Destemming & Crushing Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon

Our grapes arrived from Stagecoach Vineyards in the Atlas Peak AVA of Napa Valley. They were harvested last week and were in pristine condition. There were 23 lugs of grapes awaiting Kathy and my arrival early Saturday morning. The first thing we did was to taste the grapes. They were very flavorful with seeds that were dark brown in color. Next I took a brix reading with a refractometer. After selecting three different grapes from three different bins, I squeezed a drop from each grape onto the refrctometer. The brix level measured at 25 brix.

We emptied 23 lugs of grapes into the destemmer/crusher. This process only took minutes. The grapes were crushed and the juice pumped into a fermentation bin, while the stems exited the destemmer at the opposite end. After rolling the fermentation bin was rolled into the winery, we took juice samples to record the specific gravity using a hydrometer and the pH. The pH measured 3.54, a good level. The specific gravity measured 1.09, a number lower than we wanted. That reading translates to a brix reading of 23 rather than the brix reading made in the vineyard and the reading I took earlier. We will keep an eye on the specific gravity reading over the next day and decide if we should chaptalize at all. At 23 brix there is a potential for a 13% alcohol wine, while at 25 brix the potential is for about a 14% alcohol wine. With the Napa Valley grapes, we want the wine to be closer to the 25 brix level. It was difficult to get a reading since the juice was foamy.

Speaking of the juice, we sampled the juice. It was delicious. Next we added several items to the fermentation bin. The first was potassium metabisulfite. This will help to inhibit the native yeast from starting to ferment the sugars. We plan to add a winemaking yeast tomorrow, after the must has a chance to warm up. Our second item added was Lallemand Booster Rouge. This yeast derivative helps increase the tannin intensity of the initial mouthfeel and increases the aromatics of the grapes. Booster Rouge also plays nicely with the yeast ICV D21 we plan to add tomorrow. The two help enhance licorice aromas. Next we added Lallzyme EX-V™. This enzyme formulated by Lallemand helps to increase the extraction of intracellular polyphenolic content from the grapes. We are hoping it will help create a structured wine with deep, stable color. It should also help with the extraction of Cabernet Sauvignon varietal aromas. Our last addition for today was Scott’tan FT Rouge. This item helps  preserve the grapes’ natural tannins so that they can combine with anthocyanins to create stable color. It also helps to enhance mouthfeel. After each of these additions, Kathy or Terry stirred the must. We are now off to a start of our 2012 Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cheers,
Terry

Grapes from Stagecoach Vineyards

Cabernet Sauvignon, Stagecoach Vineyards, Atlas Peak AVA, Napa Valley

Terry taking the brix levels of different grapes.

Kathy and Terry dumping grapes into a distemmer/crusher.