Techniques in Home Winemaking is a resource for home winemakers looking for information or help on making great wines, including troubleshooting winemaking problems, and to share that knowledge with fellow winemakers. This resource is based and builds on my book by the same title and my newly released book titled Modern Home Winemaking, which has been updated to reflect the newest techniques and products for making outstanding wines.
Much of my experience is derived from extensive literature search as well as from my experience both as a home and a commercial winemaker.
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Daniel.
Your opnion on products such as AEB – Batonage Plus and Egalitan.
John
Yes, I recommend those products if those are your objectives, i.e. increased mouthfeel, bolder strcuture, etc.
Hello Daniel. My 2013 Cab/Merlot has undergone MLF and I am very happy with the flavour development. I don’t like filtering my wines and I was wondering how long the wine should be stored in bulk in order that it doesn’t throw any more sediment. Is gum arabic effective in preventing unwanted sediments after bottling?
As always, your opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Vince.
Not sure why folks are so against filtering wine, but that’s a personal choice, which I will not dispute.
How long to wait really depends on many, many factors: type of wine, polyphenol content, protein and pectin content, pH, temperature, etc etc.
You can try racking every 3-6 months until the wine does not throw anymore deposits. Just be aware that it still will over a longer period.
Fining can greatly improve your the racking and achieving good clarity with minimal risk of deposits forming if performed well.
Gum arabic won’t help here; it should be used only in clear wine.
Cheers,
Daniel
I made dandelion wine for the first time at the end of April and it went well at the beginning and then stopped fermenting about the beginning of june After a period I realised it was stuck. I have made 2attempts recently to restart with fresh yeast starter. I made up the starter and then doubled it with the stuck wine. But it stopped fermenting again within 24 hours. Is it too late to restart after 2 months stuck or should I try again?
I don’t have enough information to make an educated guess on possible reasons why fermentation stopped. It seems to have taken a long time, so I would need to know how much sugar there was initially and at what temperature you fermented. Your ability to restart fermentation depends on how much sugar there is left to ferment. Can you take an SG reading?
Experimental Wine develops H2S!
– 2.5 L Haskap Juice with skins Brix 14, pH 2.8, TA 30 g/l
-12 L Merlot Kit wine Brix 22, pH 3.4, TA 4.5
-deacidified the Kit wine with 26 g CaCO3
-Combined the Haskap and Kit. Brix 21, pH 3.2
-Bumped up brix to 23 with 250 g sugar dissolved in 1 cup water.
-used 71B, rehydrated with GoFerm, Temp 24 C
-doing well, brix dropping. Day 4 H2S! Didn’t add nutrients early on, as thought kit would have enough and 71 B isn’t supposed to need much.
-day 4 added 1 tsp Fermaid K and ½ tsp DAP. Splash racked twice.
-day 5 still some H2S, added some reduless
– now almost dry.
-should I get it off the Haskap skins?
-If pH is still low, could that be playing a role? Should I consider some more chalk?
Thanks for your sage advice Daniel.
Wow! You’re quite the experimental alchemist!!
Disclaimer: I don’t know anything about winemaking with Haskap.
It would seem to me that you would have wanted to deacidify the Haskap, not the Merlot.
Nutrient requirements also depend on your fruit and the condition, not just the yeast. I don’t know if there is anything in Haskap that would trigger additional sulfur (and H2S) production. What was the SO2 level at inoculation? If high, that might be a cause.
I would rack the wine off the Haskap skins and gross lees. Let fermentation complete on the finer lees.
No more chalk for now.
Depending on the severity of H2S, racking might not do anything.
Here’s a technique (based on some well-known French researchers’ work) I have read about but never tried.
First, rack the wine off the gross lees BUT save the lees.
Add some oak chips in the carboy or container, and let stand for at least 3-4 days. This is my bit since the researchers’ work is based on wine aging barrels.
Rack the wine with aeration, stirring the lees frequently over a 48-hour period, and then re-introduce the lees into the wine.
pH is not a factor given your numbers and winemaking; it sounds like it’s in a normal range,
Good luck.
Daniel
Thanks Daniel,
Haskap is very new on the winemaking scene. As a fruit, it has tremendous depth and intensity of flavour, so naturally I’ve been keen to try it out in a wine. No sulfur was used, as mildew rarely a problem. I wonder if the fruit I recieved was a little underripe, bive the pH and TA – both more challenging that a previous juice sample I analyzed
I (splash) racked off the gross lees and added a little more reduless. -1 Brix, so probably dry now. pH was a blistering 2.8! Some of that may be CO2, but I suspect the Haskap gave up some more acid.
Cheers,
Neil
Interesting!
Yes, sounds like the fruit was very underripe.
You’ll need to add sulfite once fermentation is over and you are ready to stabilize, but you knew that.
You should have removed the CO2 from your sample before measuring TA/pH, in which case there is no contribute to acidity.
Daniel
Daniel,
First of all, thanks for you great work, I admire you effort in divulgating the art of winemaking in such an affordable and easy to understand way. I bought your book “Techniques in Home winemaking” by recommendation in one the VESTA classes I took with the purpose of helping my family in Spain to improve their home made wine. I’d like to send them your book, and I was wondering if you have it translated into Spanish.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you!
Javier
Hi Javier,
Thank you for your message.
No, there is no Spanish version of my book, sorry.
Daniel
Thanks for letting me know. That’s too bad, l think you would sell many books in Spain. If you decide to translate it, let me know if you need a hand! 🙂
Javier
Hi Dan,
I have your book but can’t seem to find the answer to this problem which happens frequently with grapes grown in warmer AVA’s such as Lodi. That is a must with high pH and average TA (such as Syrah and Petit Syrah) What do you do with a must with say a pH of ~3.9 and TA of 0.5 to start. You add 20 grams or so of Tartaric and the pH drops a bit to 3.8 but the TA is now ~.7 You are at the top end of the recommended TA but your pH is still pretty ugly. I have talked with a couple of winemakers that say you only need to pay attention to pH and they keep adding Tartaric until the pH is down to ~3.5. You know the TA is now off the charts and I would assume the wine would taste pretty tart. I have always added acid until I reach the top end of the recommended TA charts and then stuck a fork in it. pH ends up in the 3.7-3.8 range. Add required SO2 for that pH and move on. I wonder what your thoughts are on the subject and what is best.
Thanks in advance!
Mike
Hi Mike,
Many great wines are made at high pH provided there is good acidity; I’ve tasted some with a pH in the 4.2 range. I have made a lot of wine with grapes from Lodi over the years. Looking back, I seem to have consistently added 1 to 2 g/L tartaric acid specifically for more acidity; pH is always around 3.8.
Please use the numbers as a dashboard BUT taste the wine and make adjustments according to taste. Let your taste guide your adjustments.
If you’re driving a Ferrari at 200 mph and you feel really great and comfortable at that speed but then notice that the speedometer only reads 150 mph, would you crank it up another 50 mph and risk your life? (Ok, maybe “I” would.)
Anyways. Winemaking is about taste and what you like. Don’t let the numbers be your only decision information.
Cheers,
Daniel
P.S. I go by Daniel.
Daniel,
Thank you so much for your quick and honest reply! I think I have been adding ~ 1g/L. The wines are turning out nice but the Syrah and Petit Sirah seem like they could use a bit more now that they are 2 years old and bottled. I think this year I will push the speed limit and go up to 2 g/L max if needed. pH will probably still be ugly but should be a little better mouthfeel with the extra acid. I have seen quite a few highly rated Syrahs coming out of WA State with pH’s in the 3.7-3.8 range.
Cheers!
Hello Daniel.
I just crushed some Central Valley Syrah which yielded an astounding brix of 26 and an expected pH of 4.0. I want to concentrate the flavour of the Syrah so I drew about 6 litres of juice which I plan to ferment as a rose. I’m concerned that the alcohol will be too high an the acidity too low so I am considering blending some Niagara Dornfelder (50/50)which I’ve never used before but understand is quite a deeply coloured, aromatic grape, to balance things a bit. I also considered Baco but I am leaning towards the Dornfelder simply because it is a vinifera. Do you have any experience with this varietal and would Baco be a better choice for balancing?
Btw, I just bottled my 2013 Cab/Merlot and I am very pleased with the result. Thanks for your help in developing that one.
As usual, I value your opinion.
Hi Vince,
No, I don’t have experience with those varieties.
Ferment everything dry, stabilize all the wines, and then run bench trials with different blends to see what you like.
Daniel
Hi Daniel. Do have any suggestions on how home winemakers can keep fermentation temperatures low? I am doing 6 gallons of Niagara sauv blanc and having difficulty keeping the temperature below 25 degrees. I am fermenting it in two small primary fermenters so that the heat dissipates more readily and using small jugs of ice. Also, how much of a difference would it make if I could bring fermentation temperatures down to say 10 to 15 degrees?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Vince,
Yes, cool fermentation is key here. I’m doing a Sauv Blanc too and it just took off fermenting nicely in my cellar at 13C.
What I’ve done for small batches when I would slightly cooler temperature is place a carboy in a plastic bin full of water and then adding ice as necessary. You just have to be REALLY careful when placing the carboy in and out as it tends to be slippery and awkward.
Daniel
Thanks Daniel,I’ll try that. I found that wrapping some duct tape around the neck of the carboy provides a good grip. Btw, what were the numbers on your Sauvignon blanc? My brix was a mere 19 and pH was 3.5.
Cheers
My SB is pretty good at 21.5 Brix and pH of 3.47.
My Grenache is a challenge though: 26 Brix, TA=3.0 and pH=4.10.
Daniel
Hi Daniel
I have question about malolactic fermentation. I inoculated my blend of California Syrah/Dornfelder with an MLF culture two weeks ago. I wanted to check whether MLF had started so I did chromatography. To my surprise I observed that MLF had in fact completed. Is it possible for MLF to finish in only two weeks? The temperature where the wine is kept ranged from 25 to 28 degrees. In my past experience MLF usually took months albeit at much lower temps.
Thanks!
Hi Vince,
That’s high temp for MLF, so yes, it will speed it up. Malic levels are also very low this year in California fruit, so MLF will be that much shorter.
Daniel
Great. Thanks Daniel. That makes sense. Even the Niagara Dornfelder had pH of 3.75. I’ll give it its second racking next week and sulphite the wine.
Daniel. I am mostly a kit winemaker but am presently getting an enology certificate. I am trying to learn about enzymes etc. I have a super tuscan kit I am about to start. I want to try using lallzyme followed 8 hours later with opti red. I have skins as well. Most of the kits include bentonite to use up front during fermentation. I cant find if the bentonite will have a negative effect on my enzymes…I am aware that using the enzymes on a kit may not really enhance the product, but I will of course be using them when I move to grapes…Any problems that I need to be aware of?? thanks… also thanks for your help in Leesburg, VA this spring… I was one of many asking a lot of questions…
Hi Todd,
First, let me say that kits are designed to make wine exactly as per the instructions. If you want to experiment and learn, that’s different, but expect the possibility that the wine may not turn out as it was meant to be.
That being said, yes, bentonite deactivates enzymes. You should research the kit; there is a strong probability that it was already treated with pectinases.
Daniel
premature question…. scott labs says to not use the bentonite with the enzymes. I assume I can add the bentonite once the enzymes used and fermentation begins. thanks for your input
Yes, that’s right, but I never do in my reds. Actually, I never use bentonite in my reds. That’s just me.
thanks … will just leave it out. th
Hi Daniel,
I’m making a small batch of Cayuga grwon in NS. It’s destined for sparkling wine. Historically the brix have come in at 18, and it’s acidic (no numbers yet, as not picked for this year). My plan was to ferment cool with 71 B and some additional nutrient. How would you recommend deacidifying if must pH is less than 3.1 (min pH for 71B according to Lalemand). I have both chalk and acidex on hand.
Thanks for you advice, and taking time out during this busy season to answer these questions.
Neil
Hi Neil.
I would go with the Acidex given that the high acidity is likely from malic acid. Make sure you triple-check your calculations. You can (should) also cold stabilize.
Good luck.
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
I got the pH up to about 3.05 with acidex. Pitched QA23, as I really like it’s aromatics. Almost finished AF. Will cold stabilize. Plan is for a sparkling wine (using encapsulated yeast). Any tricks to softed the acid? Will try biolees. My wife isn’t fond of gum arabic – she gets some off flavours from it.
Thanks,
Neil
Hi Neil,
Are you sure you did the treatment correctly? There seems to be hardly any movement in pH (almost no reduction in TA). I believe there is quite a bit of malic acid to reduce. If there is a lot of tartaric, you should get some reduction from cold stabilization. Other than that, I wouldn’t fiddle too much with the wine. You can balance the acidity with sugar in your dosage after disgorging.
Um! Off-favor from gum arabic!? Really? You shouldn’t be adding more than 1 mL per liter.
I underdosed the acidex, with a goal to get TA down from 14 to about 11. I hadn’t planned on a disgorment and dosage, but am up to give it a try. I’ll have to get a few new tools.
Can you outline how one would do backsweetening bench trials on the Cuvee, considering that it willbe a little different in the final wine?
Thanks again,
Neil
You don’t want to add more sugar to the cuvée than you have to; whatever sugar you add will be fermented. The wine will (should) ferment to dryness in the bottle. Once finished fermenting, you can on the lees for a while and then riddle/disgorge. Backsweetening bench trials should be done on the disgorged wine. You add sugar to balance the acidity according to the style you like.
There is a long explanation to my situation, I’ll share if you wish, but the short question is this…Does metabisulfite need to be stirred in to my 55 gallon vessel, or can it introduced thru the airlock hole and expected to permeate and protect?
It needs to be dissolved in a little water or wine and then stirred thoroughly into the wine. Liquids and solids should always be stirred in to get uniform distribution and must be dissolved first if it is expected to dissolve not so easily, as is the case with sulfite powder.
I have 55 gallons of apple wine stored in an outside, unheated building. Alcohol is 11%. No options exist to move it to proper storage, so I’ll just have to take my chances. About what temp will it freeze and hurt the wine?
Based on your alcohol level, the wine will freeze at around 24F. It won’t really hurt the wine though it’s not ideal. When it warms up again and you are ready to process and bottle, check your acidity and adjust if it went down.
Hello Daniel, As a relative newbie to winemaking, your book – “Techniques in Home winemaking” , has become a go to resource for me. I’m interested in your article on the use of gum arabic in winemaking. How does gum arabic compare to glycerine in use and benefits.
Thanks
Hello Pete,
That’s an excellent question.
Glycerin is better known as glycerol, a sugar alcohol. On its own, it has a sweet taste, and that’s one reason why winemakers don’t add it to wine when it is meant to be a dry style. But the sweet taste of glycerol is masked in a wine matrix. And you would need significant amounts to effect mouthfeel changes, keeping in mind that you already have in the order of 10 g/L (1%) of it in wine.
Gum arabic is a polysaccharide that enhances mouthfeel without adding sweetness. And as little as 1 mL/L (as a 20% solution) and even less can make make a big difference in wine.
Daniel
Hello Daniel – I intend to experiment with gum arabic. Does glycerine have any use in winemaking – perhaps in wine that is to be back sweetened?
I have another question. I have two 5 gal carboys of Chambourchin. Both from same grapes, same yeast etc. Only difference – 2 months ago when I racked off the gross lees and added oak cubes, I inoculated one of the 5 gal with a malolactic culture (Enoferm – Alpha). I stirred the malolactic carboy weekly for the first 6 weeks. The other carboy has not been opened.
I sampled today – the malolactic 5 gal is progressing nicely, the other has developed a serious odor and bad taste – probably hydrogen sulphite. Any chance of rescue – vigorous racking and splashing? Any ideas on what caused one to go bad but not the other?
Thanks – Pete
Hi Pete,
Let me say this much: glycerin is not used in commercial winemaking, even if it is allowed.
If I’m understanding, you racked both carboys off the gross lees.
Perhaps you still got a fair bot if gross lees in that carboy, and then, no two carboys are necessarily different in terms of chemistry.
If the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) smell is very strong, you will need to treat with copper sulfate (CUSO4) or Reduless if you can find it in small quantities. Trying to splash-rack a wine with a strong H2S smell will only make it worse.
Daniel
Hello Daniel
There could be some unknown variable between carboy A and carboy B. If not, what would be your best educated guess that saved carboy A. The malolactic culture, or the weekly stirring?
Thanks – Pete
Stirring definitely makes a big difference, but you should not have H2S problems from gross lees if you racked properly.
Hello Daniel,
After two treatments with Reduless the problem is improved – but it still can’t pass the smell test. Can I treat with copper sulphate after Reduless?
Another question – how do you back sweeten your wine. I saw in an earlier post that you use table sugar.
Make a simple syrup (2 cups sugar to one cup wine?)
Bench tests to to determine desired sweetness.
Can I use my hydrometer to determine residual sugar level with either the SG scale or the brix scale? Thanks
Reduless contains copper and should do the job. If you need to go beyond the maximum dosage recommended, then your H2S problem is pretty serious. You can get more aggressive with a CuSO4 treatment, but all that copper won’t be good (for your health).
Yep, simple table sugar well dissolved in the wine works well. No, the hydrometer won’t tell you how much RS you have. If you fermented your wine dry, then it’s very easy to determine RS based on how much you sugar you added. At dryness, you should have under 4 g/L (0.4%) RS as a starting point.
Daniel,
First; I look forward to reading your articles “Advanced Winemaking” in WineMaker Mag.
Second; I have a 15 gallons 65% Cabernet Sauv. and 35% Merlot, both from Alexander Valley, CA. As a member of Sacramento Home Winemakers Club, I was one of at least 15 members that purchased a group buy of the fruit. At crush pad the fruit was crushed in big batches into bins, then the fruit was distributed by scooping the fruit into individual’s containers. The problem with that is some people got more skin (if scooped off top) than others. Unfortunately, I was one of the receivers of more skin than juice. Needless to say the wine turned out to be very acidic and thin. I added Potassium Carbonate to reduce the acidity and 8 oz of food grade Glycerine to the 15 gallons. I bottled 2 weeks ago. Today (11-23-14) I opened a bottle and the wine is still little thin and unfortunately “salty”.
1- What is the cause of “salty” taste?
2- According to one of your “Advanced Winemaking” you recommended Gum Arabica to smooth the wine and give body. Can you safely add/mix Gum Arabica with Glycerine?
Thanks
Jamie,
Yes, crushing everything and then rationing is not a good way of doing it.
You don’t say if you measured the TA, so I don’t know with how much acidity we are dealing. You might be addressing the wrong problem. I think it might be a case of too much tannins, which would also make the wine seem acidic.
So by adding potassium carbonate (a salt) in what you believe is a high-acid wine may just cause excess salt and excessive TA reduction.
Not sure the glycerine was a good idea (see earlier thread on same subject). Gum arabic is a much better option. I’m not aware of any interaction with glycerine. Of course, always perform bench trials first.
It might help to have some numbers at this point to understand where we’re at, eg. starting/final Brix, TA, pH.
Good luck
Daniel, thank you for your input. To follow up I had a sample analyzed today (11-25-14) and here’s the results:
TA 6.16, pH 3.92, Alcohol 13%. I had the lab tech taste the wine and he also agreed it is a little “chalky”. It appears the culprit, for the salty/chalky taste, is excess Potassium Carbonate. Now, what procedure do you suggest be best to reduce the Pot. Carbonate? I know I have to uncork the wine, and that’s OK. Thank you in advance.
Jamie
Jamie,
The wine has excessive potassium and carbonate ions. I don’t know of a way to remove potassium ions at a home winemaking level. Cold stabilization might help but that would reduce tartaric acid and TA, increasing your pH and likely still tasting chalky.
And if you were able to remove that would potassium ions, you would have high acidity now from the carbonate ions, and this would make your wine taste quite acidic.
I’m afraid you have to chalk this one up as a lost cause — sorry for the pun.
Daniel
Maybe Jamie could blend this wine with another one, less alkaline with no added chalk. Could try some bench trials to see how it tastes before discarding.
Good idea
Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I think I will uncork the wine, do cold stabilization, and add Gum Arabic before bottling again and cross my fingers 🙂 LIVE AND LEARN.
Jamie
To whom might be interested in this issue, for future reference check out this link. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/FS/FS-54-W.pdf
It covers the cold stabilization and the issue of Potassium Bicarbonate. Thanks.
Sounds like it would be an excellent candidate for grappa!!!
Cheers…Tom
Hello Daniel.
I know you did some Sauvignon Blanc from a Niagara this year as did I. Just wondering how yours is coming along. Mine seems a little sharp at the moment but I think cold stabilization will solve that. I’m interested in the development of the flavour profile. At the moment the SB seems very aromatic. Does that strong taste tame itself with time or should I consider blending with a more neutral wine?
Cheers.
Hi Vince,
Mine is from Lodi. It’s tasting great right now but I will backsweeten just a bit before bottling. It’ll go through cold stabilization of course. I love the intense aromas in SB. I would not blend, but that’s just me.
Thanks Daniel. Where do you source your Lodi grapes from? Most of the suppliers in the Toronto area bring in grapes from the San Joaquim Valley. Do you back sweeten with wine conditioner?
I have a reliable supplier in Montreal. I use table sugar.
Daniel,
Do you know of a source for crown cap disgorging tools in the U.S. or Canada? I am getting ready to start in-bottle secondary fermentation of Oregon Pinot Noir and am planning on using crown caps and bidules, and would like to use the most efficient method for cap removal once I get to the disgorging stage.
Harry
Daniel.
I am going to try some white wine,( Chenin Blanc,about 0 .75 ton ) for the first time next year. Have been making red wine successfully for 10 years.( about 3 ton per year )
Can you please guide me through the stages in detail.
After desteming add Sulphor, as for red.
Bentonite, nutrient and yeast.
Keep temp below 14. and provide Co2 cap on top.
Do i need enzymes or any other as for red ??
After fermentation add Sulphor to max, and take off skins.
At this stage, can the temp be room temp 22.
I assume whatever containers I put into I must ensure a Co2 blanket on top up to stage of bottling.Can I use Antiflor as for red wine. I also assume I should get into bottles as soon as possible.I know white wine is usually pressed before fermentation but I have tasted some wonderfull Chenin’s fermentd on skins.
I use your book like a bible and hope you can advise.
John
John,
I’d have to write a book to guide you in details. Oh wait! I have.
Highlights only …
1. Crush/press and transfer to tank. Sulfite lightly. No maceration. If wanted, only a few hours. Store cold for 24 hours.
2. Rack and raise temperature.
3. Add bentonite.
4. Inoculate and ferment at cool T.
5. At end of fermentation, sulfite according to pH.
6. Cold stabilize.
7. Clarify.
8. Filter.
9. Bottle 6-12 months after or 18 months for fuller-bodied style whites.
No CO2 Antiflor needed.
I can answer specific questions.
Daniel
Daniel.I appreciate the highlights very much.
After point 6 and during 7 and 8 what can temp be,is normal cellar temp OK ? or must it always be kept at below 14 deg.
Point 9 must it be aged in air tight container, NO OXYGEN normal temp ? Wil a container with CO2 blanket be OK.
Can I age in an old oak barrel and top up regularly as for red.
Thanx again
John
Cellar temp (13C/55F) is best. Aging always in air-tight, fully topped containers. CO2 is ok but Ar,N2 ar better. You need to maintain the gas level as it will escape, so it’s not a solution for long-term storage. You can age in neutral oak barrels provided they are absolutely sound.
Daniel.
Please confirm the max sulfite levels allowed, or recommended.
Free as well as total please.
Thanx.
John
It varies by country. Then it can vary by type of wine, e.g. sweet wines have higher limits. Then, many countries only impose a max on TSO2. But generally, the limits are around TSO2=300 mg/L and FSO2=50 mg/L.
Daniel.
When fermenting red wine in an open tank it is not necessary to cover/protect with a CO2 gas blanket as the fermenting wine releases its own CO2.
Does the same apply to white wine.
In other words is the fermentation process identical except for the temp and absence of skins. If I did ferment my white wine on the skins would I also have to punch down as for red wine.
Thanx.
John
No it’s not but you should place a tarp or something similar to keep that CO2 down and in the vat. Whites should always be closed top with a fermentation trap. I don’t recommend you ferment whites on their skins except for possibly a very short (few hours) maceration.
Danie.
Why are whites not fermented on skins.
Surely this will add more flavour and a bit of tanin should be good. I am considering doing this with Chenin Blanc.
John
Because of the high risk of oxidation. You can do it if you protect the juice during maceration, and make it a very short maceration.
Dani9el.
Forgive me for labouring the point. Why specifically do the skins make the risk higher.The risk of oxidation applies to all wines in any case??
It’s not the skins that increase the risk but rather the very low amount of tannins in whites (generally speaking) and so there is almost nothing protecting the highly oxidizable phenolics (mainly phenolic acids). If you are able to protect the must with CO2 during maceration and punchdowns, you’ll be ok. Keep in mind that many white varieties just don’t lend themselves to extraction of tannins and flavors in their skins — everything you want/need is in the juice.
Daniel.
Thanx again.
John
Hello Daniel,
What is a simple, but accurate way to test Alcohol By Volume for most 10-15% ABV wines?….and the costs!
Cheers…Tom
ebulliometer for dry wines, distillation for dry/sweet wines. you can check suppliers for prices.
Hi Daniel;
I have a 2011 Cab Franc that has good everything, except it smells like acetone or nail polish remover. I’m assuming it is VA. It flashes off after 10-15 minutes breathing then the wine is pretty good, so I’m not convinced I’ll toss the wine. However, should I scrap the barrel?
Thanks
Hi John,
Yes, the barrel is best discarded if there is any sign of bacterial infection or spoilage.
Now, we home winemakers are a crafty bunch and don’t like tossing anything out. As a commercial winery operator, I wouldn’t try this, but you can try a percarbonate treatment to see how that works out or even consider shaving the inside of the barrel.
Make sure there is absolutely no sign of off-odors before introducing any new wine. Again, I advise against this but it’s something you may want to experiment with.
Daniel
Thanks Sir; I work too hard for my grapes to risk them. My wife has her eyes on it anyway:)
Daniel,
In an earlier post you expressed your preference of Gum Arabic over Glycerine (food grade) for the purpose of giving the wine smoother and more mouth feel. What are the pro’s and con’s of Gum Arabic? If this requires a lengthy answer, is there a link/article I can check out to get some info?
Thanks, Jamie
Yes, there are many uses for gum arabic and I have written extensively on this, most recently in the Oct-Nov 2014 issue of WineMaker magazine. You can contact them to order a copy.
By the way, what are the con’s of Glycerine?
Jamie
No real cons except that it doesn’t do anything positive to wine.
Hello Daniel, What is the average shelf life of yeast, nutrients, enzymes, tannins, potassium metabisulfite as a powder and as a solution etc. I think this would be an excellent topic for a future column. Thanks
Hello Pete,
Yes, it’s a good topic for a future column. I will put it in the work queue.
The shelf life is very different whether the substances are in dry form, stored in the fridge, and if in a solution. So I don’t have a short answer here.
Regards,
Daniel
Bob Peak wrote a story about this in the June-July 2015 issue of WineMaker Magazine, now out.
Hello Daniel – I’ll look for it in a future issue of Winemaker Magazine. One other question. What do you recommend for in an airlock. Plain water, distilled water, sulphite solution, a neutral spirit like vodka?
Save the vodka for drinking. I use water and change it regularly. A sulfite solution is ok too.
What is the best way to store / keep barrels for a year once the are empty? Dry w sulphite disc or full of what solution?
There are 2 methods, both described in more detail in my book:
1. Rinse the barrels and let dry overnight. Burn a sulfur disc and replace the bung in the bung hole. Repeat every 1-3 months.
2. Rinse the barrels and fill with a sulfite-citric solution. Top up as needed.
Hello Daniel and Happy New Year to you.
I was just doing bench trials on my 2014 Sauvignon Blanc (Niagara peninsula) with use of gum arabic. The wine is quite aromatic, very dry, and maybe a little sharp. The gum arabic adds a little better mouth feel but it’s not very appreciable at a the recommended levels. I would have to taste the samples side by side to discern the difference. However I notice that the gum arabic adds a slight haze to the wine. I was wondering if you’ve had similar experiences. Without the gum arabic, the wine is beautifully clear which in my opinion is an important appeal of white wine.
Cheers
Vince
Hello Vince,
Thank you for the greetings. Wishing you all the best too.
If the wine is a little sharp, try adding some sugar – it can balance it very nicely. That’s what I do.
I find that, after adding sugar, adding 1 mL/L of gum arabic is just right for my palate.
If never had problems with a haze when using gum arabic, but my wines are fully stabilized before I add the GA. Perhaps you have not done a proper protein stabilization.
Best you bottle and drink as is for now as gum arabic can be hard to filter in home winemaking-type filters; you shouldn’t add anything else anyways at this point.
In the future, you should do a protein stability test and treat with bentonite if positive, THEN add the GA.
Daniel
Daniel,
Thanks for the prompt reply. I just finished reading the section in your book dealing with the use of bentonite in such a case. The wine is still in bulk so I could still test for protein stability and then add the bentonite if required. I would be reluctant to do so because of how clear the wine is.
I am more inclined to add sugar but I am a little concerned about the risk of renewed fermentation. Given that I didn’t filter, is there the chance of restarting unwanted fermentation with the addition of sugar? Best regards.
There is no guarantee the wine is protein-stable even when it is crystal clear. Do the heat test to find out.
Add the sugar just before bottling along with potassium sorbate – you’ll be fine.
Thanks Daniel. I had the Sauvignon Blanc tested for acid and it turned out to be .85-.90%. This explains the zing. I read the section in your book on deacidification using Acidex. I was wondering if the salt byproduct adds any taste to the wine and whether the wine should be racked shortly after deacidification or should it wait? Does deacidification dilut the wine in any way?
Yes, a little sugar can balance things nicely with that much acidity.
Acidex is used to reduce BOTH tartaric and malic acid. Don’t use if you don’t know how much malic is in your wine. You have to be very careful too as it drives the pH very high and it acts quickly, so you need to work fast. There should not be any alterations in taste.
Deacidification does not dilute wine.
Hello Daniel,
Your book has helped me take my home wine making to a new level. I have not yet invested in an Oak Barrel and would like your thoughts on the use of Flextank’s and Speidel”s HDPE tanks for wine maturation. They claim similar micro oxygenation rates as a barrel and that you can achieve the Oak Character with Stavins Oak Beans or WineStyx. I have used the Oak Beans with pleasing results however I’m unsure about the micro oxygenation claims. Do you think they make a realistic alternative? Thanks.
Hi Doug,
I don’t have any experience with Flextanks and Speidel tanks.
I am not aware of any peer-reviewed scientific studies about the effects of micro-oxygenation in such tanks. These don’t have the history and record of oak barrels, so I can’t really comment.
Daniel
Hi Daniel.
As I mentioned in another post, the TA on my Sauvignon Blanc is nearing .9%. I checked the pH and it is around 3.8. First of all, is it possible to have those measurements? Secondly, given that the pH is so high and I don’t want to push it higher, I’m thinking of stabilizing the wine with potassium sorbate and back sweetening with sugar as you had suggested. I was also considering fermenting a low acid wine from a kit and back blending to a TA level closer to .7%. Do you have any comment on the second option?
Finally, I’ve followed your blog for quite sometime now and I just wanted to commend you on the promptness and comprehensiveness of your replies.
Cheers
Hi Vince,
The first questions you have to ask yourself are: How good is the good? Do you like it the way it is?
The numbers should not be used to reach some target but rather to guide you in making adjustments if you are trying to improve on the taste or to better suit your style.
TA of 0.9% and pH of 3.8 are perfectly fine for a SB. The pH is not alarmingly high; just be sure to up the SO2.
Yes, if you intend to backsweeten, you need to add sorbate.
The second option is fine, but only after you have asked yourself the above questions.
Daniel