Malolactic Fermentation begins

Well, about a week ago I inoculated the wine with a Malolactic fermentation bacteria. This is an important step in many red wines. While the primary fermentation is accomplished by yeast, converting the sugar into ethanol, this malolactic ("secondary") fermentation is accomplished by a special kind of bacteria. The bacteria converts harsh malic acid into softer lactic acid. It releases CO2 at the same time so the wine bubbles as it does with primary fermentation. Malolactic fermentation ("MLF") makes many wines taste better because the malic acid present in the wine is very tart (think of the crisp acidity of an apple). Many wines (mostly white wines) benefit from this acidity, but in a red wine, the taste is usually considered undesirable. The MLF process naturally converts this tart malic acid into a soft and buttery lactic acid. The pH doesn't change, because you are just converting one kind of acid to another, but the taste changes.

Depending on the fermentation temperature and the amount of malic acid present in the wine, the MLF process can take from a few weeks to a few months. I have it from a reliable source that many of the 2008 Burgundys underwent MLF that took nearly a year!

I expect my MLF to take around a month. For now, I just need to keep watching the bubbles to see when the process slows down.

Jacques

Still fermenting...

Well, we are 9 days into the fermentation, and it's still bubbling a tad in the carboy. It's wrapped in the electric blanket and sitting right at 75 degrees. I'm thinking tomorrow it will be far enough along to start malolactic fermentation. Not very exciting compared to the daily routine of punching the cap of the must, but the wine is alive and coming along....

Meanwhile, my wife and I went on a very nice tour and tasting at Turtle Creek Winery last weekend and I learned a lot about larger-scale wine production, as well as vineyard management. We tasted a half dozen of their wines, mostly stuff sourced from California grapes but we did taste an excellent Riesling and Cabernet Franc that were produced from his estate grown (in Massachusetts!) grapes. What I admire about Kip is his absolute determination to grow classic vinifera varieties in Massachusetts. He has a lot more patience than me. Hence the reason I'm growing Marquette (a cold weather hybrid) in my yard!

Stay tuned!

Jacques

Pressing time!

Well, after 5 days of fermentation, the must was down to 3 Brix as measured this evening by my low-tech specific gravity float. Since I want to press before fermentation is totally complete (Peter Brehm recommended that I press at between 5 and 2 Brix) it was time to press. My big concern was that I wouldn't have enough juice to fill a 6 gallon carboy, but that turned out to be unfounded. It was clear by the time the carboy was half full that I would have plenty.

Since I don't have an actual fruit press yet, I did it the low-tech way. I put a funnel in the carboy and then used a mesh bag as a filter. I literally wrung out the bag to get the juice out of the grapes. The nice thing about this is that I didn't wring it too hard so I hopefully don't have the possibility of pressing too aggressively and getting too much tannin out of the skins.

It only took about half an hour, and I ended up with a full carboy, plus three wine bottles. I wish I had a gallon jug for the overage, but I don't. Next time. Once I do the first racking, it will all be consolidated.

Now I need to wait for fermentation to be complete so I can initiate malolactic fermentation. I wrapped the electric blanket around the carboy and the three bottles to keep the temp up around 75-85 for the next day or so. I'll keep monitoring the specific gravity and report back.

Jacques

Fermentation Continues!

Well, it's 48 hours since fermentation started. The temperature of the must has been 95-100 F for about 24 hours. I turned off the electric blanket to keep things from getting too hot. The cellar smells wonderful and the cap is rising high between punches. I'm punching about 4 times a day (usually first thing in the morning, noon, afternoon and before bed). A couple shots of the punching process are attached.

Today I measured the specific gravity at 9 AM and the must was down to 17 Brix from a starting point of 26. A taste of the must reveals just the tiniest perception of alcohol. Overall, it still tastes like fruit juice though.

-Jacques

Fermentation, Day 2

Last night I turned up the electric blanket to high because the temperature of the must was dropping in my cold cellar. I also wrapped some foam around the thing to hold in the heat and put some towels over the top of the fermenter to minimize heat loss.

This morning (day 2 of fermentation) I got up at 7 AM and immediately checked the fermenting must. Temp was up to 85 and by the beautiful smell in the cellar, I can tell that things are cooking. (Smells like yeast...a little like baking bread). The cap had risen (grapes on the top of the must buoyed up by the bubbles released by fermentation). I covered everything back up, got the kids off to school, then went back down at 9 AM to punch the cap. Using my handy dandy cap-puncher (I just love cool tools, and I had to get this one) I pushed all the grapes from the top of the fermenter down to the bottom. This keeps the ones on top from drying out and also from growing mold. It helps extract more tannin and color from the grape skins into the liquid which will become the wine.

I'll be doing this for a few days until pressing time.

-Jacques

Fermentation Begins!

Since we had plans for New Years, I left the buckets of frozen must in the shed in the yard for 2 days to keep them frozen until after New Years Day. (The temp outside was 14 degrees F). I started thawing them in the evening of Jan 1. I brought them into the kitchen and placed them on top of a vent on the floor with an electric blanket around them set to low, since the room temp is only about 65 degrees. About 36 hours later, they had reached 75 degrees and time to start fermenting. Since I want to do my winemaking in the cellar, which is currently 57 degrees, I had to come up with a way to heat the fermentor. Again, the electric blanket enters the picture. I bought a cheap electric blanket at Amazon for $27. It has 8 power settings so I can fine tune the temperature of the must.

So in preparation for the fermentation, I washed and disinfected the tote which will serve as my primary fermentor, took it to the cellar and wrapped the electric blanket around it. Then I wrapped the whole thing in plastic sheet to help hold the blanket (and also to keep the heat in and make the blanket a little more efficient).

I started the yeast culture by adding it to small amount of warm water, stirring it in and giving it 20 minutes or so to start foaming. It smelled just like bread yeast. The yeast I chose is RC212--a strain that is good for pinot noir, as it is a yeast derived from natural ones used in Burgundy. It was recommended to me by Brehm Vineyards.

While the yeast was "brewing," I dumped the 2 large buckets of must into the fermentor and washed out the buckets (I'm sure they will come in handy for something). Then the yeast went in. I followed the instructions and did not stir the yeast in, but simply dumped it on top. I put the lid on the fermentor and that was it. I took a few measurements and got 26 Brix.

Now, several hours after innoculating the must, the cellar smells of yeast and fermenting grapes and a few bubbles are forming on the top of the must. More information and pictures to follow!

Jacques