Wine Making

[maxvonrooster]

Hello everyone i am new here and have a problem with my wine,i was taught how to make wine by my late fil.
i bought 450kgs of muscat grapes in april from sydney market i got them home ,crushed them and stored this in my oak barrel (very big) dont know how many litres,i have a tap fitted to this so i can pour straight into the glass when ready.
my problem is i sampled it today and though it tastes ok but it seems slightly sparkly(i dont add anything to the barrel just the grapes and use the natural yeast on the grapes)is the cold weather causing the sparklyness in the wine and can anyone on the forum help or give me there opinions
cheers
greg

 

[manticle]

I think Dr Smurto makes a bit of wine. Other non- beer experts here are Brewer Pete and Airgead (not sure if they make wine) so if you get no useful responses, try hitting one of them up with a PM.

I've a desire to begin winemaking soonish and have tried samples of beverages made using the natural yeast and sugars. Damn fine

 

[brando]

My fil has taught me too.

His way is to also use the natural yeast on the grapes, but he ferments first in several very large plastic barrels (sanitised), then age in wooden barrels.

 

[Airgead]

Hi Gregg

I'm not much of a winemaker (although I do the odd fruit wine and a lot of mead which is honey wine so I suppose that slightly qualifies me).

There is a long thread on here about home winemaking (http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31935). There are some pretty knowledgeable guys on there who can probably help out.

If its just the sparkle (spritz I believe is the correct term) you are worried about I wouldn't be. As long as it tastes OK. If the wine has cleared, the sparkle is probably dissolved co2 from fermentation. it will come out of solution as the wine warms (in a glass or in your mouth). It should eventually dissipate or you can de-gas the wine by stiring vigorously. You need to be careful not to introduce oxygen though. If it hasn't cleared it may still be fermenting. In that case the cure is patience...

Just out of interest, are you planning on pouring glass by glass from the barrel or decanting into bottles? I ask because as you drink the wine, the headspace in the barrel will increase and you run the risk of oxidisation. The solution there is either to bottle or to drink it all quickly. All 450kg of it... I'm sure you can get some willing helpers on here :icon_drunk:

Cheers
Dave

Edit: spelloing

 

[pdilley]

I'm in

I would say CO2 as well. I'm getting a wine whip or lees stirrer from the States as have some visitors in a few months who will bring some gear down for me. They are attachments for an electric drill used for degassing wine (removing CO2) in fermenters (carboys and demijohns) before the bottling takes place. I don't believe barrels have the issue glass does if you use them as primary fermenters as the glass you do need a mechanical degass. Barrels are usually bunged and then rolled across the floor. This sloshes the wine around inside and helps force some of the CO2 out of solution. With just a barrel and bung no problem but you have to watch your tap as well when rolling.

I don't have barrels so I don't have the serving out of the barrel experience to share but I am sure your primary fermentation CO2 and that from rolling the barrel to degass the wine should give you a layer of CO2 that should stay on top of the wine as its slowly poured out from the tap.

As with Dave I'm more into the Meads. Although I don't have sulphite reactions I think the higher sulphur content in commercial wines put me off them somewhat although winemaking was the first part of brewing I studied when just starting out. I ended up making Meads first. Viking heritage

Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Airgead]

I don't have barrels so I don't have the serving out of the barrel experience to share but I am sure your primary fermentation CO2 and that from rolling the barrel to degass the wine should give you a layer of CO2 that should stay on top of the wine as its slowly poured out from the tap.

I wouldn't count on it...

Although CO2 is heavier than air and will initially form a blanket, over time it will mix with any other gasses present to form an even mixture. Brownian motion is the culprit. It will only form a stable blanket at very low temps.

If it wasn't for this we wouldn't be around as the co2 (and heavier) gasses would settle at sea level and displace all the lovely oxygen.

If your wine is outgassing (like during fermentation) you wil be OK but long term storage you will get O2 permeating through the barrel into the headspace (especially if the staves in the headspace dry out a little) and this will mix and come in contact with the wine. As the headspace gets bigger the contact area increases and the O2 will react faster.

Cheers
Dave

 

[pdilley]

Bottling it is then.

I'll start gathering them up


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

 

[Airgead]

Bottling it is then.

I'll start gathering them up


Cheers,
Brewer Pete

I have a stash of about 10 dozen empties here... I hope there is some left for Greg once we have ours filled :icon_cheers:

Cheers
Dave

 

[maxvonrooster]

thankyou very much for your help guys
i will post a pick of my set up when i can borrow the wifes dig camera
it sounds like a slow fermentation from your answers so i will wait a bit longer and see how it looks
the skins form a layer on top of the wine(called the mother which stops the oxygen getting to the wine)about 6 to 8 inches thick, the last batch of wine we did was in the barrell for 2 1/2 years and was fantastic
i will let you know how it gets along
cheers
greg

 

[Airgead]

thankyou very much for your help guys
i will post a pick of my set up when i can borrow the wifes dig camera
it sounds like a slow fermentation from your answers so i will wait a bit longer and see how it looks
the skins form a layer on top of the wine(called the mother which stops the oxygen getting to the wine)about 6 to 8 inches thick, the last batch of wine we did was in the barrell for 2 1/2 years and was fantastic
i will let you know how it gets along
cheers
greg

Wow that's real old school stuff. You leave it on the skins the whole time. I'm guessing your FIL was of Italian descent?

Do you get extra colour extraction as it ages? What about tannins? I seem to recall that modern winemakers take the wine off the skins after a while to prevent excess tannins being extracted. How is the clarity? Do you get clear wine underneath or is it always a bit hazy?

I'm guessing BP and I can put all our bottles away then... pity.

Cheers
Dave

 

[maxvonrooster]

Hi Dave
My fil was macedonian , the colour is dark blood red and tannins are noticable but not to bad.
i am into woodwork as a hobby and built a trolley to put the barrel on, resting on its side the trolley is made of 4 x 3 hardwood beams dowelled together and hand dovetailed with wheels i cut from a bakers tray . my father was a carpenter its in the blood even though i drive coal trains
cheers
greg

 

[Airgead]

Hi Dave
My fil was macedonian , the colour is dark blood red and tannins are noticable but not to bad.
i am into woodwork as a hobby and built a trolley to put the barrel on, resting on its side the trolley is made of 4 x 3 hardwood beams dowelled together and hand dovetailed with wheels i cut from a bakers tray . my father was a carpenter its in the blood even though i drive coal trains
cheers
greg

Ahhh.. yes... it is a bit of a Macedonian tradition as well.

The trolley sounds really nice. I do a bit of woodworking myself but not in that league. You'll have to post some pics.

Cheers
Dave