Home Winemaking: Step-By-Step - Softcover

Iverson, Jon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0965793613 ISBN 13: 9780965793612

Publisher: Stonemark Pub Co, 1999

Synopsis

A Guide to Fermenting Wine Grapes.

About this title

About the Author

Jon Iverson is a skilled winemaker with more than twenty years experience in fermenting vinifera grapes from Washington, Oregon, and California. He shares hisyears of experience and knowledge in this book, providing home winemakers a giant step up the learning curve.

From the Back Cover

Who should have this book Focused beginners who want to make delicious wines from the very start will find the straightforward layout of this book easy to use. The step-by-step treatment of the basic fermentation process will help beginners avoid the mistakes that discourage many novices. This book will prove invaluable to advanced amateurs already familiar with the principles of fermentation who want to expand their knowledge. This book explains how to make sparkling wines and advanced variations for fermenting red and white wines. It also contains in-depth discussions of subjects such as malolactic fermentation, chromotagraphy tests, acid titration tests, testing the level of residual sugar and dealing with hydrogen sulfide problems.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One: Getting Started

The art of making wine has evolved a great deal in the last twenty or thirty years, and that applies to home winemaking as well as commercial. With the expanded array of equipment and supplies now available, the home winemaker can make routinely wines that exceed the quality of ordinary commercial wines. In fact, if you ferment the same grapes from the same vineyard, your wine should be better than the winery's! The home winemaker has an edge in working with small quantities and being able to clarify without having to pump and filter. The quality of your wine will be limited only by the quality of the grapes you crush and ferment.

Good Grapes
This subject is as impossible as it is important! If omitted, the reader could legitimately ask why it was notincluded. So here goes. The reason grape quality is so important is that good grapes are the basis for any good wine. The better the grapes, the better the wine will be. Any honest vintner will admit that when the grapes come in good, the wine literally makes itself. It ferments without problems, clarifies readily and needs no adjustments before or after fermentation. On the other hand, if the grapes are poor, the best vintner in the world will not be able to make a great wine out of them.

There is no simple answer to the very elusive question of what makes a good grape. And it changes each year because growing conditions differ from year to year. Here are some general considerations, laden with my biases.

Yield. Tons per acre is one of the biggest factors in determining quality. The growers like to believe that a heavy crop does not affect quality, as long as it ripens fully. Vintners believe that a light crop is inherently better than a heavy crop, and I side with the vintners. Historically, the best wines have come in years when Mother Nature imposed a low yield per acre. It is also significant that wineries growing their own grapes and making premium wines will intentionally drop fruit during the growing season.

Variety. Some varieties suffer more from over- cropping than others, chardonnay and pinot noir being two such that come to mind. Cabernet sauvignon and merlot are less affected and some of the other white varieties are even less affected. However, over- cropping always takes a toll. This means that if the yield looks to be 30% or 40% below normal, it should be a good year and you should start in early July trying to line up a source of grapes. It may take more effort because the wineries will compete harder for the reduced crop.

Irrigation. This is another subject on which the interest of the growers differs from the wineries. There is an inherent conflict of interest between the two in that the grower wants to maximize the yield and the winery wants the maximum quality. The problem is that few wineries are willing to pay the grower twice as much per pound for dropping half the grapes. So unless the grower has a contract with a winery, he will be inclined to water generously to increase the yield; but this dilutes quality. The plumper the grape, the higher the ratio of juice-to-skin. The best wines are thought to come from small berries because there is more skin surface relative to the volume of liquid. Although the best grapes probably come from grapes that have been dry- farmed, the effect of watering can be greatly reduced by stopping all irrigation during the six weeks prior to harvest. This allows the berries to shrink as harvest approaches.

Specific vineyards. Due to a combination of factors, some vineyards will produce superior fruit year in and year out. The depth and composition of the soil are big factors. All else being equal, vines in shallow and poor soil are thought to produce better grapes than vines in deep, fertile soil. The availability of water is similarly related - grapes from a vineyard with abundant subterranean water will probably not measure up to those from a nearby vineyard with little underground water. Talk to vintners in your area to find out which vineyards and growers have the best reputation. I have found vintners to be as approachable and friendly as they are dedicated to their art!

Finding good grapes
The first order of business is lining up a source of good grapes. The earlier in the year you establish contact with possible sources, the more likely you will be rewarded with quality grapes in the fall. If you live in a grape growing region, start calling vineyards in early summer. By late June, they will know the extent of the fruit set and will be more willing to make a commitment. Some will want part of the money up front, which is a reasonable request if they are expected to reserve fruit for you. Some growers cater to home winemakers because they get top dollar for their fruit. And it's all cash to the grower, which isn't always the case when they sell to commercial wineries. So get on any mailing list that your inquiry uncovers.

Some wine supply stores make arrangements to buy grapes from growers and re-sell to amateurs. This convenience is worth the extra cost, and there is comfort in knowing that the grapes were likely picked at their peak. In the case of white grapes, some stores will even crush, press and sell you the juice, or "must" as it is called in winemaking parlance. This should have particular appeal to someone who plans to process small batches of grapes or who is uncertain about winemaking as a hobby. It saves the expense of purchasing or renting equipment.

The natural tendency is to want to ferment small quantities of several varieties. Although it is interesting to have several varieties, you will soon discover that it takes little more effort to process two or three hundred pounds of a given variety than one hundred pounds. A larger quantity also gives you the ability to ferment 5 gallons in one manner and 5 gallons in another. And starting with more, you are more likely to have a little left in two or three years, when the wine is reaching its peak! It is perfectly acceptable to ferment small batches; it's just that if you become serious about home winemaking, you will most likely lean toward larger quantities of fewer varieties.

Alternatives to fresh grapes
Most serious winemakers are probably reading the next section already. The rest of you, take note! There are some excellent juices available in forms which are not only easier to work with than fresh grapes but which generally eliminate the need for a crusher, crusher- stemmer or press. The reason I include this section is that many home winemakers do not live in wine growing regions. Even those who do will discover that locating a source of grapes is only the beginning. When the grapes ripen, there is a fairly short window of opportunity during which the grapes are at their peak and should be picked. This means that you might have to drop everything and go get them on short notice, often during the middle of the week. This very sizeable investment of time and planning can be circumvented by using frozen must, aseptic juice or concentrate kits rather than fresh grapes. If high quality grapes were used, some of these alternatives would probably make a better wine than fresh grapes of low quality. So, don't rule these alternatives out.

If fresh grapes were not available to me and I was intent on making high quality wine, my first choice would be frozen musts. These are grapes that have been crushed, sulfited and frozen. The buckets start thawing during shipment by UPS and can be fermented shortly after arrival. White grapes have been crushed and pressed. You ferment pure juice, so neither crusher nor press will be needed. Just follow the basic procedure for fermenting white wines as outlined in Chapter 2.

Red varieties arrive crushed and de- stemmed, so you will not need a crusher- stemmer. Just add a yeast starter and ferment in a primary fermenter for a few days, punching down as discussed in Chapter 6. A 5-gallon bucket of frozen must will yield about 31/2 gallons of finished wine. A small press would be a convenience when the unfermented sugar has fallen to 0o Brix, but 5 gallons can easily be pressed in a nylon mesh bag. It requires a little more effort than a press, but you will get almost as much wine. And it is quicker to use rubber gloves and a nylon bag because there is no set up or clean up.

There should be no significant loss of quality as a result of freezing a must. Frozen musts are generally available on a first- come basis, so it tends to be a seasonal proposition. It will pay to get your name of the list early.

If frozen musts were not available, "aseptic" juices would be my next choice. If the same grapes were being processed, the quality should be only slightly lower than a frozen must. Rather than being frozen, the juice is flash pasteurized, sulfited, bagged and boxed. The juice has not been reduced in volume by boiling, as have the concentrates discussed below. Neither press nor crusher- stemmer is needed, even in the case of red grapes, as the skins have been processed and added back for pigment and complexity. After pasteurization, a controlled amount of sulfite is added and the juice is bagged and boxed. The home winemaker simply transfers the juice to a primary fermenter and ferments with no ado. No grapes to crush or de- stem, no punching down and no equipment to clean up! After being fermented in a primary fermenter for 3 or 4 days, the wine is transferred to carboys, topped with an air lock and allowed to ferment to dryness. Follow the basic procedure in Chapter 2. Bottle a red wine bone dry; sweeten a white wine slightly before bottling, as discussed in Chapters 3 and 4.

"Concentrate kits" are relatively new and superior in quality to the canned concentrates that have been around for decades. They are referenced as "kits" because they come packaged with all the essentials, such as sulfite, potassium sorbate, bentonite, isinglass or gelatin, oak flavoring, finishing agent and the like. Like aseptic juices, concentrate kits come bagged and boxed. However, after being flash pasteurized, they are reduced in volume by boiling at low temperatures in a vacuum. They are not reduced as much as the traditional canned concentrates; so the quality remains higher. Six gallons of juice might be reduced to 4 gallons or 3 gallons. The winemaker adds water back to bring the volume back up to 6 gallons and ferments according to directions. The shipping and storage costs are less, so the cost is less.

The traditional canned concentrates have been reduced the most in volume. The instructions typically call for adding 3 gallons of water to 1 gallon of concentrate. They have been processed longer than concentrate kits and probably subjected to more heat. Fruit quality being equal, the quality of canned concentrates should be lower.

Although some grapes of very high quality are sold as frozen musts, the very finest grapes will not be found in concentrates. Neither the processor nor the home winemaker could afford it. Grape quality is still critical, and some processors will use better grapes than others. In addition to grape quality, the sophistication of the industrial process used to make the concentrate is important to the ultimate quality. The better the vacuum, the lower the temperature at which the liquid will boil, and the less of the essence of the grape that is lost. Although all processors will trap the phenols and organic compounds that are boiled off and add them back before canning, a lower temperature and more gentle processing will retain more of these subtle organic compounds. Don't hesitate to ask questions about the processing before deciding on a concentrate.

See Chapter 15 and Appendix G for more on fermenting aseptic juices and concentrate kits.

Equipment and supplies
You will also need to decide on equipment and supplies. Some items are essential at the outset, while certain others can wait until bottling or next year. Some are luxury items that you will never buy unless winemaking becomes a serious hobby.

The first stop should be your local winemaking supply store. If the Yellow Pages for your area have no listings under "beer and winemaking supplies," try a large metropolitan area. Call and ask for a catalog. Almost all wine supply shops have catalogs and are happy to ship. Shopping by mail is easy with toll- free numbers, FAX machines and UPS delivery.

If you will be fermenting aseptic juice or concentrates, you will not have to worry about the main pieces of winemaking equipment - the crusher and the press. If you plan to process only small quantities of fresh grapes to begin with, try renting a crusher and press, as the cash outlay to purchase is substantial. If you find yourself totally without access to equipment, small quantities of grapes can be crushed with a 4X4 post or even with your foot and pressed by hand in a nylon mesh bag! (Be careful, however, not to crack the seeds if crushing with a hard object, as they contain large amounts of highly- astringent tannin). But if you have much more than 100 pounds to process, try your best to borrow, rent or purchase a crusher and press.

Once you've made the decision to invest in equipment, try placing an ad in the "Miscellaneous Wanted" section of your newspaper classified ads. There are always retired home winemakers willing to part with used carboys, crushers and presses for much less than replacement cost. Most equipment lasts indefinitely, and used equipment is usually as functional as new. And whether you are considering new equipment or used equipment, the initial investment can be kept even lower and more fun had if several people go in together and pool their resources!

Equipment Glossary
The array of equipment available to the home winemaker has improved steadily over the years. It would take a tidy sum to buy everything at once, but you do not need everything at the outset in order to make quality wines. Here's a list of standard equipment and supplies. Note that plastic, polyethylene and polypropylene materials for pails, hoses and other materials that come in contact with the wine should be of food grade quality. This is indicated by a "USDA" or "HDPE" imprint. (Parentheses indicate that an item is not essential).

Notebook. Get a substantial notebook to keep notes. Some winemakers hang a tag around the neck of each carboy for immediately recording what was done and transfer the data to the permanent notebook later. Whatever technique you use, good notes are important.

Crusher. The threshold question in deciding on a crusher is whether you are primarily interested in white wines or red wines? For processing white grapes, a simple crusher with two meshed rollers is preferable to a crusher- stemmer.

White grapes should be left on the stems for pressing, as the stems stabilize the mass inside the press and allow the juice to flow more freely.

A crusher- stemmer, however, is better for processing red grapes because the stems have to be separated before fermentation, and it does this automatically. With a small quantity of red grapes, the stems can be fished out with a homemade rake, such as long stainless steel screws in a board, or even by hand. But with larger quantities, a crusher- stemmer is nearly indispensable. Unfortunately, crusher- stemmers are considerably more expensive than plain crushers, even if not motorized.

Whether you are looking at a plain crusher or a crusher- stemmer, consider getting a stainless steel hopper, as it is worth the extra cost in the long run. Washing and maintenance will be less critical, and you will not have to worry about contamination with trace amounts of metals.

Press. A good press is the other basic piece of winemaking equipment. The screw- type, vertical basket press of Italian origin has been around forever and works well. A basket of three to five gallon size is fine for 100 pound batches; but for larger quantities, a larger basket will be appreciated. The No. 30 size - about 7.5 gallons - will press 150 pounds or more before it has to be split apart to dispose of the cake of skins and stems, which is called the "pomace." Bladder presses are better than the traditional press but considerably more expensive. And the bladders oxidize with age and have to be replaced, which is an extra expense.

Consider building or buying a stand to mount your press on. Not only will the press be more stable, but the added height will allow the use of larger containers to catch the juice as you press.

Primary fermenters. At least one primary fermenter will be needed. Red wines are initially fermented in an open container, preferably one with a lid or cover. Although white wines are best fermented in carboys, a primary fermenter will be needed anyway to hold the grapes and juice as they are crushed. And they are convenient for transporting grapes. So at least one primary fermenter, such as a Rubbermaid Brute, should be on the shopping list. A line of poly tanks manufactured by Graf and imported from Italy is available from some sources. They come in 60, 100 and 200 liter sizes and are ideal because they have a wide, screw- top lid with an air lock, plus a plug for draining. These tanks can be used as a primary fermenter for either white wines or red wines, with or without the skins. The wide mouth allows crushed grapes and juice to be poured in, making them an excellent choice for extended maceration or carbonic maceration of red grapes. Needless to say, the price is several times that of a plain "garbage can" of food quality.

If cost is not a factor, consider a 304 stainless steel vat with a floating lid. These containers are available in various sizes starting at 20 gallons. The lid has an inflatable tube around it, similar to a bicycle inner tube, which can be pumped up to make the fermenter airtight. Although a container of this type could be used to ferment almost any wine, it is especially desirable for carbonic maceration and extended maceration of red grapes after fermentation is complete.

Pails. Two or three plastic pails will be needed to catch the juice as it flows out of the press, to dip crushed grapes, etc. Get the largest capacity pail that will slide under the drainage spout of the press. See Illustration B, page 26.

Carboys. The number needed will depend on how many grapes you expect to be processing. One hundred pounds of grapes will yield roughly 6 gallons of unfermented must and pulp and 5 gallons of finished wine after loss of pulp and lees from several rackings. However, if you will be fermenting white wines and using carboys as primary fermenters, bear in mind that a 5- gallon carboy will accommodate only 60 to 70 pounds of grapes. That's because it can be filled only 3/4 full, taking foaming into consideration. And an extra carboy will be needed for racking purposes. Carboys come in 13, 7, 6, 5, 3 and 2.8 gallon sizes but some sizes are difficult to locate. After you have several 5- gallon carboys, get a 3- gallon carboy, or a 7 gallon carboy. You'll appreciate the flexibility year after year. You can never have too many carboys!

You will also need some smaller jugs to temporarily handle the excess volume - 1 gallon, 4 liter, 3 liter, 1.5 liter, etc. Make sure your stoppers will fit as the neck diameters of gallon jugs vary.

Carboy stoppers. You will need one solid stopper per carboy and one drilled air lock stopper per carboy. Size no. 7 fits most carboys; no. 61/2 fits most gallon jugs. Rubber stoppers are better than cork as they last indefinitely and don't lose their shape. Cork stoppers tend to assume the shape of the carboy neck and seat less dependably with age. Some stoppers made of newer synthetic materials, such as Dynaflex and Kraton, are elongated and will work in a wider range of neck diameters than rubber. Stoppers should be wrapped with a layer of sticky plastic wrap to counter the tendency to back out. Punch a hole in the plastic in the case of air locks.

Air locks. Several types of air locks or "bubblers" are available; all work acceptably well as long as the water level is maintained. The two- piece air lock with a straight stem and separate float requires less headspace above the carboy. It can also be used with a 1/2" vinyl hose to displace the air in a carboy before racking. (Appendix C.) It has the disadvantage of drawing reservoir liquid into the wine if the temperature falls, causing the volume to shrink. The one- piece, "S- shaped" air lock allows for backflow of air without contaminating the wine with reservoir liquid.

Plastic funnels. Get the largest capacity you can find for racking into carboys. You will also need a smaller funnel to fit into wine bottles.

Racking stem, hose & clip. For racking from carboy to carboy, you will need a clear vinyl hose and racking stem of 5/16", 3/8" and/or 1/2" diameter. If you get only one hose to begin with, the 3/8" size would probably be best as it is good for siphoning and bottling. The 1/2" size is faster for racking and can also be used to funnel CO2 from a fermenting carboy to an empty carboy to fill it with gas. Appendix C. Plastic clips are made which slip over the 5/16" diameter to cut off the flow.

Saccharometer, jar and wine thief. This is basic equipment for testing the level of unfermented sugar in musts and sugar solutions. A wine thief is a convenience for lifting samples out of carboys.

Brushes. A carboy brush and a bottle brush are indispensable. Bend the carboy brush to fit the shoulder of the carboy.

Wood dowels. Hardware store item. Used when stirring up lees to promote MLF, for topping in fining agents or meta rather than racking, etc. I have a very slender one for stirring up MLF lees and a heavy one for heavier jobs.

Medicinal teaspoon. The ordinary kitchen teaspoon is amazingly inaccurate! They are often 30% more or less than a true teaspoon, which is approximately 5 ml. Greater accuracy is needed for measuring chemicals such as tartaric acid and meta. Get a medicinal teaspoon at the drug store, which can be used by trial and error to find a kitchen teaspoon that happens to be accurate. Then mark the kitchen version and use it to measure your chemicals by volume - it's much easier than weighing every time.

Acid test kit. Total acid is such an important measurement in winemaking that you should invest in an acid test kit early in your home winemaking career. It will be well worth the modest cost. See Appendix A for details on assembling your own kit and conducting titration tests.

Clinitest tablets. These tablets for measuring residual sugar are available at some drug stores if your wine shop does not carry them. They are particularly important in making white wines in which small quantities of residual sugar are desired. See Appendix A for details on use.

Pipets. Volumetric pipets are one of the most useful supply items. They can be used for Clinitest (1/2 ml) and for acid titration tests (1 ml and 2 ml). When you are interested in controlling the addition of sulfite at bottling for instance, 1/4 tsp. of potassium metabisulfite can be dissolved in 25 ml of water and 1 ml dispensed into each bottle to give 50 ppm. They are exceedingly useful as a straw to sample wine right out of the carboy! Or out of the primary fermenter during extended maceration. A 5- or 10- ml size is needed to measure wine samples when doing titration tests with a burette. A 10- ml pipet also makes an ideal wine thief. A lab supply house will normally carry them if your wine supply shop does not.

(Scale). Some type of scale capable of measuring fractions of an ounce (and preferably metric as well) is a convenience but by no means a necessity. A photographer's or reloader's scale would work, or even a digital postage scale. But you can get by without a scale. This book usually references chemicals in fractions of a teaspoon on the assumption that you will not have a scale.

(CO2 tank and regulator). Although it is possible to use a "CO2 pot" to generate an inert gas (Appendix C), you are not likely to do it every time, due to the nuisance factor. If you plan to ferment a lot of white wines, a tank with a regulator is the answer to the air problem. White wines - and particularly those from hot climates - are so sensitive to air that every effort should be made to minimize the air contact. A tank makes it easy to displace the air. I have a small tank of argon with a regulator valve that reduces the flow to a few gallons per minute. Argon is heavier than nitrogen or carbon dioxide. The cost was less than $100 filled, at a welding supply shop.

(pH meter). Although it is not by any means a necessity, a pH meter will give you more insight into wine chemistry than any other piece of luxury equipment. You can quickly determine the effect on this all- important measurement of various procedures, such as increasing or decreasing the acid level, cold stabilization and malolactic fermentation, to name a few. The "digital revolution" has brought the price of pocket, digital pH meters down to approximately $100. They will read to +/- .01 pH and are accurate to +/- .02 pH, an impressive feat at the price.

Chemicals Glossary
Potassium metabisulfite. 1/4 tsp./5 gal.= 50 parts per million (ppm); 1t.= 6.3 g. Some people are allergic to sulfite and asthmatics are particularly sensitive to it. The fumes are highly caustic and care should always be taken to avoid breathing it or getting the solution in your mouth. Despite these disadvantages, I regard potassium metabisulfite, also referred to as "sulfite" or "meta," as the winemaker's best friend! Its virtues are many and impressive. It kills unwanted bacteria and foreign yeast but not cultured yeast. It inhibits enzymatic browning of white wines. It promotes clarification after fermentation is over. It stabilizes a white wine with residual sugar and discourages renewed fermentation. It extends the shelf life of your wine. And, at the right level, it actually improves the flavor. But don't use it indiscriminately. Low levels of meta will provide all the benefits.

Some winemakers like Campden tablets, which add about 75 ppm of sulfite at the rate of one tablet per gallon. But they have to be crushed with a mortar and pestle and even then are difficult to completely dissolve. The granular form of potassium metabisulfite is easier to use and less expensive.

Tannin. Since white grapes have little or no tannin, a very small quantity (1/4 to 1/2 tsp. per 5 gallons) should be added for astringency and as an aid in later fining with gelatin or isinglass.

Pectic enzyme. Pectic enzyme is commonly used in making fruit wines from apricots, peaches and other pit fruits. It can also be used for grape wines. It increases the yield of white grapes by breaking down the pulp and makes pressing and clarification easier. It aids in extracting flavors from the skins of red grapes by accelerating physical disintegration of the berry. Pectic enzyme loses it potency over time, so keep it refrigerated and replace it every 2 years. Follow manufacturer's recommended dosage. Note that enzymes will be rendered ineffective if bentonite is added at the same time.

Potassium bitartrate. 1/4 tsp./gal. Used as seed to hasten tartrate crystallization when cold stabilizing. Dissolve it in a quart of wine and stir it into the carboy with a dowel when the wine is at its coldest.

Potassium sorbate. Although it will not stop active fermentation, potassium sorbate will insure against renewed fermentation in wines bottled with higher levels of unfermented sugar. Add it at the rate of 3/4 grams per gallon (200 ppm) and use it in conjunction with potassium metabisulfite for maximum effectiveness. It has a distinct flavor which some people dislike. Potassium sorbate is not needed for ordinary table wines having residual sugar of less than 1%. But if the grapes had botrytis cinerea and the wine was being bottled with 3% RS, for instance, it can be used as insurance against renewed fermentation. Potassium sorbate will generate a geranium- like odor disagreeable to most people if it is present during malolactic fermentation.

There are Glossaries after several succeeding chapters which should also be consulted:
Yeasts
Yeast Supplements
Fining Agents
Bottling
Acid
Carbonates
Malolactic Bacteria

Edition details

• Publisher: Stonemark Pub Co
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0965793613
• ISBN 13: 9780965793612
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 172