The final class lesson looked at red winemaking. This rather lengthy class reviewed many of the previously presented winemaking practices as well as highlighted new practices. The lecture began with fermentation. Red wines ferment at warm temperatures. Oxidation is usually not a problem since the skins and seeds form a cap above the […]
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This lesson looked at specific wine making techniques as they relate to white wine. The instructor discussed the importance of cool fermentation and the need to protect the wine from oxidation. The practice of adding enzymes was presented. These enzymes improve juice yield and help in clarification. The comparison between barrel fermentation and […] Twice this year we’ve come across a winery that had cases of bottled wine that had a buildup of CO2 in some of the bottles. At a Texas winery there were only a few bottles detected, however the winemaker didn’t want to take any chances and decided to open all the bottles, dump […] Eight hundred pounds of blueberries is a lot of fruit. So what can be done on short notice? One option is to make wine. The flats were loaded onto a truck and delivered to Tin Lizzie Wineworks early on the last Sunday of the year. We arrived at 10:00 AM and began to […] Barreling, clarification, blending and bottling were the topics explored in this lesson. It began with a discussion of barrels and differences between French, American and Hungarian barrels. The instructor talked about the characters that barrel aging could add to wine as well as the degree of toast and a barrel’s lifespan. Clarification […] The fourth lesson explored secondary fermentation. The lecture described in detail the conversion of malic acid to lactic acid. This malolactic conversion is going to affect the pH and TA levels. The lactic acid is less acedic than the malic acid. The secondary fermentation can stabilize the wine and change the flavor.
Most people do not have access to must or the leftover pumace after a pressing. We successfully made wine jelly from must. However, if you do not have access to the must what can you do? One of the easiest jellies to make is wine jelly. Just pick up two bottles of […] While racking, I ran a sugar test and pH on the wine. Running the sugar test reminded me of high school chemistry class when we used pH paper to match a substance to a color chart with 14 indicators. The sugar test kit that many winemakers use is the Clinitest Reagent Tablets for […] The last two tasks at Vint Hill Craft Winery were pressing the must and racking to barrels. Both tasks were simple, however they were messy and cleanup probably took longer than the tasks. There was plenty of help to clean up after pressing the California Cab. Using a plastic knife, we had to […] |
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