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PREMIUM WHITE WINE FROM FRESH GRAPES
by Bob Suber; updated by Dave Lustig 8/99
Targets for White grapes:
- Sugar 20-24 Brix
- Acid 0.75-1.00 TA
- pH 3.2-3.5
I. CRUSH GRAPES AND PRESS JUICE
Rinse a primary fermenter with sulfite solution and drain. Crush the grapes (½ lug at
time, or so) into the bucket, keeping hands and fingers out of the mechanism (destemming
is not necessary, but may be used esp. if you are going to sit on the skins a while).
Pectic enzyme (pectinase) may be added here to aid in juice extraction, esp.
with squishy grapes like Muscat.
Sulfiting is no longer recommended, and the browning that occurs now will fall
out in fermenting and settling. For those that use sulfite, add ½ tsp. per 100 lb. of
grapes in a cup of the juice - mix thoroughly.
Allow any skin contact time to meet your style; 1-6 hr. (overnight?). Measure
sugar and pH (or TA), but don’t adjust yet.
Press the juice into 5 gallon carboys and/or 1 gallon jugs. Fill containers to
fairly full. Rice hulls are good here to help get all the juice. Top up and add a
fermentation lock (put sulfite solution in the lock). It will look really yucky at this
point -- don’t worry. Measure sugar and pH, but don’t adjust yet.
Cool the juice (as cool as you can -- 40 degrees is OK) and allow to settle
for at least 24 hours. Place the carboy into a primary fermenter and add cold water, ½
cup of rock salt, and ice.
II. FERMENTATION
The next day (24 hr.) rack/siphon the (brownish) juice off the green-gold sediment into
another clean carboy adding ½ tsp. of nutrient per gallon. Splashing is good. Fill up to
the 2/3 level to allowing room for foaming. Measure sugar and pH then adjust as needed. It
is OK to go outside the range of TA in order to achieve the proper pH. Later cold
stabilization will correct things. Replace carboy into the primary fementer ice bath
(water, ½ cup salt, ice) or a controlled refrigerator. Add yeast starter or dry yeast
(rehydrated) and place a fermentation lock filled with sulfite solution. The remainder of
the juice should be put into bottles, capped loosely and saved in your refrigerator.
Fermentation will start within 24 hours. Control the temperature and
fermentation speed by adding ice at least twice a day (aim for 50-60 degrees. 40’s
are OK). Your fermentation lock will bubble a lot - the speed of the ‘blurping’
is an indication of your fermentation rate.
Secondary fermentation will begin in 5-7 days, indicated by a drop in foaming
and bubbling (and ‘blurping’ rate of the fermentation lock). The sugar level
will have dropped to about half. Start adding a quart of the reserved juice daily while
continuing to keep everything cool (50-60 degrees). Aim for getting the carboy fairly full
over the next 3-5 days.
If you are adding a malo-lactic starter, this is a good time. Don’t
forget M/L nutrient! Malolactic bacteria have different nutritional requirements than
yeast.
In 10-12 days, the sugar level will fall to below 2 Brix. Allow the
temperature to rise to 65-70 degrees to completely finish the fermentation (both yeast and
malolactic). This is the other good time to add your malo-lactic starter. This should take
another 2 to 8 days to finish up.
Test for dryness (about -1½ Brix -- yes negative 1!) and completion of
malolactic fermentation (if you added a malo-lactic starter) before continuing.
Rack/siphon the wine off the sediment ("lees") into a carboy that
has been rinsed with sulfite solution. See various references for required sulfite levels
based on pH. For a 5 gallon carboy the amount will be just less than ¼ tsp. at a pH of
3.3. Measure pH and adjust if necessary (to taste?). Top up and attach a fermentation lock
(filled with sulfite solution) and cool to below 65 degrees.
In 3-4 weeks rack again into a sterilized carboy adding 1/8 tsp. of sulfite
powder and re-attach the fermentation lock.
III. CLARIFYING AND FINING
Test the wine to determine the amount of fining needed (see Wine Lab reference manual
for amounts to test with and use).
Prepare the fining slurries: Bentonite the night before; Sparkolloid just before adding.
Rack/siphon the wine into a sterilized carboy adding 1/8 tsp. of sulfite powder. When
half full add the Bentonite slurry, mixing well. Top up, re-attach the fermentation lock.
In 48 hours the sediment will have dropped.
Rack/siphon the wine off the sediment into a sterilized carboy.
Add the Sparkolloid while hot and stir in. Top up, re-attach the fermentation lock. In a
week the wine should be clear/brilliant.
Rack off the finings into a sterilized carboy, check sulfur dioxide level, add as needed
(1/8 tsp. or use Campden tablets). Top up, re-attach fermentation lock.
Cold stabilize down to below 40 degrees for 2 or more weeks to drop the tartrates. Rack
off the tartrates immediately after returning to 60 degrees.
Test component levels and make (minimal) adjustments.
Allow to age at cellar temperature for 2-4 weeks to stabilize.
IV. BOTTLE
When stable, taste/test/verify, adjust sulfur dioxide levels, siphon into sterilized
bottles and insert corks.
Allow to bottle age for 3 months before consuming.
ENJOY !
NOTES:
Sterilized means rinsed in sulfite solution and allowed to drain.
CLEANSING/STERILIZING SOLUTION.....Add 1 teaspoon of sulfite powder and ½ teaspoon of
acid blend to 1 gallon of water. Sulfite needs acid to activate it.
Never add powdered sulfite to wine at any stage. Always mix it with a liquid first,
either the juice or wine as it progresses through fermentation and clarification.
Prevent oxygen or air from getting to your wine once fermentation has started. Keep
containers topped up and fermentation locks attached and filled with sulfite solution.
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