1.Linda Donovan
541.621.1589
2010 Home Winemaking Class

2. Introduction
UCD Grad
Making Wine for 15 years
In Rogue Valley for 9 years
Started Pallet Wine Company in Medford
This class will walk you through the process of making 5 gallons of finished(drinkable) wine.
3. Class Outline
Vineyards and Harvesting
Berry and Juice Composition
Must and Juice Adjustments
White Wine Making
Analysis Techniques
Red Wine Making
Finishing, Fining and Bottling
Miscellaneous Information
Tasting problems and successes from previous years
4. Vineyards and Harvesting
Why Grapes?
Source
How to pick
How much to pick
When to Pick????????????????
5. Determine Ripeness - Sweetness
Sugar content in grapes
Measured in Brix
White wines ideal = 21 23 Brix
Red wine ideal = 23-25 Brix
Dessert wines = as high as possible
6. Acidity
Mostly Tartaric and Malic acids
Some Citric acid
Some Acetic acid and Suscinic acids
Will determine how tart the finished wine is
Contributes to quality of finished wine
White wine should be7-9 g/L at harvest
Red wines should be 6-8 g/L at harvest
Dessert wines will be too low atharvest (waiting for sugar)
7. pH . the most important criteria
Will discuss (at length) next class
Range for whites 3.2- 3.5
Range for reds 3.3 3.6
8. Flavor. Also very important
Flavors change during ripening
9. Condition of Grapes
Bird damage
Mold
Sunburn
Not getting any riper
Falling apart
10. Weather and schedule
Cool, dry weather ideal cold fruit is best!!
Growers schedule
Pickers schedule
Equipment availability
11. Ready to Pick
12. Need 100 pounds of Fruit
Clean bucketsand clippers
Buckets hold approximately 20 pounds of fruit
Should be food grade buckets
If able to weigh= better
Wewill get about 6 gallons of juice or 22 Liters
We will end with about 5 gallons of wine or 19 Liters
13. Analyze and Adjust Juice
Brix
Several methods
Brix * .55 = final alcoholie.24Brix = 13.2 % alcohol
Too high alcohol = yeast death (sweet) and hot taste
Too low sugar = not winelike and less stable in bottle
Add 1.25 pounds of table sugar to raise 10 gal of juice 1Brix
Use C1V1 = C2V2 formula to decrease sugar
14. Correct for Acid
Total Acidity (TA) is reported in grams per Liter
Increase Acid in g/L
10Liters of wine at 5.2 TA
Want TA of 7.0 increase of 1.8 g/L or, 18 grams ofTARTARIC ACID
Lower TA by adding .62 g/L Potassium Carbonate to decrease TA by 1 g/L
19 Liters of wine at 9.5 TA
Want 7.0 g/L, add 1.5grams/Liter or 28.5 grams for 19 L.
15. Measure pH
Very Important to understand
Microbial Importance
Chemical Importance
Reaction catalyst drives reactions toward or against goal
Stability Importance
Measure often
Will increase over time
Increasing and decreasing TA will affect pH!!!
16. Add Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
Kills bad bugs
Our yeast not as sensitive
Prevents browning
Protects juice and wine
Expressed in ppm
We will add 45 ppm to our juice using Campden tablets
1 tablet per gallon = 75ppm increase
5 gallons at 0ppm = add 3 tablets
17. Making White Wine
Let the Fun Begin!!!
18. Pressing first
Transfer and sort grape clusters into press
No leaves
No moldy grapes
Spiders. Earwigs and dirt = OK
Press grapes until as dry as possible into two clean 5 gallon buckets
Press slowly too slow= low yield, too hard= bitter tannins from seeds, stems and skins
Make adjustments now
19. Settling
Keep as cool as possible
Allow to settle overnight in cool place- dont move around
Rack clear juice into 5 gallon carboy plus other glass container- fill full only!
Putfermentation lock, breather cap on top.
20. Add Yeast
For white wine, we are using Champagneyeast
Need to hydrate and acclimate yeast
Wait a couple days to see bubbles
Monitor Brix and temps- temps go up fast!
Smell often
Will get very frothy
Keep clean
Top up container (s) near end of fermentation 0Brix
Keep flies out but let gas out- can explode if sealed
21. Allow to finish and age
When wine is dry , or when wine tastes good to you= time to stop and protect wine.
Will begin to clarify
No CO2
No Air!
No heat
22. Ageing, Stylistic Options and Finishing
Oak Chips use carefully
Sur Lies (on lees) stylistic
Blending
More acid/Less acid
ML Fermentation
Bacterial Fermentation
Malic acid to Lactic Acid
Stabilizes the wine
Creates Butter Flavors
pH, temp and competition issues
23. If wine is done
Rack off solids
Add SO2 at a rate of 50 ppm
Top carboy
Replace breather bung with a solid bung
Keep cool
Start thinking about bottling!!!
24. Stabilize prior to bottling
Tartrates will precipitate and form wine diamonds
Proteins will form a haze
Tartaric acid stabilization= get wine cold for 2 weeks (32 degrees F) and allow process to happen in carboy and not in bottle
Proteins need a little bentonite to pull them out of solution
Just for looks of a clear wine
Add about 10 grams of bentonite and allow to settle.
Rack once more and bottle
25. If wine is sweet or not through ML, must filter to avoid fermentation in bottle.
Or drink it fast!!
Check S02 once more and make additions based on pH
26. Bottling
Transfer wine into clean glass (rack)
UseNitrogen to displace air in bottle
Avoid Oxygen!!
Closure
Capsule
Label
27. Analysis Techniques
Red Wine Making
Tasting!!!!
Next Time:
28. 29. Analysis Techniques
30. Measuring Sugar
Refractometer
Measures the bending of light
Use until alcohol is produced
Cost about $30 (look on eBay)
Great to take into the vineyard
Hydrometer
Measures specific gravity how thick
Different scales
Brix scale = -2 to 30
Needabout 150 mls per test (can pour juice back into fermenter)
31. Sugars
CliniTest Tablets
Easy to use-made to measure sugar in urine
Very accurate in white wine
Red wine needs to be decolorized for easier reading
Use carbon or pvpp
.5 mls of sample (5 drops) and 1 pill.Sample gets hot when reaction occurs.
Orange= sweet
Blue = dry
32. pH
Test stripsrange from 2.5 4.5
Small hand held = $20
Important to know pH
33. Titratable Acidity (TA)
Acid test kits
Reported in g/L or g/100ml
6.5 g/L or .65g/100 ml
Important to degas sample
34. SO2
Tirets test kits at Grains Beans etc.
NielsonResearch Corporation
245 South Grape Street
Medford, OR97501
(541)770-5678
MariaNRCWinelab@yahoo.com
35. Malo Lactic Fermentation
Will stall if wine gets too cold and finish in the spring
Will see bubbles in wine while fermenting
Should take about 8 weeks to complete
Can test with paper chromotography
36. Misc. Analysis
Volatile Acidity (VA) = amount of vinegar
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) = stinky, rotten egg
Alcohol (Ethanol)
37. Red Wine Making
A little different than whites
38. Process
Pick
Destem
Into fermenter
Adjust sugar, acid if necessary
Keep warm
Add yeast
Hydrate like white wine
Begin to monitor
39. Punch Down
Keep Cap wet and clean
Distribute Heat
Allow air in
Extract tannins
Not too much
Taste often
40. Press
Drain wine first
Transfer skins and seeds to press
Gently press
Wine will be sweet
Wine will be tannic
Add press wine back to free run
41. Allow wine to settle
Rack off heavy solids
Continue to monitor
Will begin second fermentation (naturally)
Keep warm and topped up
Smell often
Add a little oak
Allow to age until it tastes good!
42. Finishing and bottling Wine
When wine is ready
Blending
Fining if too bitter
Egg whites
Milk
Gelatin
Stabilize tartaric acids
Know your pH and adjust SO2 accordingly
43. SO2 and pH
Low pH requires much less sulfur dioxide (SO2) to be protected
pH 3.1 = 15 ppm
pH 3.3 = 20 ppm
pH 3.5 = 25 ppm
pH 3.7 = 35 ppm
pH 3.9 = 40ppm
This is the amount of SO2 that is present at bottling
Will lose a lot while transferring into bottles
44. Making a Port Style wine
Eliminates the need for filtering
Alcohol protects against microbe growth
Use same formula as sugar dilution:
C1V2 = C2V2
C= concentration (sugar or alcohol)
V = Volume
45. Adding sugar and alcohol
If wine is dry add about 6 pounds of sugar to 5 gallons of wine (add less if wine is a bit sweet)
Add about gallon of high proof alcohol
C1V1 + C2V2 = C3V3
46. Bottling
Clean bottles
Clean transfer tubes
NO AIR!!!
Fill, Cork, Label
Keep finished wine in a cool (68 degrees) and humid
Taste often- usually needs a few weeks before tastes good
47. Tasting Wines
Color
Clarity
Aroma
Taste
Finish
48. See you next year
GOOD LUCK!!!