Crushalicious

Another punchdown

Soon our baby will be going to press then barreled!  So, we took advantage of getting another punchdown done and asking Alan and Emi all sorts of questions about when to press.  Today you could feel a layer of seeds at the bottom of the bin which we had to avoid scooping up or pressing when punching down.  You submerged the tool below the grape cap and then pulled it up, thus, flipping over the grapes into the juice without touching the bottom of the bin.  Essentially, if you mix up the seeds into the cap or crush them into the juice, it gives the wine a bad taste.

While we were spewing about brix, taste, color, texture, etc and mulling over which day to press, Emi calmly walks over sticks her and in the grapes, feels the texture, smells the juice, wipes her hand on the towel and says very casually, “no, not yet.”  It was awesome to see the magic of winemaker knowledge.  What Emi then explained was the reason not to go to press quickly was to allow the body of the wine to evolve.  Right now, it feels very soft in your mouth and we want the cab to have a more powerful, meaty presence.  Thus, even if the brix fall to the correct range, we’ll not press until Sunday to allow the body to develop.

By the way, there is all sorts of winemaking magic around co-pigmentation but that will have to be a post for the future because we only got as far as understanding a lot of magic is involved per Emi and Jonathan.

This punchdown we also got a great tutorial from Alan about why we need to dunk our arms and tools through four buckets of cold water.  Sanitizing yourself and the instruments is critical in keeping bacteria out.  As the brix fall, there is less CO2 which means an increased ability for bacteria and cross contamination.  Thus, if you’re playing with our grapes, make sure you hit the buckets first.  And when you are done, clean up the splatter juice and grapes with the sulfur treatment, thus leaving our baby clean and bacteria free.

We saw some funky pinot T-bins where the yeast was put in and allowed to move across the top of the bin before punchdown - super foamy.  Looks like something from an Alien movie.  We also got to see and learn about submerged caps.  Definitely thinking that we’ll try that next year.

Check out the photos as they always tell the better story.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slourie/sets/72157607366520325/

By the way, who is up for a ferry ride and an afternoon at St. George’s Spirits in Alameda?  Lots of discussion last night about that joint.

http://www.stgeorgespirits.com/

Going to press soon!

As of yesterday evening, the Brix measurement for the Cab is 6.70.  Cabs are pressed when the Brix is between 5.0 - 1.0 so we’re going to press soon!!

Brix 10.70 and falling

Vessel: FT070137
Last Measure Date: September 15th, 2008
Brix: 10.70        Celsius: 30.80

punchdown pics

photos from our first Ink Grade punchdown:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slourie/sets/72157607316178026/

http://flickr.com/photos/crystale/sets/72157607360851728/

Crush & Fermentation details (we are science geeks)

Note: all the info below comes from Crushpad

Crush details
Our 2008 - Ink Grade - Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were harvested on and processed on 09/09/2008. At harvest your measurements were:

• Brix: 26.8 
• TA: 4.9 
• pH: 3.73 
• Whole cluster level: 0%
• Whole berry level: 100%

After the grapes are sorted, they can be sent through a machine called a crusher. The crusher splits open grape skins to release a portion of their juice and expose the skins. This allows the juices have more contact with the grape skins during fermentation. Because the skins contain so many of the interesting color, flavor and tannin components, crushed berries result in much greater extraction. Crushing may break some seeds and release bitter compounds into the wine, so it is important to evaluate seed ripeness and crushing levels in the process.

Leaving whole berries limits juice/skin contact and creates a lighter-bodied wine emphasizing fruity characteristics. Depending on the fruit and style of wine being made, winemakers will often use a portion of whole berry and crushed fruit during fermentation to achieve the desired balance of fruit characteristics and structure.

Summary: Crushed red grapes create more extracted styled wines than whole berries. White grapes are rarely crushed. Grape Must Treatment
After crush the resulting “grape must” needs to be protected from bacteria and oxidation. To do this we added 50.00 ppm of 9% SO2 solution. Sulfur is used throughout the winemaking process to keep wines free of off aromas and flavors that bacterial growth might impart.
Fermentation Graph Fermentation began on 9/11/2008.  Immediately following crush we began tracking the sugar level, temperature and cap management actions. You can see these measurements and actions in the graph below. You’ll see this graph not change much through cold soak where the must is fairly inactive but as soon as fermentation begins you’ll see how the growing yeast culture consumes sugar and generates heat. Fermentation typically takes one to three weeks.

http://www.crushnet.com/graph?id=a0x800000008wPfAAI

Fermentation Adjustments After Crush it is often necessary to make adjustments to the grape must. These adjustments are made to guarantee you hit your target pH and alcohol values. There are also additions made to the fermenting wine to maintain the health of the yeast culture to encourage a predicatable and complete fermentation.

The following additions and adjustments were made to our grape must during fermentation

Additions and Actions (all are based on our wine plan and the ongoing decisions we make about flavor, texture, an color)

Date              Action        Item         Amount     Units     Comments

09/09/2008  Addition     Enzyme     25.00     g             Vintage FCE

09/09/2008  Addition     Enzyme     160.00    g            Lysozyme

09/09/2008  Addition     SO2           50.00     ppm       9% Stock

09/09/2008  Action       Destem

09/09/2008  Action       Settle

09/11/2008  Addition     H2O            56.00      L

09/11/2008  Addition      Nutrient     2.00        g             Cerevit

09/11/2008  Addition      Nutrient       100.00  g             DAP

09/11/2008  Addition      Nutrient       120.00  g          Superfood

09/11/2008  Addition      Nutrient       181.00  g            EnoFerm-P

09/11/2008  Addition      Tartaric Acid  799.00  g

09/11/2008  Addition      Yeast        181.00  g                 D-254

09/11/2008  Action  Soak - Out

Yeast inoculation (sexy!)

The Ink Grade cab grapes have been sorted and de-stemmed. While hanging in their T-bin they got antsy and began spontaneous native fermentation (such their mothers’ children). Thus, Crystal and Serena got a super cool tutorial on yeast inoculation from Kristen and Alan and set to showing the grapes a better way to ferment. So friggin cool! Wishing chemistry class had been like this.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slourie/sets/72157607291579741/

http://flickr.com/photos/crystale/sets/72157607360681646/

More photos of that fabulous first time

More first crush photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/slourie/sets/72157607240241910/

http://flickr.com/photos/crystale/sets/72157607360350398/

Can’t wait for next time!