Cab and Merlot are Pressed!

We pressed out the Wood River Merlot and the Williamson Cabernet today in about 4.5 hours. 1,000lbs of Merlot and 2,000lbs of Cab.  Wow, that's a lot of grapes!! It's great to finally have all of them pressed out. With the high alcohol levels it was a real struggle getting through fermentation this year.  The merlot and cabernet are around .998 brix and still showing signs of fermenting a bit.  We'd like to see them drop to .995 or .990 over the next week.  We'll measure brix again when we rack them in a week or two.

 

The merlot was very tasty.  Big flavors and color from a full MONTH on the skins. Still lots of fruit--or maybe a little sweetness. It's hard to say.  The Cabernet was on the skins for about 3 weeks and was a bit harsh/bitter and alcoholic--maybe from the extra exposure to seeds from the way the grapes got crushed.  We pressed the cabernet pretty lightly, trying to avoid a rise in PH and to minimize the hard tannins.  We pressed the Merlot a little harder.  We got 88G of Merlot out of 114G of must. More than we expected. A 77% yield.  Maybe we had more merlot than we thought?  We got 84G of Cabernet out of 246G of must--34% yield.  Much less than we expected, although it was pressed very lightly.  Maybe we had less Cabernet than we thought?

 

We racked the Clone-6 cab off it's gross lees and it tastes very good. We racked about 1/2 the Sangio over copper.  The Sangio is smelling better, and is tasting better too. Still a little ways to go before we can filter it and call it "good".

 

Photos are uploaded to the group's 2008 online photo album.

 

 

Pressing On Tuesday

We checked the Merlot and Cab this afternoon and they are all at or below zero brix. Yea!  We plan on pressing on Tuesday, starting at 2pm.

 

Cab Bin A: .998

Cab Bin B: .998

Cab Bin C: 0

Merlot: .998

Fermentation Update: Looking Good!

Lee and I measured the wines today at 2:00.  Merlot:  68 and 0.5,  Cab A: 66 and 0.5,  Cab B: 66 and 1.0,  Cab C:  67 and 1.2.  As a little experiment, we filtered a sample of Cab A though a gold coffee filter and measured Brix as 0.   Fermentation still going on and taste is good. 

 

Bob  

Brix Update

Just finished measuring at 3:00. Merlot: 66 and 2.2 temp and brix respectively, Cab A: 64 and 2.5, Cab B: 65 and 2.7, Cab C: 66 and 3.5. Lee had punched them down earlier. All tasted pretty good.

Caps were solid. Still foaming, too. We thought they looked OK and fermation still going on.

Bob

Cabernet Brix Adjusted

Bob, Troy and Lee checked the fermentation status. The merlot continues to make good progress and has a solid cap. Merlot flavor and color is very good. The two smaller bins of cab continue to be slow with temps dropping a degree.

 

We discussed options and the unavoidable fact is that the yeast is unable to continue to ferment because the alcohol levels are reaching the 16% toxicity range for the Pastur Red yeast. The dropping must temps are of concern because we cannot easily get the temps back up after they drop below the min level of 64 degrees.

 

Since the brix adjustment with water is working well on the merlot we decided to do it on the cabernet. Not much water is needed and the benefits are much higher than the risk of a little dilution.

 

We added approx 1.3G of 105 degree water to each small bin and 2.6G of 105 degree water to the large bin. We hydrated and added 3 paks of Pastur Red yeast to each small bin and 5 paks to the large bin. Each has been stirred well and put to bed.

 

Cab Bin A: 64 degrees, 2.75 brix. Dropped to 2.5 brix after water added.

Cab Bin B: 65 degrees, 3+ brix. Dropped to 3 brix after water added.

Cab Bin C: 65 degrees, 4 brix. Dropped to 3+ brix after water added.

Merlot 68 degrees, 3 brix.

 

Bob and/or Lee will punch down once during the day on Wed. Bob and/or Troy will take brix and temp readings, either mid-day or in the evening. Watch for the daily report.

Merlot Fermentation Imroved!

Troy, Bob and Lee checked progress tonight and the merlot is doing very well. Fermentation has definitely increased with bix dropping more than in the last week!  The temp has also come up from 68 to 69 degrees and the cap was very solid.  Taste is less sweet with very good flavors. :-D  We were all very happy with the results.  We hydrated and added 5 paks of RC212 yeast to the Meta to help ensure good yeast to finish fermentation.

 

Cabs continue fermenting with the big bin having the densest cap and the smaller bins having a softer cap.  Temps in the smaller bins dropped a little from 65-66 degrees to just under 65 degrees. Bin A has made no progress in Brix. Between the softer cap, lower temps and no change in brix on Cab Bin A the smaller bins of Cabernet appear to be slowing down fermentation. A reading of 2.75-3 Brix would have the Cab around the 16% alcohol--the toxic level for the yeast, which Bin A and B are nearing.

 

Merlot 66-99 degrees. 3.5 Brix -- DOWN FROM 4.75 BRIX

Cab Bin A 65- degrees. 3 Brix  -- NO PROGRESS

Cab Bin B 65- degrees. 3.75- Brix  -- DOWN FROM 5 BRIX

Cab Bin C 65+ degrees. 4.75 Brix -- DOWN FROM 5 BRIX

 

We will take another reading on Tuesday. If the Cab in Bin A hasn't made progress, then we will have to take steps to keep the fermentation from becoming stuck. Since the water addition worked well for the Merlot, we may try it with the Cabernet. The amount of water needed is pretty small: 2.8G for the big bin and 1.4G for each of the small bins.

Sangio Much Improved

We racked the Sangio over copper again on Sunday. It smelled much much better. :)  We are optimistic that it has turned the corner!

 

We added 20ppm of meta before racking. Racked over copper 1 way, and then back into the SS kegs, breaking 1 down into carboys and a platypus since we were out of Sangio for topping.  We discarded the bottom of the keg if it contained any sediment.

 

We will let it sit for a few more days and check it again. Once we are free of the rotten egg smell we will filter it to remove any elemental sulfur and yeast cells that may cause it to come back.

 

 We were initially going to add some cabernet right away (once it was pressed), but we will want to give the sangio a month or so to make sure the problem is solved before doing any blending.

 

 

Merlot Brix Reduced

The group met to discuss how to handle the Merlot and cab to avoid a stuck fermentation.  We took measurements of the brix and temp of all the bins.

 

Merlot: 5.5 brix, 66 degrees

Cab bin C 5 brix, 65 degrees

Cab bin B 5 brix, 66 degrees

Cab bin A 3 brix, 65 degrees

 

The cab continues to ferment some, with one bin dropping more than the other. Interestingly it is the bin with the higher PH that wasn't adjusted with acid. The Merlot hadn't changed brix in the last 24h, and only 1/2 brix in the previous 24h. There was still a cap and foam to indicate activity, but it has really slowed down.  Temps were at the low end of the spectrum for the first yeast pitched but well within the range for the EC1118 yeast. This supports the concern that fermentation is stalling and therefore not generating much heat.   

 

We talked about the fact that the EC1118 yeast hadn't taken over. It seems that you can't establish a second yeast after the first is going--something we were not aware of when we started. If we would have started with EC1118 yeast we likely would be OK right now.

 

We discussed the options of letting the Merlot sit for another day or two and seeing if it made progress. However there is a concern that if the temps drop below the minimum that we won't be able to warm the must up enough to get it going again because of the colder weather (low 30, high 50)

 

We decided to add the minimum amount of water to the Merlot to see if it would improve the "living conditions" for the yeast and restart it. We added 9G (with no acid correction) of 100-104 degree water (the temps recommended for yeast hydration) to the Merlot must and stirred vigorously to mix it up and get the yeast stimulated.  The ending measurements were 4.75 Brix and 68-69 degree must.

 

We covered the bins with several painting tarp/cloths to try and improve heat retention. We will measure the temp and brix and check for fermentation indications on Monday, as well as add a booster of the initial yeast used on the Merlot, which was RC212.

 

We will continue to monitor the cabernet. We decided to not add water to the cab yet, as we wanted to see if it worked on the merlot first. Plus the cab was still showing some signs of fermenting and lowering brix.  We did not press the merlot or cab because we want to have skins contact with the water added.  Plus the skins do give some amount of nutrient to the fermentation which we thought would help it progress better than being off the skins.

 

Wine Dilution Details

The following wine website has a handy calculator for adjusting the brix of the must. Both adding sugar to increase the brix and adding water to dilute the brix.

 

http://vinoenology.com/calculators/chaptalization-and-water-dilution/

 

If we targeted a brix of 27.5 (alcohol level of 15.6--within the 16% limit of pastur red  and RC112), here is the amount of water we would have to add.

 

Cabernet:

256G total must volume

29 initial brix

27.5 target brix

15.72G of water needed to reduce brix to target level (5G needed if the target brix is 28.5% or 16.3% alcohol)

 

Merlot:

114G total must volume

30.5 initial brix

28.5 target brix

14G of water needed to reduce brix to target level (9G needed if the target brix is 28.5 or 16.3% alcohol)

Prepared For Pressing

Fermentation is still steady on both the Merlot and Cabernet, but has slowed down to 1/2 brix a day the last few days.  Both are nearing alcohol toxicity for the Pastur Red yeast. Additional EC 1118 yeast has been added, which has an alcohol tolerance of 18%.   We will have to monitor both very closely for a stuck fermentation.

 

The merlot started at 30.5 brix and has been on the skins 22 days and is around 5.5 brix. The final alcohol level is estimated at 17.5% and the current alcohol is around 15%. 

 

The cabernet started at 29 brix has been on the skins 16 days and is around 5 brix. The final alcohol level is estimated at 16.75% and the current alcohol is around 14%.

 

We have 114G of Merlot must. Assuming 63%-65% yield with a moderate pressing we will get 70-75G. That will fill both of Mike's 2 30G hungarian barrels plus 10-15G carboys.

 

We have 246G of Cabernet must. Assuming a 60-63% yeild with very light pressing we will get 147G-155G (130G barrels and 15-25G carboys). Note: We are pressing lightly because the harder you press the higher the PH, and we want to keep the PH down as much as possible.

 

Bin B & C of the cabernet have had acid adjustment to reduce the PH. Bin A has had no adjustment and we plan to mix it into the Sangio--once we're confident the H2SO problem is solved.  We should mark the barresl that get the cab pressed from Bin A so we can keep track of it.  There will be approximatly 42G, which would fill Bob's 20G french and Ray's 22G french.

 

The following barrels are clean and ready for the Merlot and Cabernet.

 

- Mike's 30G hungarian #1 (Merlot)

- Mike's 30G hungarian #2 (Merlot)
- Ray's new 30G French (Cab)
- Bob's 20G French (Cab Bin A)
- Ray's 22G French (Cab Bin A)
- Bob's 15G American (Cab)
- Michele's 13G French  (Cab)

- Troy's 15G hungarian (Cab)

- Michele's 15G hungarian (Cab)

 

The group is undecided about when to press.  We are discussing the pros and cons of pressing before the wines are "dry".   The grapes have been on the skins long enough to get color and flavor extraction (22 days for the merlot and 16 days for the cab). Usually we would let them stay until the cap is ready to fall. However, there is some concern that the high alcohol levels will extract harsh/bitter tannins from the seeds if allowed to have contact for very long, especially on the Cabernet because more seeds got exposed during crush than normal.  Pressing is currently scheduled for Sunday at 1:30pm. We may press nothing, everything, or part of the cab and leave some of the cab for another week.

Sangio 2nd Racking

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The Sangio still has a strong rotten egg smell, but is definitely better than it was--we continue to be hopeful that we can fix it.  We added 20ppm meta and then racked it over copper.  We will wait several days and check it again.  Once we feel it is better we plan to run it through a fine filter to remove any "elemental sulfur" that has precipitated out of the wine.  There was already some amount of sediment on the bottom of the SS kegs that we threw out. We ended up topping with clone-6 cab as we didn't have enough sangio to fully fill all 4 of the 15G tanks.  After the next racking we'll switch to topping with the Williamson cabernet that will be used in the Super Tuscan.

 

Merlot is at 6 brix and Cab was around 7 brix. We plan to press them in 3 days on Sunday, around 1pm in the afternoon.

 

We put proxyclean in any barrel that had a sulfur wick burned in it.  They will get a meta/citric rinse before we fill them with cab on Sunday.  Several of the barrels were leaking and are being hydrated.  The 2 30G Hungarian barrels need a good meta/citric rinse.

Yeast booster added

Hydrated 6 packages of 1118 yeast in 2C 110 degree water and added 3/4 of it to the large bin-C of Cab and the other 1/4 to the smaller Bin-B of cab. Bin A got a booster yesterday as did the Merlot.

Both cab bins (B & C) were around 9.5 Brix tonight.

Clone 6 Press. Wines racked

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We pressed the WA Clone 6 cab tonight, it had been on the skins for 21 days and the cap was very soggy. It has great color and flavors! :-D  We pressed moderately hard and got 33G of wine from 52G of must--about a 63% yield. (Note: Earlier we had moved about 10G of Clone6 must into the sangio for co-fermentation.)  The Clone 6 is in Troy's 26G American barrel.

 

The Merlot is at 10 brix, compared to 12 brix 5 days ago and the Cab at 11 brix, compared with 23 brix 5 days ago.  Since the merlot is fermenting slowly we added 3 more packets of hydrated 1118 yeast to give it a boost. We also added about 2 packages to Bin A of the Williamson Cab. We'd like to add more to the other cab bins--we just ran out.  We expect to press the cab and merlot on Saturday and let them finish any last fermentation off of the skins and seeds, to help avoid harsh flavors from the high alcohol levels on the seeds.  That will give us 15 days on the skins for the Williamson cab and 22 days on the skins for the Merlot.

 

We racked the Chard, ID Malbec and Sangio.  The Malbec was good, the Chard tasted a little different (not bad, just different) but the Sangio had a very very bad case of rotten egg smell. :-( We racked it out over copper and then put it back into 4 15G SS kegs and a carboy.  We'll rack it again over copper in another week or two, and add some meta.  We are hopeful that we can clean it up, but we agreed we didn't want to blend in any Williamson cabernet until we were sure it was clean. So we'll need to keep track of the "uncorrected" Williamson cabernet with the higher PH in the meantime.

 

The 2 small Hungarian barrels that had the Sangio have some residual rotten egg smell. We will clean them good with Proxy Clean before putting more wine back in them.

 

 

Checking PH After Adjustment

Ray got some more calibration solution for the PH meter and we checked the PH on the Williamson cabernet.   The control sample (bin A) that had no adjustment was at PH 3.7 (it will get blended with the low PH Sangio).  Bin B was now 3.5-3.6 (reading vacillated) and the large bin C was at 3.5.  Those are good numbers and we are very happy with them. We'll continue to monitor the PH through fermentation.

 

We checked the sugars on the wines still fermenting:

Clone-6 Cab .996 brix  (will press in 4 days)

Merlot 12 brix

Williamson cab ranged from 23 to 26 brix, with the higher sugar in the big bin.

Correcting the Cabernet

Troy, Lee and I met again last night to measure again the pH of the cab must and also to take a TA measurement. The pH numbers came in at 3.8, 3.8, and 3.7 for the two small bins and the large one, respectively. As Troy stated in his email, we'd like them to be at most 3.6 and preferably below that. The TA (titratable acids) came in at just 8.6, 8.2 and 7.9 for the three. That's quite a spread. I don't think that we stirred the first batch well enough before taking a sample. But the numbers are slightly w/in the recommended limit of 9. After some discussion, we thought that if we could bring the pH down about 1 to 2 units, we'd be OK. Since we're not very experienced at this, we discounted the 2 number. We're a little hesitant to do too much too soon. The discussion turned 1 or 1 1/2 units of adjustment and we settled on the 1 1/2 pH adjustment number for our target. Well, today I set out to buy the appropriate amount of tartaric acid and all I could come up with was just enough for a 1 unit adjustment. The brew shops were virtually sold out of the stuff. We'll have to do a check in a few days to see if more is available and if we want to add more. Lee, Bob and I added the acid to the must this afternoon and we'll probably measure again tomorrow. Lee pitched the Pasteur yeast this morning and it took hold immediately. We'll add the EC1118 high alcohol yeast in a couple days.The fermentation is under way.