I could get some exercise in this weekend and bottle the 2008 syrah. I gave myself an early birthday present and bought myself an Enolmatic bottler so that I could bottle straight out of the barrel instead of pumping into carboys and then gravity bottling. The syrah has been needing to be bottled so today was the day (especially since it's raining and cold and just plain yucky outside.

I peeled myself off the exercise bike around 12:30, cleaned up, and got some lunch. Then it was down to the cellar to sanitize some bottles. Three hours later, I had 6.5 cases of syrah bottled, corked, and boxed. With the barrel empty, I racked in the 2009 syrah, and then had to clean up.

Needless to say, I'm a little tired at the moment and need to get some dinner. I'll upload a picture of my one-man bottling set up in a little bit.

Cheers,
a MA Winemaker

Got My Medals!

Faithful readers will remember that my 2008 Apple wine received some very high honors at the 2009 Winepress.US wine competition this fall. Gold medal & Best of Show White! Well, I recently received the actual medals & wanted to share. Don't they look very pretty in the early morning winter sunlight?

:)

The judges awarded it 17-19 points (out of 20). Some of their comments:

Good fruit in nose
Good acid balance
Fruit up front in mouth
Lingers well in mouth
Intense apple flavor
Fruit carries through all the way. Good job on a difficult wine! (OK, that's my favorite!)
Crab apple nose (gonna have to find some crab apples at some point)

I'm still grinning about the results!

Cheers,
MA Winemaker

It was good the first time, let's do it again!

I wasn't planning on doing any fermentations this fall due to an overseas vacation right smack dab in the middle of the harvest season. Trust me, you have no idea how hard it was to willingly bow out of the fall grape harvest! But, faithful readers will recall the previous post about winning an award for my 2008 apple wine, and the cider I used isn't produced until the first week of November... You see where this is going, don't you?

You're right--I caved and bought some cider. Last year I made 4 gallons using Cotes de Blanc yeast, so of course I decided to make things a little complicated this year. Why try one different yeast strain when you can try two?

The plan:
I bought 8 gallons of premium cider from Carlson Orchards. Due to all the cool, rainy summer & fall, the sugar level was a little low (only about 9-10 Brix, or 4-5% potential alcohol) and acid levels were a little higher than normal. I added cane sugar to get to 20 Brix (12% PA), but did not adjust the acid. The pH levels were just about perfect for a white wine, so I decided to leave that alone. I'm trying to prevent malo-lactic fermentation altogether, so I added lysozymes pre-fermentation. Four gallons are currently being fermented cool using D47 yeast (my basement is a perfect 55-58 °F right now). The other 4 gallons are fermenting upstairs at room temperature using 71B-1122 yeast. I'm going for a clean, crisp white with the D47 yeast. The 71B-1122 yeast will convert about 30% of the malic acid to lactic acid, so I'm wanting to see if that results in a slightly more complex wine.

Things are in mid-ferment right now. I fermented in buckets for a few days to get things going, and then poured into carboys with air-locks. Both carboys are still bubbling away, and smelling heavenly!

Cheers,
MA Winemaker

2008 Apple, An Award-winning wine!

Well folks, I received some fantastic news earlier this week. I learned that I had received several awards at the 2009 Winepress.US Winefest Competition! Three of my wines received honorable mention awards (2008 Sauvignon Blanc, 2008 Zinfandel Rose, and 2008 Blueberry), and, more exciting, the 2008 Apple was awarded a Gold Medal and chosen as Best of Show White!

Wow! I was walking on air!

I haven't gotten the judges' notes yet, so I don't know what their comments were yet. But if I needed a shot in the arm that perhaps I do know what I'm doing, this was it! I still have 7 bottles of the 2008 Apple, so I'm going to save 3-4 and enter them in a couple of other competitions next spring. Stay tuned for those results!

I thought I had written a post about the 2008 Apple, but going back through my archive tells me that I apparently have not. Well, let's just rectify that briefly. The wine was made from a premium blend of cider from Carlson Orchards in Harvard, MA that I purchased from Beer & Wine Hobby in Woburn, MA. I don't know the exact apple varieties that went into the cider, but the cider is supposed to be specifically designed for making premium hard cider. I do recall that it was tasty cider!

I won't bore you with all the fermentation details, but my goal for this wine was to produce a clean, crisp, dry wine akin to a sauvignon blanc or pinot gris. I added lysozymes to prevent malo-lactic fermentation and maintain the crisp taste & finish. Fermentation was done with Red Star Cote des Blanc yeast over a 2 month period at low temperature in the basement. This was during November & December in Massachusetts, so my basement air temperature was about 58-59 °F. After fermentation to complete dryness, the wine was allowed to clear naturally over 3 months with 2 rackings, and three gallons were bottled in May. I will have to admit that I haven't tasted this wine in a couple of months, but my tasting notes shortly after bottling are below.

Appearance: Crystal clear, light straw yellow
Aroma: Crisp green apple, like sniffing a Granny Smith fresh from the tree.
Taste: Crisp, mild apple flavor with a slight tingle on the tongue. Light body.

I will have to taste it again soon and update my tasting notes. I also made another gallon that was lightly oaked with medium toast French oak cubes for about 2 months. When I bottled that, I actually liked it even more than the unoaked version. I haven't cracked a bottle of that open yet, but will do so soon! Too bad I only have 4 bottles of that left.

I was waffling about making this wine again, but winning that award changed my mind. I just placed an order for 8 gallons a couple of days ago. I'm thinking of making 2 separate 4 gal batches using different yeasts and then blend them together to add some complexity. When I receive the medal and award, I'll take a picture with the bottle and post it to the blog for posterity.

Cheers,
MA Winemaker

A Little Barrel Tasting

I'm in the middle of a frenzy of packing to get ready for a big trip, but I took a few moments tonight to do a little barrel tasting. Had to make sure the barrels were topped off since I don't think I'll be able to attend to them for about a month. So, I'm sitting in front of the computer with a couple of tasting glasses of 2008 Chilean Syrah and 2008 Northern CA Zinfandel. And, I'm impressed...

The Chilean Syrah is really beginning to bring the fruit forward. The caramel and vanilla tones of the Hungarian oak are providing broad strokes in the background, while the cherries & stone fruit are starting to muscle their way to the front of the palette. A little more black pepper and spice would be nice, but let's wait and see.

The Zinfandel continues to be a massive dried fruit bomb. Strong aromas of cassis and dried cherries. The American oak is still very subtle with some interesting vanilla counterpoints and accents around the main aromas and tastes, so I'm thinking of keeping this in the barrel for another 3-6 months.

Since I'm waxing poetic about the wine, I think that means I've had a little bit too much to drink. Must get to bed so I can go make a living in the morning.

Salute,
a MA Winemaker

Class is over...for now

Well, most of the nation is just starting the new school year, but I have officially completed the first course in the UC Davis Winemaking Certificate program. Took the final this morning on a dreary & rainy New England fall day. Pretty perfect setting for a final exam! I really must thank the staff at the Westford Library for serving as my proctor for this class and making sure that I didn't cheat. Can't be too careful with us winemakers, you know!

I'm glad the final and course are done. Pretty sure that I did OK on the final. But they weren't kidding when they said they were going to make the final harder after the class showing on the midterm. They pulled out some really obscure details and focused on what I would have termed as the less important sections. Oh well, I wasn't the instructor so I really shouldn't complain too much. Otherwise people will think I'm pre-med major! Did good enough to pass and that's all that matters.

So, now I wait for an opening in the second course. Probably sometime next fall.

Back to my winemaking...
MA Winemaker

One malbec, two malbecs, three malbecs--Ah, ah, ah!

If you're like me, you're probably scratching your head wondering where the summer has gone this year. Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that the daffodils were poking their blooms up and now it's after Labor Day. Although my absence on the web has gone on for longer than I wanted, my winemaking efforts have not stopped. So I'll try to recoup the summer and catch everyone up to speed.

One of my biggest achievements was getting the 19 gallons of 2008 Chilean Malbec out of the barrel and bottled. When last I posted on the Malbec in April, I was facing a rather bitter taste that seemed to be fading with barrel age. At the time, I had 10 gallons that have been in a new American oak barrel for about 6 months and 9 gallons that had been in the same barrel for 1 month as it was breaking in. The later batch was split between a 6 gal and 3 gal carboy and I had treated the 3 gal carboy with 0.08 oz/gal of Biolees for 4 months to see if that would soften the bitter taste. In July, I was finally happy with the taste. All of the carboys had a much smoother taste so I decided to bottle in 3 separate versions.

Ver1: 1 month barrel age and 4 month Biolees treatment, pH = 3.49, free SO2 = 108 ppm, natural cork closure, 15 bottles
Ver2: 1 month barrel age, pH = 3.51, free SO2 = 84 ppm, natural cork closure, 30 bottles
Ver3: 6 month barrel age, pH = 3.48, free SO2 = 72 ppm, amalgamated cork closure, 49 bottles

I'm going to do some tasting samples this week and edit the post with my notes and pictures, so stay tuned.

Chilean Syrah MLF

Loyal readers will recall that I've been working on a batch of Chilean Syrah this spring. Primary fermentation was complete on schedule, and other than getting a wine bath when I pressed, no big issues arose. We last left the wine after innoculation with malo-lactic bacteria and it's been doing it's thing ever since.

Interestingly, the two different batches of wine behaved quite differently after innoculation. The batch fermented with D80 yeast displayed the characteristic shower of tiny bubbles once the MLF (stands for malo-lactic fermentation, not the other thing, you perve) commenced. On the other hand, the batch fermented with D254 yeast displayed no bubble formation or any other sign that the MLF was in progress.

After about two weeks, I transferred about 2 cups of wine between the batches to try to get things going. The D254 batch finally started to display some bubble formation, but nothing to really brag about. Since then I've just let it sit while I tried to figure out what to do. After another couple of weeks (had other errands to take care of in the meantime), I ran a chromatography test and amazingly, both batches exhibited <100 ug/L malic acid. I was out of the Accuvin test strips that I prefer to use to monitor MLF, so it took another couple of weeks to finally order some test strips and receive them. Last night, the D80 yeast is at around 50 ug/L malic acid while the D254 yeast is around 75 ug/L. MLF is considered done when the level is less than or equal to 30 ug/L so both batches are slowly getting there. Very interestingly, the D80 batch is still producing a fairly steady stream of tiny bubbles, while the D254 batch only emits an occasional bubble. I'm going to let both batches keep going and will check on the progress in another 2-3 weeks.

Salute,
MA Winemaker

p.s. Update on 7/19/2008: I was considering racking the D80 batch and stopping the MLF with a SO2 addition. In preparation, I brought the carboys into the kitchen from the garage on 7/16. As soon as I did that, the MLF seems to have kicked into high gear and almost started bubbling out of the carboy. Had to remove a little wine to prevent overflow! The kitchen is cooler than the garage, so I'm assuming that the motion of carrying the carboys inside helped to mix the wine in the carboy and brought the residual malic acid in contact with the bacteria for easier metabolism. Bubble formation seems to have stopped or greatly slowed this morning, so I'll test tonight and see if MLF is complete.

2008 Cranberry-Banana Tasting

I've had a bottle of the 2008 Cranberry-Banana in the fridge for the past 2-3 weeks ever since I shipped a half case of wine off to the Winepress.us Wine Competition last month (I'll post about that tomorrow). Finally popped it open last night, and I'm polishing off the rest tonight while I rest my aching legs after a 3.5 mile run.

Some people exercise to live, others live to exercise. Me...I exercise to drink! Gotta work off those calories somehow!

Anyway, back to the wine...

Faithful readers will recall that I was running an experiment last year to determine the best way to add body to fruit wines. There is one faction that prefers to use grape juice (Niagra or Concord) as a base to provide the body and structure to lighter fruit wines. Another recommendation is to add bananas. Presumably the glycerin concentration in bananas helps to round out the mouthfeel. A side benefit is that mashed bananas are a magic bullet for inducing rapid fermentations. I believe that's a result of the vitamins and nutrients in bananas as well as the simple carbohydrates are easy for yeast to digest.

Appearance: Light pinkish orange. Clear. Nice leg structure (12% aBV)
Aroma: Nice light whiff of cranberries (what a surprise), with some hints of rhubarb in the background.
Taste: Again with the cranberries! It's a nice, pleasant summer squaffer with a light, crisp cranberry finish. A just slightly sweet finish at 2% RS. Good overall mouthfeel that lingers on the tongue.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this wine. One would be surprised that there is not an overwhelming banana flavor. There's a little white fruitiness that surrounds the cranberry flavor, but nothing that is distinctly banana. Do I think the bananas really made a difference in the body? I think there is a contribution and an underlying silkiness, but not as much as I was hoping for. Perhaps I need more bananas?

Cheers,
MA Winemaker

p.s. As I was publishing this post, I realized that I haven't described the final results of either batch from the cranberry body experiment. Stay tuned--I will correct that and give details on the Cranberry-Niagra blend as soon as I can.

Previous Cranberry Wine posts:
Starting the Body Experiment
Fermentation Almost Done
Racked the Cranberry-Grape
Racked the Cranberry-Banana
Racking off the Gross Lees
Cranberry Clearing

Accepted!

A very quick post tonight... I received notice this afternoon that I have been accepted in the UC-Davis Extension Winemaking Certificate program. Just in time to sign up for the first course "Intro to Winemaking" that starts June 30. After that, there is a 10 month waiting list for the 2nd course, so I must be patient!

I'm not expecting the course list to be a walk in the park and will undoubtedly eat into my limited spare time, but I'm convinced this is the path to take.

Cheers,
a MA Winemaker

UC Davis Winemaking Certificate Application Submitted

I took the plunge tonight and submitted my application for the UC Davis Winemaking for Distance Learners Certificate program. Feeling a little nervous at the moment (just like sending out college applications!), but I think this is an important step for me. If I'm accepted, completing the coursework will require a lot of evening homework and polishing off those rusty General Chemistry & Analytical Chemistry skills!

Cheers,
A MA Winemaker

Chilean Syrah--Catching Up!

I believe that I mentioned in an earlier post that I was expecting a shipment of Syrah grapes in addition to the Chardonnay from Chile this spring. They were in the last shipment that M&M Wine Grape received this year, but I finally got them! If you thought my fermentation plans for the Chardonnay was complicated, just wait until you hear the plan for the Syrah!

My goal for the syrah was to produce a big, bold, heavily colored wine with a lot of body and concentrated complex flavors. I bought 270 lbs of grapes that were grown in the Sagrada Familia Township of the Curico Province in Chile and picked on April 7, 2009. I'm still in awe that the little buggers have been in transit over the big wide ocean for a month before I picked them up on May 16 with nary a speck of mold. When I crushed and destemmed, I split the must into 2 portions of 126 lbs and 144 lbs. The split was simply based on 7 cases in one and 8 cases in another--not some arcane winemaking blend portion goal. The specs on the must was pretty decent: Brix = 24.6 (PA = 14.1%), TA = 3.5 mg/mL, and pH = 4.03 (needed some adjustment there).

Fermenter #1 with 126 lbs of crushed/destemmed grape must received 50 ppm SO2/gallon and was treated with Lallzyme EX and Opti-Red enzymes for color extraction & stability. I also added 0.26 oz of VR Supra tannin (I'll explain in another post). Also added 73.4 g tartaric acid to reach pH = 3.60.

Fermenter #2 with 144 lbs of grape must also received 50 ppm SO2/gallon and 0.29 ox of VR Supra tannin, but I used Scottzyme Color Pro and Booster Rouge for color extraction & stability. Added 83.2 g tartaric acid to reach pH = 3.63.

I wrapped each fermenter with insulation and added frozen ice jugs intending for a 24 hr cold soak. However, the insulation worked so well that the must stayed around 43-45 °F for 2 days! A convenient cold spell helped, but that's the coldest I've ever been able to achieve. Even after removing the ice jugs (still half frozen after 2 days), the must took another 48 hrs to reach 60 °F. I innoculated each fermenter with a different yeast: #1 with ICV254 for fruit emphasis and spicy finish, #2 with ICV80 for tannin intensity and dark fruit flavors. Both of these strains were isolated from the Rhone valley, work well with syrah, and blend together well.

I warned you about the complicated fermentation plan, right!

Fermentation commenced fairly quickly (as soon as the must warmed up and with the help of an aggressive Ferm-aid K nutrient addition program!), and the insulation help me to reach >80 °F for 2 days! Again, the warmest I've achieved yet in a fermentation--this insulation wrapping is da bomb!

Fermentation was almost complete (Brix = -1.0) after 12 days so I sealed the must with saran wrap and let it macerate for 24 hrs until I could press it. Last Sunday afternoon, I pressed. The color verdict is in--these are the darkest colored wines that I've achieved to date! Both are an amazingly dark, dark black purple that stains everything it splashes on. The Color Pro/Booster Rouge combo is slightly lighter, but we're talking about deciding between shades of black, here. I strongly encouraged all of you winemakers out there to consider these color enhancing enzymes--and get your fermentation temps above 80 °F!

I ended up with 10 gallons of wine from Fermenter #1 and 11 gallons from Fermenter #2 (after topping off with a couple bottles of the 2008 Syrah). I innoculated everything with Enoform Beta MLB (along with Acti-ML and Microessentials Oenos MLB nutrients) after racking off the gross lees on Monday, 6/1. After 24 hours, I've got an active MLF in 1 carboy and the others look like the MLF should take off soon (keep those fingers crossed).

That brings us up to date. I'll get some pictures posted tomorrow--getting late tonight.

Cheers,
a MA Winemaker

Some Chards settling, another still bubbling...

Just a quick update on the chardonnay. The free run and 3rd press fractions finished fermentation after about 36 days of bubbling away in the basement. It's been a cool spring here in MA and my basement has refused to warm above 60 °F. Which has meant that the chardonnays have undergone a nice loooong and cool ferment without me having to chill them in an ice bath! Thank you Mother Nature!

Anyway, free run and 3rd press fractions finally reached Brix = -2.6 on May 23 and had started to drop the gross lees. I racked both into new carboys with 75 ppm SO2/gallon. It's been almost 2 weeks, and I have to say that both of these wines have almost cleared already. I'm very hopeful for both of these because the flavors so far are awesome. The free run fraction fermented with ICV-D47 yeast is very light in color, good body, and a tremendous load of citrus aromas & flavors. The 3rd press fraction (Cote des Blanc yeast) is a much darker yellow with a more pronounced apricot aroma & flavor. I added lysozymes to both of these to prevent MLF.

The 2nd press fraction is my late-bloomer at the moment. The CY3079 yeast has lagged behind the others and only reached Brix = -1.8 on May 30. I decided to go ahead, rack off the gross lees layer, and add the MLB. I figured bringing the carboy upstairs to complete the MLF would let the yeast finish their job at the same time. I used a new MLB that I haven't used before--Viniflora CH35, which is supposed to have been selected specifically for MLB in white wines with a clean and fruity profile. True to the hype, MLF commenced within 23 hours. The carboy is currently sitting in my guest bathroom bubbling merrily away!

Cheers!
A MA Winemaker

A Bottling Frenzy...

As I've mentioned before, I've let some cellar work go undone this winter and early spring while I've been dealing with some divorce-related crap. But the weather is warmer, my Chilean grape orders have started to arrive and I need to free up some cellar and carboy space!

The 3 carboys of chardonnay are happily fermenting away in the basement. Since the past couple of weeks have been fairly cool outside, I haven't needed to use water baths to keep the fermentation temperatures at or below 60 °F. I need to check the brix level in a day or two because I've noticed that the gas evolution is starting to slow down. So far, the aromas emanating from the airlocks are simply divine!

While the yeast are having a party on one side of the basement, I've been busy on the other side bottling some wine. Two weeks ago, I filtered and bottled the 2008 California Sauvignon Blanc (23 bottles) and this past weekend I bottled the dry Massachusetts Apple (15 bottles) and the dry CA Zinfandel Rose (20 bottles) wines. Still got 1 gal of the apple to bottle after the oak cubes do their thing. Check out the picture of the end results! Absolutely lovely clarity if I do say so myself. The Sauvignon Blanc needed to be filtered (I used a 0.5 micron filter) to remove some biolees that I added for a little more body, but the apple and rose wines cleared naturally with no fining or filtering. As an aside, the apple was the fastest clearing wine I've ever had.

The next step is to label and share my tasting notes, so stay tuned!

Salute,
MA Winemaker

2009 Chilean Chardonnay--Spring Fermentation Season Is Here!

I have three ways that I know spring has finally shoved aside Old Man Winter here in balmy Massachusetts. One: I haven't pulled the snow blower out of the garage in at least 3 weeks. Two: the azaellas along my driveway start to bloom. And three: I get a call from M&M Wine Grape that my Chilean grape order has started to arrive!

I ordered two grape varietals from Chile this year, Chardonnay and Syrah. The chardonnay grapes were the first to arrive, so I took a couple of days off of work (a man must have his priorities straight) and drove down to Hartford to pick them up. I was fortunate to arrive at a fairly non-busy time, so I got a tour of the cold storage facility and the revamped winemaking store. In addition to the grapes, 4 boxes of bottles and a stainless-steel must plunger followed me home!

These grapes came from the Curico Valley in central Chile and were picked on March 18, 2009. Given that these little beauties have been on a boat for almost 1 month, they arrived in fantastic condition. Each 18 lb crate wrapped in tissue paper with a grape-keeper sheet (filled with K-meta) on top. Very little MOG (material other than grapes), no bruising, no mold, and a mix of green/browned bunches

I spent Thursday afternoon crushing and destemming, which went like a breeze thanks to Vinia! The must received a treatment of pectic enzyme and Scottzyme Cinn-Free Enzyme (to enhance varietal fruit flavors) and soaked on the skins for 2 hrs. Then the juice was pressed off the skins in three fractions. I obtained 6 gal of essentially free-run juice that was very light in color. Then 6 gals of moderate pressing juice, and then 4 gal of moderate-to-heavy pressing juice that was darker in color. Each fraction received 50 ppm SO2 per gallon and was cooled in my basement overnight at 45-50 °F (I use water baths and ice jugs to keep things cool).

On Friday, I racked the clarified juice in each bucket off of the settled solids and measured the Brix (sugar level) = 24.8-25, total acid = 3.2-3.3 mg/mL, and pH = 3.70! At those levels, I'd be making bland rocket fuel since that Brix level would give a potential alcohol = 15%! I added water and tartaric acid to reach Brix = 22 (PA = 12.5-13%), total acid = 5.4 mg/mL, and pH = 3.21. The acid levels are still a little low, but I'm going to complete fermentation and then make final adjustments while it is aging. Each bucket received a dose of OptiWhite^® for color preservation & freshness, and to help round out the mouthfeel and enhance the aromatic complexity.

This is where things get a little complicated. I'm going to ferment each pressing fraction separately with a different style goal. Once the wines are complete and cleared, I'll bottle some separately, but will also look at blending to try for a more complex wine. My fermentation plans are listed below.

Fraction 1: Free-run juice
Goal: Crisp, light, & fruity style that emphasizes varietal flavors with little to no oak. No MLF.
Actions: Treated with lysozymes to prevent MLF and used ICV-D47 yeast for emphasis on the tropical & citrus flavors and polysaccharide production.

Fraction 2: Moderate pressing juice
Goal: Big, full-bodied, buttery chardonnay
Actions: Fermented with CY3079 yeast for bigger mouthfeel and buttery citrus flavors. Added oak shavings to simulate a barrel fermentation. Will do a MLF and sur lies aging after alcohol fermentation.

Fraction 3: Last pressing juice
Goal: Middle of the road no MLF chardonnay useful for blending
Actions: Added lysozymes to prevent MLF and fermented with Cote des Blancs yeast.

Once fermentation is in full force, I will cool each bucket in a water bath and maintain a temperature of <65 °F. It's still early, but I did observe evidence of fermentation in each bucket as of this morning. The 80 °F temperatures for the next couple of days should really jumpstart things as the juice warms up. The basement is a little too chilly this early in the spring, so I may have to keep my water baths in the kitchen for at least a couple of days.

Cheers,
MA Winemaker

2008 Chilean Malbec Update

I've alluded to the 2008 Chilean Malbec in a few older posts, but I need to give a full update on the progress of that wine. Until today, I was not all that pleased with it. Every time that I've been tasting it over the winter, I was getting a big mouthful of a rather unpleasent harsh sour & bitter taste. A little hard to explain, but definitely not the bitterness of a high acid wine, or wine stilled filled with residual CO2, but almost a chemical harshness that overwhelmed the subtle fruit flavors. The samples from the barrel have been getting a little better with time, but I've been worried that it would get overoaked by the time the taste faded away. Still not really sure what this taste is, but it appeared after fermentation was complete and I had press the wine off the pomace. Conversations with my fellow winemakers at Winepress.us indicated that it might have stemmed from the fact the grapes were a little underripe when picked. This was identified by a very sharp-eyed reader of this blog who noted the greenish grape innards in my malbec fermentation post. If you look closely at the picture of the crushed/destemmed must in the fermenter, you'll see bits of green. Kudos to the sharp eyes of the Winepress.us winemakers because I was looking at it in person and didn't think much of it! The general consensus was that I had extracted some undesirable phenolics or vegetative flavors from the underripe grapes/seeds during the fermentation.

With that suggestion in mind, I decided to try an experiment with the 3 gal carboy and added a high dose of Biolees. Sur lies aging of red wines is known to help reduce the perception of bitterness. Scientists at Laffort have isolated the peptide that is released into a wine during lees aging and sell it as Biolees. The wine has been sitting on the Biolees for about 3.5 weeks at this point, so I tried a sample today. Very nice! Fuller body and a better mouthfeel, and the bitter taste has almost completely disappeared.

I'm also pleased to report that a sample of the barrelled wine also forecasts some good results! Once again, that bitter taste is almost gone, and the color and body are definitely deeper and fuller, respectively. The tannins released from an oak barrel help to bind up and precipitate polyphenolics (which are often associated with bitter or underripe, vegatative flavors, and they have done their thing! I wish I could have left the wine in the barrel for another 6 months, but the oak flavors were beginning to be too pronounced, so I pulled the wine out of the barrel on Sunday, 4/19.

At the moment, everything is sitting in carboys for some additional aging. I'm contemplating bottling the barrel sample and letting it age for another 6-9 months in the bottle. That leaves a 6 gal carboy of wine that was barrel aged for about 3 months and the 3 gal of Biolees-treated wine. I think I'm going to do another experiment and bottle everything separately. I'd like to see how each one progresses as it ages and compare the results in 6-9 months. That means next weekend will likely be a bottling weekend while making sure the chardonnay starts to ferment. A winemaker's work is never done...

Cheers,
MA Winemaker

A weekend of winemaking and tree hacking...

I've been procrastinating in the cellar and things have begun to pile up. Imagine my sense of urgency when I got a call earlier this week that my order of Chilean Chardonnay grapes is due to arrive on April 20. Which means the Chilean Syrah grapes will arrive in another few weeks, which means I'm screwed unless I get some work done in the cellar to free up space. To top everything off, I've also been procrastinating about cleaning up the tree damage from the big ice storm back in early January. Folks, procrastinating is bad--don't do it!

However, I found a solution to my procrastination. Friday was forecast to be an absolutely gorgeous day in Boston, so I decided late Thursday afternoon to take a vacation day and spend the weekend and winin' and a whackin'. I won't bore you with the details about the brush hauling and tree surgery--needless to say my biceps are measurably larger (at least in my imagination). However, I did get some wine work done as well.

Saturday found me filling the Hungarian oak barrel with the 2008 Chilean Syrah. Contrary to advertised statements, it turned out to actually hold just shy of 14 gallons, or almost 3 of the 4 5 gal carboys. Which meant, I had enough syrah left fill 6 bottles (I'll use those for topping off the barrel) and have a good taste. Folks, I'm pretty pleased with this wine. Big burst of black cherries and vanilla in the nose and on the tongue with maybe a little rhubarb in the finish. It's of medium body and light tannins, so it will definitely benefit from a little concentrating during the barrel aging. Keeping those fingers crossed...

The carboy of Syrah left over needed racking off the precipitated tartrate crystals and fine lees, so I did that on Sunday. I also decided to try an experiment and added 1.5 g of Laffort TanCor tannins to see if I could add a little body and bite. We'll see in a few months.

Also on Sunday, I pulled the 2008 Malbec out of the barrel and filled it with the 2008 Zinfandel. At that point, I had a lot of carboy scrubbing to do and it was late in the afternoon, so I quite. A little tired tonight. I'll write an update on the Malbec tomorrow.

Cheers,
MA Winemaker

A new Hungarian Oak Barrel Purchased!

To my faithful readers, my apologies for my absence. The Massachuesetts Winemaker's life has been rather crazy the past 9 months while I've been having to deal with some unfortunate personal crap. My winemaking activities have largely been relegated to a mere maintenance level during that time, although there are some good stories to share now that I'm getting back into action.

One action I just took was to order a new 50L Hungarian Oak barrel from Vadai World Trade. This is a new barrel source for me. I've heard nothing but good things about Sandor Vadai's products and his customer service from my fellow winemakers on the Winepress.US discussion forum. So far, the customer service has been excellent. Within 24 hrs of placing my order on-line, I received a call from Sandor's daughter to confirm my order and to let me know that Sandor was on his way to his barrel warehouse to check availability. Within another couple of days, Sandor himself was on the phone to update the prices and shipping (lower than the original quote!) and to finalize the order. Next Friday, I should be the proud owner of a Hungarian Oak barrel.

Why Hungarian oak? Well, I have an American oak barrel that my 2008 Malbec is currently inhabitating and the 2008 Zinfandel is destined to enter in another month. I've got 20 gal of 2008 Syrah that I want to aim for more of an Old World style. A French oak barrel would have been my first choice, but have you seen the prices of French oak barrels? Merci! Hungarian oak barrels have a similar taste profile to French oak that lends a caramel and vanilla finish, but at the fraction of the price. It only took a little shopping to convince myself that Hungarian was the way to go.

Stay tuned for an update on the 2008 Malbec.

cheers,
a MA Winemaker

p.s. Sorry, folks. I'm going to hijack this post instead of writing a new one. The barrel has arrived! It spent about a week in my bathtub full of water while the wood expanded to ensure the staves were nice and tight. As you can read above, I filled it with the 2008 Syrah on April 19. Here's a couple of pictures to show off my proud new family addition! I've got a couple of very slight leaks, but I'm confident that they will patch themselves in short order after the staves get fully conditioned. The big spot around the bung is due to me filling a little too full and making the wine overflow when I inserted the bung. Don't worry, I quickly got out the sanitizer and gave it a good rub down.