Home Winemaking Instructions

7/29/2019 Home Winemaking Instructions

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Guide t o

R ed W in em ak in g

W ritten by Shea AJ Comfor

Contributions by Tristan JohnsoO lin Schultz

Edited By M ike T he ise Phi l M onta lban



Copyright 2008 MoreFlavor! , Inc Page |

Goal of this Manual: To make Great wine at home in your f ir st t ry

I t is highly recomm ended that t his paper be read through complet ely before you st art t o make

your w ine. Wine-making is made up of a series of consecuti ve st eps which bui ld on and direct ly

af fect each other f rom t he very beginning t o t he very end. In order t o make the best wine

possible you wil l need to make the best decisions possible at each of these steps, and in order to

do t hat, you wi l l need t o have a general underst anding of t he overal l process as a whole.

Table of Contents

Introduction Page 3

Chapter 1: Preplanning Page 6

1.1) Source and obtain qual i t y w ine grapes

1.2) Get your equipm ent r eady

Chapter 2: The Crush (Day 1) Page 7

2.1) Crush and de-stem fresh fruit

2. 2) Add SO2 to crushed grapes to suppress bacteria, indigenous yeast, mold, etc.

2.3) Test and adjust sugar and acid levels if needed

2.4 ) Add addit ives

2.5) Act ivat e and add w ine yeast

Chapter 3: The Fermentation (Pri mary Fermentation, days 2 to 14 or so) Page 16 3.1) Punching t he Cap

3.2) Yeast Nutr i t ion During Ferment at i on

3.3) Fermentat ion Temperat ure

3.4) Monitor ing the Sugars/ Tim ing the Press

Chapter 4: The Press (Days 7 to15 after t he start of fer mentation) Page 21

4.1) Test for sugar level t o deter mine w hen the fer ment at i on is done

4.2) Pour fermented grapes into press to separate wine from skins and seeds

4.3) Transfer wi ne t o t emporary storage vessel t o set t le-out gross lees

Chapter 5: The First Transfer, Rack off of Gross Lees (1 to 2 Days after pressing) Page 23

5.1) Transfer c lean wine in preparat ion for Malo-Lact ic Ferment at ion, “ MLF”

Chapter 6: Malolactic Fermentation (Secondary Fermentation, 2- 4 Weeks) Page 24

6.1) Prepare and inoculate ML bacter ial cul t ure int o the w ine

6.2) Managing the MLF

6.3) Check for complet ion wit h Chromot ography




Chapter 7: The Second Transfer (Post MLF) Page 27

7.1) Adj ust SO2 levels

7.2) Measure Acid/ pH and adj ust accordingly

7.3) Transfer wi ne t o long-ter m ageing/ st orage vessel

Chapter 8: Ageing/Storage Page 29

8.1) SO2 Management8.2) Tasting and adjusting during ageing

8.3) Addit ional tr ansfer s/ contr ol led oxygen exposure

Chapter 9: Clarifying & Bott li ng Page 38

9.1) Fin ing/ Fi l t er ing

9.2) Final Testing And Adjusting

9.3) Bott le The Wine

Chapter 10: Expanded Information Page 44

10.1) Dilut ion and Chapit al izat ion of Must s Page 44

10.2) Adding Acid t o Must / Wine Page 45

10.3) Compl et e Must Adj ust ment Exampl e: Brix , pH, TA% Page 47

10.4) Yeast Hydrat ion and Nutr it ion Page 49

10.5) Malolact ic Ferment at i on, “ MLF” Page 54

10.6) Oak Page 57

10.7) SO2 management Page 63

10.8) Bench Tri als Page 67

10.9) Transf err ing/ Racking Page 70

10.10) Inert gas and Winemaki ng Page 71




Introduction

Hel lo, and welcome t o MoreWine! ’ s Guide t o Red Winemaking. We’r e exci t ed t hat you’ re

interest ed in learn ing t o make wine, and w e’ re hoping t hat you’ r e at least as exci t ed about t he

idea as we are! We t hink that you’ l l f i nd winemaking t o be at t he same t im e relaxing and

invigorat ing, rew arding and t axing, and a pract i cal ly l imi t less source of ent ert ainment and

learning. Winemaking has t he abi l i t y to t each us not only about t he world around us, but aboutourselves as w ell .

Winemaking is cert ainly a very old and est abl ished act iv i t y, t he root s of w hich go back

t housands of years. Over the hist ory of the pract ice, many great t ext s have been wri t t en

outl ining t he process and giving direct ion to generat ion aft er generat i on of w inemaker. Today

is no di f f erent ; t here are current l y qui te a few great books about w inemaking avai lable on the

market . The purpose of t h is booklet is not t o take the p lace of a more complete t ext , so much

as t o give the new w inemaker a more digest ible place to st art f rom.

The basic process for making red w ine is prett y st raightf orw ard. Fresh grapes are f i rst crushedand separated fr om t he st ems. Next t he mixt ure of j uice and sol ids (cal led must ) is al lowed t o

ferm ent w i t h yeast , convert ing the sugar f r om t he f ru i t t o a lcohol and carbon d iox ide, and

ext ract i ng t he color f rom t he grape skins. As fer ment at i on progresses, t he carbon dioxide that

is being creat ed pushes t he grape skins t o the t op of t he container f orming a “ cap” on top of

the fermenting wine, which must be re-submerged (cal led punching t he cap ) f r equent ly in orde

t o cont inue extract i ng color and t o prevent t he cap f r om spoi l ing. Once ferm entat ion is

complet ed, t he wine is separated f rom t he grape sol ids in a wi ne press and set aside f or aging.

Over about t he next year t he wine wi l l be al low ed to age and develop i t s f l avors. Over the

course of t his year you may choose t o add oak, t annins or a variet y of ot her t ypes of addit ives

t o the wine t o augment or change i ts f lavor . Also, t he wine wi l l be t ransferred t o a f reshcontainer periodical ly (cal led racking ) in order t o separate i t f rom t he sediments that natura l ly

set t le out of t he wine during this t ime. Towards t he end of t he aging phase you may choose to

add a clari f y ing agent t o improve t he wine’ s appearance. Clari f y ing a wine t his way is cal led

f i n i ng and the addit ives used t o do i t are cal led f in ing agents . Al ter nat ively, you may choose t o

f i l t er your wine to c lar i fy i t . Final ly , based on a var ie t y of fact ors t hat w e’ l l expand on as you

read fur ther , you’ l l dec ide t hat t he wine is ready t o put in to bot t les. Af t er a short per iod of

recovery from the bott l ing process, your wine wi l l be ready to drink!

Whi le reading t hrough this booklet, t here are a few t hings we’ d l ike you t o keep in mind. The

f i r st , and most import ant , is t hat t here is very l i t t le in w inemaking that can real ly be considereda “ r ight ” or “ wrong” way to approach a problem or procedure. The favor i te maxim on th is

subj ect is t hat i f you ask 10 winemakers t he same quest ion you are l i kely t o get 11 di f f erent

answer s. Anot her favori t e maxim on the subj ect of w inemaking is t hat i t t akes a lot of good

beer t o make great wi ne – but more on t his lat er (please contact us i f you’r e int erest ed in

making beer, we can help you wi t h that t oo!) . So, i f , wi t h the except ion of a few card inal

ru les, t here is no real r ight or w rong way to m ake wine, t hen why have we dedicat ed the t ime

and energy t o adding yet another booklet on the subject t o t hose already avai lable? The answe

is t hat over t he course of m any years we have found t hat cert ain techniques off er t he great est




chances of success, especial ly t o t he f i r st -t ime w inemaker. I t is only t oo easy t o have

somet hing go w rong which spoi ls a bat ch and causes t he new wi nemaker t o lose int erest or

inspirat ion. Our goal wit h thi s booklet is to minim ize the chance of t his happening and

maximi ze t he chance of you st icking wi t h t his wonderf ul , rew arding past ime. There wi l l be

t hings in t his booklet t hat cont radict what you have read in other books, or have heard f rom

your fr iends or relat i ves who already make wine. We want you to underst and t hat nei t her we

nor t hey are necessari ly w rong. The st eps and t echniques laid out in t his booklet are simpl y

what we have found to w ork best for t he major i t y of our cust omers af t er years of exper ienceand feedback. We’ d l ike to encourage you to experiment wi t h new products and t echniques -

and t o please contact us wi t h any quest ions you might have about anything t hat you see in here

We’d also l ike to encourage you t o st art and maintain a winemaking logbook. Keep tr ack of al l

t he measurement s you make regarding sugar, acid and sul f i t e levels (don’ t wor ry i f you don’t

know w hat t hese thi ngs are, w e wi l l go over everything!). Record tast ing not es and detai led

notes about any procedure that you put t he wine t hrough, includi ng any changes t hat you not ice

as a result of your procedure. Too oft en we get phone cal ls fr om home winem akers t hat have a

quest ion about t heir w ine and we are unable to help out because t he winem aker has kept no or

very poor records. We reall y cannot st ress enough how im port ant good recor d-keepi ng is.Imagine pul l i ng a wine t hat you m ade 3 or 4 years ago and j ust loving i t , but not having any

records t o ref er back to about what addit ives or f ining agent s you used. Unless you can

remem ber everyt hing you did wit h t he wine 4 years ago, a record book wi l l be t he best resource

for you i f you want t o recreate your best w ines. Conversely, i f you make a wi ne that has

problem s or t hat you just don’ t l ike very much, a record book is t he best way t o avoid repeating

t he mist akes or procedures t hat led t o the bad wine.

Final ly, a quick wor d about t he format of t his booklet: The text i s div ided int o 10 chapter s and

is designed to t ake you thr ough t he w inemaking process in a st ep-by-st ep f ashion al l t he w ay

fr om picking (or picking up) your fr ui t t hrough t o bot t l ing. Each chapter of t he booklet covers apart icular phase, st age or aspect of t he whole wi nemaking process. What you’ l l f ind in Chapter

Ten is an Expanded Inform ati on sect i on which corr esponds t o each of t he ot her chapter s of t he

booklet . We’ ve set t he text up so that you’ l l get t he “ nuts and bol ts” of what you’ re doing at

each st age up f ront . I f you wish to learn more about t he “ why” as opposed to j ust t he “ what” o

t hat part icular process j ust f l ip back to Chapter Ten and f ind t he corresponding sect i on. Our

aim here is for you t o have a quick refer ence guide t hat you can use t o know w hat i t is you need

t o do, as wel l as t he basic t heory behind i t , al l in an easy t o navigat e package that wi l l stay

wi t h in an arm’ s reach in t he winery f or years t o come.

So, a l l t hat sa id, le t ’ s get t o i t !




Chapter 1: Preparation

Getting ready to make wine

Before w e can get int o the m echanics of m aking wi ne, w e need to go over t he st eps required t o

prepare.

1.1) Source Your Fruit

There are a variet y of r esources avai lable t o home wi nemakers nat ionw ide w hen i t comes t o

sourcing fr ui t . These sources range fr om t he vineyard dow n t he road to a commercial broker o

wi ne grapes. Many home w ine and beer making shops maint ain a bul let in board wher e local

grape growers can post ads for t heir f rui t . High qual i t y fr ozen must and jui ce is also avai lable

nat ionw ide and can be sent by air shipment t o your local airport for pickup. Final ly,

MoreWine! off ers a free onl ine bul let in board that you can f ind at www.MoreGrapes.com. As

much as possible, we encourage you t o develop a direct relat ionship w it h t he grape grow er.

We suggest this for a couple of reasons. First, a direct relationship often gets you the best

price on t he fr ui t and the b est chance of get t ing the f rui t again in subsequent seasons.

Second, worki ng wi t h t he same fr ui t year aft er year wi l l give you the best chance to develop as

a winemaker, because you wi l l be able t o see how di f fer ent yeast s and addit ives aff ect w ine

made f rom t he same vineyard and also how di f f erences fr om one growing season t o t he next

can in f luence t he f ru i t .

1.2) Get Your Equipment Together

I f t his is your f i r st season making wine t here are a few di f fer ent opt ions for you as far as

get t ing equipment t ogether. We suggest , i f possib le, t hat you rent t he major equipment l ike a

grape crusher and a w ine press if you have a local shop t hat of f ers t hese for re nt al. Many

regional w inemaking clubs also have group equipment avai lable. I f rent ing or borrow ing

equipment is not an opt ion for you, you can also t ry t o f ind t he maj or i t ems you need in used

condit i on ei t her t hrough a local c lassi f ied ads website l ike Craigsl ist or, again, t hrough a local

home winem aking club. Be wary of used equipment as t he condit ion of the equipment can be

subst andard. Check any st eel equipment for rust and any rubber part s for cracks or bri t t leness

These f law s cannot be eff ect i vely repaired and so i f you f i nd any rust or cracked, bri t t le rubbe

t hese parts must be repl aced. This can be di f f icul t i f you’ re looking at older equipment as

spare or replacement part s may not st i l l be avai lable.




Chapter 2: The Crush (Day 1)

We Picked up the Fruit!

Ok, so you’ ve purchased some grapes and brought t hem home. First, examine t he fr ui t and

remove any ra isined or rot t ed/ molded c lust ers. Hopefu l ly t he grower wi l l have p icked the f r u i t

w hen t he sugars are in t he corr ect range (23°-25° ºBrix *). You can request t his service, so don't

be afr aid t o ask. I f t he sugars are out side of t his range, you wi l l have t o address t his aft er t he

crush. (Ei t her by adding sugar t o raise t he ºBrix, or by di lut ing t he must t o low er t he sugars. See

section 2.3 A for a f u l l explanat ion.)

*Not e: You can measure º Br i x wi t h a r efactomet er (MT700) or a st andard hydromet er (MT310) -

j ust t ak e your r ead ing of f of t he º Br i x scal e an d not t he Speci f i c Gr av i t y scal e. The gr ow er or

your source for t he grapes should be able t o t el l you what t he ºBrix are because t his usual l y

determines when they are picked.

2.1) Crush and De-Stem the Grapes

The goal here is t o rem ove as many of t he st ems as possibl e (at least 90%), and make sure t hat

al l of t he berr ies have been suff ic ient ly spl i t open to al low t he yeast t o get i n and work t heir

magic. They don’ t need to be complet ely mashed, j ust cracked. For smal l am ounts, t his can be

done by hand wi t h a mesh bag. However, for quanti t ies above 50 lbs, you w i l l want t o purchase

or rent a Crusher-Destemmer. Unwashed grapes are added direct ly t o the t op hopper on these

machines. The grapes are crushed by t he rol ler s and fal l t hrough the grate below int o your

ferm enter . The separated st ems are e jected out of t he uni t by t he “ dest emming bar. ” These

machines are available in manual and electric versions. The combination of juice, skins, seeds,

and pulp t hat f a l ls in to your f ermenter is now cal led “ must ” . You add yeast t o the must t operform ferment at ion. Red wines are fermented in cont act w i t h so l id mater ia ls f r om t he grape

in order t o ext ract t he compounds t hat g ive the w ine i t s co lor , body, and dept h of f lavor and

aroma.

2.2) Let ’ s Clean t he Slate – Adding SO2 (Potassium Metabisulf it e)

One of t he keys t o a successful fer ment at i on is removing any nat ive w i ld yeast and

bacteri a from t he must prior t o adding your special winem aking yeast . Wild yeast and bact eria

can consume sugar f rom grape j uice j ust as easily as your special yeast can, but generally

produce some pret t y t err ib le f lavors in t he process. In addit ion, m any wi ld yeast s are less

t olerant t o high alcohol levels, and m ay st op ferm enti ng befor e al l of t he sugars have beenconsumed, creat i ng a “ st uck” fer ment at i on. I f t his happens, l ef t -over sugar could be used as a

food supply f or any spoi lage organisms present , and t he wi ne wi l l be comprom ised. Therefore,

sul f i t e is added immediat ely aft er you crush to “ clean the slat e” of t hese unwanted guest s. The

amount used is usual ly j ust enough t o ki l l or at least inhibi t spoi lage organisms, but not enough

to bother more sul f i te-tolerant, cul tured yeast strains that we recommend using. I f your grapes

are in good condit ion, f ree of m old et c., add 50ppm (‘ part s per mi l l ion’ ) of SO2 based on the

t ot al volum e of t he must . I f t he grapes are not in good condit ion, add more sul f i t e to counterac

t he presence of t he mold and bacter ia- up t o 100ppm. However, be aw are t hat l evels of SO2




above 50 ppm w i l l inhibi t an MLF (Malolact ic Ferment at i on) i f you choose t o do one. The 50ppm

dosage rat e at t he t ime of t he crush is usual ly f ine.

*Not e: The f i r st sul f i t e addi t ion made dur ing the crush usual ly becomes ent i re ly “ bound-up” by

t he end of t he alcohol ic f erment at i on. Dur ing i t s aging and st orage, onl y the “ f r ee” por t i on o f

t he SO2 addi t ion i s act ual l y cont r ibu t ing t o the pro tect ion o f t he w ine. Therefore , i t i s

impor t ant t o keep in mind t hat t h is f i rst add i t ion i sn 't par t o f t he su l f i t e leve l needed t o

protect the wine during i ts storage and aging.

For more comprehensive information on SO2, see sections 8.1 and 10.7.

Types of SO2

We r ecomm end SO2 in 2 specif ic f orms for addit ion t o your wine, Potassium Metabisul f i t e (most

common) and Eff erbakt ol (our favori te). Pot assium Metabisul f i t e is oft en short ened to “ met a”

“ SO2” “ Sul f i t e” , and comes in a whi te powder f orm. I t can be d issolved in to w ater and added t

t he must or f in ished wine. Our preferred f ormat for su l f i t e is in t he form of ef fervescent se l f -

dissolving granul es called Eff erbakt ol. SO2 is also avai lable fr om Campden t ablet s, whi ch looklike aspirin. Campden tablets are made from Sodium Metabisulfi te, a less desirable form of SO2.

However , t hey're easil y measurabl e in smal l doses.

Efferbaktol packets:

Sizes: Available in 2g (AD503A), 5g (AD504A), and 10g (AD505B) packets.

2g adds 528ppm per gallon, 5g adds 1320ppm per gall on, 10g adds 2640ppm per gall on.

To add t he r ight amount of SO2 for your f erment er using Eff erbakt ol , di v ide the ppm by your

gallons of must to see how many ppm of SO2 wil l be added:

Let's say you have 10 gall ons of m ust . The 2g packet off ers 528ppm per gallon; divi de 528ppm by

10 gallons to get 52.8ppm, close enough to our desired 50 ppm. To use: Tear the bag open and

add direct ly t o t he must or w ine. Mix t horoughly. Easy and clean.

About Ef f erbakt ol : I t t akes 2.5 grams of pr oduct wei ght t o give 1 gram of SO2. So, t he 2 gram

packet of Ef f erbaktol act ual ly w eighs 5 grams . This is useful to remember when dividing dosage

between vessels while using a scale. If the individual dosages are done at the same time, this is

not a problem. Once opened, you should quickly use t he ent i re cont ents of t he package because

it begins t o lose i t s eff ect i veness when exposed t o moist ure in t he ambient air.

SO2 in Powered Form:

Sizes: Available in 4oz (AD495) , or 1 lb (AD500) bags

0.19 grams per gallon results in 50ppm. For 10 gallons you would need 1.9 grams of powdered

met a-bisul f i t e. I f you do not have a gram scale, ½ t easpoon ( level) is about 1.9 grams and adds

50ppm to 10 gal lons. To use: Di lut e the sul f i t e powder i n wat er unt i l t he cryst als are complet ely

dissolved and t horoughly mi x int o t he must .




Set Aside a Sampl e f or Testi ng

Once you have added sul f i t e t o t he crushed grapes t he must is prot ected. You can safely t ake

out about a quart f or t est ing.

2.3 Testing the Must

Before you add t he yeast , you need t o t est t he must t o determ ine i f any addi t ions/ correct ions

are needed. Very rarely wi l l you get a grape that natur al ly has t he required balance of acids,

sugars, and pH necessary to create a harmonious wine. When one or more of these elements are

out of t he i r ideal ranges, t he qual i t y of t he wine suf f ers. Any pot ent ia l t he f ru i t had t o make a

nice wine is signi f icant l y lowered. However, i f we t ake the t ime t o correct any possible problem

and balance t he must ear ly on, t he qual i t y of t he resul t i ng wine w i l l be bet t er mainta ined.

Correct ing a must lays t he foundation on which t he wine w i l l be bui l t . Even sl ight adj ust ment s

can raise a wine f rom bei ng just good t o great .

*Not e: When making corr ect ions, consider t he vari et al . Seed/ skin t o j uice rat io varies f or each

grape. We wi l l onl y be get t ing around 3 (Bordeaux) t o 3.5 (Zin and Rhône)* gal l ons of f inished

wi ne fr om every 5 gal l ons of must ! Thi s comes out t o 60-70% of t he must volume. Don’ t f orget t o t ake th is into account when making corr ect ions t o t he sugar l evels or pH/ Tot al Acid i t y (TA).

In addi t ion, m ost product s designed t o go int o t he must should st i l l use t he ent i re m ust volume

t o calculat e t hei r dosage. This compensates for t he port ion of t he addi t ions t hat physical l y b in

t o t he must i t sel f and wi l l not m ake i t int o t he f i nal wine volume. This inc ludes SO2, enzymes

tannins, oak, Opti-Red and Booster-Rouge).

* Comm on exampl es of Bor deaux grapes are Caber net Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and

Merlot . Rhône vari et als include Syrah, Grenache, Mouvèdre, and Pinot Noir .

2.3 A) Test the Sugar:

Before making any adjustments, double-check your °Brix after the grapes have been crushed ant he must has had a chance to be complet ely mi xed t oget her. There is usual ly a bi t of variat ion i

sugar l evels bet ween each and every bunch of grapes t hat m ake up t he whole volum e.

Interest ingly enough, t hese di f f erences are not only found in fr ui t coming from di f fer ent sect ion

of t he same v ineyard, but even of f o f t he same v ine. Therefore, t he only way t o get a t r u ly

accurat e sugar reading for any must is t o wait unt i l t he fr ui t has been complet ely processed and

thoroughly mixed together.

*Not e: Test ing t he whole m ust also helps t o make t he TA and pH t est ing more accurat e as wel l

( Inf ormat ion on TA and pH and why t hey are im port ant w i l l be explained short ly)

You can measure t he sugar level wi t h a hydromet er or a refr actomet er

A hydromet er w orks by measuring the densit y of t he l iquid you're t est ing compared t o wat er at

cert ain t emperat ure. Temperat ure affect s densit y, so i t i s impor t ant t o have a sample close to

your hydromet er 's cal ibrat ion tem perat ure. I f using a hydromet er: m ake sure to st rain the

sample of j uice t o remove any seeds and skins before f i l l i ng the hydromet er j ar. I f t he sol ids are

lef t in t he sample, t hese may cause the hydromet er t o st ick to t he side of t he j ar, compr omisin



Copyright 2008 MoreFlavor! , Inc Page | 1

t he accuracy of t he result s. Another good t echnique for gett ing a clear j uice sample is to place

t he sample in a fr eezer for 15-20 minut es. Decant off of t he sediment t hat set t les out.

However, because a Hydromet er w orks off of t he principle of densit y, and densit y changes wi t h

t emperature, you wi l l need t o a l low t he sample to w arm back up t o 68 F before t he resul ts wi l

be accurat e because t his is wher e most hydromet ers are cal ibrat ed. The hydromet er j ar should

contain enough sample t hat t he hydromet er is always f l oat ing. Wait unt i l i t st abi l izes and read

t he number where t he top of t he l iqu id meets the scale on t he hydrometer .

Not e: Depending on t he t emperat ure of t he sample, you should also add or subt ract t he amoun

ind icated by t he thermometer a t t he bot t om of t he hydrometer f o r t he greatest amount o f

accuracy.

I f using a ref ractomet er , add a drop or tw o of t he j u ice to t he lens and close t he f lap onto i t .

This wi l l cause some of t he j uice t o squish out, which is norm al. Next, wait 30 seconds for t he

sample to adjust t o the t emperature of t he ref ractomet er pr ism. Then, hold i t up to t he l ight

and look t hrough i t t o see wher e t he colored bar ext ends t o on t he scale. This is your ºBrix

reading.

When using a ref ract omet er, make sure t he glass lens is clean and dr y, and r eads 0 ºBrix w hen

t est ing wi t h p la in wat er . I f not , ad just / cal ibrate i t wi t h water accord ing t o the inst ruct ions t ha

came wi t h i t . This usual ly involves t urning a knob or a smal l screw whi l e looking through i t unt i l

i t r eads “ 0” .

Once you have got t en a ºBrix r eading f or t he must , r ecord t his in your notes and det erm ine i f yo

need t o adj ust t he sugars or not :

As ment ioned earl ier, you want a sugar l evel of 22°-25° ºBrix f or t he st art of a r ed w ine

fermenta t ion .

• I f your sugar level i s lower t han 22° ºBrix, we r ecommend adding sugar t o bring i t up t o

t he st andard level (cal led chapi ta l iz ing t he must ). This is done wit h t able sugar: 1.5 oz. o

table sugar per US gallon of pro ject ed l iquid raises t he ºBrix by 1°. Measure t he amount o

sugar needed and complet ely dissolve i t i nt o a smal l quant i t y of w arm w ater The warm

wat er ensures t hat t he sugar w i l l dissolve complet ely int o t he wine. This smal l am ount of

wat er wi l l not be enough t o di lut e the w ine. Al t ernat i vely, you can dissolve the sugar

di rect ly in t o the l iqu id f rom t he must , but depending on how much you are adding, t h is

may be di f f icul t . Mix thoroughly into t he must so that t he sugar (whi ch is heavier t han

must ) doesn’ t wind up si t t ing on t he bot t om of t he ferment at ion vessel .

• If your sugars are higher t han 25 ºBrix, you may choose t o leave t he mu st as is and m ake

“ b ig” w ine . However , depending on your yeast st rain, you may get a wine t hat does not

fer ment al l t he way “ dry” ( less t han 1% residual sugar). To avoid t his, you can di lut e t he

j uice t o 22°-25° ºBr ix w i t h w at er .

For complet e notes on di lut ion and chapit al izat ion, see sect ion 10.1.




If you don’ t have a scale (MT358):

1 t sp of t able sugar = 5 gram s (. 17 oz.)

8.8 t sp of t able sugar = 1.5 oz.

TA and pH

The next t wo sect i ons deal wit h t est ing pH and TA. These are very import ant elem ents to

monit or during wi nemaking because t hey give us an indicat ion of what is going on wi t h t he

overal l balance of t he wine. TA measures al l of t he combined acids in t he wine, (t here are man

dif fer ent t ypes) and tel l s you how acidic/ t art t he wine is. TA is expressed in ei t her %TA or in g/

of Tart aric Acid. For exam ple, a wi ne’ s TA could be expr essed as 0.65% TA or as 6.5g/ L TA.

These t wo values are equivalent, and you can easi ly swit ch bet ween t he t wo common w ays of

expressing TA by moving the decim al point one place left or r ight . We prefer t o express TA in of

g/ L because we f eel i t is easier t o visual ize: We are l i t eral ly saying t hat t he wine has 6.5g of TA

per L of wi ne. The pH is a measure of how t hese acids balance out against buff ering compounds

such as Potassium. pH value also indicates how effective the blend of acidic and basic

compounds wi l l b e at helpi ng to prot ect t he wine. pH is measured in pH unit s, pH values of l ess

t han 7.0 are acidic. The t ypical pH range for red w ines is bet ween 3.5 and 3.8.

Let’ s t ake a look at how t hese t wo paramet ers int eract. Assume w e have t wo red w ines t hat

each have t he same TA, but di f fer ent p Hs, 3. 2 and 4.0 respect i vely. The wine w it h a pH of 3.2

wi l l have bright fr ui t f l avors, but i t wi l l also be thin, acidic and aggressive on t he palett e. On t h

other hand, t he wine at 4.0 wi l l be sof t er and rounder t han the wine at 3.2, but a lso less

v ibrant ; t he f ru i t character ist ics wi l l f la t t en out quickly . Ideal ly , w e are af t er a wine that has

t he fr eshness and st rong frui t charact erist ics of t he lower pH wine, but wi t h t he roundness and

approachabi l i t y of t he higher pH one. The key to achieving this l ies in making sure t he pH of t he

wi ne ends up somewher e in t he middle of t hese t wo ext remes, betw een 3.4-3.65 pH. Vigi lant

monit oring of your TA and pH wi l l help you achieve this goal.

The importance of correctly preparing a sample for both the TA and pH testing: TA and pH

are sensit ive t est s. I t is impor t ant t o properly pr epare samples or w e may get false result s. Wit h

red w ines, i t is best t o get a sample of t he must and l ight ly run i t t hrough a blender. The blende

serves t o open the skins and simul ates t he chemical make-up t he j uice wi l l at t ain once

fer ment at i on has complet ed. The blended sample wi l l need to be st rained because the grape

sol ids al l have a di f fer ent pH and TA t han the j uice i t sel f . I f t hey remain in t he sample, t hey ca

skew t he result s. We only want t o test t he f inal l iquid t hat is fr ee of sol ids. To achieve this, f i r

st rain t he blended fr ui t t o get t he sol ids out. A f ine mesh bag (Bag10) is great for t his. Next,

f i l t er t he resul t ing l iqu id to obt a in a c lean j u ice f ree of par t ic les. (Paper cof f ee f i l t ers pushed

int o a wine glass are great for t his). The result i ng clean j uice is opt i mal f or TA and pH

determinat ions.

St eps t o prep are sampl e:

1. Light ly blend m ust in a blender

2. St rain blended m ust t hrough mesh bag into a bow l or j ar t o rem ove sol ids. Light ly squeez

bag i f needed unt i l enough sample has been col lect ed: 50-100mL

3. Place coffee f i l t er part way int o a wine glass or j ar (maybe use rubber band t o secure i t




around the r im t o keep i t f rom f a l l ing in . ) Pour sample in to t he f i l t er and a l low i t t o dr ip

int o t he glass/ j ar: 30-50 mL. Use t his sample t o do t he pH and TA t est ing on.

2.3 B) Test for the Total Acidity%

There are three met hods used by the home wi nemaker t o test f or acidi ty:

• Method 1 – Basic: Test the must with an acid test kit (W501) .

• Met hod 2 – Bet t er: Use a pH met er w it h our Test Ki t (W501) . Run the same test using the

acid test k i t f rom t he f i rst m ethod, only t h is t ime st i r wi t h the pH met er whi le t i t ra t ing

unti l i t reads pH 8.2. Use t his as t he endpoint for t he t est in place of t he color change.

Calculate t he result s by fol l owing t he acid test k i t s inst ruct ions exact ly as in t he f i r st

method.

• Method 3 – Best: Use the Hanna Acidity t i trator (MT682). Thi s is a machine t hat t akes 30

seconds t o give you a highly accurat e TA reading. Great i f doing large bat ches of m ult iple

samples. Used by hundreds of commercial wineries.

Once you have t est ed your TA, you can decide whet her i t needs adj ust ing. Keep in mind t hat

t hat w ine chemist ry is very complex. Of t en, t he amount of acid we have calculated on paper is

not t he amount t hat w inds up being t he best choice for t ast e. This is especial ly t rue when

wor king wit h larger acid addit ions (>.2%TA or 2 g/ L). We recommend m aking ½ of t he addit i on

you think is needed, and then t est and tast e t o see i f t he balance is correct or i f t he wine st i l l

needs more acid. This is def ini t ely one of t hose t imes where art and science come t oget her.

Ideal ly , w e are looking for t he must t o be in a range of . 60- .90 TA at t he st ar t o f f ermentat ion.

So:

• I f your acids are in t he .9%-1% range, you wi l l w ant t o consider l oweri ng them . One of t he

best ways t o do this is a MaloLact ic Ferment at i on, or “ MLF” aft er t he primary, alcohol ic

fer ment at i on has f i nished (for m ore complet e inform ati on on MLF, see sect i on 6).

• I f your TA is signi f icant l y lower t han .60%, you w i l l need t o raise i t at l east t o t his level by

adding t art aric acid. Calculate t he amount needed t o raise your volume t o the desired

acidi ty level ( remember t o factor f or j ust t he ju ice, not t he whole must ) . Dissolve i t

complete ly in to some w ine or warm chlor ine- f ree wat er and mix i t t horoughly in to t he

must / w ine.

3.8 gram s Tart aric Acid per US Gall on rai ses TA by +.1% (1 g/ L)

I f you don’ t have a scale:

1 level t easpoon Tart aric Acid per US Gall on raises TA by +.12%

1 t sp Tart aric acid = 5 grams.

For in-dept h inf orm at ion on acidi t y and adding acid t o a must, see sect ion 10.2

For a compl et e exampl e of adj ust ing t he TA of a m ust , see sect ion 10.3




Check the PH:

A general fact t hat m ight be helpful w hen taking a wi ne’ s pH into account i s t he higher t he acid

t he lower t he pH. So, i f your pH is high and you need t o make an acid adj ust ment , t he acid w i l l

also help t o bring your pH down. The inverse is equal ly correct : i f your pH is low, t hen loweri ng

your acids (wi t h a cold st abi l izat ion, chemical adj ust ment , or MLF) wi l l r aise your pH.

Opt imal l y, t he pH of a red w ine should be in t he 3.4-3.6 range. A pH above 3.6 indicates and

unst able wine and w i l l not have a long shelf l i f e. pH under 3. 4 general ly indicat es a wine t hat

wi l l be too sour. I f you have a pH meter , now is t he t im e to use i t ! I f you do not (MoreWine! has

a variet y of models to choose f rom), i t is probably safe t o say t hat i f your TA and sugars are at

t heir correct levels, t hen your pH level is f ine. However, be caref ul in years where you see rain

on t he vines j ust ahead of harvest , as t his can cause t he vine t o leech addit ional buff ers –

compounds whi ch int erf ere w it h an acid’ s abi l i t y t o express i t sel f in t erms of pH – fr om t he soi l

as a result of t he rain. This oft en yields higher pH values t han would be expected f or a given TA

value. Test ing wit h a pH met er is always t he best way t o be certain.

For a compl et e, in-dept h exampl e of adj ust ing t he pH a must , see sect ion 10.3

2.4 Addit ives

Once t he pH, TA and sugars have been t aken care of, you may w ant t o consider incorporat i ng

some of t he benefic ial special t y winem aking addit ives int o your must. For qui t e a whi le t hese

addit ives have been readi ly avai lable t o commer cial wi neries but not packaged in smal ler

quanti t ies for home winemakers. MoreWine! changed t hat w hen we began a program of st eri le

repackaging under HEPA Filtered laminar f low hoods. This is why you wil l only now begin to see

t hese addit ives appear in art ic les and newer home w inemaking books. They are great t ools for

making wel l - rounded, beaut i fu l ly st ructured, fu l ly -ext ract ed wines of charact er and are

def in i t e ly wort h explor ing.

*Not e: Al l of t hese addi t i ons are t o be calculat ed based on the ent i r e volume of t he must .

Lall zyme EX (AD351) – An enzyme used to break down cell walls in the skins of grapes, freeing

anthocyanins (t he deep purple color compounds) and f avors the rel ease of soft er w el l -r ounded

t annins. We use i t on al l r ed wines in whi ch we w ant a deep, r ich color wit h a rounded

mout hfeel. Lal lzyme product s also el iminat e t he need to perf orm cold soaks and extended

macerat ions – a great t ool f or home wi nemakers.

Lallzyme EX-V – A higher concentration of the enzymes used in the Lallzyme EX formulation, als

used f or im proving the ext ract ion of color and posi t ive t annins. In addit ion, EX-V has t he eff ect

of boost ing the t annic st ruct ure m ore t han EX, and is useful for adding tannic int ensi t y and

st abi l i t y to w ines t hat are dest ined for long-t erm aging and development .

Opti-Red/Bouster Rouge – Bot h of t hese prod uct s add bod y and st ruct ure t o a w ine, as w el l as

helping to pr omot e color st abi l i t y. Opti -Red adds a more rounded body and mouthf eel, Boost er

Rouge adds more struct ure w hi le emphasizing the f rui t charact er.

Enological Tannins – In addit ion t o bonding wit h anthocyanins t o create a stable and r ich color,




enological t annins are added to help st ruct ure t he wine. They are used in both f erment at i on an

during aging. In addit ion, t annins also have an ant ioxidant pr opert y that helps t o prot ect t he

wi ne during i ts matur at i on. Enological t annins are both w ood and grape derived, and are

avai lable in various for mulat ions according t o t heir int ended use.

VR Supra NF: A blend of grape and wood* tannins primarily used for red wine during

fer ment at i on. Added t o t he must, VR Supra NF helps to st abi l ize color and enhance a

wine’s structure. (* VR Supra NF contains only oak-derived wood tannins and is well-suite

to producing bold Cabernet Sauvignon as well as delicate reds l ike Pinot Noir.)

Tan’ Cor: Pr imar i ly added t o red wine im mediate ly post - ferment at ion. A b lend of w ood

and grape t annins t hat has been form ulat ed t o help impr ove st ruct ure, r educe vegetal an

must y aromas, r educe ast r ingency, and help prot ect t he wine f rom oxidat ion during aging

Tannin Plus: Primari l y used for r ed and whit e wine post -fer ment at ion t o add st ruct ure an

a vani l l i n character. Tannin Plus contr ibut es wood nuances t hat are not smoky or t oast y,

but a clear vani l la oak character t hat helps create a smoot h f inish. Tanin Plus can be use

at l ow dosages along wi t h other t annins j ust t o add a vani l la charact er t o a f inished wi ne

Galalcool SP: Can be used during fermentation to minimize reductive odors and enhancemout hfeel. I t is usual ly used for whit e wi nes, but can be used for a subt le change in red

wine f ermentat ions, as wel l .

Toast ed Oak (chips/ cubes): Economic source of w ood (also called el lagic ) tann in tha t w i l

help st abi l ize color and add body during fer ment at i on. Toast ed oak wi l l also give some

fini shed f l avor compl exi t y t o t he wine. Can be used wi t h enological t annins as a

spice/ f lavor component .

-Dosage rat e is 1-4 lb per 1000 lb of fr ui t (or 1. 6 t o 6.4 ounces per 100 lb or f rui t ) ,

wi t h t he low end being used for stabi l iz ing color and st ruct ure, and t he high end

being used t o mini mize vegetal charact erist ics.

*Not e: Since al l t annins can st r ip out enzymes i f added too early int o t he must , add t he

enzymes, let t hem wor k on t he sk ins f or 6-8 hours, t hen add your t annins t o t he must .

2.5 Rehydrating and Adding Your Yeast to the Must

Choose Your Yeast

Wild yeast can be found everywhere. They are in t he vineyard, comi ng in on t he frui t , covering

winemaking equipment, f loat ing in the air, everywhere you can imagine. Whi le they al l are

capable of fer ment ing to various degrees, few are st rong enough to provide good f lavors andf i nish a ferm ent at i on. Yes, i t is possible t o j ust crush t he fr ui t and let whichever yeast (s) presen

at t he t i me be solely responsible f or t he ferm ent at ion. This is essent ial ly fer ment at ion by

Russian Roulet t e. You wi l l event ual ly get a wine t hat w i l l develop off - f l avors and/ or st op short o

f i nishing, bot h equal ly undesirable. In order t o avoid t his si t uat i on, w e recommend using a

known, dependable st rain t hat was caref ul ly chosen fr om past successful fer ment at ions. This is

w hy MoreWine! off ers over 30 cul t ured st rains of yeast t o choose f rom. There are yeast speci f i c

t o variet als, yeast for emphasizing cert ain f l avors, and yeast known f or im proving body and

structure, etc . You can use a single st rain, or a couple of di f fer ent st rains t o blend t hem lat er




and create a more compl ex f inal w ine. The only caveat wi t h using more t han one yeast st rain is

t hat you can only use one st rain per f erment er. So, i f you want t o explore using blends, t hen yo

wi l l need mor e t han one ferm ent ing vessel.

We encourage you t o look t hrough al l of t he st rains we of fer , read our Yeast St rain Select ing

Guide, and m ake a choice based on w hat sounds good to you. Realize that t here is no single,

“ right” choice of yeast st rain. In fact, for each varietal t here are actual ly a number of possible

choices t hat w i l l a l l make lovely wine. I t is up t o you t o choose t he one that wi l l best give the

desired charact erist ics you are looking for.

Hydrate with Go-Ferm

Go-Ferm is a special ized yeast nutr ient created by Lal lem and to hel p t he yeast during t he

delicate hydration process. It helps the yeast to become as strong as possible before they start

ferm entat ion. We at MoreWine! st rongly recommend using Go-Ferm during t he hydrat i on of al l o

our yeast s. By using Go-Ferm, yeast are more healt hy thr oughout t he ent i re f erment at i on, m ake

bet t er f lavors, are less apt t o creat e H2S (Hydrogen Sulf ide, a rot t en egg smel l ) and are m uch

more l ike ly to f in ish ferm entat ion.

For every gal lon of must :

-For every 1 gram of yeast , add 1.25 grams of Go-Ferm, 25 mL clean, chlorine-f ree w ater (not

d ist i l led, you want t he minera ls) .

-Yeast is added t o w arm wat er (104º F) cont aining Go-Ferm and al lowed t o soak for 20

minut es. Then a smal l amount of t he must i s added to t he yeast st art er and the mixt ure

al lowed t o si t for anot her 20 minut es. The yeast is t hen ready t o be int roduced to t he

must.

Add the yeast t o t he must

Once the yeast has been properly hydrat ed, add i t t o the m ust and thoroughly mix i t in.

Congrat ulat ions, you have just inoculat ed your must and the f erment at ion has off ic ial ly begun.

However, even t hough t hings are t aking place, i t wi l l probably be a day or t wo bef ore you see

any vi sibl e signs.

For complet e, i n-dept h inf ormat ion and inst ruct ions on yeast hydrat i on and nut r i ents, see

section 10.4.

Furt her i nf orm at ion is also avai labl e in our Yeast Re-Hydrat ion manual and video onl i ne




Chapter 3: The Ferment (Primary fermentation) (Days 2 t o 14, or so)

Your fer ment at i on should become act ive anywhere fr om 1-3 days af t er in t roducing your yeast t o

t he must . An import ant factor in determ in ing how long i t wi l l t ake is t he temperature of t he

must . Yeast ’ s rat e of met abol ism is direct ly affect ed by t emperat ure: cold must s st art

ferm ent ing more slowly , whi le w arm must s get of f t o a quicker st ar t . Once the ferm entat ion ha

begun, t he yeast wi l l proceed t o consume t he sugars in t he must / j uice, pr oducing CO2 (bubblesand alcohol. During this period, the skins wil l be carried upwards by yeast produced CO2 and

compact int o a large mass t hat w i l l be pushed up and out of cont act w it h the l iqui d in the must

This fl oat ing mass of skins is ref err ed t o as t he cap .

3.1 Punching the Cap

This cap needs t o be broken- up and re-submer ged several t im es a day. This process is ref err ed t

as “ punching down t he cap” . Punching t he cap protect s t he wine, a id ing wi t h ext ract ion of co lo

and f lavor compounds fr om t he skins, along wit h t he dispersal of bui l t -up heat. I f t he cap is

exposed t o the air f or t oo long, t he surf ace can dry out and al low t he colonizat i on of airborne

bacteri a. The most comm on one is acetobacteri a, (v inegar bact eria), t hough prett y much anyone wi l l rui n your wine. Since t he r ising alcohol levels in t he ferm enti ng must are high enough t

ki l l air borne bacteria w hen i t w ashes over them , submerging the skins helps t o prot ect t he wine

from spoi lage throughout the fermentat ion. In addit ion, mixing also promotes contact between

t he wine and t he skins, aiding color and f lavor extract ion. The more oft en the cap is punched

t he greater the ext ract ion of compounds coming f rom t he sk ins wi l l be. F inal ly , ferm entat ion

generat es quit e a bi t of heat and the cap acts as an insulat or. I f not b roken up, t he cap does no

al low t he excess heat t o escape, causing the f erment at i on to become t oo hot .

Try t o avoid elevat ed f erment at i on t emperat ures because t hey antagonize yeast and cause

fer ment at i ons t o st ick, as wel l as produce off f l avors and aggressive qual i t ies in t he f i nal wi ne.

*Not e: I t i s impor t ant t o get a l l o f t he lees ( t he layer of yeast t hat set t les out on t he bot t om o

t he fer ment er) st i r r ed back up int o suspension wi t h every punch-down cycle. You are l ooking f o

t he must t o become pink and creamy. This al l ows t he fer ment ing wine t o expel many negat i ve

f erment at i on odors t hat are a natur al product of f erment at i on. It a lso helps t o keep the wine

f rom developing sul f ur pr oblems. However, i t is import ant t o avoid mashing or gr i nding the

seeds as much as possibl e dur ing t he punching as t hey cont ain harsher, mor e ast r i ngent t annins

and t heir rel ease could m ake the f inal w ine mor e aggressive and unpleasant .

How t o Punch t he Cap MoreWine! off ers several models of punches t o accommodate a variety of fer ment er sizes fr om

30 gallon plastic food-grade bins to 600 gallon stainless steel tanks. They are made of durable

food-grade met al and are easi ly sanit ized and cleaned aft er each use. Of course, any object

made of food-grade mat erial can wor k as a punch down t ool , as long as i t can move the skins

back into solut ion and st i r t he lees. I t i s a good idea t o make sure t he mat erial can be sanit ized

however. Food grade plast ic or stainless st eel is great , but wood is not, due t o i t s porosi t y.




3.2 Yeast Nutrition During Fermentation

As t he ferm ent at ion progresses, t he must becomes a more di f f i cul t place for t he yeast t o work

in: t he alcohol level start s t o r ise (slowl y becoming more and more t oxic) and the original

nut r ient s have been deplet ed. The Go-Ferm addit ion we m ade when hydrat ing our yeast was

only designed to get t hem t hrough the hydrat ion process. Yeast require m ore ni t rogen, am ino

acids, micro-nutr ients , e t c . in order t o st ay heal thy dur ing ferment at ion. When t hose nutr ients

are not present in sufficient amounts, yeast produce off f lavors (such as Hydrogen Sulfide andVA) and have di f f icul t y f inishing fer ment at i ons. In order t o avoid t his scenario, w e provide the

needed nutr i t ion in t he form of a complet e special ly f ormulated yeast nutr ient t hat gets added

t o the must dur ing t he fermentat ion.

That said, hundreds of people have told us:“ I never used any nut r ient and my wi ne was f i ne.”

Yes, t hat can certainly be t rue. However, b y feeding the yeast during ferm ent at ion, you can

easily avoid the most common problems in winemaking, such as Hydrogen Sulfide (rotten egg

smel l ) or VA (Volat i le Acidi t y) product ion, stuck f erment s, and various other off f l avors. St udies

have shown t hat even in wines wi t h no ferment at ion problems, t he ones wi t h t he fu l l nut r ient

supply made bet t er f lavors and aromas t han the m ust s ut i l iz ing no nut r ient addit ions. Usingnut r ient s is a cheap and easy insurance policy that always makes a posit ive di f ference.

Fermaid-K:

To complement your Go-Ferm addit ion once ferm entat ion has st art ed, w e suggest using

Fermaid-K, a comp let e yeast nut r ient also made by Lal lem and. Fermaid-K is usual ly appl ied at

t he beginning of t he ferm entat ion (cap for mat ion) and again at 1/ 3 sugar deplet ion (usual ly an

8-10 ºBrix drop). A double addit ion suppl ies t he yeast wi t h enough nutr ient s t o maint ain a

heal t hy metabol ism t hroughout t he ferment at ion. In a warm st ar t ing ferment at ion, an 8-10

ºBrix dr op may t ake place in t he f i rst t wo days, so be sure t o check your ºBrix early on Day 2.Some w inem akers choose t o add Fermaid- K in small er am ount s on a daily basis, usually st art ing

on day 1. This is also a f ine approach. However, yeast wi l l ut i l ize f ew nut r ient s aft er 10%

alcohol. (a 15 ºBri x drop) Addi t ions made af t er 10% alcohol m ay only serve t o feed spoilage

organisms.

DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate)

DAP is a traditional yeast nutrient that is sti l l widely used. However, DAP is solely a non-organic

source of ni t rogen – i t of f ers no addit ional nut r i t ion. DAP should be only considered a supplemen

t o a complet e nutr ient set when a must is known t o have a low ni t rogen cont ent. DAP does mak

yeast grow and produce more cel ls, but i t does not f eed t hem. A good analogy here w ould be t o

say that Fermaid-K is a bowl of fr esh fr ui t salad that is chock ful l of v i t amins, m inerals and

natural sugars, and DAP is a packet of high fructose corn sugar, offering quick energy but no

nutr i t ional value.

I f a fer ment is suff ering from a lack of nut r ient s and making H2S, t here is a def ic iency of

nut r ient s avai lable per yeast cel l . Adding DAP would not feed t hem, i t would only increase t he

number of st arving cel ls. I t does not make sense t o increase t he populat ion in a f amine zone.




You should use a complet e nut ri ent set inst ead of DAP t o address and avoid H2S probl ems during

fermenta t ion .

If you are using Ferm aid K, w hich cont ains DAP as one of i t s ingredi ent s, t here should be very

litt le reason to use DAP separately.

For complet e inf orm at ion on Yeast Nut ri ent s, see sect ion 10.4

3.3 Fermentat ion TemperatureEvery winemaker has a t heory on what t emperat ure t o ferment at. We have seen great wine

ferm ented f rom a var ie ty of d i f f erent t emperature schedules. You should pay at t ent ion t o t he

t emperature. I t 's def in i t e ly a good habi t t o note t he temperat ure of t he must each t im e you

punch down t he cap (a good way t o do thi s is t o use a f loat ing therm omet er (MT400)) fo r fu tu re

ref erence. The actual act of f erment at i on produces heat and can cause t he must t o be 10°-15°

higher than the ambient t emperature.

A Typical Temperature Schedule

I f you have cont rol over fer ment at ion t emperat ures, a popular red w ine schedule is t o st artslowl y at cooler t emperat ures, such as t he low 60s. Next, gradual ly al low t he must t o warm up

to the desired temperature as the fermentat ion gets underway. Start ing cold al lows water-

soluble compounds in the must such as anthocyanins (color) and agreeable tannins extra time to

become f u l ly ext racted impr oving the f ina l wine.

During ferm ent at ion t he tem perat ure is al lowed t o r ise, of t en reaching 80°-90° F for a bri ef

per iod of t ime. Yeast creat e d i f f erent compounds at d i f ferent t emperatures. How high you

al low t he ferment at ion t emperature t o r ise or “ sp ike” is of t en debat ed. Some winemakers a l low

it t o go int o t he low 90’ s. However, alcohol t oxic i t y increases as t he t emperat ures r ise, so

spending too much t ime i n t he upper t emperat ure ranges can be damaging t o t he yeast and themay have d i f f icu l t y f in ish ing t he ferment at ion. We recommend l imi t ing t he spike to t he mid t o

upper 70’ s for safet y’ s sake. Most wi nemakers agree t hat a t emperat ure r ange of 70°-85° F is

acceptable.

Controlling Temperature

There are tw o main met hods of t emperat ure contr ol , bot h wit h advantages and disadvant ages.

The most serious home hobbyist purchases a small glycol cooling system such as our GLY100

which can prec ise ly d ia l in t emperatures. They work by c i rcu lat ing cold wat er or w ater / g lycol

mix t hrough a jacket around the t ank or a cool ing snake/ cool ing plat e submerged in t he

fer ment ing must . The only problem wi t h these syst ems is t hat t hey're relat ively expensive.They provide piece of m ind, but at a price. The second method only involves invest ing in some

plast ic j ugs. To use, f reeze the j ugs, t hen pul l t hem out of t he freezer when t he must gets t oo

hot . Sani t ize the j ugs and f loat t hem in t he must , s t i r r ing unt i l t he tem perature drops t o where

you want i t t o be. Keep in mind t hat you might want t wo sets of j ugs, one for t he must and one

for t he next r ound. In general , t he “ hot” por t ion of t he ferment only last s for a few days, and

l i fe w i l l soon ret urn t o normal . However, i f you happen to l ive in a very warm c l imate or w i l l

have warm ambient t emperatures when you wi l l be f erment ing, you may want t o speak wi t h us

about your opt i ons for a dedicated t emperat ure contr ol syst em.




3.4 Monit oring your Sugars, Timing the Press:

In about a w eek, m ost of t he sugar w i l l have been consumed by t he yeast and ferm entat ion wi l l

slow, making i t easier t o keep tr ack of t he fal l i ng sugar level of your w ine. You want t o be awar

of your sugar levels because t hey wi l l not only give you an overview of how t he fer ment has bee

progressing, but also t el l you w hen i t is t ime t o press.

Measuring the Sugar Levels

The easiest way t o t est your sugar l evels during fer ment at ion i s t o use a ref ract omet er. You ma

have heard that you cannot use a ref r act ometer af t er t he onset of f ermentat ion, because t he

presence of alcohol dist ort s t he reading. You are correct , but MoreWine! has a very nifty and

FREE spreadsheet that you can use to adjust the reading for the presence of alcohol al lowing yo

t o t ake readings a l l t he way to t he end of ferment at ion. Sidest epping a l l o f t he work needed t o

create a sui t able hydromet er sample is reason alone to upgrade to a ref ract omet er. MoreWine!

st ocks f i ve di f fer ent st yles of r efr actomet ers, as wel l as off er ing a comprehensive select ion of

various hydrometers.

When to Press? : In most cases, when you reach 0° Brix, i t is t im e t o press. However, i f you want t o emphasize

t he l ight and fr ui t y aspect s of t he wine, you may want t o press before t he Brix f al ls t o 0°, m ayb

at 3° t o 5° Br ix . Or, you may want t o emphasize the concent rated, “ j am-l ike” and extr act ed

qual i t ies of t he grape. In t his case, you might choose t o do an extended macerat ion, let t ing the

wi ne st ay in cont act w it h t he skins and seeds for up t o t wo w eeks aft er t he sugars have fal len t o

0° Brix (see below t o underst and the r isks t hat come along wit h t his t echnique). Whatever t imi n

you choose, the press operation is carried out in the same fashion.

MoreWine!’s Recommended Time t o Press We suggest t hat m ost of our cust omers press t heir w ine w hen i t has fal l en dry, at 0° Brix.

• You can use your Refractometer (MT700) to test for dryness, as long as you remember to

compensate for t he alcohol using t he spreadsheet.

• I f you are using a hydromet er, t he alcohol in t he sample w i l l skew t he accuracy of t he

result ; a reading of 0° Brix i s not actual ly dr y. Because alcohol is l ighter t han wat er, you

wi l l need a reading of –1.5° to –2° for t rue 0° Brix det ermi nat ion.

Extended Macerations Ext ended Macerat ion is an advanced technique t hat w e get a lot of quest ions about. Any t ime

spent on the seeds and skins once alcoholic fermentation has completed is known as Extended

Maceration . Typical t imi ng is anywhere f rom 1 t o 2 weeks. Said t o increase extr act ion and

dept h, w e remain unsure aft er several t est s. Wit h the use of enzyme and tannin products we

feel t hat t he benefi t s can be achieved through al t ernat i ve avenues. Overal l , we recomm end tha

new w inemakers avoid the pr act ice – leave thi s one t o t he pros.

That said, i f you do decide to do an extended macerat ion, you wi l l need t o take st eps t o preven




t he must f rom coming into cont act w it h any oxygen. Along wi t h covering the wi ne wit h Saran

Wrap (very ef fect ive) , i t would be a good idea to keep a “ b lanket” of CO2 (or argon) on top of

t he must at al l t imes. You now only need to punch the cap once a day, unt i l i t remains j ust

below t he surf ace of t he must . At t his point , you are mainly moving t he lees t o avoid the

for mat ion of H2S in t he wine, along wi t h helping the skins t o break down and dist r ibut e f l avors.

Keep in mind t hat a good port ion of t he f lavor impact gained during an extended macerat ion is

coming from t he seeds t hemselves, so i t w ould be best t o make sure t hat t hey are mat ure befor

you decide to give this technique a t ry. Matur e seeds are brown and have a sl ight nut t y t ast e t ot hem w hen chewed. I f t he seeds are green and have a harsh, bi t t er or ast r ingent qual i t y, t hen

we r ecommend against a l lowing your wine t o remain in contact w i t h t hem f or t oo long once t he

fer ment at i on f inishes. In addit ion, a high level of st em sol ids in the m ust (as a result of using

amateur - level pr ocessing equipment ) w i l l also creat e green and ast r ingent f l avors during an

extended macerat ion. I f t hese vegetat ive f law s are present at t he end of f ermentat ion, any

addit ional t ime spent on the seeds and skins wi l l only m ake them wor se, and should def i ni t ely b

avoided.

You should be t ast ing the w ine each t im e you punch the cap (or st i r i t ) . The t i me t o press is

when t he f l avors suddenly “ round” and the w ine t ast es more soft t han i t should for being soyoung. There is no hard and f ast rule as to w hen an extended macerat ion is over, you press whe

t he wine t ast es r ight t o you. However, det ermi ning this exact mom ent r equires experience. I f

you are new t o winem aking, w e st rongly recommend t hat you mast er t he basics before

exper iment ing wi t h t h is t echnique.




Chapter 4: Pressing (Days 7 to 15)

At t he end of t he ferment at ion the w ine wi l l have extracted everyth ing i t needs f rom t he seeds

and skins. When t his is complet ed, i t is t ime t o press. I t is impor t ant t o press in a t imel y fashion

because a pr olonged exposure t o grape sol ids post -fer ment at i on mi ght cause react ions t hat cou

generate off- f lavors and otherwise ruin the wine.

Pressing involves st raini ng t he l i quid of f and t hen squeezing t he rem aining skins and seeds

(cal led pommace ) t o get t he remaining wine out , m uch in t he same w ay you squeeze a sponge trelease residual water. You can use anything from a nylon mesh bag (BAG24) int o a food-grade

bucket (FE345) for smal ler batches, t o an act ual wi ne press t hat can be purchased or rent ed for

t he day (WE110-WE160) .

Presses can be broken down into two design types: traditional ratcheting basket presses; and

new er style b ladder presses:

• Tradit ional Basket Presses wor k by pr essing t he pomm ace fr om t he t op of t he holding

basket dow n by using a heavy, cast ir on, rat chet ing mechanism. Basket presses are

aff ordable and t im e-t est ed, but t here are a few dr awbacks. During pressing they developa pocket of j uice in t he center of t he basket which needs t o be broken up and repressed

t o get al l of t he wi ne out. In addit ion, t he pressing forces required b y basket presses are

usually m uch higher t han for bladder presses. As a result , i t is very easy t o get har sh and

aggressive char act eristi cs f rom over p ressing t he seeds and skins. Finall y, basket presses

are di f f icul t t o sanit i ze and heavy t o move around.

• Bladder Presses w ork b y expandin g a bladder using household w at er p ressure vi a a garde n

hose. Since t he bladder is si t uated in t he cent er of t he press, t he grapes are squeezed

fr om t he inside out i n an even fashion, avoiding t he form ation of j uice pocket s. Bladder

presses are qui t e gent le on t he must and create a higher qual i t y w ine t han basket presses

Furt hermore, bladder presses don’ t require any physical eff ort t o operate, a hose wi l l do

al l of t he w ork f or you. Final ly, Bladder pr esses are easy t o sanit i ze and l ightw eight

enough to move around easily. The only downside to bladder presses is that they do cost

mor e t han basket presses.

*Note : I f you do not alr eady own a pr ess and are lucky enough t o l i ve close t o a winemaking

supply/ ret ai l st ore l ike MoreWine! , you may be able t o rent equipment. This is a great way t o

get t he benef i t of using a high qual i t y machine on your w ines wi t hout having t o buy i t up f ront

If you do decide at some point t o go ahead and pur chase your ow n press, (or

Crusher/ Detstemmer ) you wi l l know exact ly w hich one is best f or you .

4.1 Pressing

There are several ways t o get t he fer ment ed grapes int o t he press. With smal l volumes, t he mos

common method is t o scoop t hem out of your f ermenter w i t h a smal l bucket and pour t hem into

t he press. For lar ger volum es, you can pur chase a must pum p (PMP200), which is a large diamete

pump w it h a rubber impel ler t o pump t he must int o the press. A must pump is a serious

invest ment , but i f you f ind t hat your product ion has increased over t he years, i t wi l l be wort h




looking int o at some point . Another m et hod for t ransfer r ing must t o the pr ess is wi t h a Suct i on

Tube (WE548) to remove t he l iquid wine f rom t he fermenter wi t h a pump f i rst , m aking shovel ing

the skins into the press a much easier job.

Free-Run an d Press-Run :

When you transfer t he must int o the press, a large port ion of t he l iquid wi l l run t hrough t he

press bef ore any p ressure h as been appl ied t o t he skins. This is called f ree- run. I f kept isolat ed,

i t o f t en makes a bet t er w ine than t he port ion t hat is squeezed out of t he sk ins, referred t o aspress-run . The p ressed port ion is not as good as t he f ree por t ion because t he act of p ressing,

whi le yieldi ng more w ine, also ext ract s some of t he harsher t annins fr om t he skins and seeds. A

a result , i t is a good idea t o press l ight l y and t ast e the run-of f f requent ly in order t o monit or t h

end point f or each press. The end point wi l l be di f fer ent f or every must . The maj or signal t o st o

is a “ t h in” t ast e f rom t he wine a long wi t h an ast r ingent qual i t y . Some winemakers separate

t hese t wo port ions of t he press and age them individual ly. This pract ice can be di f f icul t due t o

t he need f or t wo d i f ferent sets of cont a iners. You are w elcome to exper iment wi t h separat ing

t he tw o runs. However, our wi nemaking has shi f t ed back to blending free run and careful ly-

monit ored press run t oget her, as t here are cert ain f lavors in t he pressed wine t hat w e real ly

enjoy.

4.2 Transferring* Pressed Wine to a Storage Vessel

The wine i s col lect ed beneath t he press in a shal low container and t hen depending on t he

volume, poured (of t en using a food-grade bucket w it h a handle) or pumped into a tem porary

st orage vessel. Comm on st orage vessels are carb oys (glass or plastic) or variabl e volum e

fer ment ers whi ch are topped wi t h air locks. I f using carboys, t hey should be f i l led almost t o the

t op in order t o minim ize t he surf ace area which could be exposed t o any oxygen in t he

headspace. You wi l l w ant t o leave a space 1-1.5 inches below t he st opper t o al low f or t hepot ent i al expansion of t he wi ne as a result of t emperat ure changes. I f you are using tanks and

wi l l not be able to f i l l t o the t op, m ake sure t hat you f lush t he headspace wi t h a b lanket of iner

gas t o prot ect t he wi ne fr om exposure t o oxygen during t his period (see sect i on 10.10 for an

explanation of using inert gas during w inemaking).

For expanded i nfor mat ion about t ransf err i ng, see sect ion 10.9




Chapter 5: First t ransfer – Rack off of t he Gross Lees (1 to 2 Days after

pressing)

5.1) Transfer clean wine in preparation for Malolactic Fermentation

Once the alcohol ic fer ment at i on is over i t is t ime t o begin t he Malolact ic Ferm entat ion (the nex

chapter wi l l discuss t he MLF in det ai l ) . Before MLF is possible, i t 's import ant t o get r i d of t he

unwant ed sol ids lef t in t he wine aft er pressing.

A large amount of sediment wi l l set t le out of t he wine in t he f i r st day or so aft er pressing. This

layer is ref erred t o as t he lees . What drops out in t he f i r st 24 hours is cal led gross l ees , t here i s

nothing benefic ial or helpful about t hem. In fact, t he gross lees are oft en a source of harsh and

bi t t er compounds t hat , i f le f t in contact w i t h the wine for an extended per iod of t ime, can

develop negat ive sul f ur f lavors and aromas. In order t o avoid potent ial pr oblems, we suggest

t hat you t ransfer t he wine off of t he gross lees bet ween 1 t o 2 days aft er pressing. Aft er t his

t ransfer , t he result ing wine is oft en quite clean and wi l l have only a smal l quant i t y of l ight or

f ine lees (c lean yeast , f ree of so l ids) t hat set t le out t o form a t h in layer on the bot t om of t he

vessel. Unl ike t he gross lees, t he l ight lees are very benefic ial t o red w ine at t his st age and wi l lserve as a nutr i ent source for t he Malolact ic Ferment at i on. Once off of t he gross lees, t he wine

can safely w ork in a carboy, t ank or barrels for t he several weeks needed t o complet e t he MLF.

*Not e: I t i s desi r able for red wi ne to get exposure t o oxygen dur ing the f i r st t ransf er, but only

at t he f i rst r acking. This serves t o st art roundi ng t he f l avours a l i t t le sooner. You can do t his b

simpl y l i f t ing the t ransf er t ubing up dur ing t he racking so t hat t he wine runs down t he side of

t he carboy or t ank t hat you are t ransf err i ng into. For a l l ot her subsequent t ransf ers you wi l l

want t o avoid t he w ine’ s cont act w i t h a i r , and to leave the t ransf er t ub ing a t t he bot t om of t h

vessel so i t doesn’ t splash whi le you are t ransf err ing.




Chapter 6: Malolactic Fermentation (Secondary Fermentation) (Lasts 2-

weeks)

Aft er t he wine is t ransfer red you can choose whet her t o do a Malolact ic Ferment at i on. The “ ML

is a type of bact eria t hat m et abol izes mal ic acid (t he harshest of t he thr ee acids natural l y found

in t he grape, t he other t wo being ci t r ic and tar t ar ic) and turns i t in to lact ic ac id ( the sof t er-

f l avored acid t hat i s in cul t ured m i lk pr oducts). The process lower s acidi t y and causes t he wi ne

t o become more rounded and approachable. ML bact eria also produce compounds t hat add t ot he body of t he wine. In general , m ost red w ines wi l l benef i t f r om doing an MLF. MLF should t ak

about 4-6 w eeks t o progress t o complet ion; w e have seen i t complet e in as l i t t le as 2 weeks in

som e cases.

*Not e: Because CO2 is produced during the process, the conversion of malic to lactic acid is

commonly ref erred t o as “ f erment at i on” . However, an MLF is not a t rue f erment at i on because

no alcohol is being produced f rom t he met abol ism of sugars. Despit e t his t echnical i t y,

Malolact ic Ferment at i on, or MLF, i s st i l l t he accepted t erm.

• Important: I f you w i l l be doing an MLF on your w ine, i t is cr i t ical t hat you NOT add anySO2 unt i l af ter the fermentat ion has completed. Adding sul fur before then wi l l only

impede or possibly ki l l t he ML bacteria.

• Unlike t he prim ary f erment at ion, MLF for red w ines is done in an enclosed vessel.

Therefore, you wi l l need to m ake sure t hat you use an air l ock on t he top of your

fer ment er(s) unt i l t he bact eria f i nish doing their j ob. Once t he MLF has complet ed, you

wi l l need t o swi t ch over t o a sol id st opper for t he rest of t he wine’ s aging/ st orage period

• Oak: Adding oak to t he MLF is a great id ea for a variet y of reasons. I t st art s t he

integrat ion of the oak int o the wine a l i t t le ear l ier , and the impact of t he ML bacter iahelps the wood’s contr ibut ion to blend nicely into the wine. In addit ion, the crevices of

t he wood creat e an envi ronment t hat is excel lent for m icrobial growt h. (For m ore

infor mat ion about using oak in w ine, see sect i on 10.6)

Step-by-step guide to a successful MLF

These next sections wil l explain and guide you through the individual steps necessary to

successful ly carry out a Malolact ic Ferment at i on in your wi ne. For t he sake of convenience,

t hese element s wi l l be summ ed-up into a quick reference l ist at t he end. (For complet e, in-

dept h inf ormat ion on MLF, see sect i on 10.5)

6.1) Prepare and Add (inoculate ) the ML bacter ial culture int o the wine

ML bact eria come in various for ms, most commonly as a fr eeze-dried powder in a packet, t houg

occasionally in a l iquid form. Using ML is quite easy to do and is no more involved than hydrating

yeast . Each type wi l l have i t s met hod of preparat i on and st ep-by-st ep inst ruct ions clearly l ist ed

on t he packaging i t sel f .




*Note : Addi t ion of Act i ML int o t he hydrat i on water f or ML bact er ia is done for t he same reaso

we use Go Ferm f or yeast hydrat ions: i t ensures t hat our bact eri a are gett ing th e best st art

possibl e. Since t his f eeding occurs out side of t he wine, i t also prevents ot her unwant ed

organisms t hat may be in our wi ne f r om being able t o benef i t f rom t his f ood source.

6.2) Managing the MLF

• Once the bacteri a get i nt roduced int o the w ine, t he Malolact ic Ferment at i on has begun.You need to gent ly st i r t he entire content s of t he wine vessel t wi ce a week. This means

get t ing t he l ight l ees at t he bot t om of t he fermenter back up int o solut ion wi t h each

st i r r ing. Thorough st i r r ing prevents the bacter ia f rom being bur ied at t he bot t om of t he

vessel. It al so separat es t he nut ri ent s f rom t he lees in suspension so t he bact eri a can

benef i t f rom t hem.

• I f possible, keep the w ine at around 70°-75°F t o help t he bacteria do t he j ob in a t im ely

fashion. I f i t gets colder (<65°F), t hey may slow down or even st op al t oget her depending

on the bacteri al st rain and ot her condit i ons in t he wine.

• During an MLF, you need t o be very caref ul about exposing t he w ine t o oxygen at al l

t imes. The amount of CO2 being produced by t he MLF is much low er t han during primary

ferment at ion. I t cannot be re l ied upon to help prot ect t he wine f rom oxygen exposure.

Furt hermore, during MLF, you do not have the prot ect ion of SO2 yet. Therefore, i f you

have access t o it , i t is a good idea t o f lush headspaces w it h iner t gas (CO2, or Argon) eac

t ime you st i r t he wine .

6.3) When act ivi ty slows, begin checking wi th Chromatography

Once the MLF begins to slow dow n (around t he th i rd or four t h week), s tar t paying close at t ent io

t o your secondary fer ment at ion and begin t est ing t o m easure your progress. The easiest home

met hod of t est ing MLF progress is a Chrom at ography Test Kit (MT930). The reason to t est t he win

before f erment at ion has f i nished is t o gauge t he st rength of your bact eria. I f t here is st i l l qui t e

bi t of m al ic acid present (as indicated by a bright m al ic spot on t he chromatogram ) an d

fer ment at i on is slowi ng down, t he bact eria are tel l ing you that t hey are having a hard t ime

finishing. We recommend feeding the bacteria with an ML nutr ient Act i -ml( AD347) a t a rat e of

.75g/ gal lon in order t o help them complete t he fermentat ion. I f t here is only a very l i t t le mal ic

spot l ef t on the t est , t his is perf ect l y normal. I f t his is t he case, you don't need to add any more

nutrients, as anything not used by these desirable bacteria could be used by undesirable ones at

some point in t he fut ure. Just keep st i rr ing and working t he wine as you norm al ly would unt i l al

signs of f erment at i on have f i nished. Test again t o make sure i t has complet ed.

Quick reference guideline of the steps needed for a successful MLF:

When the sugars fal l t o 0° Brix (once t he ini t ial f erm entat ion is over): pr ess, wait 1-2 days, rack

off t he gross lees, t hen:




• Prepare t he ML bact eria as fol l ows: For every 1 gram of bacteri a being added t o t he wi ne

you wi l l be adding 20g of Act i -ML to 100mL of dist i l l ed wat er at 77°F (25°C). Aft er si t t ing

for 15 minutes, gent ly, but thoroughly st i r this solut ion into your wine. The fol lowing

example w i l l use t he 2.5g (66 gal lons of w ine) size ML bact eria packet t o i l l ust rat e t his.

1. In a sanit i zed container*: d issolve 50g of Act i -ML int o 250mL of dist i l l ed w ater at 77°F

(25°C). *(A 500mL Erlenm eyer f lask (Y410) is ideal f or t his).

2. Add t he bact eria (2.5g) t o the solut ion and gent ly st i r / swi r l t o break up any clumps i f

needed. Wait 15 minut es.

3. Add the ent i re bacter ia / nutr ient so lut ion in to your wine and mix i t t hroughout t he ent i re

wine volume. (Not e: I t is a good idea to st i r t he bacter i a st ar t er solut ion j ust before

adding i t int o the wine. This ensures t hat any of t he nut r i ents and/ or bact er ia t hat may

have set t led-out dur ing the 15 minut e soaking per iod do not get lef t behind in the

hydrat ion vessel).

• I f possible, t ry and maint ain t he about 70° F. I f i t gets colder, (<65° F), t he bacteri a may

slow down or even j ust st op al t oget her depending on t he specif i c st rain and the w ine's

condit ions. Note t hat d i f f e rent brands w i l l have sl igh t l y d i f fe rent t emperat ure

t oler ances, but 70°F repr esent s an ideal range for any ML bact eri a t o work i n.

• During t he fermentat ion, st i r t he lees back up in to t he wine t wice a week. I f you don’ t

happen t o have a Lees St ir rer (WE590), you coul d use a rod or dow el. St ainless st eel or

food-grade plast ic would be pref erable. I t i s best t o avoid wood, as i t is di f f i cul t t o

sanitize given its porosity.

*Not e: O nce you have in i t iat ed your MLF, you need to l et i t go t hrough t o

comple t ion in t he in terest o f qua l i t y w ine. It i s o f t en di f f i cul t t o re- ini t ia te a st uck

f erment at i on, but i f you fo l l ow t he st eps as noted above, chances are you won’ t

have t o t r y .

• As t he MLF slows, or once the signs of fer ment at i on have st opped, check f or compl et ion

wi t h a Chromotography k i t .

• Dose t he wi ne t o t he correct SO2 level as soon as i t has f ini shed fer ment ing. Wit h t he wi n

prot ected, you can safely r ack off of t he lees int o your carboys, t anks or barr els and begi

the aging process.

For i n dept h inf orm at ion on SO2 addit ions see sect ion 10.7




Chapter 7: The Second Transfer (Post MLF Completion)

Having f inished MLF, t he wi ne should be rem oved from any sediment at t he bot t om of t he vesse

by racking. Whenever you need t o do a racking i t is a good idea t o t est your wi ne for needed

additions.(especially SO2) Any addition can easily be added during the transfer. By consolidating

mul t ip le t asks in to t he same winery operat ion, you can l imi t t he amount of t imes t hat t he wine

comes int o contact wi t h oxygen and possible cont aminants. In addit i on, m aking your addit ion(s)

at t he t i me of a t ransf er al low s t he wine t o mix i t sel f nicely as i t f i l ls t he receiving vessel. You

can t ake advantage of t his by adding your addit i on(s) t o the bot t om of t he cont ainer before, or

in t he early st ages of t he t ransfer .

7.1) Adjust SO2 Levels Once the ML fer ment at i on has complet ed (as veri f ied wi t h Chromot ography), you need to

prepare t he wine f or t he aging/ st orage. Adding a specif i c amount of SO2* into t he wine and

mixing i t t horoughly wi l l achieve t his. By adding sul f i t e, w e are est abl ishing prot ect i on for t he

wi ne t hat w i l l help guard i t against oxidat i ve browning and potent ial spoi lage organisms. From

t his point unt i l bot t l ing, we need t o mainta in a layer of SO2 protect ion in t he wine at a l l t imes.

*The precise amount of SO2 needed is based on t he wi ne’ s pH. So, i f you wi l l be adj ust ing

t he TA / pH of t he wine post MLF, keep t his in mi nd when calculat ing your SO2 addit ion. A

good work ing met hod is t o add hal f of t he SO2 addi t ion int o t he wine, t est and corr ect t he

TA/ pH, t hen add t he rest of t he SO2 as needed based on t he new TA/ pH value.

For a compl et e explanat ion of SO2 management , see sect ion 10.7

7.2) Adjust TA and pH If Needed Once the correct SO2 levels have been established, check the TA and pH to see if they need to

be adj ust ed. During t he MLF, TA wi l l drop (along wit h a corresponding r ise in pH). Once i t st ops

you wi l l need to t est and taste t he wine t o see i f t he drop in ac id is acceptable, or i f i t wi l l nee

t o be correct ed. Red wines should end up in the 3.4-3.65 pH range, but ul t imat ely, your palet t e

wi l l be your guide. You wi l l use t he same guidel ines t o adjust t he wine’ s acidi t y as you did wit h

t he must , only now you don’t need t o fact or out t he seeds and skins when m aking your

calculat ions - j ust use t he st raight volume of t he wi ne. For a review of adding acid to adj ust t he

TA and pH, ref er back t o sect i on 2.3B.

7.3) Transfer Wine to a Long-Term Aging /Storage Vessel

Once t he TA/ pH has been adj ust ed (if needed) and t he correct SO2 level has been est ablished i

t he wine, we can t ransfer i t t o our long-term aging/ st orage vessel(s). This transfer serves t o

remove t he wine f rom t he combined l ight and MLF lees, al low ing only clean wine t o go into t he

st orage vessels. It 's also impor t ant t o rem ove nutr ient s t hat could be used by spoil age organism

during the aging/ st orage period. At t his point , al l biological act iv i t y that w e have planned for

t he wine’ s ex ist ence (pr imary ferm entat ion w i t h t he yeast , and then t he secondary ferm entat io

with the ML bacteria) should be finished. By removing as many nutrients as possible, any spoilag




organism t hat does make i t int o t he wine has a very host i le environment t o survive in. Betw een

t he antagonist ic eff ects of t he fr ee SO2 and the absence of avai lable food, i t should be very

di f f i cul t for anything to est abl ish i t sel f and spoi l t he wine. Removing the lees represents anothe

level of good winemaking pract ices t hat we can ut i l ize t o fur t her protect t he wine.

I f you have used any oak cubes or st aves in t he pri mary or secondary f erment at ions, t hey wi l l

st i l l have a good amount of l i fe l e f t in t hem. In order t o keep receiv ing t hei r benef i t s, j ust carry

t he oak thr ough to t he aging/ st orage vessel. However, t hey wi l l pr obably be coated wi t h yeast ,

bacteria, and t a r t a r t e s (acid deposi t s t hat natura l ly set t le out of t he wine over t im e). You wi l l

need to r inse them off in order t o re-expose the w ood.

Note :This may require hot water and a sanit ized, food-grade brush. Although oak and other

woods are t ypical ly natur al ly ant i bact er ia l , we r ecommend sani t iz ing t he clean wood wi t h a

l i ght SO2 solut ion (no ci t r i c acid) or St arSan bef ore ret urni ng t he wood t o t he wine.




Chapter 8: Aging/Storage

The French use t he t erm élévage t o refer t o the aging/ st orage per iod in a wine’ s l i fe . I t roughly

equates t o our t erm “ t o raise” in Engl ish, as in raising a chi ld. An appropriat e t erm, since our

j ob as w inemak ers dur ing t his st age is t o w at ch ov er t he w ine w hi le provi ding t he ca re an d

proper environment needed for i t t o have t he best chance of developing posi t ively.

Aging/ st orage is made up of t hree parts: le t t ing the wine cont inue t o work on i t s own,

monit oring i t s progress bot h chemical ly (by t est ing) and sensoral ly (by t ast ing), and carr ying outa series of rackings for c lar i f icat i on as needed. Each of t hese t hree elem ents works together as

a complet e syst em t hat al l ows us t o help keep t he wine safe as i t cont inues i t s mat urat ion.

Throughout t his period, wi nemakers wi l l need t o properly m aintain t he SO2 levels, hold t he

t emperat ure at a const ant 55-60°F, and t ast e t he wine every 4-6 weeks t o monit or i t s

evolut ion.

Not e: I f you are w orking wit h barrels, you need t o maint ain the hum idi t y at around 65-75% as

wel l as t op-up the barrels each t ime t hey are t ast ed.

For complet e inf ormat ion on work ing wi t h barr els, see our MoreWine! Guide to t he Use and Care of Oak Barrels online

Understanding Polymerization and the need to remain vigilant

Even though we are doing very l i t t le “ hands-on” wor k, as compared t o t he previous st eps of

crushing, f erment ing and pressing, rem ember t hat wi ne is never st at i c. I t is always moving,

shi f t ing, and al ive; and i t cont inues t o develop t hroughout t he ent i r e aging/ st orage period

whet her we are involved or not. At w ork is a phenomenon cal led polymerizat ion . Essential ly

t he process of smal ler m olecules connect ing up t o create l arger ones, polymeri zat ion creat es

more complex f l avor , aroma, and st ructure.

Whi le we have al l heard t hat compl exi t y is good in a wine, r eal ize that j ust because a wine

gains in complex i ty does not m ean that i t wi l l a lways be bet t er . The fo l lowing tw o examples

i l l ust rat e how polymerizat ion can be ei ther posi t ive or negati ve:

• On the posi t ive side, a wel l -made w ine that has t he r ight amount of micr o-oxidat ive

exposure w i l l create benef ic ial , soft and agreeable t annin st ruct ures.

• On t he negative side, a wine t hat has an untr eated H2S problem wi l l also experience a

t ransformat ion. When t he H2S molecules eventual ly polym erize t oget her t o become

mercapt ans, i t ’ s an even bigger probl em t han the original H2S.

Both of these are examples of a wine gaining complexi ty, but they couldn’ t be further apart in

t erms of t heir desirabi l i t y. In addit ion, due t o polymerizat i on can cause a wi ne that seemed




sound j ust aft er f erment at i on to develop probl ems (such as H2S) dur ing t he aging/ st orage peri od

- yet anot her reason to keep checking in wi t h t he wine as i t ages. The imp ort ant t hing to t ake

fr om each of t hese exampl es is t hat w ine wi l l cont inue t o evolve/ polymerize as i t ages. We

have t o const ant l y pay at t ent i on to t he process in order t o not get caught off -guard by any

potent ial ly negative developments.

Now t hat w e have an idea of how const ant polymer izat ion in wi ne creates t he need t o monit ori t , l e t ’ s look at t he other e lements involved in developing t he wine. We’ l l f i rst look at

t emperat ure and lat er f ocus on SO2 management .

Temperature (control)

Temperat ure plays a large role in t he speed at w hich complexing react ions t ake place; at highe

t emperat ure t he process is accelerat ed, at lower ones t hey are slow ed. There are pros and cons

t o both high and low aging/ st orage tem perat ures:

Warmer wine/cellar temperatures

Pros:

• Warm t emperat ures of >65°F cause t he polymeri z ing react i ons t o happen at a f ast er rat e

This can be convenient; i t saves t ime, making the w ine ready for bott l ing/ consumpt ion

earl ier.

Cons:

• Higher t emperat ures can cause an imbalance in the r at i o of compounds t hat are being

extracted f rom t he oak and int egrated in t o the w ine. This can lead to t he wine becoming

overloaded and out of balance. The fol lowi ng analogy can help i l l ust rat e t his: I f , whi le in

t he process of making gravy, we gradual ly add f lour int o the simm ering broth a l i t t le bi t a

a t im e, everyt hing becomes wel l int egrated and we get a nice, smoot h gravy. However, i

we add t he ent i r e amount of f l our as a single condensed dump, we can see that t he brot h

has di f f icul t y int egrat ing t he elevated amount of f l our. The brot h becomes overloaded,

and we end up wi t h lumpy gravy. The same happens wi t h wi ne and oak. In t his case, t he

t emperature of t he wine/ barre l determines t he rate of ext r act ion of compounds coming

from t he wood in to the wi ne. I f t he temperat ure is t oo high t hen we get a larger

percentage of compounds – most notably t annins - being int roduced int o t he wi ne in a

short per iod of t ime. So, j ust l ike the gravy reacted t o the f l our , we run t he r isk of

overloading t he wine bef ore i t can graceful l y int egrat e t hese extr acted compounds.

• Elevated t emperat ures promot e quicker oxidat i ve react ions i f t he wine becomes exposed

to oxygen. This often creates a rapid loss of free SO2 levels that leave your wine

unprot ect ed. When t his happens quickly, t here is a short er wi ndow in which you can




catch t he problem and address i t . Even i f you do cat ch the probl em, whi l e i t is st i l l

t reatable, t he wine w i l l have a more ser ious f law t han i t w ould have i f i t had been st ored

at a cooler t emperature.

• Final ly, t he rate of micr obial spoi lage becomes accelerat ed at higher t emperat ures.

Again, t h is means t hat i f t here is a contaminat ion problem, t he impact of t hat in fect ion

wi l l be more advanced by t he t im e you real ize i t and take correct ive act ion.

Cooler wine/cellar temperatures

Pros:

• Cooler t emperat ures of <50°F slow down and l i mit t he act iv i t y of m icroorganisms. This is

quit e helpful i f t he wine becomes exposed t o any spoi lage organisms. I f t he wine is cold

enough, t hey wi l l not be able t o est abl ish t hemselves enough t o cause damage.

Not e that cold t emperatur es wi l l not necessar i l y k i l l t hese microbes; i t j ust ret ards t hei r

rat e of r eproduct ion. I f t hey are pr esent and t he SO2 is not correct ly maint ained, t hey can

st i l l come out o f “ h ibernat ion” and spo i l your w i ne i f i t were t o warm up aga in.

Cons:

• When wine is kept at cooler t han norm al cel lar ing t emperat ures (<55°F) t he complexing

react i ons are slow ed down and the amount of t ime t he wine needs t o become ready for

bott l ing takes longer. This does not have an i l l ef f ect on t he wine; i t j ust t ies up carboys,

t anks and barrel s t hat w i l l not be avai lable i f you happen to need them before t he wine

being st ored in t hem is f inished.

• Cooler t emps increase t he amount of gas t hat can rem ain satur ated i n a solut ion. For

wi nemakers, t his means t hat you need to be careful w hen racking cold wine in order t o

avoid picking up t oo much oxygen on t he t ransfer . Purging headspaces wi t h inert gas wi l l

help to l imit any oxidat ive uptake problems.

Ideal wine/cellaring temperature

The ideal cel lar temper atur e is a comprom ise betw een t he tw o ext remes. For red wines t his

equates to maint aining a range of 55-60°F. This al low s t he wi ne t o be cool enough t o l im it

microbia l growt h whi le ef fect ive ly regulat ing the ext r act ion of compounds f rom t he oak and

rate of polymer izat ion.

8.1) SO2 Management

Sulf ur Dioxide , or SO2 , i s a chemical compound used by winem akers t o help keep t heir w ine

prot ected f rom t he negat ive ef fect s of oxygen exposure as wel l as spoi lage m icroorganisms.




Sulf ur Dioxide is known by a variety of di f fer ent names t o winem akers, t he most common being

“ SO2” , “ Metabisul f i t e” , and j ust p la in “ Sul f i t e . ” In winemaking, t he SO2 concentrat ion in a

wi ne is measured in Part s per Mi l l ion, or ppm , w hich refer s t o the number of Parts of Sulf i te pe

Million part s of w ine. This uni t of measure is equivalent t o mg/ L, or milligram of SO2 per Liter

o f w ine.

Sulf i t e Management i s one of t he t oughest aspect s of hom e w inemaking to m ast er, but also one

of t he most cr i t ical aspects of creat i ng a high qual i t y wine – commer cial or home-made. Proper

sul f i t e levels in a w ine creat e a prot ect ive buf f er t hat helps t he wine w i t hst and any acc ident a l

oxygen or m icrobial exposure t hat m ay occur duri ng the aging/ st orage process. The sul f i t e acts

as an in termediary force t hat quickly in t ercepts and reacts wi t h t he of fending e lement or

organism befor e i t can damage t he wine. However, t his is a one-way t icket . Once the sul f i t e

becomes used-up, i t is no longer avai lable t o react wi t h fut ure exposures. In i t s most basic

for m, SO2 management simpl y comes down t o underst anding how t o create and maint ain a

small, stable reserve of Free SO2 . Let ’ s t ake a moment t o examine t he nat ure of su l f i t es and

how w e as home w inemakers can best manage t hem in ord er t o help us make t he best wi ne

possible.

To begin with, no two wines are ever the same; each one possesses a unique ratio of chemical

compounds and sol ids that are pr esent at varying concentr at i ons. Depending on winem aking

t echniques, handl ing or even sanitat ion issues, t he di f fer ences range from being sl ight t o qui t e

pronounced. Many of t he sol ids and chemical compounds in t he wine int eract w it h sul f i t e, and

t heir concentrat ion/ presence has a direct ef fect on how any given sul f i t e addit i on behaves.

Because of the di f ferences between two seemingly ident ical wines, they wi l l of ten end up with

di f fer ent fr ee SO2 levels aft er equal sul f ur addit ions. This is impor t ant because i t means t hat i f

we w ant t o be accurat e in our su l f i t e management , each wine w i l l have to be evaluat ed

indi viduall y once t he SO2 has been added. Then, based on t est result s, addit ional sul f ur can be

added t o achieve the t arget level . The SO2 form ula used t o make sul f i t e addit ions is a greatst art ing point , but we cannot rely on t his t heoret ical calculat ion alone in order t o achieve our

desired free SO2 level – i t must be t est ed and correct ed i f w e want accuracy.

Remember, i t does not mat t er i f you th i nk you have added enough sul f ur t o creat e 35 ppm f ree

SO2 on paper, i f your t est let s you know you only have 10 ppm f ree in t he wine! Not ver i fy ing

t he eff ect i veness of your sul f ur addit ions can cause some w ines t o remain unprot ected. It i s

alw ays a good idea t o alw ays veri f y your SO2 levels af t er every addi t ion.

Aging also causes f ree SO2 level s t o decrease, slow ly but const ant ly. In addit ion, each t im e the

wi ne’ s container is opened for t ast ing/ t est ing, t he oxygen that get s in int eracts wi t h some ofyour sul f i t e, furt her reducing t he port ion avai lable to prot ect t he wi ne. For this reason, each

t ime t he cont a iner is opened f or t ast ing/ moni tor ing the sul f i t e needs t o be adjust ed back up t o

t he recommended level (more on thi s lat er). The exact amount of sul f ur needing t o be made-up

each t ime w i l l vary accord ing to t he wine’ s current st ate of chemical / microbia l st abi l i ty ,

t emperat ure, and your st orage vessel. Barrels and t anks wi t h headspace tend t o lose t heir f ree

SO2 more quickly, due to t he wine’ s int eract i on wit h oxygen in the environment / headspace,

t han ful l y t opped inert vessels do.




These drops in free SO2 are comi ng from a phenomenon know n as “ bindi ng” and are based on

t he fact t hat when sul fur is added to a wine, por t ions of t he addi t ion react wi t h and become

chemical ly bound t o t he aldehydes, acids, fur fur al , sugars (glucose), sol ids, yeast / bacter ia, et c

Binding cont inues unt i l al l of t he various react i on-able element s in t he wine have ei ther become

bound up or t here is no more free sul f ur t o inter act w it h. The binding act ion serves t o protect

t he wine; as long as t here is fr ee sul f ur present, i t is avai lable t o react w it h and eff ect i vely

neutr al ize both oxidat ion and microbial spoi lage t hreat s. In eff ect, f r ee SO2 can be viewed as

an insurance pol icy t hat t he wi nemaker t akes out in case t he wi ne has any problems during i t sl i fe t ime. However, remember t hat protect ion only comes f rom t he “ f ree” SO2 and once the f ree

sulf ur reacts and becomes bound i t is no longer avai lable t o bind wi t h fut ure element s. I t w i l l

no longer be present t o protect t he wine. In order t o ensure that t he wine does remain

prot ected at al l t imes, we m ust be sure t o always have a pool of f ree SO2 present.

Maintaining t his reserve of fr ee sul f ur m eans t hat once a wine start s t o lose i t s fr ee SO2

content , w e are obl igated t o raise i t back up again, even we end up using more t han we want t o

(choosing not t o add the addit ional sul f ur and leaving the w ine unprot ected is not an opt ion).

Yet , i f we keep adding sul fur t o t he wine in an ef f or t t o mainta in a pool of f r ee SO2, w e may

have t o add enough that t he sul f ur becomes det ectabl e in tast e, negatively impact ing the wine.This is one of t he f ine l ines t hat w e as wi nemakers walk, one more example of t he j unct ion

bet ween art ist ry and science that is wi nemaking. We need t o have a suff ic ient quanti t y of sul f u

present in order t o mainta in t he f ree SO2 levels needed to prot ect t he wine, but we don’ t want

t he levels t o be so high as t o be not iceable w hen we drink i t . Theref ore t he goal of proper

sul f ur management in wi nemaking is learning to creat e t he required amount of f ree SO2 in the

wi ne by using the low est t ot al amount of sul f ur possible. In order t o help us do t his i t is

import ant t o t ake a fur ther l ook in to t he impl icat ions of t he b inding process.

Please bear wit h us. We know t hat t his is complex, but we have found again and again that

increasing your underst anding makes i t more l ikely t hat you w i l l be able t o respond t o a

problem si t uat ion quickly and correct l y. I f you feel l i ke your head is spinning a l i t t le bi t f rom

all this, we recommend that you go get a glass of wine – or in extreme cases perhaps even

cof fee…

Ok, back t o i t : Post f erment at ion, w hen we make our f i rst SO2 addit ion (by calculat ing, t est ing

t he result s and correct ing to our desired l evel i f necessary) we est abl ish our st art ing point for

fr ee SO2 in the w ine. I f t he wine rem ains complet ely sealed, apart fr om t he normal and sl ight

drop in t he fr ee SO2 levels, t he st art ing level of f ree SO2 wi l l rem ain fair l y st able over t ime.

However, as soon as we st art t o open t he vessels up for t ast ing, t est ing, blending or f ini ng

(along wi t h t opping for barrels), w e wi l l begin t o see a drop in t he fr ee SO2. This drop can be

sl ight or qui t e drast ic depending on how t he wi ne is being handled. There are t hree main causes

of t he binding phenomenon responsible f or a dr op in t he w ine’ s fr ee SO2 levels: aldehyde

for mat ion, spoi lage organisms, and the int roduct ion of sol ids int o the w ine.




• Example #1, Aldehydes: When a wine is exposed to oxygen the alcohols in it oxidize into

aldehydes. Aldehydes are a class of chemical compound that can bind with SO2, result ing

in low er f ree SO2 levels aft er transfor mat ion. In addit ion, SO2 is consumed each t ime t he

wi ne is exposed to oxygen. In fact , t here is a snowbal l ef fect oft en associated wi t h

aldehyde f ormat ion: As t he aldehydes develop and react wi t h the fr ee SO2 i n the wine

less SO2 i s avai lab le t o in t ercept oxygen, w hich then reacts wi t h more a lcohol t o create

mor e aldehyde – and so on and so for t h. This is t he most com mon cause of a dr op in a

wine’s free SO2, and t he most common cause of oxygen-relat ed spoi lage that we see inhomemade w ines.

• Exampl e #2: Spoil age Organisms: If condit ions are favor able and spoil age organisms

become est abl ished, t his can create a cel l mass t hat binds wi t h t he SO2. The end r esult i

a lower f ree sul f ur level in a w ine. Most commonly t hese organisms wi l l b e Acetobacter

(v inegar bact eria), Lactobaci l lus , or Pediococcus . Spoil age problem s usually happe n wh en

deplet ed f ree SO2 levels (due to excessive oxygen exposure) make the wine vulnerable.

• Example #3: Introduct ion of sol ids: Any t im e w e add sol ids into our wi ne, such as oak

(which being porous also brings some oxygen with it), tannins, specialized yeast products

f ini ng agent s, et c. w e wi l l have some amount of bindi ng going on, l oweri ng the f ree SO2.

Now t hat w e have t aken a closer look at t he element s t hat can bind-up our f ree SO2 levels, w e

can focus on how t o el imi nate or at least mini mize t heir abi l i t y to low er our f ree SO2 levels. Fo

each of t hese t hree examples there is a corresponding course of act ion we can t ake to

counteract i t s potent i a l i l l e f f ects.

• Example #1: Aldehyde form ati on: Since aldehyde form s when alcohol oxidizes, i f we

el iminate or l im i t t he amount of oxygen the w ine comes in to contact w i t h, t hen we a lso

ef fect ive ly el iminate or l imi t t he amount of a ldehyde that gets formed in our wines. This

can be accompl ished by f l ushing any air spaces t hat t he wine w i l l contact wi t h inert gas:

i .e. ; headspaces of vessels, t ransfer l ines, pump cavi t ies, f i l t er housings, et c. Not e t hat

red w ines do require a smal l amount of oxygen to develop posi t ively, but t his is on the

micro level (1-5 mg/ L/ month, or about w hat a 60 gal barrel del ivers). That said, any

oxygen pick-up m ade during normal cel lar operat ions - such as t opping, t ransfer r ing, or

f i l t er ing - is much larger than t he desired amount (1-5 Mg/ L/ day) and is consider ed mac

oxygenation.

For m ore inf ormat ion on underst anding oxygen’s ro le in winemaking, p lease ref er t o

MoreWine!’ s Macro-Oxygenati on and Ferm ent at ion paper i n t he Knowledge Cent er on

t he MoreWine! websi t e.




• Exampl e #2: Spoil age Organisms: Good sanit izat ion pr act ices and being vigi lant about

keeping free SO2 at t he required level w i l l help t o keep any microbial issues at bay. This

not only keeps the wine from developing off f lavors from unwanted microbial act ion, but

also l imits the total SO2 additions to a minimum, lessening the risk of a negative sensory

impact from SO2.

• Example #3: Int roduct ion of sol ids: Final ly, when adding any sol ids int o t he wi ne, r eal ize

t hat a smal l por t ion of t he sul f i t e wi l l become bound t o the newly in t r oduced e lement in

t he wine. Therefore, w e wi l l need to add a l i t t le b i t more SO2 to compensate for t h is.

Once react ed wit h however, t he new addit ion should remain bound and not cause fut ure

drops in t he fr ee sul f ur levels.

Hopefu l ly , t he in format ion in t h is sect ion wi l l he lp you to bet t er underst and how mainta in ing

proper sul f i t e levels in a wine is about mor e than j ust doing a calculat ion and adding i t t o the

wine. The actual quant i t y of su l fur needed t o mainta in t he recommended f ree levels in a wine

is never a f ixed, “ one size f i t s a l l ” amount and wi l l be d i f ferent for each of our wines. The waythat individual elements in the wine interact and bind with the sul fur needs to be understood

and taken into account i f w e are to create t he st able free SO2 level needed to prot ect our

wi nes during élevage. However, remem ber t hat stable sul f ur levels in a wi ne do not m ean you

can suddenly become negl igent wi t h your handl ing. As we have seen, im proper handl ing of t he

wi ne w i l l only cause t he binding react ions we are hoping to avoid and as a result t he f ree SO2

wi l l dr op and force us t o keep adding more and m ore sul fur int o our wines. By underst anding

how t he syst em w orks, w e are now bet t er t o able to prevent t his scenario f rom happening.

For a compl et e explanat ion of how t o calculat e t he exact amount of SO2 needed for our wi nes,

along wi t h f ur t her inf ormat ion on sul f ur m anagement, see sect ion 10.7

8.2) Tast ing and Adjust ing Dur ing Aging

We need to occasionally check in on the wine’s progress by testing and tasting every 4-6 weeks

t hroughout t he ent i re m aturat ion per iod. What w e are looking for is t he fo l lowing:

1. Is everythi ng al l r ight? Is t he w ine st i l l f r esh and f rui t y? Or, are t here any funky,

undesirable flavors or aromas developing since the last t ime you checked the wine? If

t here are any problems, t hey wi l l need t o be dealt wi t h ASAP, because t he longer

problems are le f t uncorrected t he harder t hey are t o remedy. Note: In t he midst of

analyzing/ t roubleshooting, don’ t f orget t o check both t he SO2 levels and t he pH/ TA t

see i f t hese have shi f t ed fr om t he last t ime t he wine w as t est ed. This wi l l help you – o

us - t o f igure out what is going on wit h the w ine i f t here is a problem.




2. If the wine has no signs of spoilage, then how is it developing?

• pH/ TA: How does t he wine t ast e; is i t t oo acidic or t oo f lat ? Check what you ar

tasting against the pH and TA results. If you need to raise the pH because the

wine is too acidic, adding Potassium Carbonate at a rate of 3.8 grams per gallon

wi l l r aise t he pH by approximat ely 0.10 units. The w ine is t hen chi l led t o as

close t o 33°F as possible f or t wo w eeks. When done, r ack i t of f of t he deposit ,

double check the SO2 level and ret urn t o t he normal aging/ st orage schedule.

I f t he wine is too f la t and could use a l i t t le br ightening-up, i t can be remedied

by a Tart aric acid addit ion. (3.8 grams per gal lon raises t he TA by

approx imate ly 1.0 g/ L)

Ref er t o sect ion 10.2 f or a complet e explanat ion of r a ising or l ower ing t he

pH/ TA.

• Mouthf eel/ St ruct ure: How does t he wine seem when you rol l i t around in your

mout h? Is i t t hin or f ul l? Depending on t he Variet al and the style of t he wine

being made t hin may be perfect ( for examp le: a del icat e Riesl ing). However, i f

you are look ing for a wi ne that is a l i t t le more f u l l , t hen you may want t o look

at using a smal l amount of yeast -derived addit ives or enological t annins t o help

round t hings out.

• Tannin/ Oak Ext ract s/ Level of Barrel Impact : Each t ime you tast e the w ine, you

need to pay at t ent i on to how w el l t he tannins, f lavors and aromas coming from

t he toast ed oak are interact ing wi t h the w ine. I t i s always easy to add a l i t t le

more oak or t annin to t he wine i f t he levels are not high enough, but be carefu

t o not over do i t . The only way t o tone i t down is by b lending i t out w i t h

another w ine t hat has less oak/ t annins.

For m ore i nf orm at ion on using oak in w inemaking, see secti on 10.

*Not e: Due t o t he complexi t y of wine, t he only way t o precisely gauge how much

of each pr oduct i s needed to achieve your desir ed result s f or any of t hese

addi t i on/ adjust ment s is to do a bench t r i a l . This cannot be st ressed enough: t he place t o f i nd out t hat t he 0.2 pH r i se in your wi ne that was supposed t o come

f rom a 2 g/ L addit ion of Pot assium Carbonat e has now r esult ed in a 0.4 pH shif t

due to an unf oreseen buf f er ing react ion is in t he test bot t le and not your ent i re

wine volume.. .

For complete information on bench tr ials, see section 10.8




8.3) Addit ional Transfers/Controlled Oxygen Exposure

Depending on how much sediment is in t he wine, i t may need to be racked a few t imes during

i t s mat urat ion. In addit ion t o helping clear t he wi ne, r acking can also be used as a way t o insert

a smal l , benefic ial amount of oxygen. I f t he wine is a l i t t le edgy when you f i rst t ast e a sample,

but opens up aft er being in t he glass for a whi le ( fr om being exposed t o t he oxygen in t he air),

you may want t o rack i t w i t hout any iner t gas. However, i f t he wine t astes great r ight out of t he

t hief or sample valve, consider t aking st eps t o prevent i t f r om picking up any more oxygen ont he t ransfer preserving i ts original character . In this case we recomm end purging t he t ransfer

l ines and receiving vessel w it h inert gas before making t he t ransfer .

The following basic check l ist should be gone over before any racking:

• Test your f ree SO2 level. Make sure you have at least a port ion of your fr ee level in t he

wine before you make your t ransfer . This wi l l serve as an inter nal prot ect i on during the

transfer in case of oxygen exposure or potential spoilage organisms. Once the transfer is

complet e make sure t o bring t he fr ee SO2 up t o the required level bef ore closing t he wine

up for t he next 4-6 weeks.

• I f you made any acid adj ust ment s, i t would be a good idea to t est t he TA and see i f i t

needs more. However, don’ t j ust go by t he numbers alone, t ast e t he wine and see what

you th ink i t needs, i f anyt h ing i t a t a l l .

• Check the amount of oak/ t annin integrat ion. Oak compounds are cont inuously being

released from t he wood int o the w ine thr oughout t he aging/ st orage process. I t i s

import ant t o moni tor t he i r in tegrat ion in to t he wine dur ing th is per iod so that t he oak

charact er does not become t oo st rong, overpowering t he wine. In general , i f you use t he

recommended l evel of oak in your w ines (1.5 - 2 oz. of oak cubes per 5 gal lon carboy, or

actual barrel s t hemselves), and t ast e/ monit or t he progress every 4-6 weeks, you w i l l be

able t o avoid accidental l y over-oaking your wi ne.




Chapter 9: Clari fying and Bott ling

At some point aft er a year or so, t he wine w i l l have rounded and acquired enough oak character

t o be considered f inished. This signals t he end of t he élevage/ mat urat ion period, and t he

beginning of t he bott l ing process. Even t hough we have been t est ing the w ine during t he

aging/ st orage period (along wi t h tr acking and correct ing any problem s), i t is import ant t o run

our numbers a f i nal t i me. There wi l l be no going back and adj ust ing the wi ne once i t is in t he

bot t le. The f ol low ing checkl ist s wi l l help guide you through the st eps needed to prepare t he

wine for bot t l ing.

Pre-bot t l ing checkl ist

1. I f t he wine t ast es f i ne and you are happy wit h th e level of c lar i t y, an SO2 test is al l t hat ’

le f t . Once th is has been taken care of , we can proceed t o t he act ual bot t l ing of t he wine

Please see S ection 8 Aging/St orage f or complet e inf ormat ion on adj ust ing SO 2 levels

2. More l ike ly than not , t here wi l l be one or t wo e lements t hat need our at t ent ion before w

can bot t le the wine:

• Check The pH/ TA: How i s t he wine’ s acidi t y? I f t he pH/ TA needs t o be correct ed

you should do i t now.

• Check t he mouthf eel/ t annins: Are the t annins a bi t “ gr ippy” or harsh/ rough? I f so,

t hen you may want t o look at some f orm of f i ning such as albumen (egg whit es) or

an additive solution such as enological tannins or an Opti-Red addition (see the nex

section). Note t hat t he t reatment t hat worked for last year ’s w ine may not w ork

f or t h is one. Therefor e, bench t r i a ls wi l l be needed to det ermi ne the best solut io

for t h is par t i cu lar w ine w i l l be .

For inf orm at ion on running bench tr ials, see sect ion 10.8 .

• Check t he clari t y: Is t he w ine’ s clar i t y sat i sfact ory? Usual ly t he presence of t annin

along wi t h racking during t he aging/ st orage period is enough t o clear up a red wi n

enough to bot t le. How ever, i f you are looking for a part icular bri l l iance in the glas

t hen you may need to f ine or f i l t er t he wine before i t gets bot t l ed (see the next

section).

• Check t he Residu al Sugar %: In gener al, t he Residu al Sugar (of t en j ust RS f or short )

level does not need to be adjusted for a red wine. I t usual ly ferm ents dry and is

lef t where i t st opped. However, in cases where t here is some RS in t he wi ne, you

may want t o consider a st er i le f i l t ra t ion in order t o guarantee t he microbial

st abi l i ty of t he wine.




• Check t he f ree SO2: The f inal t reat ment : m ake sure t hat your fr ee SO2 is at t he

correct level ; ad just i f needed.

Complet e inf ormat ion on SO 2 management can be f ound in sect ion 10.7 .

9.1) Fining and Fil t rat ion

Both f in ing and f i l t ra t ion are t r eatment s t hat can be done to f ur t her pol ish or f in ish t he wine

j ust bef ore bot t l ing. Fining w orks b y int roducing an agent t o t he w ine t hat physica l l y binds w i t h

a target ed element , m ost commonly t annins or prot eins. Once the react i on f inishes and the

agglomerat i on precipi t ates out t o the bot t om of t he vessel, t he wine is racked to rem ove i t

f r om t he sediment . Fi l t rat ion works by passing t he wine t hrough a materi al that contains a

series of very smal l holes (or “ pores” ) simi l ar to a coff ee f i l t er. Liquid and part ic l es smal l

enough t o f i t t hrough these holes are al lowed t o pass t hrough; p art ic les t hat are t oo large get

held back and are eff ect i vely removed from t he l iquid. Depending on what is going on in ourwines, we m ay dec ide to do one, bot h, or nei ther of t hese t reatment s. I t a l l comes down t o our

personal winem aking phi losophies and whet her or not we f eel t he wine needs maint enance.

Let ’ s t ake a quick look at both f in ing and f i l t ra t ion before we m ove onto bot t l ing.

9.1 A) Fining

A red wine is usual ly f ined in order t o soft en a harsh or ast r ingent character and/ or t o impr ove

clari f icat ion. Fining agent s should be used at t he low est p ossibl e dosage needed t o achieve t he

desired ef fect . Over dosage creates t he r isk of l oss of m outhf eel, color , aroma and/ or f l avor.

Yet , due to t he complex i t y of t he chemical st ructures in wine, d i f ferent f in ing agents wi l l be

more or less eff ect i ve at achieving a desired r esult . We st rongly recommend conduct i ng a bench

t r ial f i rst t o deter mine w hich product gives t he result s you are looking for. Then, once t his has

been decided, do a second tr i al t o determ ine t he ideal dosage rate t hat w i l l give t he desired

result s for t he least amount of product used.

Subtract ive f in ing t reatment s

Subt ract ive f i ning agent s wor k by physical ly rem oving off ending element s fr om t he wine.

(Addit ion by subtract ion.)

• Egg Whites cont ain a prot ein cal led album en t hat is used t o reduce harsh/ ast r ingent

t annins as wel l as help clear t he wine out . Use at a r ate of 1 to 2. 5 eggs per 60 gal lons

(barrel): remove t he yolk; m ix t he egg w hit e(s) wi t h a pinch of sal t and just enough wat e

t o creat e a solut ion. St i r t his int o the w ine for 30 seconds, t hen top-up/ close the




cont a iner . Wai t t hree weeks t hen rack of f o f t he deposi t . Not e: do not l et t he wine si t o

t he set t led deposi t f or more t han t wo mont hs or t he egg/ t annin complexes wi l l r e-

dissolve back int o your w ine.

• Gelat ins are special ly puri f ied prot eins t hat can be used t o reduce t annins and help clari f

a wine. Depending on t he specif ic t ype, gelat ins are mixed wi t h ei t her hot or cold wat er

t o form a solut ion, w hich gets mixed in to t he wine. Af ter w ai t ing the prescr ibed t im e, t h

wi ne get s racked off of t he sediment . Note: t here are many t ypes of gelat in avai lable to

winemakers; some are general ized and have a “ b lanket” ef fect of w ork ing on the ent i re

range of t annins in t he wine, whi l e other s are more special ized and target a specif i c t ype

of t annin. Make sure t he one you use is designed t o give the r esult s you are looki ng for.

• Potassium Caseinate is a milk-derived protein that is used to reduce astringency and

soft en a red w ine’ s t annin st ruct ure. Once added to t he wi ne, Potassium Caseinate is

quick t o set t le and t he t reat ed wi ne can usual ly be racked in 4 days.

Addi t ive t r eat ments (A.K.A. : “ coat ing” )

The fol lowi ng t reat ment s are considered t o be “ addit ive” because inst ead of rem oving t he

of fending e lement , t hey work by coat ing or adding t o t he molecular st ructures t hat are

responsible f or creat ing t he percept ion of harshness in t he w ine. Whi le t his may seem

counter in t u i t ive, “ addi t ive” t reatment s are of t en able t o modi fy t he aggressive/ harsh

charact er(s) you wer e tr y ing t o el imi nate so that t he need for f urt her f ini ng can be reduced or

even unnecessary. Since t he “ coati ng” of t annins is an addit ive process, t here is no danger of

st r ipp ing anyth ing out of t he wine dur ing t he t r eat ment . However, t he one caveat t o addi t ive

t reat ment s is t hat i f overdone, they can overpower subt le elem ent s in t he wine. Once again,

bench tr ials and a conservat ive approach t o your addit ions wi l l hel p t o avoid any problems.

• Oenological t annins are used during t he aging/ st orage period t o help develop m id-palat e

st ruct ure and posi t ive mout hfeel charact erist ics in t he wine. These t annins can be used t

help round out a thin or aggressive wine. In addition, oenological tannins also add a layer

of prot ect i on against oxidat ion. Not e: some oenological t annins are designed only f or use

dur ing f erment at i on and ot hers are speci f ical l y made for t he aging/ st orage per iod. So,

make sure you choose t he r i ght one f or t he t ask at hand.

• Opt i Red/ Boost er Rouge are special ly designed, yeast -derived pr otei n f ract ions t hat can

be used to add mout hfeel and body to a wine. Normal ly used in the fer ment at ion, t hese

product s can also be used t o coat harsh/ aggressive t annins in f inished wine dur ing

aging/ st orage.




Not e: When Opt i Red/ Boost er Rouge addit ions are overdone, t hey can creat e a candied

sweet ness t hat comes across as art i f ic ia l / not f rom t he wine t hat should be wat ched for

dur ing the bench t r ia l .

9.1 B) Filtration

There are tw o reasons t o f i l t er w ine: aest het i cs and microbial st abi l i t y. On the aest het i c side,

f i l t rat ion can make a wi ne more pol ished both in t he glass and in the mout h; oft en creat ing a

rounding effect t hat soft ens t he wi ne’ s edges. I f your wine is sound wit h no f law s, t hen you can

decide i f you want t o furt her shape your wine by f i l t er ing i t . However, i f you have residual

sugar or Mal ic acid lef t i n the w ine, or t here was a problem wi t h Acetobact er or Bret t anomyces

during the aging/ st orage period, t hen f i l t rat ion is no longer an art ist ic decision; i t becomes t he

only way to guarantee microbia l st abi l i ty f or t he wine.

Pore sizes of f i l ters are measured in microns. Typical winemaking sizes are 5, 3, 2, 1, and .45

micron media. The smal ler t he holes, t he “ t ighter” t he f i l t er is sa id to be. Fi l t ra t ion ’ s

guarant ee of microbial st abi l i t y comes fr om t he fact t hat t he pore size of f i l t ers can be made

smal ler t han the act ual yeast and microbes t hemselves. As t he wine passes t hrough the f i l t er

t he larger microbes become st uck and are removed fr om t he wine. Note: 2-micron f i l t ers are

used t o rem ove yeast , and . 45-microns are needed t o rem ove bacter ia.

Fi l t ers are rat ed as being “ Nominal ” or “ Absolute” . A nominal f i l t er wi l l remove most par t ic les

t hat are equal or greater t han t he rated mi cron size. An absolute f i l t er w i l l r emove al l par t ic les

larger t han the micr on rat ing. Nominal f i l t ers are cheaper t han absolut e ones, and i f you are

only doing a general c leaning up of t he wine, a nominal f i l t er may be al l you need. However, i fyou are f i l t er ing to remove e i ther yeast or bacter ia , you wi l l need to re ly on an absolute f i l t er .

The effect t hat f i l t rat ion has on wine becomes more pr onounced as t he micron-size becomes

smal ler. Fi l t rat ion does remove certain elements from a wine; however, these are often

element s t hat are wort h losing. Fi l t rat ion can st ress a wine and cause i t t o tem porari ly “ fal l

apart ” r ight af t er the process. However, j ust as wi t h “ bot t le shock” , f i l t ered wines put

t hemselves back together j ust f i ne over t he fol l owing weeks.

Fi l t rat ion set -ups are based on t he tw o di f f erent form s of f i l t rat ion media: cart r idges and pads.

Cart r idges use housings and pads require a “ plat e and fr ame” set -up. Bot h requir e a pump t o

move t he wi ne. Cart r idges are more expensive t han pads because t hey are more int ensive t o

produce, but t hey can be cleaned and reused (as wel l as st ored f or f ut ure use). Pads are cheap

but t hey can only be used one t ime. Bot h pads and cart r idges are t r ied and t rue, and choosing

bet ween t he t wo t echnologies j ust comes down t o personal working prefer ences: cart r idges are

clean to w ork wi t h but t hey are m ore expensive and t im e int ensive for m aintenance. Pads are




economical, but somew hat messy – no need t o clean f or lat er use however.

In summ ary

In the end, f i l t rat ion is a very eff ect i ve winemaking tool t hat can be used to gent ly pol ish a

wine or t o make sure i t is microbio logica l ly st able. However, t he in i t ia l invest ment for t he

housing(s) or t he plate and fr ame make i t a bi t of an economic hurdle f or t he beginning

wi nemaker. Fining requires no equipment and offer s a cheap w ay to clar i f y a wine and have

contr ol over i ts t annin prof i le. The only caveat is t hat f ining is not very select ive. You need t obe careful about preserving the balance of al l of t he element s. Final ly, keep in mind t hat t he

t wo act i ons are not mut ual ly exclusive and a l ight f i ning is oft en done t o improve a wine’ s

f i l te rab i l i t y .

9.2) Bottling the wine

Once we have gone t hrough t he pre-bot t l ing check-l ist and t he wi ne has undergone any needed

t reatment s, w e are ready to bot t le t he wine. Make sure t hat t he bot t les are r insed c lean and

sanit i zed, and t hat your corks (W430) and corker (W405) are at hand*. Then, bot t le t he wine

using one of t he fol l owing met hods:

• Basic racki ng cane set -up: You can use your same r acking set -up (R310) t o bot t le t he w ine

by at t aching a bot t le f i l ler at t achment (B420) to t he end of t he t r ansfer t ube. This simple

set -up gives you an economic w ay to f i l l single bott les at a t ime. This is great for doing

small lots.

• 3 or 5 spout s iphon f i l ler s: I f you are doing more t han a few carboys wor t h of w ine at a

given t ime, you may want t o look at a t hree (WE602) or f i ve (WE610) spout f i l ler t o help

increase t he processing volume. By connect ing direct ly t o a t ank or barrel , t hese unit s

al low you to avoid using a pump by using a gravi t y siphon t o bot t le t he wi ne (as long as

t he source is higher t han the f i l ler ). The only caveat i n using these types of f i l ler s is t hat

unless the reservoir holding the wine is being blanketed with inert gas (Argon or CO2) the

wine wi l l be exposed t o oxygen dur ing t he t im e i t t akes t o make i t in t o the bot t le . F i l l

rate is around 30 seconds per 750mL bottle.

• Enolmat ic f i l ler : Since t he Enolmat ic bot t le f i l ler (WE620) uses a vacuum t o move t he

wi ne, t wo posi t ive t hings happen; t he w ine avoids damage caused by pum ps, and oxygen

exposure is great ly reduced. In addit ion, t he Enolmat ic has t he abi l i t y of adding an

opti onal in- l ine f i l t er assembly ( WE628) so you can actual ly f i l t er t he wi ne using the same

vacuum duri ng the bot t l ing operat ion. By perf orming t hese t wo operat ions in one pass t h

l im it s t he amount of t imes t he wine gets agi t ated and exposed to t he element s. The only

caveat to the Enolmatic is that i t is a single spout. Fil l rate is around 20 seconds per

750mL bott le.




Not e: Regardless of t he f i l l ing method used i t is import ant t o f i l l t he bot t les so t hat w hen

t he cork is in, t here wi l l be a 1/ 2 inch of a i r space bet ween the cork bot t om and t he wine.

• Al t ernat ive, non-t radi t ional bot t l ing opt ions: In addi t ion t o corks and wine bot t les, wine

can be bot t led using 16 or 22 oz “ beer” bot t les wi t h a crown cap. This is a good way t o se

aside smal l samples for f ut ure evaluat ion. In addit ion, t he w ine m ay also be kegged. Usin

kegs al lows you t o t ake off a glass wi t hout having to open a whole bot t le, and i f you w an

mor e t han j ust a single glass you can always f i l l a carafe.

Once bot t led, i t wi l l t ake about t wo mont hs for t he wine to get over the shock of t he sul f i t e

addit ion and bott l ing, so you real ly should wait t o tr y i t . When you f inal ly do tast e the product

of your labours, know t hat i t is only going to get bet t er as i t ages. Some w ines may t ake a few

years before t hey real ly come into t hei r own. True, i t might be qui t e dr inkable now, but only

wi t h aging wi l l i t acquire al l t hose extr a f lavors and an added complexi t y. So, know ing this you

might w ant t o t ry and set some aside. You wi l l be happy t hat you d id. Af ter a l l , up t o now you

have worked for the wine; now let t he wine f ina l ly st ar t t o work for you.




Chapter 10: Expanded Informat ion Sect ions

10.1) Dilut ion and Chapit alizat ion of Musts

-Use f i l t ered wat er , not st ra ight f r om t he tap i f you can avoid i t . Chemicals found in t ap water

(ex: chlori ne) could possibly contam inate t he f inal f lavor of your wi ne or even be a precursor t o

TCA format ion (cork t aint)! A good source of c lean wat er in a w inery can be simpl y and

convenient ly achieved by attaching our f i l t rat ion ki t (FIL32) t o a garden hose.

-Whether you are raising your st art ing sugars or di lut ing them , process requires you t o add w ate

t o t he must . Di lut ion only requires wat er, chapital i zat ion is achieved by dissolving sugar wi t h a

smal l amount of wat er . Wat er addi t ions wi l l a lso d i lu te your TA, and wi l l need to be t aken in to

considerat ion. Unless you have a very high acid/ low pH must t o begin w it h, you wi l l w ant t o

compensate f or t his potent ial loss of acidi t y. For every l i t er of w ater used for ei t her di lut ion or

chapital izat ion, you need t o add 6 grams of t art aric acid. This gives t he wat er you are using a T

of 6 g/ L (0.6%TA) t o prevent i t f r om adversely aff ect i ng t he acidi t y of your must . However, i fyou have a very high acid/ low pH must t o begin w it h, i t is possible t hat l owering acidi ty by not

adding ac id t o t he water used for the correct ion w i l l w ork in your favor.

To acidulate the ad justm ent w ater :

6 grams of t art aric acid per l i t er of H2O,

23 grams of t art aric acid per gal lon of H2O.

Equation to calculate di lut ion quanti t ies:

Once you decide t hat you need t o add wat er t o lower t he ºBrix, how do you know how much

wat er w i l l be needed? The equat ion and example below wi l l show you how t o do this.

Like any other addi t ion t o the j u ice or must , add a port ion of t he amount you t h ink you need,

mix i t in, and ret est t he must t o make sure you don’ t overdo i t . I t is much easier t o add t he re

of your addi t ion r ight af t er t han i t is t o compensate back af t er over-doing i t .

Equation f or di lut ing your must :

OB = t he Or iginal ºBrix of t he must or j u ice

L1 = volum e (in Li t ers) of t he ju ice* in the undi lu t ed must t hat wi l l become w ine

DB = The Desired ºBrix you want t he must / j u i ce to be d i luted t o L2 = volum e (in Li t ers) of the j u ice* in the d i lu ted must t hat wi l l become wine

Y = volume ( in l i t ers) of acidulated w ater needed t o di lut e the m ust or j uice to t he desired ºBrix

level , DB.

*Remember t here ar e only 3 (Bordeaux grapes) t o 3.5 (Rhône grapes & Zin) gal l ons of l i quid pe

5 gal l ons of must , or 60-70% of t he must volume

Equat ion 1: (L1 x OB) / DB = L2

Equat ion 2: L2 – L1 = Y




So, putting it together in an example: Let’s say we have 8 gallons of Cabernet Sauvignon must a

27ºBrix. How much acidulated w ater do you need to add t o di lut e t his t o 24.5ºBrix?

OB = 27 (ori ginal st art ing ºBrix )

L1 = 18.2 l i t ers (8 gallons of m ust x 60% (Bordeaux grapes) = 4.8 gal of j uice, or 18. 2 l i t ers. (1 ga

= 3.785 l i ters)

DB = 24.5 (desired ºBrix l evel)

L2 = complet e equation 1 to f ind L2

Equation 1: (18.2 l i t ers x 27 ºBrix) / 24.5 ºBrix = L2,

L2 = 20.1 l i t ers

Equat ion 2: 20.1 L – 18.2 L = Y

Y = 1.9 l i t ers

We need t o add 1.9 l i t ers of ac idulat ed wat er t o our must t o lower i t t o 24.5ºBr ix . In keeping

wi t h our pract ice of adding t ar tar ic ac id to t he water used in the d i lu t ion, we can say that 1.9L

of w ater x 6 g/ L = 11.4g of t ar tar ic ac id should be added to t he water pr ior t o using i t t o d i lu te

t he must .

10.2) About Acidity and Adding Acid t o Must /Wine

Acidi t y in wi ne grapes is t he product of several organic acids natur al ly found in t he fr ui t .

Tartaric and Malic make up the l ion's share of these acids. We mostly focus on them during

wi nemaking. Depending on when t he frui t was picked and how t he wine w as made, t hese acids

wi l l be present i n varying amount s. The concentr at i on of these acids det ermi nes how t art / sour

t he wine w i l l be, as wel l as how long the wi ne wi l l remain st able af t er bot t l ing. As a resul t ,

adj ust ing the acidi t y of a wine/ must involves lower ing or raising these concent rat ions.

Acidi t y has several funct ions in a wine/ must . The t art ness helps t o balance t he fr ui t y, sweet

element s t hat w ould otherw ise become t oo cloying i f not pr esent. Acidi t y also helps t o tr ick our

pal let s int o perceiving t he alcohol in wi ne as a sweet component, rat her t han a burning

sensati on. I t also creat es a harsh environment t hat helps keep t he w ine f rom becoming spoi led

by microorganisms (both from a pH perspective and because the acidity makes SO2 more

eff ect i ve). Final ly, acidi t y in wi ne promot es good aging charact erist ics and helps ensure t hat t h

wine w i l l ho ld up w el l in t he bot t le dur ing i ts years of aging/ st orage.

There are tw o ways t o look at acidi t y in a winemaking: TA or pH:

• The TA is a measure of t he actual physical grams of acid i n one l i t er of your wi ne and is

expressed as “ _ g/ L of acid” , or in t enths of a percent of acid i t y as in “ 0.1% t ota l ac id i ty”

Both t erms are equivalent and can be used int erchangeably by moving the decim al point ;

e.g: 6.5 g/ L = 0.65% TA.

• The pH is a measure of how st rong the acids are in relat ion t o al l of t he other compounds




in a wine/ must . The lower t he value, t he more st rongly acid ic the sample wi l l be; i . e : a

pH of 3.3 is more acidic t han 3.9. In w inemaking, most pH values wi l l be bet ween t he 3.0

and 4.0 ranges, w it h most of t he focus happening in t he range of t ent hs bet ween t hese

t wo ends (“ 3._ pH” ) . Whi le t he TA wi l l t e l l you how much physical ac id t here is in t he

wine/ must , t he pH te l ls you how t h is acid i t y wi l l be perceived.

To i l lust rat e how even a single added element can al t er t he percept ion of acidi t y, let ’ s use the

fol lowi ng example: you squeeze t he j uice of one lemon int o a glass of w ater and tast e i t . At t his

point t he combinat ion of only lemon ju ice and water w i l l be qui t e sour. However, i f you add

some sugar to it, the sharpness gets balanced out, you have lemonade. The amount of acid has

not been a l tered, yet t he percept i on of t he acid i t y has shi f t ed f rom sour t o t ar t and ref reshing.

This same t ype of m odify ing phenomenon is also t aking place in t he must / wi ne but in a much

more compl icated f ashion. A compl ex variet y of di f fer ent com pounds are responsible f or not on

al ter ing the percept ion of t he acid i ty , but f or def in ing how t he wine wi l l react t o any changes

made t o i t s acid st ruct ure. Because t he rat io of t hese modif y ing compounds varies for each

must / wine, i t is d i f f icu l t t o predict exact ly how t he pH wi l l sh i f t as a resul t o f a calcu lated acid

addi t ion or reduct ion.

While bot h TA and pH can be used t o measure and discuss acidi t y, t hey are not direct ly relat ed

t o each other in a predic table manner. I f you add 1 g/ L of Tart ar ic acid t o a wine/ must a l ready

containing 6 g/ L, you TA t est wi l l c learly ref lect t his addit ion and let you know t here is 7 g/ L of

acid present. However, w hen test ing how t he same sample f or pH, i t 's highly unl ikely t o get a

‘ one-to-one’ r eact ion. A pH of 3.7 wi l l not go st raight t o 3.6. We could even get a f i nal pH of

anywhere f rom 3.65 t o 3.5! That ext ra 1g/ L has in teracted and balanced out wi t h a l l o f t he

other e lement s in t he must / wine, account ing for t he f ina l pH value. The only way to know f or

sure how t he wine/ must ’ s pH wi l l r eact t o an acid adj ust ment is by doing a bench tr ial . When

t his is not possible i t is recommended t o make a part ial addit ion, t est / t ast e the result s, and theadd t he balance i f needed.

In Practice

General ly, i f ei t her TA or pH is wi t hin the recomm ended ranges, t he other w i l l be as wel l

When adding acids, a w ine w i l l more graceful l y absorb large acid addit ions during i t s

earl ier st ages t han i t wi l l as t im e goes by. Therefore, i f you do need a large acid adj ust ment ,

we recomm end making a relat ively large correct ion early on (pref erably in the must), so that yo

only need t o make mi nor changes lat er on.

Acid addit ions become mor e apparent i n wi ne as i t ages and t he fr ui t iness st art s t o fade.An adjust ment t hat seemed just r ight ear ly on might end up being a l i t t le t oo tar t in six months

t o a year. As a result , w hen making large adj ust ment s t o your must or w ine, i t ’ s best t o use a

conservat ive, t wo-step approach: m ake one addit ion now (in t he middle range of w hat you are

shoot ing for) , t hen, i f i t needs i t , add a l i t t le more la ter .

Anot her t hing to consider: TA wi l l drop 0.5-1.0 g/ L (0.05-0.1%), or possibly even mor e, a

a nat ura l resul t o f ferm entat ion. Addi t ional ly , Malo lact ic Ferment at ion wi l l lower your TA by

another 1.5-4.0 g/ L (0.15-0.4%). As a result , i t 's impor t ant t o consider bot h t he TA of t he must

prior t o fer ment at i on as wel l as t he t echniques you wi l l be using when making addit ions at cr ush




I f you are not sure of your approach, shoot f or t he 7g/ L TA range for t he must and go fr om

there.

What ever amount you decide on, i t 's a good idea t o mix t he acid in a smal l por t ion of j uice, w in

or even warm, chlor ine- f ree w ater before adding i t t o the must or wine. You want t o make sure

t hat t he acid cryst als are complet ely dissolved before t he addit i on goes int o t he wine so t hat

your correct ion wi l l be evenly and thoroughly mixed throughout the whole volume of l iquid.

10.3) Complete Must Adjustment Example: ºBrix, pH, TA

For t h is example, le t ’ s put everyth ing together by t ak ing a look at how w e might deal w i t h 25

gal lons of Syrah must t hat is at 27.5º Brix, wi t h a pH of 3.95 and 5g/ L TA. Frui t wi t h t hese

st art ing numbers wi l l def ini t ely need some work bef ore yeast can or should be added. The f i rs

step is to dilute the sugars, and t hen t ackle adj ust ing the pH and TA. Adjust ing the sugars f i rst

advisable because t he amount of wat er needed t o make t he di lut ion is usual ly much greater t ha

t he amount needed t o make a pH and TA adj ust ment . Once the sugars are wi t hin t he desired

range, we can t hen go ahead and address t he pH and TA wi t hout notably i mpact ing the ºBrix at

tha t po in t .

1 A) Adj ust the sugars: With t he must at 27.5ºBr ix , l e t ’ s look at dropping th is t o

24.5ºBrix. Using our equati on ( int roduced in sect i on 10.1) w e come up wit h t he fol l owing

OB = 27.5 (start ing ºBri x)

L1 = 66.3 l i t ers (25 gal of must x 70% (Rhône grape) = 17. 5 gal; 17.5 gal x 3. 785 L/ gal = 66

l i te rs

DB = 24.5 (desired ºBrix)

Equation 1: (66.3 l i t ers) x (27.5ºBrix) / (24.5ºBrix) = 74.35 l i t ers (L2)

Equation 2: (74.35 l i ters) – (66.3 l i ters) = 8.05 l i ters (Y)

So, w e wi l l need t o add 8.05 l i ters of wat er t o the m ust t o drop i t t o 24.5ºBr ix .

B) Acidulate the adj ustment water : In order t o t ry and keep the m ust as consist ent as

possible w hen making t he wat er addit ion, w e wi l l also acidulat e t he addit ion. This is don

by adding 6 grams of t ar tar ic ac id to every l i t er of wat er used t o d i lu te t he must . I t he lps

t o heat some of t he wat er t o dissolve the acid cryst als complet ely and then add t he rest

o f t he d i lut ion water .

-For our 8. 05 l i t ers of w ater : 8.05 l i t ers x 6 grams = 48.3 grams

So, w e wi l l need 48.3 grams of Tart aric acid t o acidulat e our di lut ion wat er.

2. Looking at the pH and the TA: With a pH of 3.95 and a TA of . 50, we w ant t o lower t he

pH and raise the TA. Fort unately, we can do both by adding t art aric acid to t he must .

However, w e must be carefu l not t o overdo i t . Must / j u ice is very complex. Each wine’ s

unique make-up wi l l cause i t t o respond to t he adj ust ment in a unique way when making




addit ions t o the pH and TA. Two di f fer ent wines wi t h t he same exact pH and TA wi l l

respond di f ferent ly to an equivalent acid addit ion. Yes, the numbers are important, but

ul t imat ely, t hey only give you an idea of t he boundaries you're w orking in, not absolut e

answer s . A good analogy for t his is t hinking about driv ing at ni ght: Not t est ing your pH is

l ike driv ing in the dark w it h your headl ights off- you have no idea which direct ion you're

going. Test ing not only i l l uminat es t he road ahead, but i t also l ights up the ref lect ors an

paint l ines. You can see where you are going along wit h t he boundaries t hat promot e safe

dr iv ing. Furthermore, s ince i t is qui te d i f f icu l t t o know how any must or wine wi l l react tan acid addit ion, w e cannot express enough t hat i t is always best t o add a port i on of t he

amount you t hink you need, t hen tast e and test t o be sure. I t is very easy t o overdo

t hings. Wit h a pat ient and measured approach, you' l l be saved from having t o f ix an over

correct ion. Once you have t ast ed the part i al addit ion, you can decide i f the rest w i l l be

needed.

Let's discuss t he met hod we'l l use t o lower pH. Our goal is a wine t hat f inishes around 3.6 pH.

Since w e w il l also be doing an MLF (raises pH), w e could add enough acid t o t o brin g the pH t o

3.5. Once MLF brought i t b ack up to 3.6ish, w e'd be in great shape.. . . on paper. However, in

real i t y, adding enough acid t o create a . 45 pH drop is qui te int ense and we may f ind ourselvesshooting even lower t han our t argeted range of 3.5 by accident. In addit ion, t he tast e wi l l be

very sharp. This much art i f i c ial ly int roduced acid w i l l have a hard t ime int egrat ing harm oniously

int o the w ine. As st ated bef ore, i f you need to make a large adjust ment , i t 's best t o do most of

in the must , but t here are l imi t s.

Wit h that in mind, i t is probably best t o compromise and target closer to around the 3.7 pH range. Calculat e the

amount of t ar tar i c acid needed to ra ise the TA of t he must by 2.5 g/ L (or 0 . 25%) . Given our or ig inal f igure of

5g/ L, our TA wi l l be 7.5 g/ L along wit h a drop in t he pH to around 3.7. The numbers won't l ine up perfect ly l ike t h

once the addi t ion is made, but i t wi l l put you int o a general ly acceptable pH and TA range. When tast ing aft er t he

addi t i on, i t 's possib le t hat i t wi l l be in balance already. Your or ig inal " too smal l" addi t ion may be al l t hat is needed

As wit h any addi t ion, even smal ler ones, we should st i l l e f fect i t in a conservative m anner. Add a port ion of t headdi t i on, mi x, t est , and t ast e. Decide i f t he rest is needed. Besides being safe, t h is increment al acidulat ion w h i l e

tas t ing wil l t each you how t he balance of t he must changes as t he pH and TA come int o the correct range. This wi l

he lp you to develop your pa le t t e fo r t he fu t u re- not on ly fo r must ad justm ent , bu t f o r t he f in ished wine as we l l .

1. Adjust the pH / TA: When acidulat ing the m ust , only 60-70% of t he must volume is juice.

For TA and pH adjust ment s, w e should only be using the amount of j uice in t he must ,

rat her t han t he volume of t he ent i r e must . Since we already did our calculat i ons for

lower ing the ºBr ix ear l ier , we can use our new j u ice volume wi t h t he correct br ix level :

L1 = (27.12 gal of must) x (70% (Rhône grape) = ~19 gal (71. 9 l i t ers.)

So, f or our 27 gal of m ust , we are going t o look at acidulat ing 19 gal (71.9 l i t ers) of j uice

by 2. 0 g/ L TA (0.2%)

Since:

3.8 gram s Tart aric Acid per US Gallon raises TA by + 1 g/ L (or .1%)

Then, w e can just do the f o l lowing calculat ions t o determ ine how much Tartar ic Acid w i l

be needed:




Gallons: (19 gal) x (7.6 grams, from: 2 x 3.8 grams per gallon) = 144.4 grams

Liters: (66.3 l i t ers) x ( 2 grams per l i t er f or . 2% TA) = 143.8 grams

I f you don’ t have a scale:

1 level t easpoon Tart aric Acid per US Gall on raises TA by +1.2 g/ L (0.12%)

1 t sp Tart aric acid = 5 grams.

-Di lut e the addit ion in j ust enough warm w ater t o dissolve the cryst als complet ely. Add aport ion to the must. Mix thoroughly, test and taste. Add the rest i f needed.

In the end, t o correct our m ust st art ing at 27.5ºBrix w it h a pH of 3.95 and a TA of . 5, w e

added 8.05 l i t ers of w ater acidulat ed to 6.0 g/ L TA (w it h 48.3 grams of Tart aric Acid). This

brought t he ºBrix t o around 24.5º wit hout changing the TA or pH of t he must .

With t he di lut ion was f ini shed, w e were able t o hone in on the pH and TA. Because of t he

inexact nat ure of TA and pH adj ust ment s, w e saw a combinat ion of t he "art and science" of

wi nemaking. Sugar di lut ion techniques are relat i vely st raightf orw ard and easy to predict . TA/ p

adj ust ment involves a number of fact ors, ranging fr om unpredict able end result s t o judgment

cal ls regarding t he size of acid addit ions. We didn't m ake the f ul l "on paper" addit ion of t he

quanti t y needed (+4.5 g/ L% TA or 0.45%), w hich may have been t oo extr eme. The act ual ending

amount of acid used (+ 2.0 g/ L TA, or 0.2%), was a safe compr omise t hat placed both t he pH an

t he TA wi t hin acceptable ranges and was veri f ied by t ast e. More can be added later i f needed.

10.4) Complete Yeast Hydrat ion and Nutr ient s

Real ize i t or not , yeast hydrat i on is t he f i r st mom ent t hat w e as wi nemakers have a direc

eff ect on t he ul t imat e success of our f i nished wi nes. Properly hydr ated yeast is healt hy yeast ,

and the ini t ial health of our yeast does determine i ts abi l i ty to graceful ly ferment our wines.

Learning to pr operl y hydrat e yeast is a cheap insurance poli cy t hat i s 100% guarant eed t o make

bet t er wines.

Properly hydrat ed yeast are more apt t o create a f ul l expr ession of beaut i f ul f lavors and

aromas t han poorly t reat ed yeast - even in wel l managed ferm entat ions. In ferm entat ions t hat

are more chal lenging - due t o high ini t ial sugar levels or elevated t emperat ures - a healthy,

properly hydrat ed yeast is bet t er able t o work t hrough t hese problems, oft en f inishing t hese

di f f icu l t f ermentat ions wi t hout st opping ear ly and wi t h a min imum of of f - f lavors.

Ult i mat ely, w hen we go t o weigh the pros and cons of t aking t he t i me t o do a proper yeahydrat i on, t here are no cons. I t ’ s j ust a good idea based on sound winem aking t heory.

Moreover, i t 's st raightf orward and easy to learn. Let ’ s t ake a moment t o review t he whole

hydrat i on process. Tim e spent now learning this simpl e t echnique wi l l r eward you many t im es

over in t he future and be wel l wort h the ef f or t . We ta lk to w inemakers every year who t e l l us

t hat t hey never t hought al l of t his was necessary unt i l t he year t hey had a st uck ferm entat ion…




Yeast Hydration:

Successful hydration essential ly involves bringing together four separate elements in a specific

set manner: nut r ient s, w ater, t emperat ure, and yeast . Each one of t hese element s has i t s own

considerat ions and is wort h reviewing individual ly befor e we bri ng t hem al l t oget her t o make ou

f inal , un i f ied prot ocol .

Nutrients: “ Go-Ferm” was special ly designed to aid t he hydrat ion process and is added direct ly

int o the w ater used t o hydrate t he yeast . This represent s a new approach, opposit e t he old

met hod of adding nut r ient direct ly t o the must. By feeding our yeast Go-Frm out side of t he

must , we are able t o e l iminate potent ia l problems ear ly-on: t he b inding-up of yeast nutr ient s b

SO2 (t hus making them unavai lable t o t he yeast ), and t he possible depl et ion of nut r ient s by

ot her organisms t hat m ay have gott en int o the m ust before t he yeast have reached the cel l -

densi t y needed t o begin f ermentat ion (again, lower i ng the level of nutr ient s u l t imate ly avai lab l

t o the yeast ) . “ Go-Ferm” addi t ions ensure t hat t he yeast receive a l l o f t he nutr ient addi t ion

wi t hout any int er ference. This t ranslates t o t he st ar t o f a c lean and heal t hy ferment at ion.

Water: In general , t he presence of minerals, or t he “ hardness” of t he wat er has a great erimpact on the hydrat ing yeast t han anything else. Basical ly, around 25+ppm miner al content is

needed for yeast t o avoid negati ve reverse osmot ic eff ects. I f t he hydrat ion wat er has very l i t t le

or no hardness, t he natural concent rat ion of m inerals found inside the yeast ’ s own cel l is higher

t han in the surrounding l iquid. Since wat er alw ays f l ows in t he direct ion of t he higher

concent rat ion of minera ls, a reverse osmot ic ef f ect wi l l cause wat er t o keep f lowing in t o t he

yeast cel l unt i l i t rupt ures due t o st ress. This makes using dist i l l ed wat er a bad idea w hen

hydrat i ng yeast and is not recomm ended. Along t hese same l ines, i f using bott led or f i l t ered

wat er, check and make sure t hat t here are some m inerals present t o avoid any problems, i f

possible. Fort unately, t he minerals found in Go-Ferm help to m i t igat e t h is problem qui te a b i t

when using low -miner al content wat er for hydrat ion (yet another plus t o using the Go-Ferm! ) .

Interest ingly, pot able t ap wat er usual ly has more t han enough mineral cont ent and w orks quit e

wel l f or t he yeast hydrat i on wat er. Yes, t here are some chemicals t hat have been added during

i t s processing to make i t pot able, but t he usual 0.5 ppm chlorine and <0.5 ppm f louride cont ent

does not adversely ef fect t he yeast . Al t hough not as t echnical ly “ pure” as f i l t ered/ bot t led

wat er, c lean tap w ater wi nds up being a good and economical choice to use for yeast hydrat ion

Temperature: The ideal t emperat ure f or hydrat ion is 104º F. This represents the best balance

bet ween t he wat er being warm enough to m aintain an ideal elast ic i t y of t he yeast ’ s cel l

mem brane, w hi le not being hot enough to damage t he cel l i t sel f . Whi le higher temp erat ures are

def in i t e ly not recommended, sl ight ly low er ones are acceptable. When t he hydrat ion wat er

st art s t o go below 95º F, t here is a lack of adequat e heat required t o make the cel l wal l f lu id

enough to f old back out and ref orm i t sel f dur ing the del icate, yet cr i t ical hydrat ion process. As

resul t , par ts of t he cel l wal l can remain permanent l y wr ink led and t he yeast wi l l never f u l ly

recover f rom t he fo lded, cr ink led form i t t ook when i t was dehydrated. In the end, t he yeast wi

essent ial ly be mort al ly damaged and i t wi l l eventu al ly die. I f you can try and target t he 100º F

104º F range for your hydrat i on wat er you w i l l be doing both yoursel f and the yeast a great

favor.




Yeast : When the yeast has been int roduced in to t he hydrat ion water , i t wi l l t ake a few minutes

t o come to l i fe. From a visual st andpoint, aft er around 15 t o 20 mi nutes you wi l l usual ly st art t o

see act iv i t y in the l iquid. In general , i t wi l l l ook l ike a low l evel boi l ing or simm ering kind of

mot ion, wi t h a few bubbl ing “ erupt ions” happening at t he sur face f rom t i me t o t ime. The

amount and st rengt h of t h is act iv i ty w i l l actual ly vary qui t e a b i t f rom st ra in to st ra in, w hich is

perf ect l y normal. More impor t ant l y, f oaming is not an indicat i on of v iabi l i t y. Some yeast are

actual ly very mel low at t he i r st ar t , but t hey wi l l eventual ly k ick in and be every b i t as ef f ect ive

as another strain t hat w as foaming l ike cr azy during i t s hydrat ion phase. The bott om l ine is t hiseach one of t hese st rains was chosen aft er years of ext ensive t r ials, and i f t hey didn’ t wor k t hey

wouldn’ t be on t he market . So just enjoy t he fact t hat , l ike people, t hey each have thei r own

unique and endearing personal i t i es and thi s j ust adds t o t he whole wi nemaking experience.

*Note: Once t he yeast has been int roduced int o t he hydrat i on wat er, you need t o be aware t ha

t he clock is t icking. The yeast wi l l soon compl et ely use up what ever st ored energy t hey

previously had in t hem fr om t hei r pr eparat ion at t he fact ory t o complet e t he hydrat ion proces

From t his point on, i f t hey don’ t get t he nut r i t ion they need they wi l l quickly begin t o st arve,

deter iorat e and lose v iabi l i t y . I t ’ s best not t o prolong t h is moment , so begin feeding t hem

imm ediately . Fort unat ely , t he t imi ng of t h is cr i t ical f eeding is based on an easy-to-r ead indi cat or: once you begin t o see signs of act ivi t y at ar ound t he 20-30 mi nut e mark, t he yeast

are let t ing you know t hat t hey are hungry and ready t o be exposed t o t he must . You should

never l et t he hydrat i on process extend beyond 30 minut es wi t hout g iv ing t hem f ood.

Recommended Yeast Hydration Procedure:

Now t hat w e have a bett er underst anding of each of t he individual element s involved in yeast

hydrat ion, le t ’ s br ing i t a l l t ogether in t o a uni f ied protocol we can act ual ly use.

Dosage Rates: The amount of w ater and Go-Ferm needed f or t he hydrat ion w ater is based on th

quanti t y of yeast being used, and t his in t urn is det erm ined by the ini t ial sugar concent rat ion of

t he must . In general , f or f erment at i ons wi t h ini t ial ºBrix levels of up t o 24.5º, 1 gram of yeast

per gal lon of must is suff ic ient .

However, when you start looking at must t hat is 25ºBrix and above, an elevat ed sugar

level (w hich w i l l lat er become an elevated alcohol%) repr esent s a higher degree of st ress t hat

t he yeast wi l l endure as t hey try t o survive in this di f f i cul t environment . As a result , f ewer viab

cel ls wi l l make i t t o the end of t he ferment at ion t han would have wi t h a lower st ar t ing ºBr ix .Since we know t hat w e wi l l be incurr ing a higher percentage of loss in our yeast populat i on, w e

highly recomm end to adopt a “ safet y in number s” approach and raise the addit ion rate t o 1.2

grams of yeast per gal lon of must . Since we added 1/ 5 more yeast , w e wi l l add 1/ 5 more Go-

ferm and wat er as wel l :




MoreWine’s recommended protocol for successfully hydrating Active Dry Wine Yeast

1. The volume of H20 needed = 20 x the weight of the Go-Ferm addition

For t his calculat ion you need to know t hat t he def ini t ion of a gram is t he mass of one mL of

wat er. When you calculate t he tot al number of grams of Go-Ferm needed, you can mul t iply

t his number by 20 result ing in the number of mLs of w ater t o use for t he re-hydrat i on. Using

c lean potable water , calcu late t he amount needed and heat i t t o 110º F (43ºC). (110º F i s an

arbi t rar i ly chosen number. You want a tem perat ure higher t han 104ºF for your ini t ial wat er

because mixing in Go-ferm and the yeast wi l l low er t he tem perat ure. 110º F should get you

very cl ose t o 104º F. ) *Remember t hat t he hydrat ion wat er needs t o have suf f ic ient m ineral

cont ent , and t hat f i l t ered water or f rom t he tap is f ine. Do not use dist i l l ed because i t has n

mineral content what soever.

2. The amount of Go-Ferm needed = number of grams of yeast being used x 1.25

Add the requi red amount of “ Go-Ferm” t o the heat ed water . Mix i t in wel l so that t here are n

c lumps, and le t i t st and unt i l t he temp of t he mixture fa l ls t o 104º F (40ºC). You can also

adjust t he temperature of t he water downwards by just adding a l i t t le b i t o f co ld wat er to t he

solut ion unt i l i t fa l ls t o 104º F. Having sl ight l y more t han the calculated amount of w ater is no

a big problem . I f you use signi f icant l y t oo much wat er, t he yeast and Go-ferm wi l l not be in

close enough contact t o make t he process eff ect i ve.

3. Add t he required amount of yeast t o the mi xt ure. St i r i t gent ly t o break-up any clumps.

Wait 15-30 minut es, st i r a second t i me. *Do not go beyond 30 mi nut es in t he hydrat ion

solut ion or t he yeast wi l l begin t o st arve.

4. At t h is point you wi l l st ar t t o see yeast act iv i ty . You wi l l want t o add a port ion of t he

must / j u ice int o the yeast mix t ure equal to 1/ 2 the volume of t he yeast st ar ter . This no

only helps the yeast become accust omed t o t he pH, TA, ºBrix level (sugar), and

t emperat ure of t he must , but lessens any shock the yeast may encounter upon being

pit ched. Newly awakened yeast are not yet complet ely hardy and need to adj ust

t hemselves t o your must . By int roducing must / j uice early on, you create a buffer zone

bet ween t he wat er (pH of around 7.5), and th e must (pH of around 3.5, presence of a

For eve ry 1 ga l l on o f

m u s t :

Up t o 24 . 5

º B r i x :

1 gram of Yeast1.25 grams Go-Ferm25 mL H2O

2 5 º B r ix a n d

above :

1.2 grams of

Yeast 1.5 grams Go-

Ferm

30 mL H2O




great deal of sugar, SO2, et c…). This ensures that your ini t ial populat ion w i l l be w el l

adj ust ed, healthy and as vigorous as possible r ight fr om t he st art .

Helpful Note: Since you have j ust f ed the yeast wi t h a l i t t le bi t of t he must , t hey are OK t o

wait a l i t t le whi l e before being pi tched. This avai lable pause may be quit e helpful i f you woul

l ike t o do an acid correct ion on t he must befor e you st art t he ferm ent at i on. Since they have

j ust been f ed, yo u can saf ely delay t he inoculat ion, do you r co r rect ion, an d f inal l y pi t ch

wi t hout compromising the heal t h of t he yeast .

5. Aft er a 10-15 minut e wait , t he yeast should be ready to int roduce into t he must . Howeve

i f t he t emperature d i f ference betw een the yeast st ar ter and t he must is over 18º F,you

need t o br ing the yeast t o wi t h in 18º F of t he must t emperature. Ot herwise, you run t he

risk of damaging the health of t he yeast due t o cold shock. Using the cooler m ust , j ust ad

a port i on of i t int o the yeast st art er unt i l you achieve a 15º F drop. Wait at l east 20

minutes ( longer is bet t er , but of t en not pract i cal dur ing winemaking) before r epeat ing th

process as oft en as needed unt i l you are f inal ly w it hin 18º F of t he must t emperat ure. No

you can safely int roduce t he yeast int o t he must .

6. When you are ready to inoculate t he must , d isperse the yeast complet ely t hroughout t he enti re volume, no j ust ov er t he t op l ay er . In t he past yo u m ay ha ve he ar d t hat t he yea st should be spr ea d ou t ov er t he sur f ac

of t he must in order t o have access t o oxygen. This is not t he case. In real i t y, bet ween t he oxygen that has

been saturated into the must from mechanical processing of the fru i t , the amount p icked up dur ing the

hydrat ion process, and t he element s found in t he Go-Ferm addi t ion, t he yeast a lready has al l t he nutr i ents

needs to ge t o f f t o a great sta r t w i t hout beginn ing on top o f the must . In fact , i t 's of t en benef ic ia l t o

spread t he yeast t hrough the ent i re volume of t he must t o decrease t he chances for any

spoilage organisms to take control.

A Recommended Guide to Yeast Nutrient dosages during fermentation:

A day or so aft er you have inoculated your yeast int o t he must , you w i l l begin to see

t he f i rst signs of f ermentat ion. Wi th w hi te w ines you wi l l see a pr ick l ing act iv i ty , o f t en wi t h

some foam on the surf ace. With red w ine, you wi l l see the f ormat ion of t he cap. Whet her yo

are doing whit es or reds, w e recommend doing a f i rst feeding at t his point .

• Fermaid-K (#1): 1 gram of Fermaid-K per gal lon of must . Combine t he amount needed

wi t h a smal l por t ion of w arm w ater and st i r unt i l d issolved. Mix thoroughly in to t he wine.

Dur ing the course of t he ferment at ion, m ust becomes a d i f f icu l t p lace for t he yeast t o workin: t he alcohol level st art s t o r ise. (slow ly becoming more and more t oxic) Al l of t he nutr i ent

t hat w ere present at t he beginning of t he ferment at ion (both natura l ly found in the must an

coming from t he f i r st Fermaid-K addit ion) st art t o become deplet ed. A second “ Fermaid-K”

feeding is then necessary at 1/ 3 sugar deplet ion (usual ly an 8-10ºBrix drop) so that t he

nutr ient s requi red by the yeast t o mainta in heal thy met abol ism al l t he way through to t he

end of f erment at ion are avai lable to them . The second addit ion t im ed to an 8-10º Brix drop

wi l l help t he yeast bef ore t hey become st ressed. As a result , you should avoid signs of a st uc

or sluggish f erment at i on (not t o ment ion excessive VA and Hydrogen Sulf ide pr oduct ion! ).




• Fermaid-K (#2): 1 gram of Fermaid-K per gal lon of must . Combine t he amount needed

wi t h a smal l por t ion of w arm w ater and st i r unt i l d issolved. Mix thoroughly in to t he wine.

When t r y ing t o underst and t he whole yeast / nutr ient in teract ion, i t may be helpfu l t o th ink o

t he fol low ing analogy: “ Go Ferm” & “ Fermaid-K (#1)” are the complete breakfast t hat is

eaten on t he morning of t he 20-mi le race. The “ Fermaid-K (#2)” addi t ion is t he energy bars

and sport s drinks t hat are consumed at t he mid-w ay point t o help get you t o the f inish l ine!

A quick summary of the complete process, using an example of 8 gallons of

24.5ºBrix must (1 gram yeast /gallon):

Example of volumes needed:

-You are inoculat ing 8 gal lons of must . This would mean t hat you would be using:

A) 8 gram s of yeast

B) 10 grams of “ Go Ferm ”

C) 200mLs of water at 110º F

D) about 100mls of must/juice

E) 8 grams of “ Fermaid-K” at f i rs t signs of f ermentat ion

F) 8 grams of “ Fermaid-K” at 1/ 3 sugar deplet ion

1. Combine w ater and Go-Ferm, w a it o r ad just t o 104º F

2. Add yeast . St i r gent ly, wait 15-20 minut es. St i r again.

3. Add 100 mLs of m ust t o t he st art er. Wait 15-20 minut es unt i l signs of act iv i t y.

4. Mix t horoughly int o the must . (Make sure t o be wit hin 18º F of t he tem perat ure of t he

must when inoculat ing. I f not, adjust accordingly.)

5. At f i rst signs of f erment at ion, add Fermaid-K (#1): 1 gram per gal lon of must .

6. At 1/ 3 sugar deplet ion (8-10ºBrix drop), add Fermaid-K (#2): 1 gram per gal lon of must .

Now w atch your t emperat ures, get t he lees up on each punch cycle, and enjoy t he

process!

10.5) Malolactic Fermentation

I t has been speculated t hat MLF happens in al l wi nes (especial ly homem ade), w het her i t has

been added on purpose or not . In ot her w ords, use of an ML bacteri a t hat i s known f or

contr ibut ing posi t ively t o t he w ine is st rongly recomm ended f or t he same reasons as t hose

surr ounding t he select ion of a yeast st rain. Using wel l establ ished st rains of yeast and ML




el iminate t he potent ia l o f f f lavors t hat can be generat ed by wi ld st ra ins. In addi t ion t o t he

posit ive f l avor, aroma, and mout hfeel cont r ibut ions, another good reason t o ut i l ize an MLF is t o

make the wine stable enough to discourage unwanted fermentat ion, during the storing, bott l ing

or aging processes. If t here is mal ic acid present i n the w ine and the SO2 levels aren’ t hi gh

enough, you run t he r isk of having an unknown strain of bact eria est abl ishing i tsel f . On t he ot he

hand, by choosing to pr eempt ively degrade the mal i c acid wit h a chosen st rain t hat w as select e

for i t s posi t ive winem aking att r ibut es, you can easi ly avoid potent ial problem s.

In the end, you may choose t o not do an MLF and t hat i s also perf ect l y accept able. Just know

you wi l l j ust have to be especial ly v igi lant about your sanitat ion as wel l as maint aining proper

SO2 levels in t he wi ne at al l t im es in order t o prevent a wi l d MLF from t aking place. You should

probably be th ink ing about st er i le f i l t ra t ion at bot t l ing, as wel l .

ML bact eria and acid adj ust ment s

Adjust ment s in acidi t y should be done using tart aric acid only. Since ML cul t ure met abol izes

specif ical l y mal ic acid, i t makes no sense t o keep adding mal ic acid to t he must / wine in an

at t empt t o ra ise t he acid i t y when t he bacter ia w i l l j ust keep eat ing i t and cause the ac id i ty t o

drop. In addit ion t o being counterpr oduct i ve, mal ic acid has a very sharp, unpleasant f lavor.Last ly, c i t r ic acid w i l l cause t he ML bact eria t o produce VA (vinegar), making i t unsuit able for

MLF as w el l.

Not e t hat t his is one of t he reasons t hat we r ecommend against t he use of Cit r i c/ SO2 solut ions

f or sani t iz ing your wi nemaking equipment .

Note t hat many pre-made acid blends are equal m ixes of c i t r i c , mal ic and tar t ar ic acids, and

t heref ore should be avoided as wel l .

ML nutr ients

Like yeast , ML bacteri a benefi t great ly f rom nut r i t ional supplement s. A good exampl e would be

Acti ML (AD347) by Lal lem and, w hich has been designed to provide specif ic v i t amins and mi neralsfor t he ML bact eria. Act i ML is used both i n t he hydrat i on phase and then lat er in t he actual w in

i t sel f i f needed. Whi le being not as eff ect i ve, in a pinch you m ay also use a generic yeast

nut r ient for mulat ion as long as i t contains no DAP. Unl ike t he yeast , t he ML bact eria does not

use any DAP, so t his should not be a part of any nut r ient mix used t o feed t he ML bact eria. I f yo

are unsure of t he form ulat ion of your nutr i ent set , j ust use the Act i ML. Note: Fermaid-K does

cont ain DAP and should not be used for feeding MLFs .

Choosing an ML st rai n

Ini t i at ing an MLF is easier f or a red wine t han i t i s for a whit e. ML cul t ure l ikes t o be in an

environment where t here is a tem perat ure of around 70 -75 F and have a r ich source of

nut r ient s (red w ine has more nut r ient s t han does whi t e wine because i t get s fer ment ed on t he

skins). They pref er a somew hat l ow l evel of SO2 as w ell . That said, each st rain of ML has varyin

degrees of t olerance wit h regards t o each of t hese f actors. For example, Vini f lora Oenos wi l l

work at t emperatures >63 F, whi le Enoferm Alpha wi l l w ork at t emperatures >55 F. Both have

compar able pH t oler ances (mi n. pH 3.1). As far as SO2 is concerned, Vinif lor a Oenos pref ers to

have levels under 20 ppm (t ot al), w hi le Enoferm Alpha can tolerat e levels of 50 ppm (t ot al).

Depending on your wine’s conditions (and the availabil i ty of various strains of MLB), you may be

able t o bett er mat ch the ML t o t he task at hand. Good examples of t his include being able t o




keep SO2 levels sl ightly higher if you need to on a high pH wine, or not having to raise the

t emperature of cooler ferment ing wines t o help the secondary ferm entat ion k ick of f (Pinot Noi

Beaujolais).

Diff erent st rains of ML bacteri a each give di f f erent qual i t ies t o a f ini shed wine. Depending on

t he st yle of w ine you are m aking you can not only choose t he correct yeast (s) t hat w i l l give you

t hese tr ai ts, but also furt her reinf orce your st yl ist ic goal by t he choice of ML bacteri a, as wel l .

With ML bacteria there is no danger of over inoculating, only under inoculating!

The only problems wit h t he amount of bact eria needed t o successful ly f inish an MLF come f rom

not using a suff ic ient dosage. I f t he cel l count is not high enough in the b eginning, t he ML

bact er ia of ten don’ t generat e enough of a co lony to f u l ly complete t he ferment at ion. In order t

avoid t his problem , always use t he recomm ended dosage rat es. On t he opposit e side of t hings, i

you f ind yoursel f w i t h a great er t han t he recommended dosage rate, don’ t worr y and j ust use i t

al l . There wi l l be no i l l ef fect s, t he MLF wi l l only f inish t hat m uch fast er. The only reason why

pit ch rat es are not always used at an elevated l evel is one of economics, usual ly only a concern

for commer cial- level producers. Using more bacteri a than is needed j ust ends up adding a l i t t le

bi t more cost t o making t he wine, but no harm is done.

The best w ay to ini t iat e an MLF is t o add i t at t he end of t he alcohol ic ferm ent at ion (t his al lows

t he yeast t o complet e thei r f ermentat ion wi t hout having t o compet e wi t h the ML for nutr ients) .

Oak and ML Bacteria

I f you w ant t o have oak in t he f i nal wi ne, adding i t during t he MLF is a very good idea. The oak

adds another level of complex i ty t hat wi l l in tegrate more subt ly in t o the w ine, and the crev ices

of t he wood create an environment t hat is excel lent f or microbial growt h. Once the MLF has

complet ed, i f you are using cubes or st ave pieces t hat w ere present dur ing the fer ment at ion,

j ust r inse t hem unt i l t he w oo d is r e-exposed. San i t i ze t he oak w i t h SO2 or St ar San an d car ry i tt hrough int o t he aging vessel(s).

Chromotography

While t here are visual ways t o deduce whet her or not t he MLF has come t o complet ion (namely

t wi st ing a carboy t o see i f t here are any smal l bubbles coming up t he sides, or looking for

act iv i ty at t he sur face of t he wine in a tank*) , t he only way t o be absolute ly sure that t he

fer ment at i on has f i nished is t o run a chromatography test. A compl et ed MLF and one that has

j ust st uck par t w ay t hrou gh t he proc ess both look t he same t o t he naked eye ! If you go ahead an

add your SO2 because you thi nk t he MLF has f inished and it has not , you may run int o pot ent ial

spoi lage problems i f t he SO2 levels drop ei t her during aging or in t he bot t les. In addit ion, your

wi ne wi l l not be get t ing the f ul l benefi t s of t he MLF process. I f you know you wi l l be doing MLF

on a regular basis, you might w ant t o invest in a home chrom atography test (MT930).

* Not e t hat i t is possib le t hat i f a wine has lost a lot of t he CO2 content bui l t up dur ing

t he f i r st , a lcohol ic f erment at i on, t here may not be any v isib le signs of f erment at i on

duri ng t he MLF. This is because t he low level of CO2 being produced by t he ML bacter ia

may be get t ing re-absorbed int o t he wine bef ore i t reaches t he surf ace. This is why

al t hough a visibl e indicator is reassuri ng; i t is best t o monit or t he progress of t he MLF




wit h chromat ography.

A not e about accuracy wit h Chromot ography: Whi le Chromotography ki ts have a def ined abi l i t y

t o measure t he Malolact ic conversion, t hey are st i l l not as sensit ive as t hey could be.

Occasional ly t he result s can show t hat t he conversion is done when in f act t here is a l i t t le

residual mal ic acid st i l l p resent. However, t his is not r eal ly t hat big of a deal, and t he

wor karound is pret t y st raightf orw ard: once the t est says you are done, j ust w ait anot her week

before adding your SO2. Then rack t he wi ne as you normal ly w ould.

10.6) Oak

Toast ed oak has been an integral part of wi nemaking for cent uries, and for good reason. I t s

unique combinat ion of structuring tannins along with the sweet toasty vani l la, butterscotch,

f loral , smoke, and spice elements perfect ly compl iment the berry- l ike frui t iness of the

fer ment ed grape. Oak and wi ne support each other i n a way t hat t ruly brings out t he best t hat

bot h can off er. As wi nemakers, t he more w e can learn about using oak the bet t er w e become a

craft ing our wines. This is because j ust as wi t h any good chef, t he abi l i t y t o create a w ork of artis based on how w el l w e have underst ood the individual component s t hat w ent i nt o to m aking

i t . So let ’ s f i rst t ake a closer look at t he complexi t ies of t he wood i t sel f , and then w e can focus

on its use during winemaking.

All About Oak

American oak (Quercus alb a ) has about 21% non-t annic phenoli c cont ent w hil e it s French (and

Hungarian) count erpart (Quer cus r obur ), cont ains around 14%. However , French ( and Hungari ant o a lesser cont ent) has 2.5 t imes the ext ract i on of t ot al phenol ics t han does t he Ameri can oak.

In everyday Engl ish, t his means t hat Ameri can Oak wi l l be m uch more per fum ed, but French and

Hungarian wi l l general ly have bett er inherent st ruct uring abi l i t ies. Other t han these basic

di f fer ences, t he tw o di f f erent species general ly react i n the same way t o toast ing (more on t his

la ter) .

The way in which t he raw w ood is processed has a maj or aff ect on the f inal f lavor and aroma

prof i le of t he oak, regardless of species variat ion. When oak f or w inemaking is cut, i t has t o

undergo a period of drying and condit ioning before i t can be used, and t his is ref erred t o as

seasoning . Thi s peri od usually l ast s bet w een 2 t o 3 years and basicall y involves st acking thest aves in t he open air and let t ing the elem ent s (rain and sun) work i t s magic on the oak. The

st acks are usual ly st acked and re-stacked t hroughout t his period so that t he st aves on t he t op

one year are at t he bott om during t he next year, and so on. This is done to in order t o bett er

equal ize the seasoning di f fer ences t hat exist bet ween t he t op of t he st ack (more exposure t o

sun and air) and t he bott om (m ore moisture and less l ight) . Al l t hroughout t he seasoning period

basical ly w hat is going on is t hat various fungal micro f lora at t ack and colonize t he wood. As

t hey do so, t hey release a series of enzymes that are responsible for t he f ol low ing desired

react i ons: t he wood extr act becomes l ighter in color and less ast r ingent, t he harsher and bi t t er




element s of t he wood are great ly r educed, and various posi t ive aromati c compounds are

boost ed; including vani l la, c love, and especial ly coconut. Besides being interest ing on i t s own,

what is even more f ascinat ing about al l of t his is t hat i t t urns out t hat t he amount and rat io of

t hese compounds t hat are t ransfor med in t he wood t urns out t o be si t e-specif i c. In fact ,

experiment s done at t he Bouchard cooperage in France wi t h t he same w ood t hat was seasoned

in t wo di f fer ent r egions and then brought t oget her and ident ical ly coopered to t he same t oast

level in t he same faci l i t y produced tw o di f f erent set s of f lavors and aromas! This was direct ly

attr ibuted to the di f ferences in the seasoning condit ions of the two woods. Therefore, inaddi t ion t o species d i f f erences, i t is import ant t o keep in mind t hat t he way in which a wood is

seasoned also wi l l af f ect t he f inal qual i t ies of t he oak once i t is t oast ed.

As for t he toast ing i tsel f , i t should be not ed t hat t he durat ion and the int ensi t y of the heat

during t he coopering and t oast ing process has a t rem endous eff ect on t he amount of i ndividual

compounds t hat are pr oduced in a barrel , even f rom t he same w oods which have received the

same seasoning. However, this being said, there are in fact some basic, generalit ies for how

some of t he various compounds in oak wi l l behave when t hey become t oast ed. Underst anding

t hese can only help when t ry ing to decide which level of t oast ing wi l l be mor e apt t o give thedesired character to a part icular wine:

Hemicellulose: A class of com pounds comp ri sed of several sim ple sugars t hat w hen t oast ed give

caramel ized products which have a sweet , t oast y qual i t y and which help t o cont r ibut e to t he

“ body” of a wine. The more in tense the heat , t he “ darker” t he caramel f l avors become.

• Furfural i s “ sweet ” and “ caramel - l i ke” ,

• 5-methy l - fu r fura l i s more of a “ but t erscotch” t ype of f lavor .

Lignin: is made up of t wo bui l ding blocks: Guaiacyl an d Syringyl . Sw eet vanil l a increases up t o a

medium plus t oast , but t hen i t st art s t o decrease as t he heat is raised t owards a more heavy

t oast or a char. Inter est ingly enough, wi t h t he higher heat also comes t he appearance of mor e

smoke and spice ( clove) n ot es.

•

Vani l l in is vanil la,• Guaiacol i s “ smoky” ,

• 4-methyl-guaiacol i s “ sp icy” & “ smoky” ,

• Eugenol i s “ c love- l ike” .

Lipids: are made up of t he oi ls, f ats, and waxes found in t he wood and are responsible f or t he

oak lactones. Seasoning greatly increases the level of l ipids in the wood. With toasting levels up

t o medium/ medium plus, t he level of oak lactones increases, how ever i t breaks down and




decreases aft er t hat as t he heat is raised fur t her.

• Cis-oak lact one i s “ woody” and “ f resh oak” l i ke,

• Trans-oak lactone i s “ coconut - l ike”

Summing-up, some applicable generalizations of toast levels on oak:

• The lower t he toast , t he more tannins ( “ st ructure” ) and lact ones (“ coconut ” ) wi l l be

present in each of t he oaks.

• The higher t he t oast , t he more spice and smoke not es wi l l be present

• The deeper t he toast , t he more deep the caramel t ones wi l l be (moving in to but t erscotch

at medium plus).

• Vani l la w i l l increase up t hrough a medium -plus toast and t hen decrease wi t h a heavy t oas

and char

• American oak wi l l be m ore aromat ic, but French oak w i l l give more st ruct ure (Hungarianwi l l give less t han the French but m ore t han the American).

• The greater t he toast l evel , t he lower t he lactones (“ wood” and “ coconut ” ) for a l l three

woods.

Medium pl us is t he most complex of al l of t he t oast levels, and t he most popular. Depending on

t he wine being made, t his may or may not be a good thing!

A comparison of French, Hungarian, and American Oaks

The following are results from research done at Stavin and should only be used to give an

approximat ion of w hat each of t hese t hree variet ies of oak can bring to your wi ne. Each sample

was made using oak cubes wi t h a tw o-mont h contact t ime and evaluat ed wit h no bott le ageing.

Please note t hat due t o t he complexi t ies of f lavor chemist ry t hese f indings may or may not

t ranslat e t o your w ine 100%. However, t h is inf ormat ion should be helpful in f inding out which

t ype of oak may t he best t o st ar t wi t h as you ref ine your oaking t ast es.

French Oak Flavor Summ ary

• All t oast levels have a perceived aromat ic sweet ness and ful l mout hfeel.

• French oak has a frui t y, c innamon/ al lspice character , along wit h cust ard/ crème

brûlée, mi l k chocolate and campfi re/ roast ed coff ee notes*. (*Especial ly at higher

t oast levels.)




• As t he t oast levels increased t he fr ui t y descript or f or t he wine changed fr om f resh

t o jammy t o cooked f r u i t / ra isin in character .

Ameri can Oak Flavor Summ ary

• The Ameri can oak had aromat ic sweet ness and a campfi re/ roast ed coffee at t r ibut e

present in al l t hree t oast levels, wi t h Medium Plus and Heavy having t he highest

intensi ty.

• American oak had cooked fr ui t more t han a fresh or j ammy qual i t y.

• American Oak impart ed mout hfeel/ ful lness, especial ly in Medium Plus.

Hungarian Oak Flavor Summ ary

• The Hungarian oak at Medium t oast displayed a high perceived-vani l lan cont ent , wi t h

roast ed coffee, bi t t ersweet chocolat e and black pepper characters.

• Medium Plus and Heavy t oast impart ed mout hfeel ful lness, w it h only a sl ight am ount of

campfir e/ roast ed coff ee. Heavy also had pronounced vani l lan. At al l t oast levels, t herewer e unique att r ibut es such as leat her and black pepper, not observed in ot her oak

origins.

Oak in winemaking: Barrels and their Alternatives

Barrels

Up unt i l about t went y or so years ago, w hen we spoke of oak in wi nemaking i t w as underst ood

t hat we w ere t alk ing about barrels. Barrels have been in use t hroughout t he ages and have

many posi t ive charact erist ics. They contr ibut e t he t annins and f lavor compounds we are l ooking

for i n our wines, and they have t he abi l i t y to posi t ively st ruct ure our wines by micro-oxidat i ve

processes due to t he l imit ed porosi t y of t he wood i t sel f . The ideal rat io of w ine volume t o wood

surf ace area is found in a 60 gal lon barrel , and f inal w ine quanti t ies larger t han this are oft en

t he result of b lendi ng a serie s of t hese 60 gallon vessels toget her. Since ever y barre l is sl i ghtl y

di f fer ent in i t s make-up of f l avors and aromas, by blending together a larger lot of wi ne that

was aged in several di f f erent t ypes of barrel s, w e can create a greater compl exi t y in the w ine

than would have been the result of only using a single wood source.

However, t here are also some negat ive qual i t ies t o barrels as wel l . First , t hey are expensive,and as t he maj ori t y of t heir ext ract able compounds are usual ly spent w it hin four years t hey can

represent a const ant high dol lar invest ment . Second, t hey require a high degree of

maintenance, and being porous they are almost impossible to keep sanitary in cases of microbia

spoi lage. St i l l , due to i t s micro-oxidat ive capabi l i t ies, a barrel w i l l be able t o st ruct ure a wine

better than any inert glass or stainless vessel would ever be able to do on its own.

For compl et e inf orm at ion on using barr els, see MoreWine!s Oak Barr el Care Guide.




Beans/Cubes and Stave Segment s

While a barrel i t sel f m ay best at st ruct uring a wi ne, i t s abi l i t y to add tannins along wi t h

complementary flavors and aromas is no longer unique. Thanks to companies l ike Stavin,

modern w inemaking now includes al t ernat i ve form s of oak avai lable as chips, beans/ cubes, and

st aves. Used by m any of Calif ornia's f i nest w iner ies, t hese beans and st aves are craf t ed f rom

careful l y select ed t ight-grain French, Amer ican and Hungarian oak that has been al lowed t o

naturally season in the open air for three years. The staves and beans are cut to a precise

t h ickness t hat t akes in to account t he exact d imensions t hat t he wine wi l l penetrat e in to t he

wood f rom al l 6 sides over t i me, which m aximizes t he eff ic iency of t he extr act ion process,

meaning that you wi l l get t o use 100% of t he oak f lavors t hat you paid for. The beans are made

fr om t he same exact wood as t he st aves; t he only di f f erence is t hat t hey go thr ough t he

addit ional st ep of being cubed. Once sized, bot h t he cubes and st aves are t radi t ional ly f i re

t oast ed using St avin's propriet ary met hods. The result is an oak product wi t h a gradation of

t oast ing t hat gradual ly del ivers a mult i t ude of complex, posi t ive oak f lavor compounds int o the

wi ne t hroughout t he ent i r e aging process, j ust as t he highest qual i t y barrels would do, but

wi t hout t he cost or added work associated w it h a barrel i t sel f .

Chips

When comparing cubes and st aves t o chips, i t is import ant t o keep in mind t he fol l owing: chips

are oft en made fr om low er qual i t y, un-seasoned wood and depending on t he source thi s wi l l

most def i ni t ely come t hrough in the f inished wi ne wi t h various degrees of harshness. That being

said, there are exceptions and some sources do get their chips from actual cooperages - instead

of a cabinet shop or fur ni t ure mi l l - and the f lavors and aromas fr om t hese can be quite good.

However, t he reason why t hese should be viewed as a tool r ather t han a complet e oaking

solut ion is direct ly relat ed t o t heir t hin shape and size. During t oast ing, due t o their lack of

mass chips react qui t e quickly to t he heat and they al l t oast t o a comparable level , leaving

t hem monochromat ic wi t h no gradati ons of color or t oast level . Since, w hen toast ing oak, w hat

you see is also what you t ast e, t his lack of gradati ons unfort unately t ranslat es int o a lack of

complexi t y in t he t oast ed chips f i nal f l avors and aromas. In addit ion t o t he t oast ing issues, t he

smal ler size of t he chips makes for a ful l release of al l of t heir compounds in a very short period

of t ime. This may be great f or quickly get t ing toast ed oak components int o a fer ment at i on,

indeed t his is probably t he single best use f or t he chips. However w hen t he ideal scenario is a

slow and st eady extr act ion r ate over a period of several mont hs t o a year or so, unless a

wi nemaker f inds himself in need of a quick f ix, he should probably f orego t he chips in f avor of

t he cubes or staves.

Alt ernative Oak products and fermentat ion

I t is in terest ing to note t hat dur ing a red wine f ermentat ion, compounds der ived f rom t oast ed

oak are a highly eff ect i ve, natur al addit ive responsible f or ini t iat ing t he st abi l izat ion of color

and cross-l inking grape t annins t o help bui ld m id-palat e st ruct ure, and for get t ing an early st art




t o bui lding complexi t y in t he f l avor and aromas of t he young wi ne. These components can come

fr om chips, cubes, segments or st aves and al l are eff ect i ve. However, each wi l l di f fer in t heir

rat e of extr act ion based on surf ace area and exposure t o end grain (the end grain extr acts at a

quicker rate than the rest of the wood surface). The extract ion rates for the di f ferent oaks can

be broken down as fol lows, f rom qui ckest t o slow est :

• Chips (around 7 days),

• Cubes (2 mont hs minim um, up t o 1 year of useful l i f e),

• Segment s (3 mont hs minim um, 18 months of useful l i f e),

• St aves (3 mont hs minim um, useful l i f e of 2 years).

So, w it h t he except ion of t he chips, w e can see that once the 2 to 4 weeks of a prim ary

fer ment at i on are over, each of t he toast ed oak product s st i l l have a signi f icant amount of usefu

l i fe l e f t in t hem. Therefore, t he winemaker has t he choice to e i ther cont inue t o use t he same

oak in a subsequent alcohol ic f erm entat ion*, f or instance i f you have more grapes coming

around the corner; or to j ust carry t he oak through wi t h the w ine in to t he next t ank in order to

continue the extract ion during the structuring and maturat ion periods.

*When saving an oak product t o add t o an upcomi ng alcohol i c f erm ent at ion, i t is best t o get t h

next f erm ent star t ed as quickly as possibl e t o avoid spoi l age of t he wine-soaked oak i f i t wer e

to become exposed to oxygen.

When using toast ed oak t o help st ructure a red wine f ermentat ion, i t is import ant t o real ize

t hat in order t o be ef fect ive, t he oak real ly needs t o be in const ant contact w i t h t he l iqu idport ion of t he must . Therefore, t he winemaker needs t o make sure t hat t he wood remains

under t he cap at al l t imes. I f loose wood is simpl y thr own int o the must at t he crush, unt i l i t

becomes saturated w i t h wine t he oak wi l l j ust f loat on the sur face of t he l iqu id and be carr ied

up wi t h t he cap dur ing t he ferment at ion. The resul t is t hat t he oak wi l l become separated f rom

t he work ing wine and t he desi red components wi l l not be t ransferred in t o t he wine dur ing th is

cr i t ical phase. However, i t is equal ly import ant t hat t he wood not get bur ied in the lees at t he

bot t om of t he vessel. This could be a fact or i f loose w ood were bei ng used t o st ruct ure a second

ferm entat ion and i t was a l ready saturated enough t o sink to t he bot t om of t he ferment er -

being buried in t he lees wi l l also eff ect i vely separate t he oak fr om a working wine! So, w it h thi s

in m ind, i t is recomm ended t o use a f ood-grade nylon bag (usual ly f or t he beans and segment s)

and ei t her weight i t down or t i e i t o f f i n the f ermenter so that t he wood remains under the cap

The nylon bag also makes transferring the oak into the next vessel post-press all that much

easier.

Note t hat t he ideal p lacement of t he wood would be j ust under t he cap since t h is is t he zone

most concentr ated in t he ext ract i on of t he compounds t hat need t o be int eract ing wi t h t he

oak.




Stavin’s Recommended Oak Dosage rate for Fermentation:

Per t he research conducted at St avin, t he minim um amount of t oast ed oak needed to achieve

cross-l i nking and st ruct uri ng is: 4-8 l bs per t on (1 t on gives around 160 gallons or 606 l i t ers of

must when crushed).

Broken down, t his wor ks out t o:

.025 to . 050 lb per gal lon (.4 t o .8 ounces per gal lon), or ( . 1 to . 2 grams per l i t er).

MoreWine! recom mend s using: 2 t o 2.5 ounces of oak cubes per 5 gall ons of l iqui d w ine (not

must ). More can alw ays be added lat er, i f needed.

A f inal not e on gaining complexi t y by blending

Wineries use American, French and increasingly, Hungarian & Russian oak at various ratios i

their wines to garner the best quali t ies that the dif ferent woods have to of fer . You can easisimulate this by either creating your own blend in a single addition or by using some of one

type of oak in one addit ion, and some of another in a second one.

Not e t hat i f you happen to have more t han one carboy/ t ank of t he same type of w ine, i t is a

great idea t o take advant age of t his and use a di f f erent t ype of wood or t oast level in each of

t he di f f erent carboys/ t anks. This way you have a real-worl d exampl e of how t hese woods

in te ract w i t h your wi ne and you can bet t er choose t he combinat ions t hat w i l l give you t he

qual i t ies you are aft er when t hey are blended t oget her.

10.7) Calculating free SO2

I t i s import ant t o st ar t t h is sect ion wi t h some inform at ion. Pot assium Met abisul f i t e ( “ Sul f i t e” ,

“ Met a” , “ SO2” ) (AD495) is used in winemaking in the post -crush/ pre-inoculate st age for k i l l ing

unwanted bact er ia and wi ld yeast , t hereby ef fect ive ly creat ing a “ c lean slate” for t he more

desirable and SO2-tol erant cul t ured yeast s t o get in and do t heir j ob. I t ’ s used as a general

sanit i zer at al l st ages of t he wi nemaking process. Post -fer ment , i t also prevent s t he enzymatic

brow ning of whit e wi nes and guards against prem atur e oxidat ion in bot h reds and whit es. I t

preserves fr eshness and colour and i t st abi l izes a wi ne, t hereby ext ending the shelf l i f e of your

labors. I f a wine does not contain t he required amount of SO2, chances are t hat i t won’ tgraceful ly make i t past one year in t he bott le (depending on t he pH). As al l w ine benefi t s fr om

t he aging process, w ouldn’ t i t make sense t o tr y and underst and what w e need to do t o in order

t o make sure i t wi l l go t he dist ance?… Of course i t w ould. And t herefore, I invi te you t o read on

and ent er t he exci t ing wor ld of su l f i t e addi t ions!

To begin w i t h, t he act ual amount needed is qui te smal l , and is referred t o as “ ppm” (par ts per

mi l l ion) . There are t wo form s of su l f i t e that you need to be aware of : Bound SO2 an d Free SO2

When you make your SO2 addit ion, a port ion of i t binds wi t h element s in t he must or wi ne

(acetaldehyde, yeast , bacter ia, sugars, and oxygen) and is referr ed t o as bound . The rest of t he




addit ion remains unbound and is ref erred t o as f r e e . I t is t h is la t t er por t ion t hat we are

int erest ed in because only t he fr ee SO2 brings you al l of t he previously ment ioned benefi t s t hat

your w ine bot h needs and deserves.

The goal wit h SO2 addit ions is t o t ry t o use t he least amount needed in or der t o att ain a

benefic ial satur at i on level (r oughly 0.5 ppm molecular SO2 for reds, and 0.8 ppm molecular SO2

for w hi tes) , w hi le t r y ing t o avoid adding t oo much, w hich would f law t he wine by giv ing i t a

sul f i t e smel l and/ or t ast e. What makes adj ust ing t o thi s ideal level int erest ing is t hat t he act ua

amount of SO2 that wi l l end up as fr ee aft er you make your addit i on act ual ly varies in direct

relat ion to t he pH of t he must or wine! In short , t he higher t he pH t he more SO2 wi l l be needed

and conversely, t he lower t he pH the less SO2 wi l l be needed t o att ain t he ideal level . Take a

mom ent now t o look at t he fol low ing chart and you wi l l see how t his al l comes t oget her:

Level of "Free" SO2 Needed in a Red Wine (based on pH):

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

3.00 3.10 3.20 3.30 3.40 3.50 3.60 3.70 3.80

pH of the Wine

P P M o

f " F r e e " S O 2 N e e d

e d

So, by now you are asking “ What does al l t his real ly m ean to m e?” , and more

import ant ly , “ How do I use t h is in format ion?” ….Wel l , i t ’ s act ual ly fa i r ly st ra ight f orward. To

begin, you wi l l need to t est t he must or wine f or i t s “ f ree” SO2 level . There are a few w ays t o

do this, but by f ar the simpl est solut ion for t he home wine-m aker would be t o use a ki t made by

CHEMet rics. I t is a Ripper-m et hod t i t rat ion cel l and i t ’ s manufact ured under t he brand name

“ T i t re ts” (W510).

Unl ike for w hit e wines, w hen test ing red wines and must s i t must be noted t hat t he presence of

t annins and colour pigment s (as wel l as ascorbic acid) wi l l t hrow t he result s of t he “ Ti t ret s” off

result ing in a higher “ fr ee SO2” reading for t he sample t han there real l y is. In addit ion,

depending on how deeply pigment ed t he sample is, i t may also be di f f icul t t o see t he exact

endpoint of t he test since i t is based on a colour change- from t he blue of t he ini t ial react i on

back to the purpl ish-red of t he wine’ s original colour.

However, wi t h t he except ion of a vacuum-aspi rat ion set-up or a Hanna Ti t rator , “ T i t ret s”

represent t he only game in t own, especial ly t o t he average home wine-m aker. So, despit e t heir

f laws, i t is import ant t o point out t hat t hey are indeed st i l l qu i t e usefu l and here are some




work-arounds:

Wit h regards t o the false reading aspect: i t i s comf ort ing t o know t hat whi l e the exact ppm of

“ fr ee SO2” given by the endpoint of t he test m ay not be correct , t his result st i l l can serve as an

accurat e reference point t o f igure out how much of an SO2 addi t ion wound up being “ f ree” . To

do t his, you t est your sample bef ore you make an SO2 addit ion and not e t he endpoint. Next , you

make your SO2 addit ion, t hen test again. Then, al l you need t o do is t o subt ract t he f i r st t est s’

ppm (pre SO2 addit i on) fr om t he second (post SO2 addit ion), and you wi l l get an accurat e

indicat i on as t o how m uch free SO2 remained aft er you made your addit i on.

Wi th regards t o the p igments in t he red wine/ must making t he exact endpoint of t he test

d i f f icu l t t o be sure of : you can d i lu te your sample in order t o th in i t out , t hereby making t he

colour change more not iceable. Just be sure t o fact or t hat di l ut ion percentage back int o your

f i nal calculat ion. For example, i f you take a 50ml sample, and you add 50mls of dist i l led H20 t o

i t , t hen, since you’ve cut i t in ½, you wi l l j ust need to double the end resul t o f your test t o get

an accurat e result .

Fol lowing the d i rect ions, t est t he must or wine w i t h your su l f i t e t est k i t and f ind out w here the

“ fr ee” SO2 level is. Now, i f you happen t o know your pH, you can then ref erence the chart andsee exact ly where t he must or wine’ s ideal sul f i t e level should be. The di f f erence betw een

t hese tw o numbers* wi l l be what you wi l l want t o make up in order to br ing the “ f ree” SO2 in

t he must or wine up t o the appropr iat e level (*Not e t hat , cont rary to w hat you may th ink, t h is i

indeed appl icable t o t he must at t he t ime of t he crush because SO2 is used in t he grape-growing

process and i t may already be present even i f you have not added i t , yet. .) . So far, so easy…

However, you can’t j ust add in the di f fer ence as a st raight quant i t y because, as you wi l l

remember, a por t ion of your addi t ion wi l l become “ bound” and therefore wi l l be useless t o

you…So, know ing this, how do you make sure t hat your SO2 addit ion w i l l contain t he exact

amount of t he “ fr ee” SO2 needed? Wel l , you could bi t e off t he end of a bag and shake i t unt i l

t he b i l lowing cloud “ looked about r ight ” …, or , i f you’ re not f ee l ing lucky that day, you could

opt t o use t he fo l lowing equat ion! :

PPM of “ f ree” SO2 needed x 3. 785 x Gallons (US) of w ine you are adj ust ing

0.57 (the actual % of SO2 that w i l l become “ fr ee” in your addit ion)

So, as an example:

I f your sul f i t e test k i t indicat es t hat your wi ne has a “ fr ee” SO2 level of 12

ppm, and say that i t is a red wit h a PH of 3. 5, t hen you know t hat according to t he handy chart ,

a red wit h a PH of 3.5 would ideal ly l i ke t o have a “ fr ee” SO2 level of 24ppm. So,

24 (wher e the ppm of “ fr ee” SO2 should be according t o the chart based on the wines pH)




-12 (what t he actual sul f i t e level of your must or wine is current ly at , based on your t est )

= 12 This is t he amount of “ f ree” SO2 that you wi l l w ant t o add in order t o br ing i t up to t heideal level . So, let ’ s plug i t in t o the equation:

*Not e: I t i s impor t ant t o not e that t he number you get f o r t he “ ppm of “ f r ee” SO2 needed”

f or your adj ust ment needs t o have i t s decimal point moved t hree places t o the lef t before you

plug i t in t o t he equat i on! In t h is example, t he 12 ppm of “ f ree” SO2 needed t o be added goes int o the equat ion as .012 …

.012 x 3.785 x 5.5 ( say you have 5.5 gallons) = .438 grams of met a

0.57

So, t he magic number t o add in order t o get your 12 extra ppm of “ fr ee” SO2 (t o bring you up to

t he 24 ppm t hat you needed), is .438 grams.

If you don’ t have a scale:

¼ tsp SO2 per 5 gallons (US) = 50 ppm. Fudge accordingly.

1 tsp SO2 = 5.9 grams.

You can also make a 10% st ock solut ion and add it via a graduat ed 5 ml pipet t e: In a 750 ml

bot t le (st andard w ine bott le size), put in 75 grams (circa: 12 tsp) of pot assium m et abisul f i t e.

Fi l l t he bot t le ½ f u l l w i t h warm wat er shake unt i l c ryst a ls are d issolved, t hen top up w i t h co ld

wat er . Add i t

according t o t he

fo l lowing table:

Amount of 10% SO2

Solut ion Needed to

Add:

10 ppm: 30 ppm: 50 ppm:

Per Liter: .18 ml .53 ml .88 ml

Per Gallon

(US):

.67 ml 2.00 ml 3.33 ml




If you don’ t have a pH meter or an SO2 test kit (“ Tit ret s” ):

Typical ly, you can j ust add 50 ppm (1/ 4 t sp per 5 gal lons) of SO2 at t he crush. On t he ot her

hand, i f t here were rot t ed or bl ist ered clust ers mixed in w it h your grapes, or you run your t est s

and f ind t hat you have a high sugar/ low acid/ high pH must , t hen you may want t o add as much

as 80-100 ppm f or t his f i rst addit ion. True, t his sounds l ike a lot t o add, but keep in mind t hat

t he must j ust aft er t he crush wi l l have a lot of sol ids in solut ion, so a good port ion of t he 80-100

ppm SO2 wi l l become bound at t his st age. (However, you wi l l w ant t o keep t he SO2 levels low i f

you wi l l be doing a MLF (depending on the strain). In this case, do not add more t han 50 ppm

before you ferment ) .

Post -fer ment (and i f t he MLF is done), you may also w ant t o augment t he SO2

level during your t ransfer s, b ut by very l i t t le (25ppm…). Final ly, you wi l l add anot her 40-50 ppm

at b ott l ing t ime. By doing this you wi l l only be maint aining a generic level of SO2, and you

obviously run t he r isk of having i t be t oo much or t oo l i t t le. St i l l , t his is st i l l f ar bett er t han not

doing i t a t a l l .

Just an important reminder: with al l the benefi ts of potassium metabisul f i te comes a need torespect its nature. Its fumes are highly caustic and care should be used when handling it

(depending on how sensit ive you are t o i t , you may w ant t o use rubber gloves). You should avoid

breath ing i t and do not get i t in your m outh, or eyes.

Sect ion 10.8 – Bench Tr ials

What , Why & When

A bench tr ial is a smal l -scale tr ial meant t o simul ate t he addit i on of an addit ive or f ining agent

t o a larger volume of w ine.

The idea is t hat by t ry ing an addit ion or f i ning out on a smal l scale, you can t ry a range of

dosages, or even di f f erent pr oducts, wit hout having t o tr eat al l of your wine. This al lows you t o

accurat ely det ermi ne the exact pr ocess and dosage t hat w i l l have t he opt im al impact on your

wi ne al lowing you to move forw ard and perform t his process on your w hole batch.

Ideal ly, we’ d be doing a bench tr ial ahead of t he addit ion of any product t hat has a dosage

range rat her t han a f i xed dosage that is appropriat e. Indeed, this is most addit ions in

wi nemaking. For example, m ost of us have seen how f ini ng agents l ike bent onit e come wit h a

range of pot ent i al dosages on the package rather t han a predet ermi ned “ correct ” dosage level .You may have also read about how t here is a danger of st r ipping away much of a wine’ s

character when performing a f in ing, inc luding bentoni te. Wouldn’ t i t be n ice to know exact ly

how m uch bentonit e wi l l t ake care of your hazy wi ne so that you don’ t have t o r isk st r ippi ng ou

more f lavor, aroma and color than necessary? Ent er t he bench tr i al .

Bench tr ials should be perform ed imm ediatel y ahead of a f i ning or addit ion procedure. Your

wi ne is always changing. I f you wait t oo long aft er a t r ial t o make t he act ual addit ion or f ining,

t he ef fect m ay be d i f ferent f rom w hat you exper ienced in the t r ia l i tse l f . This means t hat you

might schedule a bench tr ial for egg whit e f ining a week ahead of t he actual f i ning, but p lan on




doing a TA addit ion t r ial j ust 2-3 days ahead of w hen you plan on making the addit ion t o t he

whole batch of wine.

How To

The bench trial process can be broken down into 6 basic steps: 1) Determining your sample

volume, 2) Determining your range of dosages for the trial, 3) Scaling the dosages down to your

sampl e size, 4) Creat ing a model solut ion, 5) Dosing t he sampl es and 6) Evaluat ing t he result s.

Let’s go through these step by step.

1) Determine your sample volume. There is no perfect ly correct sampl e volume f or a tr i al

The correct volume depends on how m uch wine you have t o work w it h, how smal l the

dosages of t he product you’r e t ry ing are and how exact you can be wit h a pipet and scale

So, select a larger sample size i f you have plent y of w ine t o work w it h, i f t he addit i ve or

f ini ng agent needs a very smal l dosage or i f you feel t hat you m ay not be t oo accurat e

wi t h measuring out t he test dosages. Remem ber that t he smal ler t he sample and/ or

dosage are, t he more signi f icant any smal l er ror on your part becomes. I f you are t ry ing

t o measure out 10 mL of l i quid and are off by 1 mL, t hat i s a 10% error – pret t y signi f ican

However, i f you are measuring out 100mL of l iquid and are off by 1 mL, a 1% error is not

such a concern. We recomm end sampl e sizes anywher e fr om 50 mL up t hrough 500 mL.

2) Determine your range of dosages. Most additives and fining agents have a recommende

range of dosages for treating wines. For i nst ance, MoreWine! ’s unique, pre-soaked

bentonit e product Albumex can be added in a range betw een 1 and 3 g/ L of w ine. Your

f i rst st ep is deciding how m any samples you are going to run. We typical ly r un 4 or 5

samples. Remember t o always keep one unt reat ed sample off t o the side as a cont rol .Also, i t is a good idea t o tr y to keep the st ep betw een the dosages uniform . I f we w ere

running a t r ial w i t h Albumex, 5 samples and a cont rol w ould be a good idea. The dosage

for t he samples would be 1 g/ L, 1.5 g/ L, 2 g/ L, 2.5 g/ L and 3 g/ L. You may have not iced

t hat we are working wit h the met r ic syst em here. Whi le i t may take some get t ing used

t o, i t ’ s t he best and easiest w ay t o do t his. I f you’r e having t rouble wr apping your head

around i t , t ry keeping t he conversions page at t he end of t his manual handy whi l e you’r e

wor king out your dosages.

3) Scale down the dosages to your sample size: As we m ent ioned in t he previous st ep, t he

dosages t hat you choose wi l l l ikel y be in ter ms of grams/ l i t er, or perhaps in oz / gal lon,

t hough metr ic uni t s are recomm ended. No mat t er what uni t s you use, i t i s unl ikely that

you’ l l be running the t r ial on samples as big as 1 l i t er (or 1 gal lon). You’ l l need t o do a

l i t t le mat h to scale down t he dosage to m atch your sample size. The basic idea here is

t hat you ask yoursel f t he fol low ing quest ion: “ I f I want t o achieve a dosage of 1 g/ L, how

much p roduct do I wei gh out f or m y 50mL sampl e?” Since 50mL is 5% of 1L, you also need

5% of 1g, w hich is 0.05g. The easiest w ay to set up t he mat h is as f ol l ows:

(Dosage)x(Conversion Fact or)x( Sampl e Size)=(Amt of Product for Sampl e). For exampl e;

(1g/ L)x(1L/ 1000mL)x(50mL) = 0.05g. Not ice how both t he ter ms for L and mL cancel out




leaving only g in the end. I f you ever w ind up wi t h a uni t r e lated t o volume at t he end of

t he equat ion t hen you know t hat you’ ve made a mist ake somew here and need t o go back

to t he sta r t .

4) Create a model solut ion: Most of us don’ t have a scale t hat can w eigh down t o 0.05g

accurat ely. Even a scale that c laims t o have a resolut ion of 0.1g wi l l not wei gh out

accurat ely unt i l you have at least 0. 5g on t he scale, unless you are using a very advanced

laborator y scale that cost s t housands of dol lars. How do we get t he smal l am ount ofproduct t hat w e need for t he tr ial? The answ er is t o create a solut ion of the product you

are t ry ing and add a measured amount of i t t o each sample. This is also very

st raightf orw ard. The f i rst st ep is t o take a look at t he range of dosages: is t he increment

bet w een each dose mor e or less t han 50% of t he fi rst dosage? In our Album ex exampl e it

is exact ly 50%: t he fi rst dose is 1g/ L and t he dose rises by 0.5g at each st ep. When t he

increment bet ween doses is 50% or m ore of t he original dose, you want t o set up t he

solut ion so that 1mL of t he solut ion is equivalent t o the smal lest dosage i t sel f . For

Albumex this means t hat you’ d create a solut ion where 1mL of t he solut ion would add

0.05g of Albumex to your 50mL sample (equivalent t o 1 g/ L addit ion). To make the

second sampl e, w here you need 0. 075g of Alb umex ( 50% incr ease over t he f ir st dose, 1. 5g/ L), you then j ust add 1.5mL of your model so lut ion. In order to create t he model

solut ion you must f i rst det ermi ne how much of t he product you are test ing you wish to

have contained in 1mL of t he model solut ion. In our case t he answer i s 0.05g. Weigh out

1g of your product and dissolve i t in 10mL of w ater . Not e that a graduated cyl inder is t h

best t ool for t his. Now you have a model solut ion where each mL cont ains 0.1g of

Albumex: (1g/ 10mL)x(1mL)=0.1g. To reach your desired 0.05g/ mL then simpl y cut t his

solut ion w i t h anot her 10mL of w ater , cut t ing the amount of Ambumex in each mL in hal f

t o 0.05g. Now, If your int erval bet w een doses is less t han 50% of t he init ial dose(dosages

of 0.5g/ L, 0.6g/ L, 0.7g/ L, etc , for example) then i t is best t o make a solut ion where eac

mL wi l l cont a in enough t o make up the in t erval rather t han enough t o make the in i t ia l

dosage.

5) Dose your samples: Now t hat you have made up your model solut ion i t is t ime t o add the

doses t o the samples. This is probably t he easiest part of doing the bench tr ial . Simpl y

add enough mLs of t he model solut ion t o each sample in order t o achieve t he dosage rat e

t hat you are looking for . In our example w it h Albumex, t his would m ean adding 1mL to

t he f i r st sample, 1.5mL to t he second, t hen 2mL, 2.5 and f i nal ly 3mL to t he last sample.

The easiest w ay t o do t his is wi t h a pipet t e. However, you must t ake care not t o add too

much model solut ion or you wi l l have to discard t he sample and st art over. A goodt echnique for t h is is t o f i l l a p ipet t e t o a given level , t hen seal the end w i t h your f inger

t ip. Since you have t o push pret t y hard to get a good seal, i t is possible t o al low l iq uid

out of t he pipet t e by simpl y reducing t he pressure you’r e using t o keep i t sealed. You

should not have t o act ual ly take your f inger of f t he p ipet t e in order to a l low l iqu id to

f low . Try pract ic ing t h is wi t h water a b i t and you’ l l get t he hang of i t pret t y quick ly .

6) Taste your samples: Now for t he fun bi t . Af t er al lowing enough t ime for t he product

you’r e t est ing to w ork, you w ant t o come back and t ast e t he samples t o see which dosage




( i f any of t hem) you l iked t he best . I t is a good idea t o do t his t ast ing wi t h one or tw o

other people t here as wel l – many palat es are bett er t han j ust one. Here’ s an impor t ant

note: ideal ly you would be able t o leave your samples for as long as i t normal l y takes t he

product t o work. Wi th many addi t ives, you would want t o f lush out t he sample via l wi t h

Argon gas prior t o closing them up. I f you do not have t he equipment necessary t o do

t h is, t hen you real ly only want t o a l low t he sample to si t for about 24hr or i t wi l l begin t o

ox id ize whi le you’ re wai t ing for t he product t o work. I t is acceptable to t aste t he sample

af t er 24hr, but recognize that you wi l l not be get t ing a fu l ly c lear p ic ture of productsbenefi t s or negatives. I f t his is t he case for you, i t is best i f you only add about hal f of

what ever dosage you decide on as best when you tr eat your w hole volume of w ine. Al low

enough t ime f or t h is addi t ion to w ork complete ly , and then t ast e t he wine again to

evaluat e whet her or not you think a furt her addit ion is necessary. We can promise you

t hat in some cases i t wi l l not be.

Tips and Tr icks

Final ly, her e are a few general ly t ips and tr icks t o keep in mind:

1) We’ l l keep saying i t : get comfort able wi th t he metr ic syst em. I t makes a l l o f the mat h foscaling up and dow n much easier , as everyt hing w orks on the same base 10 syst em.

2) Invest in a decent scale t hat m easures in grams and has a resolut ion dow n t o 0.1g. our

MT351A is a perf ect choice.

3) Erlenm eyer f lasks are not marked exact ly and should not be t rust ed f or exact

measurement s of volume. They t ypical ly have a + 5% error. Measuring your l iquid w it h a

pipet t e is always best . We have pipet t es t hat measure up to 50mL wi t h very high

accuracy.

4) A 50mL or 100mL graduated cyl inder i s pret t y much required i f you want t o do this

correct ly .

10.9) Transferring/Racking

In winemaking, t ransferr i ng the product f rom one conta iner t o anot her is referred t o as racking

an d can be done in one of t hree w ays:

Siphoning

Wit h smal l vol umes, r acking is usually d one by gravit y using a sim ple siphon set -up. This is a

good, l ow-cost solut ion t hat w orks wel l and is ideal i f you only have a couple of carboys.

However, t here is a cat ch: s ince siphoning rel ies on gravi ty, t he t ransfer r ing vessel m ust besi t uated higher t han the receiving one in order f or t he process t o be eff ect i ve. I f you are using a

vessel l arger t han a carboy, t his set up m ay not be physical ly possible. An al t ernat e met hod of

transferr ing the wine wi l l be preferable. In addit ion, s iphon set-ups are pretty s low, which may

or not be a factor f or you i f you happen to be working wit h larger volumes.

Pumps

For si t uat ions where a gravi ty t ransfer is not possible or you are wor king wit h larger volumes,

you wi l l need a pump. There are di f f erent k inds of pum ps t hat are sui t ed to di f fer ent j obs. Som




are made for m ust t ransfer s and “ pump-overs” (pumping w ine f rom t he bot t om of the vessel back over the cap dur ing fermentat io

because they are able to pass solids. Others are made solely for pumping l iquid, and are used fo

wine t ransfers, barre l w ork, mix ing/ st i r r ing tanks, f i l t er ing and bot t l ing.

Pumps are very helpf ul and are indeed convenient t o have around. That said, t hey do have some

pot ent ial drawbacks. Any pump wi l l int roduce some level of physical agi t at i on to a wine. At

st rong enough levels this handl ing can become damaging t o t he wi ne’ s st ruct ure. In addit ion, i f

not set up correct ly some pump styles wi l l st op f low ing the w ine even though t he pump is st i l l

running. This is due t o an air/ gas pocket f ormi ng in the pump head and is ref erred t o as

cavi tat ion .

When invest igat ing which pump m ight be best for you, t he fol l owing quest ions are a good place

t o st art : Wi l l t he pump be used for f erment at ion (m ust ) or cel lar work ( l iquid only)? This wi l l

det ermi ne which kind of pum p you may need. Wil l you only be working wit h carboys or perhaps

doing a lo t o f larger barre l / t ank work? This wi l l in f luence what k ind of f low-rat e/ t hroughput siz

you may be looki ng for. In any case, a MoreWine! special ist wi l l be happy t o help you choose t h

most appropriat e model t hat w i l l best address your speci f ic wi nemaking needs.

Pressurized Gas

For barrel w ork, one of t he most ideal syst ems for moving wine is a barrel t ransfer t ool t hat use

pressuri zed gas t o push t he w ine in st ead of a pum p (R657). This is a very gent le and eff ect i ve wa

t o move wine bet ween barrel s. The downsides t o gas are t hat i t can only be used wit h barrel-t o

barrel transfers, i t requires a gas set-up, and it uses a large volume of gas.

10.10) Iner t Gas and Winemaking

Any space in a carboy, t ank or barrel t hat i s not occupied by l iquid i s f i l led w it h gas. As we al l

know , t he air ar ound us is act ually a m ixt ure of gases, r oughly 20% of w hich is oxygen. We have

al l heard of a f law ed wi ne being described as oxidized . Oxygen can react with unprotected

f i nished w ine t o creat e undesirable i mperf ect i ons l ike br owning, loss of fr eshness, sherry- l ike

f lavors and arom as, and VA (vinegar). Unless you are in a sit uat ion w it h a guarant ee of

t emperature st abi l i ty , as wi t h a glycol - j acketed t ank, or a temperature-contro l led t ank/ barre l

room, vessels t hat are complet ely “ t opped-up” should maint ain a smal l headspace at t he top.

This compensates for expansion and contr act ion of t he l iquid due t o ambient t emperat ure

changes (remem ber t hings expand when heat ed and contr act w hen cooled). Since gas

compresses more readi ly t han l iquid, no signi f icant addit ional pressure is exerted on t he st orage

vessel. This is why you see a ¼” space below a cork in a f ini shed bot t le of w ine, and also w hy i tis recommended t o leave a 1” gap below t he st opper in a sealed carboy. I f t he headspace is not

present, as t he t emperat ure r ises and the w ine expands, t he result ing pressure w i l l not b e

mit igat ed by the gas’ abi l i t y to compress and the ful l for ce of t he l iquid wi l l push up against t he

l id / bung. Depending on how extreme t he shi f t in t emperature is and the volume of t he wine,

t his pressure can be enough t o ei t her bow t he l ids of t anks outw ard and/ or push bungs out

ent i rely. Whi le i t may seem l ike an extr eme result , t his can and does happen. Besides creat i ng

loss of wi ne and a mess, your w ine has now be come exposed t o t he element s and potent ial

spoi lage. In order t o prevent t his scenario fr om happening, i t is best t o leave headspace at t he




t op of your vessels i f t he wine w i l l be exposed t o any t emperat ure variance during i t s

aging/ st orage.

However, t his poses a problem: how do you creat e a space for expansion and contract ion whi le

avoiding any negative oxidative reactions? The answer l ies in being able to replace the oxygen-

containing air in t he headspace wit h an inert gas , such as Nit rogen, Argon or CO2. Unlike oxygen

inert gas does not r eact w it h wi ne t o create any negat ive charact erist ics. In addit ion, Argon and

CO2 are actual ly heavier t han air* and winem akers can use t his propert y t o t heir advantage.

When done correctly, purging headspaces (also referred to as f lushing or sparging ) w i t h e i ther o

t hese gases can remove oxygen by l i f t ing i t up and carrying i t out of t he st orage vessel, much

l ike t he way oi l f l oats on the surf ace of wat er. Inert gas wi l l have eff ect i vely displaced the

oxygen in t he vessel and t he wi ne can now be safely held during i t s aging/ st orage w it h no i l l

ef f ects. The tr ick t o successful ly achieving t his level of pr otect ion l ies in underst anding t he

t echniques needed t o ef f ect ive ly creat e t h is b lanket . Let ’ s t ake a closer look at j ust what ’ s

needed t o do so.

*Note: Nit rogen is act ual ly l ighter t han ai r . Whi l e i t i s perf ect ly safe for use in winemaking

f rom a non-react iv i t y point of v i ew, unless you are using a sealed t ank t hat w i l l never be opened dur i ng t he wine’s st orage, t he fact t hat i t wi l l not act as a protect ive blanket m akes i t

poor choice f or p ur ging headspaces.

Recommended steps for creating a protective blanket of inert gas:

• Avoid t urbulence: The key to creat ing an eff ect i ve blanket w it h CO2 or Argon l ies in

underst anding a basic physical propert y of gases: t hey readi ly mi x w it h each other when

agit ated. In the case of a mixt ure containing a heavy gas and a l ight er one, w e get a“ snow globe” t ype of ef f ect . When t here is no movement t he e lements remain separated

(t he heavier gas for ms a layer below t he l ighter one). When the mixt ure becomes agit ate

t he heavier “ snow” mixes back up into t he solut ion (t he gases combine). However, once

t he agit at i on st ops, event ual ly t he heavier “ snow” (t he heavy gas) set t les back out again

It ’ s t he abi l i t y for heavier and l ighter gases t o tem porari ly combine t hat w inemakers nee

t o be aware of . We use Argon or CO2 t o prot ect our w ines because t hese gases are iner t

and are heavier t han air - t hey possess t he abi l i t y t o exclude oxygen fr om int eract i ng wit

t he wine. However, i f oxygen fr om t he ambient air becomes mixed int o our Argon or CO2

whi l e we are dispensing i t , t hen the inert gas wi l l no longer be pure and we w i l l not beget t ing the same level of pr otect i on we t hought we w ere.

When purging headspaces wi t h inert gas, t he f l ow r ate of t he gas as i t exi t s t he t ubing wi

determine t he make-up/ pur i ty of t he f ina l volume of gas t hat you wi l l end up wi t h. The

st ronger t he del ivery f orce, t he less pure t he dispensed gas wi l l be. To bett er underst and

t his, t hink of t he fol l owing analogy: let ’ s say the pure gas coming out of t he t ubing is l ike

cream being poured into a clear cup of coff ee. Pouring at a high f low -rat e causes a lot of

t urbulence and as t he cream and coff ee rol l and swi r l around in t he cup they quickly mix




t hemselves t ogether. On t he other hand, i f we gent ly pour the cream int o the cof f ee at a

slow enough rate t o keep t he turbulence to a min imum, we can see that t he cream w i l l

form a layer in t he coff ee t hat r emains t here unt i l w e st i r i t . Dispensed CO2 and Argon

gases behave j ust l ike t he cream does. In order t o create t hat pure, unmixed layer w e wi

need to m ake sure t hat our m et hod of del ivery t akes st eps t o avoid t urbulence as much a

possible.

The ideal f low-r ate needed to achieve t his is a gent le bleed, simi lar t o a w arm breat h tha

fogs up a wi ndow, rat her t han an extended, strong, blast we w ould use to blow out t he

candles on a birt hday cake. The f low should f eel soft t o your skin. This wi l l general ly be

j ust ab ou t t he low est set t ing yo ur regu lat or can be set t o an d st i l l f l ow . Depending on t he

size of your t ubing t his usually means bet w een 1-5 PSI.

• The diamet er of t he tubing wi l l det ermi ne how fast you can safely f l ow your gas: We

would l ike t o achieve the highest volume of gas t hat can be del ivered whi l e maint aining

t he low-tur bulence f low rate needed to avoid mix ing the gas wi t h t he a i r we are t r y ing t o

get r id of . Any size tubing can be used t o del iver an eff ect i ve blanket of i nert gas; t he

amount of t ime i t t akes wi l l increase as t he diamet er of t he del ivery t ubing decreases. Toi l lustrat e t his, l et ’ s t ake a look at t wo di f f erent scenarios using an analogy of f i l l i ng a

bucket w it h a garden hose.

For t he f i r st exampl e, im agine we have t he spigot t urned on and the w ater i s f l owing

fr eely out of t he end of t he hose. We can see that al t hough a large volume of w ater i s

being del ivered, t he st ream only tr avels a few f eet bef ore i t hi t s t he ground. We have a

large amount of wat er being del ivered under low t urbulence/ force. I f w e were f i l l ing a

bucket, t hen we could do so quickly and wi t h l i t t le splashing.

In our second scenario, wi t hout increasing the f l ow-r ate at t he spigot, i f w e part i al lycover t he open end of t his same hose wit h our t humb, t he st ream now becomes forceful

enough t o shoot across t he yard. Fi l l ing our bucket in t his st yle w ould generat e qui t e a bi

of unwanted splashing/ t urbulence and in order t o avoid t h is we are f orced to t urn down

t he f low-rat e. As a resul t , t he t im e i t t akes t o f i l l our bucket has j ust become longer t han

it was in t he f i r st scenario.

Therefore, we can see f rom t he t wo above examples t hat i f we w ant ed t o speed up the

sparging process whi l e not compromi sing the gentl e f l ow needed t o create an eff ect i ve

blanket, we should look to expand t he diamet er of t he output t ubing. This can be done b

simpl y att aching a smal l l engt h of a larger diamet er t ube to t he exist ing gas l ine t hat isrunning from your regulator.

• Laminar is best : Inst ead of aiming the f low of gas direct ly at t he surf ace of t he wine, t he

best way t o del iver i t wi t h t he least amount of t urbulence is t o have the f l ow be si t uated

paral le l t o the sur face of t he wine, or laminar . This way, t he inert gas wi l l be l ess l ikely t

churn-up and mix wi t h the ambient a i r on del ivery , because i t wi l l not “ bounce” of f t he

surf ace of t he l iquid. The gas wi l l behave mor e l ike f og rol l ing over a landscape- creat ing




a n ice, t h ick, pure b lanket of protect ion over t he wine.

A simpl e and eff ect i ve way t o achieve t his is by att aching a divert er at t he end of your ga

t ubing. For wor king in carboys, an aerator at t achment ( BE510) w orks wel l . For barrel s and

t anks, a large st ainless “ T” works great : pr oviding bot h the greater diamet er outp ut

needed to be able t o safely sparge at a quicker rat e, and an added weight t hat w i l l help

keep the t ubing st raight w hi le i t ’ s being posi t ioned for use.

Putting it all together: MoreWine!s recommended method for sparging a headspace wi th

inert gas

• Adjust t he regulat or t o create a f l ow-r ate t hat w i l l be as high as you can go whi l e

st i l l maint aining a soft , l ow-pr essure bleed. Turn off t he gas.

• Lower t he tubing* into t he vessel t o the purged so that t he output wi l l be close to

t he surf ace of t he wine, around 1-2” fr om t he surf ace is good. (A f lashl ight can be

helpfu l here. )

• Turn on t he gas and begin sparging

• Using a l ighter , hold and lower t he open f l ame unt i l i t goes j ust below t he r im of

t he vessel. I f i t st ays l i t , t hen ther e is st i l l oxygen present and you wi l l need t o kee

f i l l ing. Eventual ly t he inert gas level wi l l reach the r im and al l of t he oxygen wi l l

get f loated out . Keep check ing wi t h t he l ighter t est unt i l eventual ly t he f lame goe

out, indicat i ng a lack of oxygen . (Note: for bar re ls or t anks wi t h small openings, BBQ or

“ candle” l ight ers, a long wi t h 12” f i rep lace matches work w el l ) .

• Once the flame has gone out, your headspace is now safely purged with inert gas.

*Not e: Remember t o sani t ize the divert er and what ever l engt h of t ubing t hat m ay come int o

cont act wi t h e i t her t he surf aces of t he vessel or t he wine (“ St ar-San” (CL26) works great f or t his). That w ay, in case t he t ubing sl i ps and comes int o cont act wi t h t he wine as you are

lower i ng i t int o place you wi l l not cont aminate t he wine.

Some Final Notes on Using Inert Gas

In order t o use inert gas you wi l l need t o make t he invest ment in a smal l gas set -up. This is qui t

sim ply a small t ank of CO2* (D1050), Ni trogen** (D1054), or Argon (al so D1054), a regulator (D1060 fo

CO2, and D1070 for b ot h Argon and Nit rogen), and some t ubing (D1704).

*Note: CO 2 is only to be used for a non-pressurized headspace. If you wil l be using gas to push t he wine ( f i l t rat ion, serv ing f rom a keg, et c. ) , you wi l l want t o use Ni t rogen or Argon. The

reason for t his is t hat CO 2 wi l l go int o solut ion under l ow pr essures and t he ot her gasses wi l l

not . In other wor ds, i f you use CO 2, you could i nadvert ent l y carbonat e your w ine! On the ot her

hand, i f t hat w as what you were af t er , t h is would be a perf ect way to do spark l ing wines f or

t he home wine-maker!

A f inal b onus t o having a gas set -up is that not only can you f lush half -consumed bot t les of wi ne

(t hereby preserv ing t hei r f lavor bet t er t han i f t hey are j ust le f t t o react w i t h the oxygen that

ent ered t he bott le w hen you poured i t ) ; you could even use i t t o push t he wine in a kegging



system (KEG420) . The b eaut y of t he kegging set -up is that you can use gas-pr essure i n place of a

pump f or a gent l er f i l t rat ion, pul l of f a single glass of w ine wit hout having t o open up an ent i re

bot t le, bl end at any t im e in t he aging process, and best of al l , st ore your wine in an ent i r ely

enclosed syst em! Once again, no oxygen contact !

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Home Winemaking Instructions