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Last month's article on cold or pre-fermentation maceration strongly suggested the positive benefits of this technique. More vibrant color, elegance of fruitiness and a brightness of flavor and aroma seem evident. So, why do many wineries do long post-fermentation soaking on the skins, that is extended maceration? Mondavi Winery routinely goes 42 days on the skins, producing wines of depth and elegance. This extended time tends to result in more "weight" and a softer, fuller mouthfeel. Contrary to what you might think, there is a distinct lessening of the harsh effect of tannins with extended skin contact. Just as in bottle aging, short chained, "hard" tannins link up becoming "soft". Skin, stem and seed tannins are initially hard, short-chained. With extended maceration they can link up, becoming softer tasting. To do extended maceration, the skins are left in after the end of the sugar ferment. You will need CO2 gas to protect the surface from oxidation. This gas will have to be added via dry ice or a CO2 cylinder. If you are going through Malo-Lactic fermentation at this time, some CO2 will be produced by the M/L reaction. However, it is best to not depend on the M/L, adding gas as described. Also, snug down your fermenter cover in order to hold in the CO2. Just allow enough gas to escape to prevent explosion. Additionally, keep the cap of skins wet, preventing oxidation and volatile acidity build-up. Punch down at least twice a day at the start of this period. Gradually reduce the vigor of the cap manipulation as the skins become fragile. Discard the oxidized top layer of skins before pressing, reducing the incidence of aldehyde flavors. The length of time on the skins will depend on how well you can maintain the CO2 layer over the cap. Minimum time would be two weeks after reaching 0 Balling (Brix). The theory is that if you go past about 5 Balling before pressing and do not do extended maceration, the tannins will be hard and will stay hard and harsh. This applies mostly to "big" reds that need to be softened and where you do not want to depend on protein fining agents to remove excess tannins. A side benefit is the uptake of more phenols which promotes co-pigmentation color stability (see two months ago). A big drawback is the distinct loss of fruitiness. The less you maintain the CO2 cover, the greater the loss. Extended maceration is also not recommended for high pH wines. So, there you have it. Three methods of cap management. One, press at about 5 Balling for max color and tannin effect. Two, cold/pre-macerate for enhanced fruitiness and brightness of flavor. Three, extend maceration to soften the tannic mouthfeel.
Any combination or all three methods might be right
for you. Much depends on the grapes for the particular year and
micro-climate. Plan ahead. |
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