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Wild fermentations can often bring a level of complexity to a wine not always found using commercial Saccharomyces strains. But the tradeoff for that complexity is higher risk. What if you could introduce the good microbes of a wild fermentation to your wine without the risk? There are techniques, along with new isolated non-Saccharomyces yeasts, that can do just that.
by Phil PlummerThe use of sulfites in wine — how much, or even if used at all — remains a contentious subject. WineMaker’s Technical Editor shares his own simple yet practical approach to sulfite management that works every time.
by Bob Peak
Most red and some white wines are put through a secondary malolactic fermentation (MLF). The process converts malic acid to lactic acid, which smooths out harsh flavors while adding a richness on the palate, as well as contributing to the stability and aging potential of the wine. Learn when a wine should go through MLF, how to do it, and ways to test for it.
by Maureen MacdonaldWhether you are considering a career in winemaking or just want to further your knowledge, a formal education in enology and viticulture has its benefits. Here is what you should know before you enroll.
by Kristen Kuchar
• Destemmer Crushers
• Speidel Bladder Presses
• Pumps For Must & Wine
• Speidel Stainless Tanks
• Bottle Fillers
• Oak Barrels
CellarScience™ adds complexity and flavor to your wine with our carefully curated set of wine yeasts. Designed to work directly with CellarScience™ yeast nutrients FermStart™, Fermfed™, and Fermfed™ DAP Free. As with all CellarScience™ products, the value is the best in the industry.
8 MAIL
A reader in Northern California shares a technique he believes has been beneficial in mitigating the impact smoke taint has had on his homemade wines over the last 5+ years when wildfires have destroyed many other wines from the area.
10 CELLAR DWELLERS
Wine bottle capsules can take many forms. Reader Nicholas Cozzarelli takes us on a tour of the various kinds and how they are applied. Also, learn about the grape crushing process and options, as well as the latest winemaking news and upcoming events.
14 WINE WIZARD
There has been growing interest in reduced alcohol wines in recent years as the health benefits and caloric reduction is lauded by the medical world. The Wine Wizard offers tips to a home winemaker looking to produce their own lower-alcohol wine. Another winemaker is trying to find ways to reduce their water usage in the winery.
18 VARIETAL FOCUS
A new flock of hybrid grape varieties in the market is turning heads, not only for their disease and cold tolerance in the vineyard, but also in the winery for the qualities that they can carry to the bottle. Meet Cabernet Doré.
48 TECHNIQUES
Finding high-quality grapes, even in wine country, can be a challenge for new winemakers. Get some advice for sourcing fresh grapes, no matter where you live, as well as how to handle the grapes to get them home safely.
51 ADVANCED WINEMAKING
Most red winemakers will begin alcoholic fermentation shortly after the grape clusters are pressed. But there are some alternative techniques that can be utilized pre-fermentation to try to bring distinctive character to the wines they produce.
56 DRY FINISH
When an amateur winemaker notices that his 6-year-old daughter is taking a keen interest in his hobby, he happily opens the door to his winery. Join in on a family winemaking adventure.
EDITOR
Dawson Raspuzzi
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Dave Green
DESIGN
Open Look
TECHNICAL EDITOR
Bob Peak
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Dwayne Bershaw, Chik Brenneman, Alison Crowe, Wes Hagen, Maureen Macdonald, Bob Peak, Phil Plummer, Dominick Profaci, Clark Smith
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Charles A. Parker
EDITORIAL REVIEW BOARD
Steve Bader Bader Beer and Wine Supply
Chik Brenneman Baker Family Wines
John Buechsenstein Wine Education & Consultation
Mark Chandler Chandler & Company
Wine Consultancy
Kevin Donato Cultured Solutions
Pat Henderson About Wine Consulting
Ed Kraus EC Kraus
Maureen Macdonald Hawk Ridge Winery
Christina Musto-Quick Musto Wine
Grape Co.
Phil Plummer Montezuma Winery
Gene Spaziani American Wine Society
Jef Stebben Stebben Wine Co.
Gail Tufford Global Vintners Inc.
Anne Whyte Vermont Homebrew Supply
I really like aromatic white wines and would like to produce some more varietals that are less common here in the States. I’ve tried (and failed) to get a couple hundred pounds of Albariño in the past. Although, I’d be equally happy if I could line up some Verdejo or Vernaccia.
I’d love to make some wine from Gamay Noir. I really enjoy Beaujolais wines, so I’ve always had an eye out for this grape being made in other regions. Currently there are a few Finger Lakes, New York, wine producers who have planted and are making wines with this variety, but it’s relatively uncommon. I’ve tried several of these local wines and I’m impressed with the quality. If we can economically grow this variety in NY I think it may catch on with consumers.
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Yeast are fairly simple, single-celled organisms. But their diversity, functionality, and ability to adapt is why humans, and especially winemakers love these fungi so much. Bob Peak takes us through several strains that winemakers should know are available. https:// winemakermag.com/technique/ special-purpose-wine-yeasts
Whether it is just the basics (Brix, pH, etc.) or more advanced (free SO2, yeast assimilable nitrogen, etc.) all home winemakers should perform some tests to monitor their wines. https://winemakermag.com/ article/at-home-in-the-wine-lab
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There are plenty of grapes that seem to do really well in our neighborhood that aren’t planted widely enough that we’ve ever had a chance to work with them; if I had to pick just one, it’d probably be Gamay.
Crunchy, chillable dry reds are some of my favorites to drink and cool-climate Gamay produced in a Beaujolais-style sounds like a layup to me. There are a few plantings in the Finger Lakes AVA, but there isn’t enough to go around. Hopefully the variety can build enough of a following that more will get planted!
All contents of WineMaker are Copyright © 2023 by Battenkill Communications, unless otherwise noted. WineMaker is a registered trademark owned by Battenkill Communications, a Vermont corporation. Unsolicited manuscripts will not be returned, and no responsibility can be assumed for such material. All “Letters to the Editor” should be sent to the editor at the Vermont office address. All rights in letters sent to WineMaker will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and subject to WineMaker’s unrestricted right to edit. Although all reasonable attempts are made to ensure accuracy, the publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions anywhere in the publication. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or in whole without written permission is strictly prohibited. Printed in the United States of America. Volume 26, Number 4: August-September 2023.
Volatile thiols are delicate but powerful aromatic compounds released during fermentation. Through careful techniques and yeast selection, these thiols can be both preserved and enhanced to create an aromatic wine that pleases the senses. https://winemakermag.com/ article/the-role-of-varietal-thiols-inwhite-wines
As harvest nears it is time to make a plan of action for how you will proceed with each batch of wine you plan to make this fall. With red wines there are many options. We take a closer look at cold soaking, extended macerations, and carbonic macerations, which are all worth consideration for home winemakers. https://winemakermag.com/ article/maceration-considerations
I subscribe to the print copy of WineMaker magazine and always read the headlines from the online version before delving into the full article. I read the Wine Wizard’s response to a question about making wine from grapes affected by smoke taint in the April-May 2023 issue and would like to offer a bit of my experience.
While I agree that the last several years here in Northern California have been a challenge with “minimizing” the taste of smoke in the finished wine, I have yet to read that thoroughly washing the fruit bunches with copious amounts of cold water can minimize the problem. It has been my experience that a thorough washing removes most of the “ash,” which is the real culprit here. There is a concentrated smoky element to every flake of ash that floats from a wildfire and envelops a vineyard. If harvested grapes are destemmed and crushed without a thorough washing, the “taint” effect cannot be minimized nor eliminated. I believe washing the grapes helps, perhaps not 100%, but certainly enough to prevent an undrinkable wine.
I live in the eastern foothills of Santa Clara Valley (Mt. Hamilton area). I have about 100+ vines in my vineyard and have suffered from the wildfire smoke like everyone else. Additionally, I source fruit from two friends who have vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands and virtually all of us are affected regardless of where we live in Northern California.
I am the first to agree with those who say that washing the fruit with cold, clean water is both time consuming and quite an extra expense. However, I weigh that once a year investment against the loss of everything we work for all year long! Wash the fruit thoroughly with a copious amount of cold, fresh water and allow a bit of time for the fruit to drain. Then proceed with crush and fermentation.
Jim D’Amico • Mt. Hamilton, California
If you’ve had success mitigating the negative impact of smoke taint caused by the wildfires in Northern California and elsewhere with this practice, then great job and others should keep it in mind as well. If there is ash on the grapes coming in, then giving the grapes a rinse certainly makes sense! We’ll continue following the research that is being done regarding smoke taint — many studies are currently being conducted by the Australian Wine Research Institute, UC-Davis, and other institutions — and we’ll keep relaying this information so amateur winemakers are set up for success.
Phil Plummer has been a student of wine since 2004 when he began his formal education in the subject at Rochester Institute of Technology. For the past 11 years, Phil has worked for the Martin Family Wineries (Montezuma, Idol Ridge, and Fossenvue) in New York’s Finger Lakes Region, serving as Head Winemaker since 2013. In his time as Head Winemaker, he has developed a diverse portfolio of unique wines made from grapes, fruit, and honey. Phil’s passion for wine and winemaking is boundless, as evidenced by his constant experimentation with new techniques, materials, and mindsets.
Yeast manufacturers have released a number of isolated non-Saccharomyces strains in recent years to offer winemakers the complexity of wild fermentations without the risk. Beginning on page 24, Phil explores these options for the home winemaker.
Maureen Macdonald is a University of Vermont graduate with two decades professional experience in the beverage and wine industry. She has experience in both viticulture and enology as a Field Manager and Head Winemaker for commercial vineyards. After years of working as a consultant to many vineyards, she now is the Head Winemaker for Hawk Ridge Winery in Watertown, Connecticut, where she makes 30 different wines. When she isn’t hard at work in the lab or winery, she is often judging commercial and amateur competitions or making hard cider and beer at home.
Starting on page 36, Maureen explores the process of malolactic fermentation — from what it does and the reasons you may want to employ this secondary fermentation in your wines, to when, why, how to test for completion, and more.
Kristen Kuchar is a Colorado-based freelance writer and editor who has the wonderful opportunity to cover her greatest loves in life – beer, wine, travel, and other craft beverages. She is a Cicerone Certified beer server, completed WSET in Wine Level One, and is a certified American Wine Expert. Her byline has appeared in Brew Your Own, VinePair, The Beer Connoisseur, Beer Advocate, Zymurgy, DRAFT, All About Beer, and dozens of other publications. When she’s not writing about her favorite things, you can find her exploring new breweries, hiking in the Rocky Mountains with her sweet cattle dog, and traveling every chance she can get with her husband.
In her first article for WineMaker, starting on page 42, Kristen shares the benefits of a formal education in enology or viticulture through the eyes of those associated with various academic programs and others who have gone through them.
In 2009 the European Union announced that the debate should be over, Presecco would be the designated region of origin where the namesake wines are produced (in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy) and the grape variety utilized to produce its famed Prosecco sparkling wines would now be called Glera. So just like a wine cannot be named a Champagne wine if it made outside of the region, the name Prosecco, according to this new rule, should only be applied to wines produced in that specific region of Italy. Why does this matter? Well, because there are a number of wineries, most notably in Australia, that call their wine Prosecco because it was made from the grape variety that, according to the new designation, can no longer use the title Prosecco. Since there are no grape varieties named Champagne, or Bordeaux, or Burgundy, this was never an issue with those regional designations.
But after five years of research, Monash University’s Professor of Law Mark Davison came to the contradictory conclusion that it should be the grape named Prosecco, not Glera, citing reference to the grape variety as far back as the 1700s. His research found no similar reference to the region being known as Prosecco. Whichever side prevails, this could have major implications for not only the Italians but also the $200 million Australian sparkling wine segment that would be forced to list the grape type as Glera. The use of geographic indicators has become a hot button topic for the European Union and is playing out in economic trade negotiations. Stay tuned: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-21/proseccoeuropean-union-geographic-indication-italy-champagne-/102250984
Sonoma County Harvest Fair Amateur Wine Competition deadline to register entries is Friday, August 18 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Registration for entries are accepted starting July 1. Wines can be received, either via mail or dropped off in-person, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and are only accepted the week of August 21–25. Judging takes place on September 9 with the public tasting on October 14. For more visit http://harvestfair. org/amateur-wine/
Save The Date for our 15th annual WineMaker Conference, which will be held in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia. Regarded as the birthplace of American wine thanks to the first commercial vineyard planted in 1774 by Thomas Jefferson, the Monticello AVA is keeping that legacy alive with 40 wineries. Don’t miss dozens of winemaking and grape growing workshops, seminars, and special events all geared for home winemakers. https://winemakerconference.com
Virtually all professional winemakers finish the tops of their wine bottles with a capsule — whether it’s composed of PVC, tin, polylaminate, aluminum, or wax. The capsule is thought to help protect the cork from mycobacteria. I personally love the look of capsules as it makes the presentation of a homemade bottle of wine more appealing aesthetically. But it is important to understand the differences of what they are and how to apply them.
PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is utilized by the home winemaker and comes in an array of colors. In our winemaking setup, we actually have a cabinet that houses all different colors of PVC shrink capsules. This becomes our palette when we apply our label and pick an appropriate colored capsule to finish the work. PVC is the least expensive for both commercial and home winemakers, but it is one of the worst plastics from an environmental health perspective. It can pose major health hazards in the manufacturing process, and disposal (look no further than the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio). PVC capsules can be applied by three different methods: Blow dryer, a pot of boiling water, or using a heat tunnel (my preferred method).
Tin capsules bring a very elegant and expensive look to your wine bottle. Tin capsules require a specific piece of equipment called a spinner, which is common in the commercial winemaking world. We have a single spinner for the home winemaker. One must be careful when handling a tin capsule as there is a sharp edge to them.
Polylaminate capsules are comprised of a three-layer aluminum-polyethylene-aluminum seamed skirt and aluminum top disc. “Polylams” (for short) are not approved by the FDA for direct contact with food but are a secondary, decorative closure, and not intended to contact wine or other beverages. Polylams have many of the characteristics of tin with a reduced price and are the most requested closure and are suitable for any type of wine, including both premium and homemade wines. If the winemaker wants to upscale his bottle of wine to appear nicer, polylam is an excellent choice and applied with a spinner.
The aluminum capsule offers the form and function of tin, but at a more affordable price, similar to the price of polylam capsules. Aluminum capsules are more sustainable because they are more environmentally friendly and can be recycled. Like tin and polylam cap-
sules, an aluminum capsule is applied with a spinner.
Back when the only choice in high-end wine packaging was amphorae, wax was the seal of choice, often embossed with a signet. The wax is comprised of rosin, paraffin wax, or microcrystalline wax, and many different colors are available. Some wineries still use wax, but the cost is expensive and is very time consuming for the application. Hand-dipping wine bottle sealing wax accomplishes a distinct look on the bottle, provides a positive seal, and is an environmentally conscious product as opposed to using the traditional products such as foil or metal capsules. The winemaker wax is supplied either in one-pound bars or bags of wax chips. I prefer the chips, which melt faster. The wax capsule helps you achieve a tough, moisture-resistant coating that preserves freshness, flavor, and fragrance in your wines. Despite the additional time for the home winemaker, the wax capsule look is distinct.
or fresh grape winemakers, the task of crushing the grapes is generally going to be the first task on the list after the grapes have been received and inspected for damage. Most winemakers would highly recommend that specialty equipment is used, but that shouldn’t stop those on a budget because there are workarounds. Before we dive in here about crushing grapes, it’s important to note that while it is generally recommended that winemakers crush their grapes after they are received, it is not always a necessary task.
The benefit of crushing is primarily to allow access to the juice inside the grape skins. For reds you want this exposure so that the yeast can access the juice and for the skins to macerate during fermentation. For whites and rosé wines, crushing can allow for easier pressing to extract the grape juice into a fermenter.
But there are a couple instances where grapes can be left uncrushed such as in whole cluster winemaking and when a winemaker is looking to perform a carbonic maceration. In the case of whole cluster winemaking for white and rosé wines, it implies the grape clusters go directly to the press with their stems and skins still intact. This means the juice will have almost zero time to extract compounds from the skins before being run off. The goal of this technique is to produce a delicate wine with very low astringency. Unfortunately for home winemakers, the standard ratcheting basket press does not have the necessary pressure to press whole cluster grapes in this manner. This method can be done at home with a bladder press.
Carbonic maceration is a specialized way to produce very fruity, early drinking red wines, such as seen in Beaujolais nouveau style of wines. In this situation whole clusters of
red grapes are purged of oxygen and enzymatic fermentation is allowed to commence within the berries. Eventually the grape skins burst and then the wine can be pressed. This is a very niche technique and should not be employed unless a deep dive has been done into the process and what it produces in the finished wine.
We’re going to look at three of the most popular ways that home winemakers can get their grapes crushed: Hand crushing, using a mechanical crush, and using a crusher/destemmer. The initial equipment cost goes up as we move along that list with the crusher/destemmer being the most convenient but also garnering the highest price tag, especially models that feature an electric motor to turn grinding wheels as opposed to hand crank-driven models.
Hand crushing is the cheapest to set up but requires plenty of muscle and can get pretty messy. It can be performed on a large stainless steel screen, a screen that you feel comfortable leaning some weight into as you’ll be smushing the grapes through the screen and into your fermentation bucket in the case of reds or a settling bucket in the case of whites and rosés. (Technical Editor Bob Peak also mentioned that milk crates are another tool that can be used to crush the grapes.) Stems preferably will be sorted out with this technique and this method is perfect for small-scale, 5 gal. (19 L) and under, batches.
If hand crushing (or even the classic foot stomping) doesn’t appeal to you, then it’s time to consider your options with either a mechanical crusher model or a crusher/destemmer.
A mechanical crusher can be built at home by those with some engineering chops. But most winemakers opt to purchase (or rent) one through a wine supplier. Models that offer destemming
capabilities are more expensive, so why might you invest? Stems can provide a lot of small polyphenolic compounds (providing astringency and bitterness to wine) if left in contact with the juice, such as in red winemaking.
For white and rosé wines, it’s perfectly fine to leave the stem with the grapes and juice since it will see the press quickly and those polyphenolic compounds won’t have time to get extracted. But for red wines, just how ripe the stems are does have an impact on the characteristics it will impart on the wine. Green stems will provide a more herbaceous and vegetal character while brown, lignified stems provide more spicy, black tea character. Being able to control when to include a little or a lot can be useful.
If doing small-batch winemaking (5 to 10 gal./20 to 40 L), destemming can be done by hand. But for those that are looking to grow their hobby and do larger batch sizes, especially with red winemaking, you should consider spending the money on the destemmer option. Stems can always be added back after being removed.
While it would be nice if more commercially available hobby crushers offered adjustable gap spacing, there are ways to play around with your crush even with fixed rollers. Just as it was earlier mentioned that winemakers don’t have to crush, there are ways to play around with the percentage of grapes you crush.
You may want to try crushing 80% of the grapes for a Burgundian-style wine and leave the remaining 20% intact to undergo carbonic maceration to enhance the fruitiness. For white wines, maybe just crushing 50% of the grapes to minimize skin exposure for a Pinot Gris. There are no set rules, just options.
QI’VE SEEN A FEW LOWER ALCOHOL WINES COME ONTO THE MARKET LATELY AND AS MY WIFE AND I GET OLDER WE AREN’T SUCH BIG FANS OF BOOZY WINES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OVER 15%. WE’RE TRYING TO CUT BACK A BIT ON ALCOHOL IN OUR LIVES IN GENERAL, FOR CALORIES’ SAKE, AND ARE LOOKING TO KEEP ENJOYING OUR WINE. ALSO, IT SEEMS THAT LATELY WE’VE BEEN EXPERIENCING MORE HEATWAVES IN OUR GROWING AREA, MAKING IT HARDER AND HARDER TO KEEP OUR ANNUAL VINTAGE OF CHARDONNAY, SAUVIGNON BLANC, AND CABERNET ( WE’RE IN CALIFORNIA’S MENDOCINO COUNTY ) UNDER 14% ALCOHOL WHERE WE’D LIKE IT. DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR HOME WINEMAKERS WHO WANT TO TRY TO MAKE BALANCED, TASTY WINES WHILE STILL KEEPING ALCOHOL MODERATE? I KNOW IT CAN’T BE JUST AS SIMPLE AS PICKING THE GRAPES A LITTLE GREENER.
AFunny you mention this topic because I’m currently working on a lower-alcohol project at work (at Plata Wine Partners, I often develop custom projects for clients, and this is one). The brief for me is to come up with a delicious, balanced Pinot Noir and rosé that clock in around 9% alcohol. There is some evidence that the typical U.S. consumer is increasingly interested in buying and enjoying wines with more moderate levels of alcohol.
Like you, they seem to be interested in a) avoiding getting a little too tipsy and/or b) achieving health and wellness goals of reducing alcohol consumption like curtailing inflammation or lowering calorie consumption. Now, of course, for my project I’m going to have to use reverse osmosis machinery to physically remove some of the alcohol, something that your usual home
winemaker won’t be dealing with. The process can cost thousands of dollars to employ and only larger-scale bottling runs can justify it. That being said there are many things that winemakers can employ to try to get balanced, delicious wines with naturally lower alcohol levels.
Whatever a winemaker’s goal, we all have to think about how alcohol plays (or doesn’t play) well with the other components in any given wine. Alcohol never stands alone and, contrary to what some wine advocacy groups would have us believe, isn’t the only component important for “balance.” Total acidity, pH, aromatic complexity, tannin, sugar, and carbon dioxide levels, especially, are all important pieces of the overall picture of a wine.
Bruce W. Zoecklein at Virginia Tech sketches out the below schematic, which explains the interactions:
Total acidity, pH, aromatic complexity, tannin, sugar, and carbon dioxide levels, especially, are all important pieces of the overall picture of a wine.Photo by Charles A. Parker/Images Plus
Alcohol brings a sense of body to wine and can also increase the perception of tannin. Sugar can mask both acidity and tannin and also can give the impression of body and a “full” mouthfeel. It often is present in lower-alcohol wine because of these effects. In order to not have a product be too sweet, higher acid is often required to balance the sugar if present. Acid and phenolics reinforce and amplify each other so too much of one can bring out a negative in another. The most important thing to remember is that if alcohol is going to be lower, other “sweet” components have to be higher or something on the other side of the equation (acid + phenolics) has to be lower.
Carbon dioxide bubbles will contribute body, which is one of the reasons many sparkling wines can be so successful at lower alcohol levels. Floral, distinctive, or especially rich aromatic varietals as well, will help the “nose” take the place of some of the complexity that ripeness and alcohol might have contributed. For this reason, Chardonnay is hard to do on a low-alcohol level whereas Riesling can really shine.
Like I mention above, most winemakers aiming for lower-alcohol wines aren’t simply removing alcohol post-fermentation but are taking a systemic, holistic approach. Below are some techniques to employ if you are seeking to reduce the sugar levels in your grapes or the eventual alcohol levels in your wines.
• Plan to make varietals that don’t rely on the heft of booze for style and that bring other charms to the party. Floral and aromatic varietals like Riesling and Malvasia Bianca, for example, are lovely at lower alcohol levels. In your case, your Sauvignon Blanc may be a really great play. Instead of trying to make your Cabernet super “lite” maybe buy some Pinot Noir from a neighbor?
• Choose to make wine styles that naturally lend themselves to lower alcohol like low tannin, sparkling (or slightly spritzy . . . think vinho verde) products.
• Choose naturally lower-acid sites, especially those with hot nights (over 70 °F/21 °C) and lower diurnal fluctuation, which will burn off residual acid earlier in the season. Especially in whites, this will allow for full-flavored picking at lower Brix. I would think your Mendocino Sauvignon Blanc would be ideal for this.
• Hold off on irrigation as much as possible post-veraison. This pushes the vine into senescence and developing tannins earlier in the season.
• Don’t thin fruit too much. A higher tonnage per acre (contrary to popular belief) will assist to ripen fruit faster for a given leaf load.
• Remove laterals.
• Make sure you don’t have too much canopy, especially for reds. Dappled, open sunlight into the fruit zone is critical as it decreases malic acid during ripening. Also, you do not want bell pepper pyrazines in your Cabernet, so be especially careful here.
• Leaf pluck in the fruit zone, as long as a heat wave doesn’t
threaten sunburn.
•Try box-pruning or “California sprawl” to get dappled sunlight into all of the vine.
• Get out in the vineyard and taste constantly as harvest approaches. Don’t be afraid to pick some “early lots” if you can in order to get some lower alcohol blenders. You may be surprised at the quality, especially if you’ve followed some of the above suggestions.
• Add water generously to combat any berry dehydration. Water added early always integrates better.
• Adding untoasted oak dust/shavings at the crusher can help combat green flavors in red grapes.
• Warmer fermentations (more suitable for reds than whites) can help “blow off” a certain amount of alcohol, perhaps 0.25–1%.
• Open top fermenters, like those often employed in producing Pinot Noir, can also contribute to ethanol “blow off” and reduce alcohol slightly by another 0.25–1%.
• For white wines that will not be 100% malic acid complete, choose a malic acid reducing yeast like Lalvin C. It gives a 30% reduction in malic acid during primary fermentation and “rounder” flavor without any undesired malolactic fermentation byproducts that may not be style appropriate.
• Try arresting fermentation, especially for whites that have higher acid, to leave a little residual sugar. This will result in a lower final alcohol and will balance out the higher acid/lower alcohol and lend some body to the finished wine that alcohol would’ve contributed.
• Try blending lots from early-pick, warmer-night sites (see above, less acid) with those that come from higher-flavored, more “traditional” sites.
• Surprisingly, some of the newer tannin preparations from companies like Laffort, AEB, and Enartis can really smooth out rough phenolics and make “green” disappear in young and finished wines. I hear good things about the “Rouge” tannin from AEB and the “Dark Chocolate” tannin from Enartis. By removing green or rough-feeling tannins, the reduction of body-enhancing alcohol won’t be missed quite so much.
• If you are storing sweet wine, chill and/or filter in order to keep tabs on possible re-fermentation. Certainly sterile-filter the wine via crossflow or 0.45 micron nominal pad or cartridge if this is the case.
• I knowyou mentioned health as a goal, but don’t be afraid of adding 1–2 g/L residual sugar to achieve mouthfeel and flavor balance at bottling. I like to buy a little grape juice concentrate and meter it in maybe around 1–3 mL/L, just to give some roundness and add to the finish. Lower alcohol wines often need to be balanced in this way (sterile filter afterwards) and it can really help.
WE LIVE IN A PRETTY DRY AREA OF EASTERN WASHINGTON STATE. I’VE GOT A NICE LITTLE WINERY SETUP AND MAKE ABOUT 5–7 BARRELS OF MIXED REDS A YEAR, DEPENDING ON HOW AMBITIOUS WE FEEL. ONE THING I’VE NOTICED IS OUR WATER BILL HAS REALLY GONE UP A LOT TO A POINT WHERE IT’S A SIGNIFICANT MONETARY INVESTMENT IN THE PROCESS AND I HAVE TO FACTOR IT INTO OUR OVERALL WINEMAKING BUDGET. I KNOW WE’RE IN A DROUGHT- PRONE AREA AND IT MIGHT JUST GET WORSE AS THE YEARS GO ON. WHAT TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR HOW WINEMAKERS CAN SAVE WATER DURING THE ENTIRE PROCESS FROM START TO FINISH?
AIt generally takes about 6 gal. (23 L) of water to make one gallon (3.8 L) of wine though estimates vary from as little as 2 gallons (7.6 L) all the way up to 20 gallons (76 L). Many folks have no idea where they fall on this spectrum and performing some kind of a water audit, even if it’s just to measure how much water you use to clean a typical small tank or barrel, will help establish a baseline.
Measuring your water consumption can start with installing flow meters to measure usage at key points like on the crush pad, at filtration, and at barrel washing areas. By filling up that stainless tub or drum you’ll get an idea how much wash-water gets used when you do any given task. Do the math to figure out how many gallons or liters of water per length of hose it takes to fill that volume. Use your current usage to create a realistic target for reduction.
• Pick “balanced” grapes, not overripe raisins, so you don’t have to add additional hydration water. Similarly, every time you avoid an addition (acid adjustment, etc.), you avoid having to clean and sanitize the tools.
• Cover your crush and reception area to minimize the “baking on” of waste material. The shade will make juice and grape skins easier to remove from equipment and will reduce the amount of water needed for cleaning.
• Pre-clean with brushes, brooms, and elbow grease before resorting to water for soaking and rinsing.
• Move from an old-fashioned three-step cleaning (caustic cycle, acid-neutralization cycle, and then water rinse) to a twostep process (K-OH followed by per-acetic acid or “quats” followed by a water rinse). If you wait 30 minutes after the per-acetic acid cycle, you don’t need to rinse with water.
• Invest in a pressure washer. Pressure washers clean floors and equipment well while only using between 2–4 gallons (8–14 L) per minute. Bonus — they are fun to use! One of my favorite winery jobs is pressure washing because you can always see what you’ve accomplished.
• Use water hoses with automatic shut-off valves and timers where appropriate.
• Minimizing the length and diameter of hoses as appropriate will use less water in sanitation.
• Be efficient with tank and barrel movements. The more you rack or move wine from one vessel to the next, the more often you have to clean and sanitize gear . . . and the more
water you will use.
• If you employ small variable “floating top” tanks for wine storage, you have to move wine less-often for breakdowns.
• Use “dirty” wash water as secondary wash water for other vessels (water recycling). Empty dirty water out into a sump and re-use for other tasks. Use relatively clean rinse water from your last phase of cleaning as the dirty first-step water for barrel cleaning.
• Clean carboys, kegs, and tanks in batches. Use the rinse water from one as the cleaning water for the next.
• Don’t chase wine with water in hoses if you can — flush/ push with gas and a pig (winemaker slang for a foam ball that you push through the line).
• About a third of all of the water a winery consumes can be in barrel washing! Be water-wise in this step.
• Coordinate barrel emptying and filling work to reduce the amount of time that barrels are empty. Freshly-emptied barrels don’t have to be swelled up with water again.
• Soak heads separately by flipping end-to-end.
• Use rinse water from one barrel to do initial cleaning of next (though do dump your cleaning water if you’ve got an infected barrel).
• Filters take water to clean and set up. If your red wine has a pH under 3.75, its free SO2 was maintained, doesn’t have any volatile acidity climbing, and you’re going to bottle it dry . . . do you really need to filter it before bottling?
• Consider using a liquid cellulose gum, like Laffort’s Celstab®, for cold stability instead of the traditional chilling and seeding with potassium bitartrate crystals.
• Settling well before hand, perhaps using isinglass, may enable you to filter with one pass rather than twice.
• Install aerators in all sinks so less water is used when sink taps are turned on.
• Foot-pedal operated “on/off” taps (like those often seen in hospitals) use less water when washing up at sinks.
• Under-sink or on-demand tankless water heaters get water up to temperature quickly, without having to travel a long distance from a traditional water heater tank. Luckily, depending on where you live, there may be significant government rebates or tax credits associated with switching over to these kinds of water heaters.
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Genetics is what really intrigued me about this issue’s variety. Ever since Watson and Crick discovered the double helix of DNA and unraveled its codes, scientists of many disciplines have sought out to map genomes. In the plant world, breeders have sought to genetically select for the biggest, the best, the most drought-tolerant, the most cold-tolerant, and the most disease-tolerant hybrids using the best characteristics of the parent varieties.
I was fortunate to be involved with some of the most advanced breeding programs for grapes in my former career. While I wasn’t the one doing the breeding, I was the one making the wine from the fruits of their efforts. These wines were subsequently judged by various panels to deem if the quality of the wine produced from the fruit was worth that hybrid moving to the next round.
I became involved in the grape breeding process five to six years after a new variety started as a first seedling. So there was a lot of pressure to make the best varietal wine from each specific hybrid. When I first started with the breeding team, my job was explained and I was told, “just make the best wine possible and your first fruit (about 50 lbs./23 kg or so) will be here next Tuesday.”
My first experimental variety was a cross of two white grapes . . . and this happened to be the first load of fruit of the season, so my excitement to perform my new winemaking role ran sky high. I prepared the cellar for a white grape crush and press. When the fruit arrived, I questioned its color — why was it red?! How did this happen? Was it an anomaly? No, it was simply
genetics. Today’s variety, Cabernet Doré, is a story about genetics and wine, of course.
Cabernet Doré (pronounced Dor-ay) is a white grape, opposite of the aforementioned example. How this occurs is that almost all grape varieties are inbred extensively and carry recessive genes from many different forbearers. The parents are two well-known varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon and Norton (listed as Cynthiana in some databases). Both parents have white grapes in their lineage, that being Sauvignon Blanc, and likely an unknown Vitis sp., respectively.
Because each seed in a cluster of grapes is genetically slightly different, Cabernet Doré’s sibling is Crimson Cabernet. It is a relatively young variety in the hybrid field, the first cross being made in 2001 and the patent applied for in 2007 (USPP20, 915 P3). The breeder was Lucian W. Dressel, who lists his address on the patent form as Carrollton, Illinois, but also has ties to one of the most famous and pioneering grape breeders, Dr. Harold Olmo, who had a long career at UC-Davis and mentored countless breeders in his career.
With the variety a relative newcomer in the world of grapes compared to some of the Old World varieties like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, it will take time to catch on with those growers and winemakers in the regions that is was bred for. It is reported to be growing in 32 of the 50 states here in the U.S., from Minnesota to Texas and Maine to California, primarily in states east of Colorado and clustered around Illinois where Dressler first established it.
It is a relatively young variety in the hybrid field, the first cross being made in 2001 and the patent applied for in 2007.
125 lbs. (57 kg) Cabernet Doré fruit
Distilled water
10% potassium metabisulfite (KMBS) solution (Weigh 10 grams of KMBS, dissolve into about 75 milliliters (mL) of distilled water. When completely dissolved, make up to 100 mL total with distilled water.)
5 g Lallemand QA23 yeast (or a favorite white wine yeast)
10 g Fermaid K (or equivalent yeast nutrient)
5 g Diammonium phosphate (DAP)
6-gallon (23-L) plastic bucket
6-gallon (23-L) carboy
5-gallon (19-L) carboy
Airlock/stopper
Racking hoses
Inert gas (nitrogen, argon, or carbon dioxide)
Refrigerator (~45 °F/7 °C) to cold settle the juice
Ability to maintain a fermentation temperature of 55 °F (13 °C)
Pipettes with the ability to add in increments of 1 mL
1. Crush and press the grapes. Do not delay between crushing and pressing. Move the must directly to the press and press lightly to avoid extended contact with the skins and seeds.
2. Transfer the juice to 6-gallon (23-L) bucket. During the transfer, add 16 mL of 10% KMBS solution (This addition is the equivalent of 40 ppm SO₂). Move the juice to the refrigerator.
3. Let the juice settle at least overnight. Layer the headspace with inert gas and keep covered.
4. When sufficiently settled, rack the juice off of the solids into the 6-gallon (23-L) carboy. Leave some headspace for expansion during fermentation.
5. Add Fermaid K or a similar yeast nutrient.
6. Prepare yeast. Heat about 50 mL distilled water to 104 °F (40 °C). Do not exceed this temperature as you will kill the yeast. Sprinkle the yeast on the surface of the heated water and gently mix so that no clumps exist. Let sit for 15 minutes undisturbed. Measure the temperature of the yeast
suspension. Measure the temperature of the juice. You do not want to add the yeast to your cool juice if the temperature difference exceeds 15 °F (8 °C). Acclimate your yeast by taking about 10 mL of the cold juice and adding it to the yeast suspension. Wait 15 minutes and measure the temperature again. Do this until you are within the specified temperature range. When the yeast is ready, add it to the carboy
7. Initiate the fermentation at room temperature ~(65–68 °F/19–20 °C) and once fermentation is noticed, (~24 hours) move to a location where the temperature can be maintained at 55 °F (13 °C). If using the refrigerator, be sure to monitor your fridge temperature as some older models can be too cold even at the warmest temperature. If your fridge is too cold (colder than 55 °F/13 °C), consider placing the carboy in an ice bath and add ice to the water as needed while monitoring the temperature. If your refrigerator is dedicated to winemaking, there are some aftermarket temperature controllers that can be wired in.
8. Two days after fermentation starts, dissolve the DAP in as little distilled water required to completely go into solution (usually ~ 20 mL). Add directly to the carboy.
9. Normally you would monitor the progress of the fermentation by measuring Brix. One of the biggest problems with making white wine at home is maintaining a clean fermentation. Entering the carboy to measure the sugar is a prime way to infect the fermentation with undesirable microbes. So at this point, the presence of noticeable fermentation is good enough. If your airlock becomes dirty by foaming over, remove it and clean it and replace as quickly and cleanly as possible. Sanitize anything that will come in contact with the juice.
10. Leave alone until bubbles in the airlock are appearing at a rate of about one bubble per minute.
11. After about two to three weeks it is time to start measuring the sugar. Sanitize a wine thief; remove just enough liquid to use for your hydrometer. Record your results. If the Brix is greater than 7 °Brix wait another week
before measuring. Discard the juice. If the Brix is less than 7 °Brix; begin measuring every other day.
12. Continue to measure the Brix every other day until you have two readings in a row that are negative and about the same. This should be -1.5 °Brix or lower for a dry wine.
13. Taste the wine for dryness and overall acidity balance. If it is too tart, consider a malolactic fermentation. Move to the next step when desired results have been met.
14. When appropriate, rack to the 5-gal. (19-L) carboy and control for headspace. Add 16 mL 10% KMBS solution, lower the temperature, ~45 °F (7 °C).
15. Let the lees settle for about 2 weeks and stir them up. Repeat this every 2 weeks for eight weeks. This will be a total of four stirs. This is called the bâttonnage. You’re doing this to enhance the mouthfeel. The whole process is called sur lie aging.
16. After the second stir, check the SO₂ and adjust to 30–35 ppm free.
17. Let the lees settle. At this point, the wine is going to be crystal clear or a little cloudy. If the wine is crystal clear, that is great! If the wine is cloudy, then presumably, if you have kept up with the SO₂ additions and adjustments, temperature control, kept a sanitary environment, and there are no visible signs of a re-fermentation, then this is most likely a protein haze. If you choose to, you can fine with bentonite to clarify.
18. While aging, test for SO₂ and keep maintained at 30–35 ppm. Titratable acidity (TA) target is about 6.5 g/L. The pH target is around 3.4–3.5, but rely more on the TA as that contributes to mouthfeel. You do not want an overly acidic (by mouth) wine.
19. Once the wine is cleared it is time to move it to the bottle. This would be about six months after the onset of fermentation. If all has gone well to this point, given the quantity made, it can probably be bottled without filtration. Your losses during filtration could be significant. That said, maintain sanitary conditions while bottling and you should have a fine example of a clean, creamy Cabernet Doré wine. Enjoy!
Yield 5 gallons (19 L)
A challenge to catching on in the marketplace is the fact that there are so many other good hybrids out there that name recognition comes slowly. And that was always discussed as a stumbling block in the breeding program I worked with. When the final selections are launched in the public, they are touted as a great winemaking grape with characteristics for where they should be grown and why they were grown there. Cabernet Doré has an advantage over some others in this department in that it is like its betterknown grandparent — Sauvignon Blanc.
It is reported to propagate moderately well from cuttings. It has an abundance of tendrils and easily adapts itself to various wire-training systems. Bud break and flowering is fairly late and it generally sets a moderate crop. The berries are small to medium in size with a waxy bloom at maturity. It is a fairly vigorous vine when grown in fertile soil (but not as vigorous as Norton) so space should be given between vines and rows. Ten-by-eight plantings was recommended in the original patent, which means 10 ft. (3 m) between rows and 8 ft. (2.4 m) between vines in each row. But your soil vigor will dictate what is best in your vineyard.
It has excellent cold hardiness, disease resistance, good productivity, and does not need to be grafted. The harvest parameters I found reported were Brix in the 23 °B range, pH ~3.4, and a relatively high TA of 8.7 g/L. While this may be a perfect start for a dry white wine, your own local growing conditions and seasonal variations will be your limiting factors. With a fairly late flowering, hoping for a warm, sunny fall to hasten ripening is everyone’s dream with this variety.
The fruit can be fermented to produce dry white wines with a Sauvignon Blanc-like character. Depending on your equipment, typically you should destem then crush the fruit and then transfer to your press to extract the juice. For smaller lots, remove the berries by hand and then transfer them to a press bag (like a muslin bag found commonly in use in homebrewing) and lightly squeeze, collecting the juice.
Once the juice has been extracted, you can travel down two different paths. The first option is to cold-settle the juice, rack, and then ferment with your favorite white wine yeast. The other is to skip the cold-settling process and move directly to fermentation. The former wine will produce a crisp dry white wine, pale and straw in color, the latter having more golden hues from the solids contact and per-
haps more herbaceous characters. I generally recommend to cold-settle, but that is a stylistic choice and one you need to make on your own.
One thing you will not get is the flavor associated with the Native American grapes in its lineage. It would be a winemaker’s choice, based on initial taste assessment of the newly fermented wine, to conduct a partial or complete malolactic fermentation (MLF). In any case, Cabernet Doré would benefit from short aging on the lees, with or without stirring, and bottling after a few months.
I have recently been experimenting with using a touch of French oak with some Sauvignon Blanc-based wines. Having not been a fan of moderate to heavily oaked white wines and the micro-oxygenation process associated with them, I was turned onto a brand new François Frères 30-gal. (114L)barrel. With these smaller barrels, the interior surface area-to-wine volume ratio is increased, which can lead to faster extraction of the primary characters of the new oak barrel, like cream, vanilla, and butterscotch. My goal was to get some subtle oak characters that could be blended back into the all-stainless steel for a “fumé” character reminiscent of the same styled Sauvignon Blanc wines made popular by Robert Mondavi in the 1960s and 70s.
Cabernet Doré produces golden-yellow white wines with aromas of pineapple, papaya, banana, and delicate Muscatel. With some oak contact you can enhance the creaminess of the body, with a little mouthfeel and complexity that is slightly reminiscent of butterscotch and vanilla. The use of oak cubes and staves should also achieve similar benefits. As always, I caution to use these adjuncts carefully, in that the same relationship of surface area-to-wine volume applies. Many manufacturers will put the recommended usage and time interval on their packaging. Using a higher dose rate may achieve faster results, but a lower dose rate may not achieve those same results, since the extractable flavors could be depleted. This is the craft of winemaking, some call it art.
A final thing of note that I found in my research for this article is that Cabernet Doré was one of the fastest ever commercial releases for a new hybrid variety. As previously mentioned, the first seedlings that come out of the breeding process take about 5–6 years to produce enough fruit for trial winemaking (then there is all the work that goes into the seedlings in the same trial that did not make the cut).
Cabernet Doré and its sibling, Cabernet Crimson, succeeded and showed enough promise to get that patent expedited. The stars were aligned with this one. Try it if you can, I think you’ll like it!
Cabernet Doré produces golden-yellow white wines with aromas of pineapple, papaya, banana, and delicate Muscatel.
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by Phil Plummer
Every Spring, as buds begin to swell and break in vineyards of the Northern Hemisphere, a different but no less exciting ritual occurs in their associated cellars: The arrival of fermentation supply catalogs. Bright and inviting, they’re filled with a dizzying array of the latest and greatest yeasts, nutrients, fining agents, etc.; everything a winemaker might want to ensure the coming vintage lives up to its full potential. But if you’ve been leafing through them over the last 10–15 years, you may have noticed a new trend taking root in their pages: An emphasis on harnessing or mimicking wild fermentation. If that seems counterintuitive to you, you’re not wrong. Why would yeast manufacturers with millions of dollars tied up in producing and promoting highly selected strains be throwing attention on anything as freely available as wild yeast and bacteria? The answer is simple: Complexity.
It’s no secret that the yeast and fermentation technologies that we all take for granted are new . . . like, really new. We’ve known the role of microflora in fermentation since the mid1800s, so it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that there were literally thousands of vintages on the books before the first-ever yeast pitch. But the ubiquity of wild microbes certainly didn’t make things easy on pre-modern winemakers. Think of every problematic fermentation you’ve encountered in your own cellar, and then remind yourself that all of that happened while our understanding of fermentation has been at its peak. That in mind, it’s easy to understand why the precision of our modern winemaking tools was so desired. Clean, predictable fermentations have allowed the wine industry to, for lack of a better term, industrialize. This consistency has made winemaking easier and more profitable while also greatly increasing the accessibility of the finished products. So why look backward? Again: Complexity.
The vast majority of Saccharomyces strains on the market have been isolated and purified from spontaneous fermentations — often from classic, Old World wine regions. Why, then, have winemakers in these regions opted to continue their tradition of spontaneous fermentation while safer, more predictable versions of their native yeast strains are so widely available? As it turns out, Saccharomyces is just one player in the biological drama of indigenous fermentation.
Honed by natural selection, Saccharomyces is perfectly optimized for winemaking. Its ability to withstand the unique chemistry of must and wine allows it to develop strong populations that dominate the microbiome of a fermentation. As the population grows, consumes resources, and generates alcohol, it quickly outcompetes and silences its non-Saccharomyces rivals. However, in the time it takes Saccharomyces to build dominant populations, there’s room for other yeasts
and bacteria to thrive and impact flavor and aroma. That lag phase window is where our problem lies.
Fresh must is teeming with microbes. Some of them, like Saccharomyces and Oenococcus, are prized for their positive effects on fermentation and wine quality, while others, like Brettanomyces and Acetobacter, send chills up the spine of most winemakers at their mere mention. Absent intervention, these microbes are allowed to compete against each other until one (generally Saccharomyces) gains a competitive advantage. Unfortunately, it can sometimes take several days for Saccharomyces to dominate, which leaves an awful lot of time for their less desirable counterparts to do damage. The result can often be disastrous: Wines that are marred by flaws before they’re even finished fermenting.
The early interventions that many of us employ in our cellars are aimed at averting catastrophe. Techniques like must stage SO2 additions have the effect of killing or suppressing a wild, unpredictable microbiome until Saccharomyces can take over. However, this can still take quite some time if not aided by the winemaker’s hand — that’s why inoculation is such a valuable tactic. By adding a large population of highly specialized, competitively advantaged yeast to a must, the winemaker is able to limit the amount of time it takes for that yeast to establish dominance. This quickly limits the opportunities for spoilage microbes to take root and makes the overall fermentation management far more predictable — a welcome shift at an already chaotic time in the winemaking process.
But what if not all the non-Saccharomyces microbes in a must are negative? As it turns out, there are a host of species that fit this description, capable of contributing positive qualities to a wine if allowed an opportunity to do their work. Aggressive and early interventions like heavy-handed SO2 additions and inoculation with Saccharomyces, while increasing the predictability and ease of fermentation, deny these other microbes an opportunity to leave their mark and
may in fact put a cap on the flavor and aromatic potential of these wines at an early stage. Therein lies the conundrum of spontaneous fermentation: By leaving room for non-Saccharomyces microbes to work, the potential for greatness and/or disaster is increased.
With this in mind, yeast manufacturers set out to harness the magic of wild fermentation, separating its best elements from its worst and aiming to develop a toolkit for winemakers who desire more complexity with fewer complications. The first step in this process was to characterize the species and strains most commonly found in spontaneous fermentations, then determine the strengths, weaknesses, and metabolic attributes of each. From there, a wide variety of products have come to light, including commercially available non-Saccharomyces strains and SO2-free bioprotectants. Implementing some or all of these in a strategic manner allows a winemaker to make unique, complex wines without the associated spoilage risks of a truly wild fermentation.
Of all the tools aimed at capturing the best of wild fermentation, none are easier to apply or manage than commercially available non-Saccharomyces yeasts (though it should be noted that most of these are only packaged in sizes intended for commercial winemakers, for now). Developed to be used in conjunction with Saccharomyces, these yeasts impart aromatic and textural precursors to the wine that may then be revealed via alcoholic fermentation. The theory behind these products is the same as their Saccharomyces counterparts: By inoculating must with a sizable population, you give them a chance to outcompete the indigenous microflora, leading to cleaner, more manageable fermentations. So what do these yeasts bring to the table that Saccharomyces doesn’t? That depends on which one you use.
Likely the most commonly used non-Saccharomyces yeast, Torulaspora delbrueckii, has a wide range of posi-
tive attributes that lend themselves to versatile winemaking applications. From an aromatic standpoint, Torulaspora is a fantastic ester producer, increasing the potential for fresh fruit and floral aromatics. On the palate, it’s an excellent driver of weight, producing acid-balancing glycerol and influencing overall roundness. In addition to its applications in traditional ferments, Torulaspora’s tolerance of high-sugar musts can be leveraged to limit volatile acidity (VA) production in late harvest and ice wines. With an alcohol tolerance of 7–10%, this yeast may be used on its own; however, using it in conjunction with a compatible Saccharomyces strain (inoculated after 1–5 ºBrix depletion) is suggested if fermentation to dryness is desired.
In addition to Torulaspora, Metschnikowia yeasts have also been found to have desirable effects on fermentation. Though largely non-fermentative themselves, commercial strains of Metschnikowia pulcherrima may be used to shape aroma and mouthfeel. These preparations are perfectly suited for aromatic whites like Riesling, Gewürztraminer, or Traminette because of their ability to generate large amounts of terpene and thiol precursors that may then be released by compatible Saccharomyces yeasts during alcoholic fermentation.
From a textural standpoint, Metschnikowia rapidly contributes mannoproteins, the polysaccharides often associated with lees aging, contributing a rounded quality to the overall mouthfeel of a wine. Metschnikowia also does a great job of making life difficult for other wild microbes, gaining population quickly and scavenging valuable resources like the dissolved oxygen and minerals required by most spoilage microbes; this has led to its application as a bioprotectant (more on that in the next section). Metschnikowia is only alcohol-tolerant to around 3% ABV, so it’s imperative that it be followed by inoculation with a Saccharomyces strain to complete the fermentation. This inoculation should be performed 24–48 hours following the Metschnikowia pitch.
Though the mechanics of their use are largely the same as familiar Saccharomyces rehydration and inoculation, these yeasts are a bit less resilient and require specific must parameters to survive and thrive. First, winemakers should be aware that the SO2 tolerance of these yeasts is extraordinarily low; it’s important that the free SO2 of the must be no higher than 20 ppm prior to pitching. Another chemistry consideration that winemakers ought to think about when using these yeasts is yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN). The manufacturer’s YAN guidelines for the Torulaspora and Metschnikowia strains I use most often (Lallemand’s BiodivaTM and FlaviaTM, respectively) call for YAN greater than 150 ppm; this may be adjusted using complex yeast nutrients or diammonium phosphate (DAP). A final parameter that may affect the health of non-Saccharomyces yeasts is must temperature. Though their ideal fermentation temperatures are right in line with most Saccharomyces strains, using these yeasts in the
two-step inoculation process we’ve been discussing doesn’t give them a whole lot of time to work — getting your must temperature in line with their optimal range prior to pitching helps to maximize their effect.
If inoculating with commercial nonSaccharomyces yeasts still isn’t adventurous enough for you, you’ll be glad to know that there are also tools available to improve the efficacy of truly native ferments. Designed with an eye toward inhibiting the sorts of microbes that make wild fermentation scary, these tools provide winemakers with an effective mechanism for shaping must microbiomes. When paired with the right fermentation management strategy, they can have a profound effect on the quality of the resulting wines.
If you’ve been following along so far, you’ll recognize the first of these tools: Metschnikowia yeasts. Slight-
ly di erent strains than those used for amplifying aromatic precursors, these yeasts may be deployed for biocontrol — rapidly scavenging dissolved oxygen while also producing metabolites that have a suppressant e ect on wild microbes. By inhibiting organisms that produce VA and other o -aromas, these yeasts keep a must safe until native Saccharomyces can establish dominant populations. The Metschnikowia strains selected for this purpose are also a bit more cold-tolerant, making them extremely well-suited to cold soaks. They’re most often inoculated in juice or must, but can be added at the crusher or even sprayed on fruit pre-harvest to limit microbial pressure during processing. As with the other non-Saccharomyces yeasts discussed, a restrained approach to SO2 use pre-fermentation is critical for ensuring successful implementation.
Another indispensable tool for improving the quality of native ferments should be old hat for many home winemakers: Chitosan. While traditionally used for clarification, fungal chitosan has an ability to bind and/ or destroy the cell walls of spoilage microbes like Acetobacter, lactic acid bacteria, and Brettanomyces, all while allowing favorable yeasts like Torulaspora, Metschnikowia, and Saccharomyces to proliferate. Additionally, its chelating abilities allow it to remove heavy metals from juice and must, greatly decreasing the potential for downstream oxidative defects, and, as with Metschnikowia, allowing the winemaker to use less SO2. Chitosan may be deployed in the same manner as a fining agent, though care must be taken to select an appropriate preparation; most are well-suited to juice applications, while other, more specialized preparations are designed for use in whole-fruit fermentations.
While these biocontrol products are excellent additions to the wild fermentation toolkit, they’re even more powerful when paired with a timeless, Old World culturing technique called “Pied de Cuve.” French for “foot of tank,” Pied de Cuve is effectively the wine world’s answer to a sourdough starter. Ahead of harvest,
a small amount of grapes are picked and crushed, the native yeasts are allowed to start fermentation, and the fermentation is regularly fed with fresh grapes or juice. This helps to build a large and healthy yeast population that may then be added to must as an inoculum. Some extra complexity may even be gained by including items from the vineyard and surrounding area that may be sources of wild yeast cells: Wildflowers, fruit, stones, and tree bark among them. Pied de Cuve also allows winemakers to evaluate their wild microbes before adding them to more consequential volumes of must; if evidence of spoilage microbes is present, there is an opportunity to shut them down early. Chitosan and Metschnikowia may be used to great e ect here: Either can be added to the must upon crush as a prophylactic; chitosan may be added to refine the microbiome if undesired species announce their presence. This combination of culturing technique and biocontrol products puts clean, complex wild fermentations within reach for winemakers of any experience level.
Commercial Saccharomyces yeasts may be prized for their predictability and ease of use, but the complexity gained from wild and non-Saccharomyces fermentation is undeniable. With unique and compelling contributions to aroma, flavor, and texture, it’s not hard to see why winemakers and yeast manufacturers alike have set out to harness this potential. New products like non-Saccharomyces yeasts allow even the most cautious winemakers an opportunity to flirt with this wilder style. For more adventurous vinification, combining biocontrol products like chitosan with the time-tested Pied de Cuve technique allows for wild fermentations without many of the rough edges we’ve come to expect of them. It’s a brave new world with Old World sensibilities. So if you’re looking for new ways to bring out the most in your wines, try taking a walk on the wild side — it’s never been easier.
SO2 (Free & Total)
Titratable acidity (TA)
pH
Malic acid (MLF)
Residual sugar (new!)
In 14 years of assisting home winemakers in a beer and winemaking shop, questions about sulfites came up often. While some hobbyists were bound and determined to use no sulfites in their wine, most wanted practical advice to help produce a sound, pleasant, drinkable wine in the finished bottle. While “no sulfites” is at least a simple program to apply, it has never been my choice as the most reliable way to make good wine. Lots of theoretical information is out there — and we will necessarily touch on a bit of theory today — but most practical is a simple, prescriptive approach that has long proven to be almost always successful. That is what I am describing here.
To be clear on concepts and terminology, we will cover some basic facts about sulfur. Chemically speaking, sulfur is a reactive element that can adopt a range of oxidation states. The dreaded “rotten egg” smell of hydrogen sulfide, H2S, represents one end of the oxidation scale with sulfur in the minus two oxidation state. At the other end of the scale are some sulfur compounds in plus oxidation states. One of these is today’s subject: Sulfite. Sulfite refers to the ionic form in aqueous solution (water or wine) that is noted by the symbol SO32-. Depending on the pH of the solution, a portion of sulfite ion combines with a hydrogen ion, H+, to form the bisulfite ion, HSO3-. The reason you hear sulfite additions sometimes called SO2 additions is because that compound, sulfur dioxide, is a gas that reacts to form sulfite and bisulfite ions when it is dissolved in wine. An important note is that in acidic (low pH) solutions, a tiny fraction of the sulfite also occurs in the molecular form, dissolved sulfur dioxide, regardless of how it was introduced to the wine. While you may hear a winemaker say they add “sulfur” to their wine, it is only meaningful if they are adding sulfite. Commercial winemakers may actually add sulfur dioxide gas, but that material is too hazardous for home use. We use other forms of sulfite.
Before details or “how,” here is a little bit of “why.” For my practical program, I apply a consensus approach that I have heard from many commercial winemakers. While it may not have exact theoretical justification, it seems to work well. The target under this program is to maintain 0.5 mg/L (parts per million, ppm) of molecular sulfur dioxide in red wines and 0.8 ppm in white and rosé wines. At those levels, the added sulfite helps protect against oxidation and browning of the wine while also inhibiting the growth of harmful microorganisms. One drawback to those cited levels is that we do not have practical means of analysis for molecular sulfur dioxide in wine. However, there is a well-understood relationship between the amount of molecular sulfur dioxide and the sum of sulfite and bisulfite ions at a given pH. That sum is referenced as “free” SO2, and we do have reliable analytical methods for it. Since the ratio is pH-dependent, there are various calculator tools and charts to help interpret it. One such calculator is at Winemakermag.com/ sulfitecalculator. Table 1, below, illustrates some of the ratios at the 0.5 and 0.8 ppm levels.
Along with guiding sulfite additions, this table is a good reminder of why we try to keep pH low in our home winemaking. Since se nsitive tasters can begin to detect the presence of sulfite at about 50 ppm, it may be difficult to produce a high-pH wine without suffering an unpleasant “burnt match” aroma or giving up some level of protection.
For initial additions of sulfite to your wine, you can simply add the recommended amount as dictated by the pH. But how will you do that?
Home winemakers use various forms
of the solid material potassium metabisulfite, chemical formula K2S2O5, which dissociates in water (or wine) to produce two positive potassium ions and two negative sulfite ions. The sulfite ions distribute into sulfite, bisulfite, and molecular sulfur dioxide according to the pH of the solution. While sodium metabisulfite (Na2S2O5) would work the same way, we do not want to introduce sodium salts to our wines that might be harmful to a person on a sodium-restricted diet.
Potassium metabisulfite goes by several nicknames in winemaking: Pot meta, KMBS, KaMBuS, Campden tablets, and sometimes (confusingly) just “sulfur.” We will stick with its full name or chemical formula here to remain perfectly clear, but be aware that you may hear these other names. If you work with the powder itself, a key factor is that a given weight of potassium metabisulfite yields 57.6% of that weight as sulfur dioxide when it is dissolved in water. That is, adding 100 g of the solid produces the same final concentration as adding 57.6 g of the gas. These ratios come about for two reasons. The first is that the potassium ions play no role in the sulfite concentration and are just along for the ride. The second is that chemical term “meta” in the compound’s name. In this chemical context it means something like “about to become.” That is because the S2O52- produces the equivalent of two SO2 molecules upon dissolving, those react to form (partly) bisulfite, so the solid was “about to become” potassium bisulfite when dissolved in water or wine. The important takeaway is that you get 57.6 g of sulfur dioxide out of every 100 g of potassium metabisulfite.
Here are some ways you can use
potassium metabisulfite in your wine program. To help with comparisons, each method is given with an addition to a 5-gallon (19-L) carboy of wine. Using the powder itself, if you add one gram of potassium metabisulfite you are adding 576 mg of SO2 That 576 mg in 19 L is an addition of 30.3 mg/L. It is much less accurate to measure a powder by volume, but if you don’t have a small scale to weigh gram quantities, it may be your best choice. At the midrange of 1.25 g/mL a teaspoon (5 mL) of potassium metabisulfite powder weighs about 6 g or a quarter teaspoon contains about 1.5 g.You can use that weight estimate to make a corresponding addition. A quarter teaspoon in 5 gallons (19 L) is about 45 ppm (1.5 x 30.3 ppm).
Campden tablets are a pre-measured form of potassium metabisulfite compressed into a pill that needs to be crushed and stirred into a bit of water or wine before you add it. They are most commonly sold at a size that produces 65 mg/L when added to one gallon (3.8 L) of wine. To continue our comparison of 5-gallon (19-L) volumes, one tablet crushed and added to that carboy would introduce 13 mg/L of SO2. Note that you do not need to account for the difference between the weight of potassium metabisulfite and the yield of SO2, as the tablet manufacturer has already taken that into account. Check your package label when you buy Campden tablets as other sizes are sometimes produced.
With stirring often recommended for solid additions of potassium metabisulfite, I prefer to work with a solution so I can make the addition quickly and re-stopper the carboy or barrel with less air exposure. For small quantities of wine, it is convenient to make a 3% solution. You can purchase potassium metabisulfite powder in a 4-oz (113-g) bag and dissolve the entire contents in a gallon (3.8 L) jug of distilled water. Label it “3% Potassium Metabisulfite,” add the date and mark it “Poison” and you are ready to go. If you are making larger quantities of wine, you may find a stronger 10% solution suits your needs better. To make that, dissolve 100 g of potassium metabisulfite powder in about
900 mL of distilled water. Dilute up to exactly one liter, label as “10% Potassium Metabisulfite” plus the date and “Poison.” Note that these percentage figures, 3% and 10%, reference the whole powder, so the SO2 content is, as noted earlier, 57.6% of that value. A 3% solution contains 0.03 x 57.6 or 1.7% SO2 and a 10% solution contains 5.76% SO2. From those values you can calculate your needed addition to any volume of wine, or you may find it quick and convenient to use a reference chart. A graduated 10-mL pipet is convenient for adding portions of 10% solution while common kitchen tablespoons (15 mL each) work well for 3% solution. Table 2 is filled out for additions to 5 gallons (19 L) of wine, using either tablespoons (Tbsp.) or milliliters (mL).
There is another method only
suitable for home winemakers who are making larger quantities of wine (even in its smallest dose it is not suitable for 5 gallons/19 L). This method can be especially useful on harvest day and uses pre-measured pills labeled as "effervescent tablets." The tablet is made of potassium metabisulfite with a very small amount of potassium bicarbonate blended in. As a re-
sult, when the tablet enters an acidic medium like must or wine, it effervesces and completely dissolves all by itself. Like Campden tablets, they are labeled in yield of SO2, not actual tablet mass. They come in 2-gram and 5-gram sizes, packed in a three-tablet blister pack. A 2-gram tablet, containing 2,000 mg of SO2, would add 105 mg/L to a 5-gallon (19-L) carboy — more than you would ever want to add. However, if you are sulfiting your must at crush on harvest day, adding a 2-gram tablet to 20 gallons (76 L) of must in a food-grade trash can, the addition is just 26 mg/L, and it is very convenient to use.
Now that you have your chosen method of addition, what is the program? Add 50 ppm of sulfite to the freshly crushed must. I crush my grapes and destem into 32-gallon (121-L) square bins, so I estimate each one as having a bit over 20 gallons (76 L), having left enough room for cap rise later. (I fill the bins with white grapes to about the same level for ease of handling.) When a bin reaches half full, I toss in one 2-gram Inodose Effervescent Tablet. When the bin is full, in goes another tablet and I stir the must with a wooden paddle. That gives me about a 50-ppm addition. There is no need to test for sulfite after this addition as it will all be used up by the time fermentation is underway. You can add a lower dose or, if the fruit is damaged or moldy, a higher dose — but 50 ppm works well for me vintage after vintage.
No more sulfite additions are made until fermentation is complete. For white wine, rack the finished wine off of the gross lees. Unless you will
do malolactic fermentation (MLF) on your white wine, add another 50 ppm of sulfite. Use a sulfite calculator and your pH to determine your longer-term aging target level, but 50 ppm added will be a good start. For red, press the must and, if desired, inoculate for MLF. After MLF is complete, or if you are not doing MLF, add 50 ppm here also. You may delay this addition for a day or two after pressing in non-MLF reds since pressing
might release a bit more sugar and primary fermentation may resume briefly. When the wine is completely dry, make the sulfite addition. Once again, look up your aging target level. After a week or so to allow initial reactions to quickly use up whatever sulfite they need, test for free SO2 Subtract how much you have from your target level and calculate an addition to make up the difference. You can safely round off a bit here to make
the addition convenient, since you have months of aging ahead of you.
My experience has shown that aging new wine loses about ½ part per million per day. So, in about 30 days, expect to have a deficit of about 15 ppm. Make that addition after one month of aging, wait a day or two for reactions to occur, then test again. Make any adjustment that still may be needed. After the second month, add another 15 ppm. You can test again if you want to, but I usually skip a month of testing, then add another 15 ppm after the third month, test, and adjust. Losses will probably slow down during aging. If you are above your target on one test, don’t worry about it. You will drop back down by next month. If you are concerned about going over, you can always test before making an addition, but then you will need to test again after the addition to know what you really have. Just because you added it, does not mean it will show up as free SO2. Various reactions are using it up throughout the bulk-aging period.
Check again to make sure you are on target when you get close to bottling. If a high pH has had you maintaining much above 30 ppm, you may want to let it drop some before bottling. As noted earlier, sensitive tasters are able to detect about 50 ppm of sulfite in the wine. If you bottle at that level or higher you may need to age for a few weeks or months to bring the wine back to a pleasant level of undetectable sulfite. When levels are not too high, and since air exposure is inevitable when we bottle wines at home, I like to make a final 10 ppm addition to the bottling bucket or tank to counteract that final oxygen input to the wine. Put the cork in the bottle and your sulfite program is done!
When doing the recommended testing for free SO2, you have a few method choices. On one end of the scale is the Ripper method, a color-endpoint iodine titration that you can carry out with laboratory apparatus on a homewine basis. It is messy and takes some practice to see the endpoint, especially for red wine. There is a packaged kit
employing the Ripper method called Titrets that uses a pre-measured vial for each sample. It is recommended only for white wine.
Another laboratory-grade method for sulfites that you can do at home with good results is aeration-oxidation, or A/O. Apparatus costs between $100 and $200 and the kit comes with enough chemical reagents for just the first few tests. Because it ships as a hazardous material in larger quantities, you will need to source 25% phosphoric acid separately.
Finally, there is the method I have now adopted for all my sulfite testing: Vinmetrica. Dr. Richard Sportsman of Vinmetrica has adapted the Ripper method so that it does not require visually detecting a titration endpoint. Instead, a platinum electrode plugged into a proprietary meter measures an amperometric (electric current) endpoint. Chemical reagents are included when you buy the meter and replacements are readily available. The method is fast, easy, and accurate. I usually avoid endorsing specific products in my articles, but this is a rare case where I have done all of the methods and this meter stands well above the others. The SC100A meter for sulfite only, with enough supplies for about 50 tests, has a list price of $335. As noted throughout this article, knowing the pH of your wine is critical to choosing a target sulfite level. So if you do not already have a laboratory-quality pH meter, you might look to the SC300 kit instead. The meter can be used for both sulfite and pH, using different electrodes that are included. There are enough supplies for about 50 sulfite tests, plus supplies for about 30 titratable acidity (TA) tests and many pH tests. That kit lists for $599.
One final method for getting accurate test results is to pay a laboratory to do the analysis. In some areas, agricultural extension laboratories or university laboratories can do such testing. In major wine-producing regions, there are commercial laboratories that offer testing for sulfites and many other parameters. If you find a laboratory to do testing for you, talk with them about sampling methods,
sample containers, and any shipping requirements. In my home area, Sonoma County, California, there are several commercial wine laboratories that offer fast, accurate results. For cost and convenience, though, I usually do my own sulfite testing.
As you progress in winemaking, I encourage you to learn about theory and practice in sulfite management. Research continues at academic institutions and this magazine will con-
tinue to publish emerging information on the subject. In the meanwhile, you now have a simple outline to get started: 50 ppm at crush. Another 50 ppm after all fermentation is complete. Analyze for free SO2 and adjust based on your target level from a sulfite calculator or pH chart. Every month, add 15 ppm, testing and adjusting every other month. Add 10 ppm more at bottling. Practical sulfite management for sound wine!
by Maureen Macdonald
hen a person starts o on their winemaking journey, they research the basics. One gets an understanding of the various grape varieties available to them, yeast strains that are complementary to the varieties, and how to sterilize, rack, and bottle. When fermentation is discussed, most folks learn that the yeast will consume the available sugars, metabolize it into alcohol, and that’s how we get our beloved homemade wine. As they start to learn more about the process of making wine, particularly red wines from grapes, they first come across the term “malolactic fermentation,” or MLF, being utilized. You wouldn’t be alone if your first reaction to that is confusion or wondering just how many kinds of fermentation are involved in wine, followed by questioning what MLF is for and whether it is necessary.
After a bit of investigation, not only will the new winemaker find a myriad of suggestions and opinions on malolactic fermentation, but they will find that many of them are contradictory. What’s a winemaker to do? In the course of this article, I hope to guide you through the process of malolactic fermentation, investigating its purpose, limiting criteria, methods, and troubleshooting.
To understand malolactic fermentation, we will begin by reviewing the major acids in grapes and their resulting wines: Tartaric acid, malic acid, and citric acid being the three with the highest concentrations. Tartaric acid occurs at naturally high levels within grapes and is the most prevalent acid. Tartaric provides the most refreshing acidity in the flavor of our wines. Malic acid is the second largest concentration within grapes, giving a slightly more pronounced tartness to grape juice and wines. Citric acid is prevalent in much lower amounts than the previous two. For the purpose of this query, malic acid is the primary acid of concern.
Malic acid was first identified in the 16th century and isolated from apples, hence the name being based on malus, the Latin root word for apple. The first initial observations of the metabolism of this acid were in the 1830s by winemaker Freiherr von Babo. The famous microbiologist Louis Pasteur was able to identify and isolate malolactic bacterial cultures from wine in 1866. Further studies of these bacterial cultures by Hermann Müller-Thurgau in 1891 proved their function and impact upon the flavor of wine and their importance to the development of balanced wine flavor and stability. The presence of malic acid in wine gives a stronger tartness, an attribute desired in most white wine styles but undesirable in most red wines. Müller-Thurgau realized that the presence or purposeful addition of specific bacterial strains would metabolize the acid, giving a less tart flavor and creamier mouthfeel to the wines by the metabolism of the malic acid into lactic acid. The strains of Oenococcus oeni have been isolated, preserved, and then cultured in laboratory settings to yield the var-
ious types of malolactic bacteria now available to winemakers.
While this delve into the history of the infamy of a bacterial strain may be of interest to some, what does it mean for the wine you would like to make? Many home winemakers have asked me, “Is this really necessary for red wines?” My answer is almost always yes, for two reasons: The first being the flavor of the wine. The addition of this step to the fermentation process brings the wine from tasting harsh to a much smoother and richer flavor on the palate. The second reason, and equally as important, is it will contribute to the stability and aging potential of the wine. We know that we do not live in a sterile world, with microbes living on every surface we come in contact with, including our own bodies. If one does not purposefully introduce malolactic cultures into the wine, they will find their way into the wine via their own methods, often being present on the grapes themselves or in the winery equipment or barrels. These unwanted guests can lead to rogue fermentations later on in the life of the wine, resulting in spritzy or fizzy characteristics in what should be still wine. It can further metabolize acids in grapes, giving undesirable off-flavors and aromas if not kept in check.
Malolactic fermentation will convert the light, fresh quality of a white wine into a richer, more buttery flavor. This is often a desired characteristic within Chardonnay production. It will take some of the dominant apple flavors within Chardonnay grapes and metabolize them into a softer, buttery flavor and corresponding creamy mouthfeel that is appreciated as a stylistic choice. This fermentation may not be appropriate for a Sauvignon Blanc or Grüner Veltliner, where the bright tartness and acidity are the prized attributes of the varietal styles. MLF is desired for nearly every red wine style (there are a few exceptions, such as Beaujolais nouveau). It will help to enhance mouthfeel and reduce any strong, biting acidity,
creating a smoother sensory experience. As a professional winemaker, I do put all of my red wines through MLF and also conduct it in my Chardonnay, as I desire those smoother, less acidic characteristics within my finished product.
Now that we have discussed the varieties that may benefit from this secondary fermentation, how do we know whether it’s right for our specific batch of wine? I have implemented a checklist of criteria for a batch of wine to help evaluate it for its preparedness for MLF. This is a checklist I use myself, which you will find on page 39. A wine that does not fit the parameters may need some adjustments before the inoculation of the MLF bacteria.
The first criterion to consider is the SO2 levels within a wine. Oftentimes we will sulfite our grapes or juice to 50 ppm before fermentation to stave off any wild yeast or microbes from starting to feast upon our product. While I do advocate for this as a necessary step to ensure a healthy primary alcoholic fermentation, it must be done carefully and with accurate measurements. If a winemaker receives fresh juice, it is imperative to take a measurement of the free as well as total SO2 quantities within the juice or must before the addition of any sulfites. Many processing facilities will add the 50 ppm of sulfites for you to ensure the stability of the product while in transit. Blindly dosing your juice or must with 50 ppm of sulfites before fermentation may harm your secondary MLF in the long run. Malolactic bacteria are incredibly sensitive to SO2 and most strains cannot survive total SO2 concentrations over 60 ppm. Concentrations over 60 ppm will either deplete the malolactic bacteria population to a point where they cannot complete the fermentation or kill off the population completely.
The overall acidity, measured as pH, will also have a direct impact on the viability of a batch of wine as a candidate for MLF. Too much acid, and the bacteria will not be able to thrive and reproduce. Generally, a pH above 3.2 is desired for a successful MLF. The higher the pH, the less en-
Is your wine’s pH above 3.2? If not, adjust acidity up to at least 3.4.
Is your wine’s temperature above 68 °F (20 °C)? If not, bring to warmer area in your home or use a space heater to warm up the area. You can also put a carboy of wine in a tub of warm water with an immersion heater on a thermostat to keep water at a constant warm temperature to help further MLF.
What is the free and total SO2 of the wine? If below 50 ppm total SO2, it’s an excellent candidate.
Is your wine below 14% ABV? Take original starting Brix level and multiply by 0.6 for the potential alcohol level of the batch. (This is less of an issue if co-inoculating. For wines with a higher Brix, co-inoculation is advised.)
Does your wine have enough nutrients for the MLF? If co-inoculating, this is less of an issue. If practicing sequential inoculation, use a bacterial nutrient to bolster available nutrients.
cumbered the bacteria will be. Each strain of bacteria has its own criterion so it is important to review these criteria when selecting your strain to ensure it is compatible with the wine you plan to inoculate. If your wine is high in acids and has a pH below 3.2, you may want to consider chemically reducing the acidity before the addition of the malolactic bacteria. By chemically reducing the acidity, it will make the wine less harsh and make the MLF fermentation go along faster and with a higher success rate. A simple way to adjust acidity upfront would be by using potassium bicarbonate. As with any addition within winemaking, a series of bench trials should be conducted to ensure that the results are agreeable to the winemaker’s palate before administering the treatment to the entire batch.
Another limiting factor for malolactic bacterial strains can be the temperature of the wine. Bacteria prefer warmer environments and will not want to ferment at temperatures below 68 °F (20 °C). While some strains do have slightly wider temperature windows of tolerance, keeping the wine warm is critical to the health
and viability of the bacterial population. If the wine gets cold, the bacteria may become dormant. I have seen many a home winemaker assume this means that they have completed their fermentation, only to have the wine warm up months later as the ambient temperature in the storage area rises, or in the bottled product kept at warmer temperatures, and the bacteria will re-awaken and begin fermenting, resulting in fizzy bottles or blown out corks and a large mess.
The final critical criterion for evaluating a wine batch for MLF is the overall alcohol level of the wine. As we know from health class, alcohol kills off germs, which is why it is used in antiseptics. Malolactic bacteria are delicate creatures, with a relatively low tolerance to alcohol concentrations. The more alcohol in a wine, the more challenging the MLF will be. Any wine over 14% alcohol is considered a challenging environment for the bacteria. There are some ML strains that will handle over 14%, but all other aforementioned criterion must be evaluated along with this to ensure that bacteria will not face any other restrictive conditions.
Once you have reviewed these elements (temperature, pH, free and total SO2 concentrations, and ABV) of your candidate for MLF, it is time to consider when you would like to conduct your malolactic fermentation. The traditional method was to wait until the completion of alcoholic fermentation, then to inoculate with the malolactic culture and conduct MLF over the weeks following primary fermentation, known as sequential inoculation. This gives the winemaker only one fermentation to monitor and track at a time. It also allows a red wine fermentation to cool down slightly before the addition of the bacteria. If the winemaker can ensure a warm environment for their wine throughout the MLF process, sequential inoculation may be advantageous for the newer winemaker. I’ve often received the question, “Will racking my wine interrupt the MLF process?” Due to the great proliferation of the bacteria, there should be plenty within the suspension of the wine to successfully complete, regardless of the number of rackings conducted. Great
care should be given in racking as to not accidentally introduce excess SO2 into the wine via some residual sanitizing strength sulfite solution left in the bottom of the receiving vessel or transfer tubing.
Throughout the initial fermentation process the yeast not only consumes sugar in their metabolic process, but other micronutrients as well. Oenococcus oeni bacteria also require additional nutrients aside from the malic acid that they consume to aid in completing a healthy fermentation. If adding the bacteria post-alcoholic fermentation, additional nutrients should be added alongside the bacterial culture to ensure that they have everything they need for a successful and relatively fast fermentation. If nutrients are not added, then the malolactic fermentation can drag out for months. This can be a long time for a wine to go without sulfites, and some minor oxidation can occur.
When I started making wine professionally over a decade ago, I practiced sequential inoculation for many of the reasons stated earlier, but primarily to keep things simple with one fermentation to monitor at a time. Now as I have advanced in skill, lab equipment, volume of wine produced, and confidence, I prefer co-inoculation of bacterial cultures. The benefits of sequential vs. co-inoculation have been debated over by great wine scientists for decades. It completely satisfies my favorite winemaking joke of, “Ask ten winemakers a question and you’ll get eleven opinions.” While there is nothing wrong with either approach, I hold the opinion that co-inoculation of the bacteria with the yeast cultures holds some benefits. Co-inoculation refers to the addition of the bacterial culture 24–48 hours after the addition of the yeast culture. This gives adequate time for the yeast to acclimate and begin their reproductive cycle to build up a population capable of fermentation. It will also increase the temperature of a juice/must, as alcoholic fermentation is an exothermic process.
As just discussed, bacteria require micronutrients to conduct their fermentations. Unfortunately, they uti-
lize many of the same micronutrients that yeast also consume. If added at the beginning of alcoholic fermentation, they will benefit from the nutrient-rich juice/must and benefit from the yeast nutrient additions. There are two forms of nutrients that can be added with the bacterial cultures. There are rehydration nutrients, such as Scott Labs Acti-ML, that will help the bacteria to quickly build up a larger population, and there are general malolactic nutrients, such as Scott Labs Opti-Malo Plus, which are added at the onset of MLF, but not mixed directly with the bacterial culture. I find both of these are essential when practicing sequential inoculation, yet only the rehydration nutrient is necessary when practicing co-inoculation due to the availability of other nutrients.
Another factor within early stages of alcoholic fermentation that is conducive for the bacteria is the lack of alcohol. The lower concentration will help the bacterial population thrive and build up a healthy population. It is not to say that they will deplete as the yeast creates alcohol, but will slow their pace as the alcohol level increases. Adding them to the wine while the alcohol concentration is low will speed up their metabolism of the malic acid.
While there are many benefits to co-inoculation of the bacteria with the yeast cultures, there are risks as well, often contingent upon the goals of the winemaker. The Oenococcus oeni will not only metabolize malic acid, but citric acid as well. The metabolized citric acid will generate diacetyl, which is a compound responsible for the butter character within wines that have gone through MLF. If co-inoculated, the yeast will help to break down the diacetyl and the result will be fresh, fruity aromas and flavors. The complex and robust red wine aroma compounds often mask the majority of diacetyl contributions to the aroma of a red wine. While this may sound lovely for a red wine, it may not be desirable for a Chardonnay that the winemaker would like to make in a buttery style. In that instance, the winemaker would be better off practicing sequential inoculation of the
bacteria, allowing for the development of some diacetyl in the wine, building that buttery flavor. There is a critical tipping point for the development of diacetyl. While some diacetyl can create a rich, lavish Chardonnay worthy of pairing with a lobster roll, too much diacetyl production (above 5 mg/L) can result in a rancid butter flavor, butterscotch aroma, or cheesy, whey-like aroma.
Once malolactic fermentation has begun, how does a winemaker monitor and check for completion? The goal of malolactic fermentation is to convert the malic acid to lactic acid in the batch of wine. The winemaker must then test for the presence of malic acid to see if the bacteria have completed their mission.
There are multiple ways to test for the presence of malic acid. Many winemaking shops carry the Accuvin test strips that detect the presence of malic acid via a test strip and show a color comparison of the test strip to a chart to determine the amount of acid present. While this is a very basic and inexpensive method, it is often difficult to discern the hue of the test strip in comparison to the chart and it is highly subjective.
The next level of testing as far as cost and level of difficulty would be paper chromatography. This method is widely used and user friendly. Kits are sold for around $100, and are capable of testing many wines, making the cost per test quite low for the winemaker. This again determines the presence of malic acid via a color contrast on the test paper after a reaction to a developer solution and can sometimes be difficult to read. Utilizing the specialty chromatography paper, the winemaker applies small drops of wine and acid standards to paper with a pipette. The paper is then rolled up into a cylinder and fastened with a stapler. The paper tube is put in a jar with a small amount of developer solution to allow the solution to work its way up the paper. After about five hours, this process is complete and the paper should be removed from the jar and allowed to dry overnight. The
results will show any remaining presences of malic acid and the accrual of lactic acid. It takes a little bit of time and practice to get skilled at reading the results, but overall, the cost and effort are worth it for this method of testing.
Lastly, there are a number of different meters available on the market that will provide a digital readout of the amount of malic acid present in the wine. Vinmetrica, Hanna Instruments, and Sentia all make various styles of malic acid analyzers
at various price points (much higher than paper chromatography) that can read the amount of malic acid in just a few minutes with a very small sample of wine. A value for the completion of malolactic fermentation would be a malic acid concentration less than 30 mg/L. These meters are the most effective way to determine the completion of malolactic fermentation.
While malolactic fermentation is relatively easy to inoculate, oversee, and test for, it is not without its own unique set of potential hiccups. The checklist can help you evaluate if your wine is a good candidate for malolactic fermentation and can help to troubleshoot any problems with having a successful fermentation. Every batch of wine may take a different amount of time to complete fermentation, contingent upon the limiting factors discussed. Never fear, while it may take a few weeks or even up to a few months to complete, the slow evolution of malolactic fermentation is worthwhile.
The idea of becoming a professional winemaker can be quite captivating with the thought of sipping your well-made wine amongst scenic rolling vineyards in the sun. But as with any job, there comes many factors to consider about the path and destination, including how you go about learning the craft at a commercial scale.
For some that means pursuing a formal winemaking education at a university, community college, or technical college. Choices for a wine program continue to grow and include non-credit courses and certificate programs, along with associate’s, bachelor’s, and even graduate degrees.
For example, University of California, Davis (UC-Davis) offers a bachelor’s and graduate degree in viticulture and enology, a certificate in winemaking, and continuing education classes. Texas Tech University has a bachelor’s and graduate degree in plant and soil science with a specialization in viticulture and enology, along with three different certificate programs — winemaking, viticulture, and small-scale farming. At Cornell University there is a viticulture and enology major and minor, graduate degrees, and a winemaking certificate. Niagara College offers a fiveterm program that takes two and half years to complete.
Through the partnership between Michigan State University and Northwestern Michigan College (NMC), students can earn an associate’s of applied science degree in viticulture from NMC and a certificate in viticulture from MSU. After the two-year program, which focuses on the viticulture aspect, students can transfer without reapplying into a bachelor’s degree program in the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
There are also options at Fresno State, Pennsylvania State University, California Polytechnic State University, Oregon State University, Washington State University, Purdue University, and several community colleges throughout North America.
David Block, Department Chair and Professor of Viticulture and Enology at UC-Davis, says the advantage of getting a formal education in wine is it gives students a really large toolbox to make the wines that have the characteristics they’re striving for. It gives them the ability to be more creative in their winemaking, he says. The education can assist in effective problem solving when things go wrong and can be helpful during the challenging years when the grapes aren’t what you expect.
“You can make wine without that, but having that toolbox allows you to make wines that are more what you’re going for,” Block says.
For people in the program that are coming from the wine industry, Block says they often have a light bulb go
off thinking, “if I only knew that” or, “this is why it is,” adding a formal education fills in the gaps.
“The advantage of the degree is really understanding what you’re doing,” Block says.
And that’s true for Winemaker Clint Hepper, who says having that education has helped him make sense of it all, know the language, and made him more comfortable in his winemaking career, as opposed to coming in and learning on the fly. Hepper was actually set to pursue landscape architecture at Washington State University when a poster board for the viticulture and enology program caught his eye at an orientation. He thought it sounded interesting and was intrigued when he learned the job placement coming right out of school was in the 90th percentile. During his education, he learned everything from the viticulture side — how to cultivate and grow wine grapes, to the enology side — the chemistry behind the winemaking, along with marketing and selling.
“The most beneficial thing it provides is having that leg up,” Hepper says of an education, especially in a competitive industry. “It helps you propel and have a more well-rounded idea of what to expect in the industry.” He feels his degree helped with gaining opportunities, such as an internship at Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards in Washington, which led to his
current role as Winemaker.
Anna Katharine Mansfield, Associate Professor of Enology at Cornell University and Associate Director of Cornell AgriTech, says students coming out of a wine program may have a step up knowing the book learning, theory, and the most recent scientific thinking behind winemaking.
Having those concepts in mind when you go into a winery means you aren’t just at the mercy of who your boss is and what they know. “What you learn is dependent on who you’re working with and the region you’re working in,” Mansfield says. She points out that when it comes to winemaking, there’s a lot of tradition in many places, and being able to value those traditions but understand the “why” and the science behind it, makes a more effective winemaker.
While a winemaker will still need hands-on work, that education could speed up progress in their career, she adds. What’s unique about a winemaking degree is everything is applied, she adds, not just memorizing information from literature.
For Matt Danner, Assistant Winemaker at King Estate Winery in Eugene, Oregon, his education helped him understand yeast health and how to manage fermentation along with understanding the vineyard side, such as various techniques to bring out different qualities and highlight different aspects of the grape. “For
me, it really gave me a head start of understanding the biology of the fermentation,” Danner says.
Danner studied food science and fermentation at Oregon State University, with a chemistry minor with a fermentation science focus. He took courses in wine production (including different techniques based on varietals) and wine sensory (which gave an understanding of wine faults and what can cause different issues). A wine analysis course included running analysis, checking acid and sugar, making adjustments, and had a main project of producing a red and white wine, where students had the opportunity to provide feedback to other students on quality.
His education also helped foster the ability to problem solve, giving him the experience of working in groups to overcome obstacles, which is a frequent experience winemakers face in the industry.
Winemaker Matt Iaconis also says that his education allows him to look at wine differently. “It teaches you how to think like a winemaker,” says Iaconis, who is the Founder and Owner of Brick & Mortar Wines located in Healdsburg, California, with his wife, Alexis, as well as Delta Wines for Change.
Iaconis went to UC-Davis to learn aeronautical engineering and become an astronaut, but that all changed when he signed up for a winemaking
elective that simply fit into his schedule amongst football practice and other classes. He thought it was really exciting to study, enjoyed the art behind it, and liked that it’s very finite. He left UC-Davis not knowing how to make great wine, he says, but understanding the process, how to interpret problems, and how to analyze things. “Everything else comes with experience and time,” he says, while also noting he has a lot of friends that make phenomenal wine that don’t have the formal wine education.
Dale Elshoff, Program Coordinator at Michigan State University Institute of Agriculture Technology, echoes the importance of understanding the science to be able to practice the art of creating wine successfully. There’s a lot of science that goes into wine, she points out — the soil, diseases, insects, climate, geography of where the grapes are grown, and all of the chemistry involved in making the wine.
“When we’re talking about winemaking, it requires both education and experience,” says Jenne Baldwin-Eaton, who developed Colorado’s first associate’s degree in viticulture and enology as a partnership with Colorado Mesa University and Western Colorado Community College. “Winemaking is truly the combination of art and science.”
Baldwin-Eaton, who recently became the Founding Chair/President for the newly established Warren
Winiarski/Gerald Ivancie Institute of Viticulture and Enology, points out that you can’t see a lot of what’s involved in winemaking, but education allows you to understand what is happening at each stage and what can go wrong at each stage. Every winery has a different philosophy, style, and protocol, she explains, so if a student has a strong educational foundation, they have the knowledge to understand what direction a winemaker is going in and why they are doing what they’re doing.
That is true for Katie Santora, Winemaker at Chehalem Winery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. From a day-to-day aspect, Santora learned the high demands of the job with work experience — including intense hours and the physical aspect — but the education helped her understand what was actually happening as well as how to talk about wine in a different way. Santora wasn’t set on a major when she started college, but she quickly realized her favorite general education courses were the ones that involved math and science. Home for the summer and talking with her dad’s friend about her college game plan, he mentioned a wine program at the school he had attended, UC-Davis. Looking up the program, she was excited at the thought of pursuing a cool subject that entailed the classes she enjoyed. With that science and math core, she thought even if she changed paths, what she would learn could transfer to other careers. She graduated in 2007 with a degree in viticulture and enology. “I do think having a wine education can open a lot of doors at this point,” she says.
Maureen Qualia, Senior Lecturer and Enologist at Texas Tech University, says that a formal wine education can definitely impact a student’s career search with viticulture and enology being applied sciences encompassing many disciplines. “An education in viticulture and enology lays the foundation of these scientific and technical concepts,” Qualia says. “These are then built upon through experience, practice, and working with mentors in the industry.”
Iaconis also says his formal edu-
cation opened up doors for him, allowing him to apprentice in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and France. From a networking perspective, it’s phenomenal, he says. “You meet a lot of people you end up working with.”
Block says UC-Davis has a career network of alumni all over the world making wine, giving you a potential opportunity to travel and experience winemaking in other places. Wineries from around the world (especially in California) frequently contact the college with positions that they are trying to fill.
While gaining knowledge along with networking opportunities and potential for career advancement are benefits, there are things to consider when it comes to choosing a program and choosing to even pursue a professional career in wine. It’s important to understand the price of an education and commitment involved, job outlook and salary, and the reality of what a commercial winemaker does on a daily basis.
Mansfield suggests students consider the cost of a program and what you expect to make. She points out students are not going to come out of an undergraduate program making a whole lot of money. Often the first job will be as an assistant winemaker and they will have to work their way up from there.
According to Salary.com, the salary range for a winemaker in the
United States ranges from $49,332 to $79,005, with the average being $64,179. The average salary for a vineyard manager ranges between $46,108 and $62,885, with the average being $53,167.
The cost of a program varies greatly. For example, the winemaking certificate at Purdue University is a one-year program costing $1,250 (it’s advised that students have prior or concurrent winemaking experience). The certificate program at UC-Davis is $8,810 for an 18-month to 2-year program. A bachelor’s or graduate degree will cost significantly more. Of course there are other costs associated with pursuing an education similar to any area of study, including books, supplies, potentially room and board, and most likely, purchasing wine.
Depending on the program and a student’s background and experience, there may be scholarships available through the college. There are also scholarships through the Napa Valley Vintners, Delicato Family Wines, The Roots Fund, American Society for Enology and Viticulture, and more. Depending on a school’s eligibility and a student’s financial need, there is also potential for financial aid.
Elshoff suggests students think about how they best work and learn, who the instructors are, whether it’s preferred to have more theory and classroom experience or time out in the field, and whether in-person courses are preferred over online courses. And a big question, she pos-
es — what makes you happy and why do you want to pursue this path? “You might love to cook but that doesn’t mean culinary school and becoming a professional chef is right for you.”
When it comes to wine, location is a major factor — both in determining if the wine industry is where a person wants to be and where to go to school. There were 64,000 people working in wineries in 2020, and the top three U.S. states with wine jobs in order were California, Washington, and Oregon, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
“Each of the wine regions are very specific with their climate, growing conditions, pests, and varieties,” says Baldwin-Eaton, adding it can be helpful gaining your education and experience specific to the area you wish to work.
Mansfield agrees, saying picking a program based on location with an idea of where you would like to end up makes sense. For instance, cool-climate regions such as New York or Washington may have different hands-on opportunities and field process methods.
Besides keeping in mind certain types of wine and grapes, when it comes to choosing a school, Danner says consider what they offer beyond the education as far as the town and community, including proximity to wineries because ultimately some kind of internship is usually part of the program or the first step afterwards.
In many programs, it’s not just what a student is learning that’s a selling point but it’s how they’re learning and the facilities and resources that become available. Students at Washington State study at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center, a 40,000-squarefoot facility with a wine library, research and teaching laboratories and winery, and the Albert Ravenholt Research and Teaching Vineyard, a two-acre vineyard growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, and Riesling. UC-Davis has The LEED Platinum Teaching and Research Winery, a
40-acre research vineyard located in California’s Napa Valley, and the 8,500-square-foot Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building.
At Niagara College Teaching Winery, students get the unique opportunity to learn how to make ice wine and work with cool-climate grapes. A 40-acre vineyard gives students the opportunity to work with numerous grape varieties. The winery there is actually open to the public and operates like any other winery.
Fresno State also has a student-run winery where grapes are sourced from a 120-acre campus vineyard. Students not only make the wine, but also help with marketing and selling.
At Michigan State University, Elshoff says students work closely with the industry and see it all — small and large operations, family-owned businesses, and corporate wineries, experiencing different ways of growing grapes, such as sustainable practices, more traditional, biodynamic, and organic. This can give students an opportunity to develop their own values, think about what kind of environment they want to work in and better define their path, she adds.
The courses in each program vary but often consist of a lot of chemistry, science, math, and learning the aspects of wine production. Depending on the school, students can also have access to other beneficial courses besides ones directly related to winemaking. For example, as part of a Wines of the World course at Texas Tech, students take the certification exam for the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 1 Award in Wine. At Michigan State University, students can take Uncrewed Aerial Systems in Agriculture, which earns them their FAA Drone Pilot license, which is required of everyone using a drone for commercial purposes. In agriculture, including vineyards, drones can be used for mapping and planning, spraying fungicides and pesticides, seeding and interseeding, soil analysis, and more. There is also a compliance and safety course that students leave with their Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Certified Pesti-
cide Applicator license, which allows them to purchase and apply restricted chemicals, pesticides, and fertilizers in vineyards. Some colleges, including Colorado Mesa University, offer courses that cover all that goes into a winery – regulations, licensing, taxes, and so on. Santora suggests those who want to become winemakers also take a public speaking course, since most people want to hear you talk about what you do and for those wanting to own their own winery, a business degree or minor would be helpful, she says.
Many colleges offer other potentially beneficial courses that dive into marketing, sales, accounting, hospitality and tourism, entrepreneurship, and sustainability.
To prepare for a wine education, Hepper suggests to work or observe somewhere in the industry before starting classes. “It will help by giving you good insight,” he says.
Santora says people should invest in books, tastings, or anything to boost their wine knowledge. “Do a harvest or two before deciding on an institution to study as well,” she says. “Most wine programs involve upperlevel math and science, so keep that in mind when preparing.”
Danner advises a solid scientific foundation helps as chemistry, biology, physics, and math all play important roles in wine education. He
also suggests learning to be proficient in Microsoft Excel, which is useful in education and winemaking. “Develop good communication skills, especially under stressful conditions,” he adds. “Leadership roles are a great way to improve your communication skills.”
And before enrolling, make sure you know exactly what being a professional winemaker really entails. The job is often described as rewarding but is certainly not all sipping wine and enjoying fancy meals. It’s described as hard work and physical labor that involves collaborating with a team, a lot of paperwork and licensing, and a significant amount of time devoted to cleaning and sanitation. During a three-month harvest, a winemaker could have over 12-hour days seven days a week.
“You need to love what you’re doing and be in it for the long haul,” Baldwin-Eaton says. “A lot of money is tied up before you see a return. It is not a get rich quick business,” she adds, pointing out that grapevines won’t produce a crop for at least three years and wine can take anywhere from nine months to more than two years to make prior to selling.
As many alumni say, a wine education certainly has its benefits — a solid understanding of the science of winemaking and the ability to help open doors to opportunities to memorable experiences and a job for those truly passionate about and dedicated to wine.
What are the best grapes for winemaking? The first decision is usually the grape variety or, at least, wine style you are interested in. Once you locate a source for the kind of grapes you want, the next considerations are quality and transportation. Key quality parameters are those that reflect ripeness of the crop, usually sugar (as degrees Brix) and acid (as both pH and titratable acidity — TA). Transportation may become a factor because the quality of harvested grapes begins to deteriorate as soon as they are picked. Some grapes will inevitably break, releasing juice. Fruit flies can become a problem and they tend to spread Acetobacter microorganisms that can begin producing volatile acidity — vinegar. While sulfite and chilling can both help preserve grape quality, try to keep your transportation time as short as possible once your style and quality goals are met.
A fine place to start your search for the best grapes is at your local home winemaking supply store. The owners and associates there are almost certainly home winemakers themselves and they have ties to many others in your community. In addition to informal knowledge of who grows grapes near you, the store may maintain a list or database of sources. The store I retired from six years ago in Santa Rosa, California, has transitioned from paper records to online digital information. While I was there, we had a three-ring binder in the store that we filled with listings by local growers who were willing to sell in quantities useful to home winemakers — that is, in the hundreds of pounds instead of tons. Similar listings are now maintained by the store at a special online database. Typical information asked of growers includes grape variety, quantity available and any mini-
mum purchase amount, price per pound (kilo), and estimated harvest date.
Additional data may include who is going to pick the grapes. Some growers prefer to have their own crew do the picking, some want you to help, and some leave it entirely to you to pick your own grapes. When I first made Sauvignon Blanc for a style comparison at the 2020 WineMaker Magazine conference (that was later postponed), I used this method to find the grapes. Ed Johnson of Mendocino County had originally listed his Grenache, Grenache Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc in the store binder. I had purchased successfully from him before, so I contacted him a couple of months ahead of the 2019 harvest. About a week before his harvest date, Ed called me to let me know to be at his vineyard at 8:00 a.m. on the day he had in mind. My wife, Marty, and I drove out to Potter Valley as planned, taking along four 32-gallon (121-L) square bins and one 20-gallon (76-L) round bin that I knew could hold the 600 lbs. (272 kg) that I wanted. Ed has a regular crew of vineyard workers who do his harvesting for him. In less than an hour they picked the grapes directly into my bins, Marty wrote Ed a check, and we were on our way home with cool, early-morning grapes.
Another excellent resource for grapes is a local home winemaking club. Join the club and find out where everyone else sources grapes. The club may also provide more formal identification of sources. Near me, one such club is GENCO, or the Garage Enologists of North County. Meeting in Healdsburg, California, they are noteworthy for organizing group harvests and subsequent winemaking, particularly for new members. One such group project is hosted by a member with a vineyard where everyone picks and crushes the project grapes. Another nearby club, Sonoma Home Winemakers, announces available
A fine place to start your search for the best grapes is at your local home winemaking supply store.Fresh wine grapes are available for hobbyists through a variety of channels. Finding a trusted source is key to making great wines. Photo courtesy of Blue Balls Wine Company
grapes in a regular segment of monthly summertime meetings. A unique project by that club is the maintenance and harvest of a city-owned, one-acre (0.4 ha) vineyard.
Friends who make wine can help you find grapes, too. They are sourcing their fruit somewhere and most like to share insider information as much as they like to share their wine. A workplace-based group of likeminded employees can get more people involved and share the work. Ask if you can join if there is a group near you, or start one yourself if not. One of the benefits of such a group is that you can buy in commercial quantities. A group of employees at my store contracted with a nearby commercial vineyard to drop off a half-ton (halftonne) bin of freshly picked Pinot Gris grapes. We all took turns pitch-forking the grapes into our own smaller bins, then took them home to crush and press. Newer employees joined groups at the homes of others who already had winemaking equipment. That way, they could go home with PET carboys full of freshly pressed juice and then finish the wine on their own.
While they may seem old-fashioned, classified ads are still out there. There may be printed versions for the wine industry in prime growing areas, but many have moved online. One of those is WineIndustry.com Classifieds. They list a wide variety of categories for equipment and supplies for vineyards and wineries, but important to this discussion is listings of grapes. You can search by geographic area all across the United States, plus growing regions in Canada and Mexico. Many of the listings are for purchasing grapes in commercial winery quantities, but you may be able to negotiate smaller amounts — or put together a buyer’s group as described above. Each listing in the classified ads includes the variety of grapes for sale, the potential quantity, the growing region, and the price. Do you have a favorite local winery? They need to get their grapes somewhere, too. It’s worth asking. If they grow their own, they may be willing to sell you a small portion. If they purchase grapes from other growers, they may be willing to let you piggy-back on their order and come pick up your grapes at the winery on harvest day. For white wine, they may even do the pressing and allow you to purchase and pick up fresh juice. That is how my final Sauvignon Blanc style comparison became a reality at the 2022 conference. The 2019 Potter Valley wine was delicious, but by the time pandemic restrictions eased enough to allow the conference to proceed for 2022 the style nuances had become subdued. As a replacement, I contacted WineMaker columnist Chik Brenneman who is a partner and the winemaker at West Sacramento’s Baker Family Wines. He was planning to make a 2021 Sauvignon Blanc and offered to take the grapes to his winery and include a portion for my project. He crushed, pressed, chilled, and sulfited the juice on harvest day. I drove to West Sacramento the next day, brought home the juice in PET carboys, and started the fermentations that some of you had the chance to taste in San Luis Obispo last year.
Most of the methods described so far work best if you are in or near a commercial winegrowing region. If not, a very good source is a distributor of grapes for home winemakers. Companies like Musto Wine Grape in Connecticut have longterm contracts with well-established growers and may grow grapes themselves. Many grape distributors can give you a
bottle of finished wine made from the grapes that they source so you can taste the quality of the grapes you are interested in.
Some companies (like Musto) can run a panel on your grapes to give you the Brix, TA, and pH in case you don’t have the equipment. Their websites show timing, sourcing, pricing, and shipping of wine grapes in 36-lb. (16-kg) lug boxes. Major cities across the U.S. and Canada have distributors of this kind, so check in your area. Some of them also bring in fresh grapes from the Southern Hemisphere in the springtime of the Northern Hemisphere. I used some of those — Chilean Carménère — for a “Making Wine from Grapes” Boot Camp at another WineMaker Conference. Quality was high and the red and rosé wines that my students made turned out well.
Outside of wine industry sources, there may be other ways for you to get your grapes. Several sources show up if you are willing to make wine from seedless table grapes instead of wine grapes. Many of the table grapes are actually vinifera varieties and can be made into good, drinkable wine. Since wine grapes are sometimes difficult to source in late spring, but table grapes are available year-round, I most often use Black Seedless table grapes for my WineMaker Conference Boot Camps. Sometimes they are from Mexico and sometimes from Bakersfield in California’s Central Valley.
Getting those grapes almost every year has introduced me to the alternate sources. In San Diego, I was referred to a produce distributor with a warehouse where restaurants and small stores can come and buy wholesale produce. After I called ahead, they had my grapes chilled and ready for me. In San Luis Obispo, another local produce distributor brought the grapes to the conference hotel for me. Also, every supermarket has a produce manager who orders weekly. With a couple of weeks’ notice, that manager can get you as many 18-lb. (8-kg) lugs of table grapes as you can handle.
Farm stands also bring in wholesale produce and will often make a special purchase for you if you order ahead. Thinking further outside the box, do you have friends who live in wine country? If they are also home winemakers, they may be growing their own and may share. If not growing, they at least know some sources. Even if they don’t make wine, they can ask the questions of their local suppliers as described earlier for sourcing wine country grapes. They may be able to accept delivery for you at their home — all you need to do is plan your road trip to go out and collect them.
If your source is remote, you will mostly rely on the reputation of the supplier to assure quality. If the source is local, try to visit the vineyard during the growing season and observe maintenance and care of the vines. If a grower will let you help pick, it is well worth your time (even though it is hard work). There is nothing like being right in among the vines on harvest day to get a good feel for the crop quality. When you pick up grapes locally, try to do it early in the morning and keep the grapes as cool as you can. Consider putting dry ice (not inside a closed car!) on top of the grapes or spread around a few frozen gel packs. Once home, sort out and discard any rotten or moldy fruit. As you begin to crush, collect some juice and test for Brix, pH, and acidity. Make any needed adjustments as early in the process as you can. Once fermentation starts, begin your search for next year’s grapes!
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inemakers have several pre-fermentation treatment options with the potential to increase or alter the flavors and aromatics in wine. The methods described here are not for novice winemakers and some will require specialized equipment. It is vital that you have a deep understanding of fermentation, the general chemistry of your grapes, and the limits of your cellar to achieve the desired results. When attempting these techniques it’s always good to have a specific goal in mind to know when to stop any of these processes and begin fermentation.
(Note: CO2 is dangerous. To avoid injury or death, please use caution, proper safety equipment, and only try this with proper ventilation. Do not try this without prior experience of using gases and CO2.)
Cold soaking is a technique used in red wine production. It is simply letting the red grapes extract in juice without the presence of fermentation (alcohol) in a cold environment. Though the primary argument for cold soaking is an increase of color, treatment of the must in this way allows a gentle extraction of compounds that contribute to both flavor and aroma. The first solvents available to extract anthocyanins are sugars and water. Cold soaking allows this extraction to occur for an extended period. Once fermentation starts, the solvent matrix of the wine will change to alcohol and water as the sugar fraction decreases. As alcohol increases more harsh and astringent compounds will be extracted.
When planning a cold soak, grapes can be crushed, whole, or even whole
clusters. The key to a successful cold soak is deceptively simple — keep the must cold. The tank is mixed with pumpovers or punchdowns 1 to 3 times a day (being cautious of adding excess oxygen to the must). If the temperature of the must is too warm, it will give the indigenous yeast and bacteria the opportunity to take hold. Sulfite and dry ice (or CO2) gas can be used to help exclude oxygen from the must and protect against fermentation while slowing the growth of aerobic bacteria.
A beneficial low temperature-tolerant non-Saccharomyces yeast (Metschnikowia species) can help protect the must by “outcompeting” many types of yeast and bacteria. It will also protect the must as the temperature increases to allow the onset of primary fermentation. Enzymes can be added to help extraction and tannin can be added to help stabilize color during the cold soak. The primary inhibitory factor of fermentation and unwanted microbe growth in a cold soak is the temperature itself. By keeping the must below 45 °F (7 °C) most unwanted microbe growth will be inhibited. Most cold soaks last between five days and two weeks. Cold soaking should be stopped once you reach your desired goal or if any fermentation activity is visible during the process.
The potential increase in color extraction and boost in aromatic and flavor compounds comes with some risk. Any process that uses cold temperatures to change the make-up of a wine/juice matrix has the potential of changes in pH. If the pH of the must is below 3.65 the final pH of the pre-fermentation juice will probably decrease. If the starting must pH is over 3.65 you will most likely see an increase of pH in the final must. This is due to the dissociation (pKa) of tartaric acid. Other factors like buffering capacity, choice of
BY J EF STEBBENThe primary inhibitory factor of fermentation and unwanted microbe growth in a cold soak is the temperature itself.Photo by Daniel Pambianchi Prior to alcoholic fermentation, fresh grape winemakers have the option to employ several rather unique techniques. Temperature control is a necessary aspect of them all.
additions, and the starting quantity of tartaric acid will impact this as well. Cold soaking usually causes tartrates to fall out of solution, so be prepared to have tartrate precipitate in the tank. Shifts in pH can be more extreme if malolactic fermentation is included in the course of fermentation protocols. pH shifts are easy to correct with the addition of tartaric acid or potassium carbonate. These additions should be carried out as early as possible to allow integration into the juice or wine (pre-fermentation, if possible). Additions later in the process will have more impact in the sensory aspects of the final wine and sometimes can be less effective.
A variation of cold soaking at a slightly warmer temperature (55–60 °F/13–16 °C) can accomplish some of the same things as a traditional cold soak but will also allow the indigenous microbes to start working. Often it is used as an opportunity to allow the tank to mix and homogenize. This can be very useful if your fruit has any dehydration, as the dry berries will soak up from the juice over time. Mixing while cold soaking can help give a more accurate read on the basic chemistry of the tank. Because the temperature is warmer than a traditional cold soak, there is a larger risk of microbe growth. SO2 dosing can help lower this risk, but caution must be observed. This type of cold soak should only last a few days before primary fermentation is initiated.
Carbonic maceration is a technique primarily used in red varietals that can increase flavors and aroma characteristics in a fruity direction. Beaujolais nouveau provides one of the bestknown examples of this style of wine. The wines will often show an increase in red fruit character, and can also display fig, banana, grape, musk, and pear. Historically in Beaujolais, this technique has been applied to the Gamay grape variety. Outside of France this technique has also been used on Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and several other grapes.
Like cold soaking, carbonic maceration utilizes solvents to extract characteristics from the grapes. In this case carbon dioxide (CO2) is used to slowly extract the pigment into the pulp of the berries. Oxygen deprivation from the berries causes alternative enzyme pathways to activate, which is the primary source of the unique characteristics of this process. The berries will swell and become saturated with about 50% CO2 by volume. Malate dehydrogenase will break down the malic acid in the berries to alcohol, succinic acid, and amino-butyric acid. Unlike malolactic fermentation, no lactic acid is produced. This enzymic action will lower the titratable acidity, raise the pH of the must, and can create about 2% alcohol. Carbonic maceration will help to increase the fruity characteristics of a wine but may detract from the specific varietal character. It can be applied to a portion of the grapes that make up a batch to increase the complexity of the final wine.
In the traditional method of carbonic maceration used in Beaujolais, whole clusters or uncrushed grapes (whole berries) are loaded into 5,000-gallon (190-hL) tanks (or larger). Air is replaced with CO2 before or after loading, and the grapes are held in this environment for the course of maceration. Some of the grapes get crushed under the weight of the must. This juice is allowed to ferment and provides more CO2 to help sus-
tain the 3 to 10 (or more) day process. Because the majority of color is extracted in the maceration, the juice is often pressed off and treated like a white wine or rosé fermentation. In the Beaujolais method, the tank can increase in temperature up to 95 °F (35 °C). The enzymatic changes that make this distinctive style peak between 85–95 °F (30–35 °C).
Techniques of carbonic maceration have been applied in many other parts of the world outside of France. In Germany, it has been used for skin contact in Riesling. In Australia, it has been used on Pinot Noir and Syrah to help accentuate the fruit. Variations of the method can be found in Spain, the U.S., and many other countries. In one Australian method, grapes are carefully loaded into bins lined with food-grade plastic bag-style liners. The goal is to have little to no juice escape the berries. A crush-proof container filled with dry ice is placed in the bin liner prior to loading. This will slowly displace the oxygen in the bag, which is either fitted with an airlock to allow the escape of oxygen and extra CO2 or tied loosely and sealed after the exit of all air and CO2. The bins are then stored in a heated area of the winery and held at 85–95 °F (30–35 °C). In this case, it is vital that the fruit is sound and there is no juice to allow fermentation to start. The bins are held like this for 5 to 8 days, much like the French method. The Australian Wine Research Institute has found that the impact of carbonic maceration can be achieved at lower temperatures, but the effect will be more subtle and short term. The results very based on ripeness and variety. If stems are included in the maceration, they will impact the flavor and character. For this reason, the ripeness of the stems needs to be considered.
Carbonic maceration should only be applied to sound fruit. Risk of microbial contamination increases if proper temperature is not achieved. Many wine microbes are hindered or will not grow in temperatures in excess of 90 °F (32 °C). The critical time with this process is the transition between maceration temperature and fermentation temperature. If juice is rendered during the process, it needs to be carefully checked for increased VA (volatile acidity). This juice may be fermented separately and evaluated to make sure it does not contaminate the balance of the lot.
Stabulation is a technique used to bring out aromatics and flavors in white and rosé wines. The process was probably developed in Germany with Riesling grapes, but it has been honed and modernized by rosé winemakers in Provence, France. It has commonalities with both cold soaking and carbonic maceration. When juice is recovered from lees, it often has heightened aromatics. Some of these are lost when the juice is rapidly clarified and removed from the solids. Stabulation macerates the lees into the juice prior to fermentation, extracting these valuable compounds. The best results will be achieved by using press juice from healthy, sound grapes. Successful stabulation will increase levels of esters, thiols, and improve mouthfeel of the wine.
In the process, press juice is brought into a settling tank and blanketed with CO2. The juice is held cold (32–36 °F/0–2 °C) for two or more weeks. To keep the fine lees in contact
with the juice, the tank needs to be mixed two times per day. The total volume of the tank must be able to accommodate mixing without loss or splashing over. Because cold juice is more prone to oxidation, the tank must be agitated anaerobically. A preferred method of mixing is “bubbling” CO2 through the bottom or racking valve of the tank with enough force to appear like it is rapidly boiling on the surface (set the regulator to 15 to 20 psi). This bubbling should last for 2 to 3 minutes, and the CO2 used in the process has the additional benefit of aiding with extraction. Alternatively, a pump can be used to mix the tank, which must be followed with a CO2 sparge to prevent oxidation. To ensure a good mix if using a pump, move about 1⁄3 of the total volume of the tank per cycle. With bubbling, no additional CO2 sparging is needed. When the process is deemed complete, stop the mixing process for about two days to allow settling. During the two days, allow the temperature to rise to 46–50 °F (8–10 °C) to prevent oxidation during racking. Once the desired temperature is achieved, the wine can be racked off the sediment and fermentation can commence.
Many factors can enhance the impact of stabulation. Using a pressing enzyme can aid the extraction of skin components, allow for gentler extraction and pressing, and help control phenolics that are prone to oxidation. “Champagne”-style pressing cycles limit the amount of oxygen contact with the pressing berries. It consists of pressing, holding, and increasing pressure to the next interval. Once the cycle starts, the pressure will not dip back to 0 psi until the next cycle or the press finishes. A complete cycle is finished before the press
cake is broken up. By use of continuous pressure, much of the oxygen exposure is eliminated. Use of dry ice in the press and juice pan will also eliminate some oxygen exposure. SO2 will help prevent microbial growth and will help remove oxygen. It can be added during crush, metered into the press, or applied into the settling tank.
The use of a non-Saccharomyces yeast can be employed in order to help protect the juice in the temperature transitions and can enhance characteristics of the wine. Make sure to use a low temperature-tolerant strain to handle the cold environment of stabulation. A small amount of fining added to the juice during tank mixing or after the start of fermentation can help remove phenolic compounds that are prone to oxidation and contribute to loss of aroma. Calcium bentonite, PVPP, or combinations of PVPP with casein or vegetable protein work great for this. Check to make sure the fining agent of choice has phenolic action.
Selection of a yeast that optimizes thiols or esters can bring out more of the aromatics that were extracted during stabulation. These yeasts can be fed with nutrients that are high in amino acid precursors for esters or thiols to bring out more of the desired aromatics. Yeast nutrients high in glutathione will help prevent oxidation of the flavors and aromatic compounds that have formed in the juice and wine. Glutathione has the added benefit of preventing browning in wine during aging. These added steps are not required, but they work in concert to help reinforce the impact of a stabulation. Because the juice is held cold during stabulation, expect pH shifts similar to those found in cold soaking.
MUSTO WINE GRAPE CO.,
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www.brehmvineyards.com
grapes@brehmvineyards.com
Phone: (510) 527.3675
Fresh grape pick-up in Petaluma, CA
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DELTA PACKING CO. OF LODI, INC.
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Lodi 95240
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fax: (209) 334-0811
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fax: (925) 671-4978
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75+ years wine making expertise! Owned & Operated by winemakers serving the winemaking community. “The Vine, The Time, The Wine”
LIL’ OLE’ WINEMAKER 516 Main Street Grand Junction 81501 (970)242-3754
Serving Colorado & Utah winemakers since 1978
BREW & WINE HOBBY
Featuring Winexpert & RJ Spagnols kits. Area’s widest selection of wine kits, beer making supplies & equipment
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101 Reserve Road Hartford 06114
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PARDO WINE GRAPES 3314 N. Perry Ave. Tampa 33603 (813)340-3052
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GREAT FERMENTATIONS
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5127 East 65th St. Indianapolis 46220 (317)257-WINE (9463)
or toll-free
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5127 E. 65th St. Indianapolis 46220 Phone: (574) 295-9975
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BLUFF STREET BREW HAUS
372 Bluff Street Dubuque (563)582-5420
e-mail: jerry@bluffbrewhaus.com
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BACCHUS & BARLEYCORN, LTD.
6633 Nieman Road
Shawnee 66203 (913) 962-2501
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WINEMAKERS & BEERMAKERS SUPPLY
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1781 North Market St. Frederick
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MARYLAND HOMEBREW
6770 Oak Hall Lane, #108 Columbia 21045
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BEER AND WINE HOBBY, INC.
85 Andover St. Danvers 01923
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website: www.beer-wine.com
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12 Maple Ave.
Foxborough 02035 (508)543-0433
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MACOMB VINTNER SUPPLY
44443 Phoenix Dr. Sterling Heights (248)495-0801
www.macombvintnersupply.com
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15775 40th Avenue
Coopersville 49404 (616)648-3025
morgangrapes@gmail.com
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SICILIANO’S MARKET
2840 Lake Michigan Dr. N.W. Grand Rapids 49504 (616)453-9674
fax: (616) 453-9687
e-mail: sici1@sbcglobal.net
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TAYLOR RIDGE VINEYARDS
3843 105th Ave. Allegan 49010 (269)521-4047
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HOME BREWERY
1967 West Boat St. Ozark
1-800-321-BREW (2739) brewery@homebrewery.com
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Since 1984, providing excellent Service, Equipment and Ingredients. Beer, Wine, Mead, Soda and Cheese
FULKERSON WINERY & JUICE PLANT 5576 State Route 14 Dundee 14837
(607)243-7883
fax: (607) 243-8337
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Fresh Finger Lakes grape juice available during harvest. Large selection of home winemaking supplies. Visit our website to browse and order supplies. Open year round 10-5, extended seasonal hours. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @fulkersonwinery.
MAIN STREET WINES & SUPPLIES
249 Main St. Arcade 14009
(585) 492-2739
fax: (585) 492-2777
mainstwines@yahoo.com
Plenty of wine kits available to make your own wine. Full line of winemaking supplies and accessories for your convenience. Tue-Fri 10-6; Sat 10-3 or by appt. Like us on Facebook.
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1296 Sheridan Drive Buffalo 14217 (800)283-4418 or (716)877-8767
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PANTANO’S WINE GRAPES & HOMEBREW
249 Rte 32 S. New Paltz 12561 (845)255-5201 or (845)706-5152 (cell) pantanowineandbeer@yahoo.com
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8 South Buffalo St. Hamburg 14075 (716)646-9979
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WALKER’S WINE JUICE
2860 N.Y. Route 39 – Since 1955 Forestville (716)679-1292
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WATERLOO CONTAINER CO.
2311 N.Y. Route 414
Waterloo 13165 (315)539-3922
contactus@waterloocontainer.com
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1500 River D., Suite 104
Belmont 28012
Advice Line: (704) 825-8400
Order Line: 1-800-365-2739
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3911 South Blvd.
Charlotte 28209
Advice Line: (704) 825-8400
Order Line: 1-800-365-2739
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19725 Oak St.
Cornelius 28031
Voice Line: (704) 527-2337
Fax Line: (704) 522-6427
www.ebrew.com
44 years serving all home winemakers & brewers’ needs! Visit our stores to learn how we can help you make the best wine you can make.
AMERICAN BREWMASTER
3021-5 Stony Brook Dr. Raleigh 27604 (919)850-0095
Text: (984) 251-3030
www.americanbrewmaster.com
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CAROLINA WINE SUPPLY
329 W. Maple St. Yadkinville 27055 (336)677-6831
fax: (336) 677-1048
www.carolinawinesupply.com
Home Winemaking Supplies & Support.
THE GRAPE AND GRANARY 915 Home Ave. Akron 44310 (330)633-7223
www.grapeandgranary.com
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LABEL PEELERS BEER & WINE MAKING SUPPLIES, INC. 211 Cherry St. Kent 44240 (330)678-6400
info@labelpeelers.com
www.labelpeelers.com
Specializing in winemaking/ homebrew supplies & equipment. Free monthly classes.
Hours: Mon-Sun 10am-7pm
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(918)461-2605
e-mail: store@highgravitybrew.com
www.highgravitybrew.com
Join our Frequent Fermenters Club!
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(503)232-8793
fax: (503) 238-1649
e-mail: info@fhsteinbart.com
www.fhsteinbart.com
Brewing and Wine making supplies since 1918!
HOME FERMENTER
1011 Valley River Way, Ste. 107 Eugene 97401 (541)485-6238
www.homefermenter.com
Providing equipment, supplies and advice to winemakers and homebrewers for over 40 years.
BOOTLEGGERS BREW SHOP, LLC
917 Pleasant Valley Blvd. Altoona 16602
(814)931-9962
http://bootleggersbrewshop.com
bootleggersbrewshop@gmail.com
Find us on Facebook! Central PA’s
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1169 Nittany Valley Drive Bellefonte
(814)383-2809
fax: (814) 383-4884
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PRESQUE ISLE WINE CELLARS
9440 W. Main Rd. (US Rte. 20) North East 16428 (800)488-7492
www.piwine.com
Your one stop shop! Complete service since 1964, helping you make great wines. We specialize in small winery and amateur wine supplies and equipment. Check out our website www.piwine.com or stop by and see us. Fresh grapes and juice at harvest.
SCOTZIN BROTHERS
65 N. Fifth St. Lemoyne 17043
(717)737-0483 or 800-791-1464
www.scotzinbros.com email: shop@scotzinbros.com
WINE and Beer MAKERS PARADISE!
BADER BEER & WINE SUPPLY 711 Grand Blvd. Vancouver, WA 98661 1-800-596-3610
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BREHM VINEYARDS®
www.brehmvineyards.com grapes@brehmvineyards.com
Phone: (510) 527-3675
Fresh grape pick-up in Underwood, WA
Frozen grapes in Portland, OR & Scranton, PA
Ultra-premium grapes for home winemakers for over 40 years! Sold at harvest or shipped frozen across N.America year-round. Visit our vineyard 1 hour east of Portland in a National Scenic Area.
JON’S HOMEBREW AND WINE SUPPLY
1430 E. Main Ave., #1430C Puyallup 98372 (253) 286-7607
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Puyallup’s home for Home Beer and Winemaking supplies!
THE CELLAR BREW SHOP 465 N. Washburn St. Oshkosh 54904 (920)517-1601
www.thecellarhomebrew.com
cellarbrewshop@outlook.com
Beer & Wine ingredients and equipment. Extensive inventory at Competitive prices, bulk discounts. Great service and free advice from experienced staff.
HOUSE OF HOMEBREW
410 Dousman St. Green Bay (920)435-1007
staff@houseofhomebrew.com
www.houseofhomebrew.com
Beer, Wine, Cider, Mead, Soda, Coffee, Tea, Cheese Making.
WINE & HOP SHOP 1919 Monroe St. Madison 53711 (608)257-0099
www.wineandhop.com
wineandhop@gmail.com
Madison, WI’s locally owned homebrewing and winemaking headquarters for over 50 years. Fast, affordable shipping to anywhere. Use promo code WineMaker at checkout for discounts. Free expert advice too!
BREW FOR LESS 10774 - 95th Street
Edmonton T5H 2C9 (708)422-0488
brewforless.com
info@brewforless.com
Edmonton’s Largest Wine & Beer Making Supply Store
GRAPES TO GLASS 5308 -17th Ave. SW Calgary T3E 6S6 (403)243-5907
www.grapestoglass.com
Calgary’s largest selection of brewing, winemaking & distilling supplies. On-line shopping available with delivery via Canada Post.
BOSAGRAPE WINERY & BREW SUPPLIES 6908 Palm Ave. Burnaby V5J 4M3 (604)473-WINE
fax: (604) 433-2810
info@bosagrape.com
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Ingredients, equipment, labware & supplies for brew & winemaking. Still Spirits, Hanna, Stavin Oak, Brehm Vineyards, Mosti juices, Brewcraft, Marchisio, Accuvin, Chemetrics, Vintner’s Harvest, Lalvin, Buon Vino, Vintage Shop.
Fourteen years ago, when I started making wine, I would have never predicted that I would also be teaching my children the skill. My daughter, who is now 6, could not wait to be daddy’s big helper in the fall when I needed to “degas” the latest batch of Merlot. When it was time to bottle, she was as excited to sanitize, filter (yes, we filter our wine), and bottle this year’s blend. For several years, I entered my wine into the WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition and entries are typically due in March, which requires bottling to occur at least a month beforehand.
In the fall of 2022, we fermented 5 gal. (19 L) of both Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as 1 gal. (3.8 L) of Malbec. In our 5-gallon (19-L) oak barrel, we combined Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec, with Cabernet being dominant at 52%. In a glass carboy, we have 51% Merlot. Call it an experiment if you will, but I truly wanted to see the flavor profiles both created. Chemistry in real life I guess you would call it.
For the 2023 Wine Competition, we bottled only the wine in the glass carboy. This blend would be akin to a Right Bank style of Bordeaux where wine blends are dominant in Merlot. The oak barrel blend will age for much longer.
This winter, my daughter was so excited and eager to lend a hand. She was right there learning how to sanitize the carboys, tubing, and filters. Sanitizing the equipment is by far and away the most important step, which I probably told her 50,000 times. Afterwards, she learned how to operate the filtration system. A few years ago, a friend of mine once compared the filtering system to dialysis and, you know what, it is similar! It takes the wine from the carboy, runs
it through three filter pads and then outputs it into another carboy.
We typically filter twice. The first run is to get large particles and the second is to polish and clear undesired microorganisms. The wine typically looks amazing, but I do realize filtering wine remains a controversial subject for many wineries and home winemakers.
After filtration, my daughter sanitized each bottle, I filled them, and then she pushed the closure device down to secure the screw cap on the bottle. We worked together like a well-oiled machine. At one time, my wife came down to watch the two of us and my daughter showed her how to sanitize the bottles. She even said, “you know mommy, sanitizing is the most important step.” This made me so proud. I probably had the biggest smile ever at that very moment.
I love spending the quality time with her and educating her about such a special skill like winemaking. Knowing how to make wine is truly chemistry in real life: Taking ingredients, combining them, and allowing nature to do what it does. I enjoy the different steps involved; the different ingredients involved. The sanitation, the bottling, the capping, and then the cleaning. Oh, the cleaning. What a mess we made, but boy was it fun.
The following day, she helped me label a single bottle, wrap it tightly, and get it ready to ship. Unfortunately, we did not win anything this year; however, the comments were spot on. Again, it was the glass carboy batch, so the lack of tannin was quite noticeable. But you know what? She made this batch, her very first wine, and I was her assistant just showing her the ropes. That Bordeaux blend from Canfield? It was made by a 5-year-old, and it is spectacular . . . maybe we’ll medal next year!
I love spending the quality time with her and educating her about such a special skill like winemaking.Photo courtesy of Jesse McClain
MAKE WINES OF UNSURPASSED CHARACTER AND DEPTH OFFERED IN 6 VARIETALS
Chile Carmenere • Italian Granbarile
South African Pinotage
Australian Petit Verdot • Australian Merlot
Australian Cabernet Sauvignon
The perfect combination of Blended and Fresh Grape Musts in a 2.64 US Gallon (10 L) bladder ALSO INCLUDES our 8.8 Lb (4 Kg) Allgrape® PACK of crushed, de-stemmed grapes, flash pasteurized to ensure shelf stability and preserved with minimal sulfites. It does NOT have added sweeteners, concentrate, or color.
