Wines I'm Making: Racking and Dosing the 2018 Wines

Belatedly I report that I spent most of Christmas Eve this year handling wine. I racked our 2018 Cabernet (six gallons) and our 2018 Sangiovese (four gallons) for the first time, assuming (although not confirming) that malolactic fermentation had gone to completion. I lightly sulfited the wine and would have added oak staves, but I had none on hand and it was a holiday. Today, writing on New Year's Eve, I still haven't added the oak, but will do so when the stores open again on January 2nd. So far, the wine seems sound and well on its way.

I also racked a gallon of rosé that I made from subpar grapes that I didn't want to leave sitting on the skins during fermentation. I decided to try to use this wine to make a sparkling wine (a first attempt). Having made sparkling cider several times before, it seemed easy enough, but I won't be able to riddle the bottles and clear the lees after the secondary fermentation in the bottle, so, while the wine will be sparkling, it will have a little yeast debris in the bottom, like a bottle-fermented beer rather than like a crystal clear Champagne. We'll see.

After racking, I bottled the wine and dosed it at 1.4oz of sugar/gallon for the in-bottle fermentation. The only complication was that I didn't realize that sparkling wine bottles are larger at the lip than the beer bottles I use for making cider. Thus, my crown caps and capper were the wrong size. I had to go to the supply store to buy larger caps and a larger fitting for my capping device. It didn't go very smoothly because the fitting kept separating from the capper, but I did get eventually get the bottles capped. They are now (presumably) undergoing secondary fermentation in the bottles.

Wines I'm Making: Bottling and Racking (December 19, 2014)

Busy yesterday and today doing wine chores. I bottled our 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc yesterday. We made 40 bottles in 2013, which is fairly normal, although in a small harvest year like 2014, we make only about 25 bottles. 2013 was our tenth vintage. I've just designed a label. I'll be taking it down to the printers to be printed this afternoon.

This morning I racked and sulfited the 2014 Cabernet wine, which has been undergoing malolactic fermentation since the middle of October. I didn't bother to test it. I'm assuming the fermentation is finished. I also racked and sulfited the 2014 rosé from our Sangiovese grapes. As usual, racking was a breeze. A layer of tartaric acid crystals always forms over the lees in this wine (below), which means there's no danger of picking up unwanted sediment during racking. Next I will have to design labels for the rosé. I also have a hard cider fermentation ready for bottling, but that will have to wait until another day.

Wines I'm Making: 2013 Cabernet Racked and Sulfited (January 31, 2014)

I finally racked and sulfited the 2013 Cabernet, although the malolactic fermentation doesn't appear to have gone to completion. I tested the wine twice using a paper chromatography kit. The fermentation looks like it went about halfway. Nearly two months had passed and I kept the wine warm with an electric blanket, but there is still some malic acid in the wine. It seemed safest to move on, though, given the time, so I racked the wine off the gross lees (which can be seen left behind in the fermentation vessel here) and sulfited the wine lightly, to about 49ppm. I need to look into the long-term implications of an incomplete malolactic fermentation. Live and learn, as they say. It's now time to bottle the 2012 wine, which I recently gave a final racking.

Wines I'm Making: 2012 Cabernet Final Racking (January 26, 2014)

Today I finally got around to racking the 2012 Cabernet that's been resting for more than a year now. I've racked it off the remaining lees in preparation for bottling the wine, which I'll do in the next couple of days. I sulfited the wine lightly, to about 50ppm. Judging from the taste I got siphoning the wine, it has turned out nicely. I look forward to opening the first bottle after it's been bottled, labeled, and given a chance to settle down again, probably sometime in late February--sooner, if possible. Getting a label designed will be the determining factor.

Wines I'm Making: 2013 Sangiovese Rosé Racked and Sulfited (November 6, 2013)

I racked and lightly sulfited the 2013 Sangiovese Rosé today, transferring five gallons of new wine to a new carboy of the same size, leaving behind a layer of yeasty sludge. I got a taste of the wine when starting the siphon and I'm very pleased with it. It's a nice deep pink. Although a little cloudy still, at this stage, it already looks pretty--as a rosé should. I sulfited the wine to about 52ppm (four Campden tablets in the five gallons of wine). If it clears quickly enough, we might be able to start enjoying some already at Thanksgiving, but it will probably have to wait until Christmas.

Wines I'm Making: 2013 Sangiovese Rosé--First Racking (October 27, 2013)

Yesterday (October 27, 2013) I racked this year's Sangiovese rosé off the gross lees. Moving it from a mostly full 5-gallon carboy to a new 5-gallon carboy, which I then topped off with a couple of bottles of last year's wine. I didn't sulfite the wine as it seems to be still fermenting a little--although not very much. Still, I thought it best to let it go a little longer. Yesterday was day 21 of fermentation, which is on the long side, but I want to be sure it's gone completely dry before sulfiting the wine and cold stabilizing it. Cold stabilization amounts to leaving it out in the cold for a few days. That usually causes a layer of tartaric acid crystals to form over the fine lees that will have settled to the bottom of the carboy, making the final racking very easy with the lees trapped under the tartaric acid crystals. The first photo here shows the murky wine before racking, full of carbon dioxide and yeast. That soupy raspberry colored liquid will be crystal clear in a few weeks through the action of gravity and time. The photo below shows the gross lees left behind after racking.

So far, the wine looks, smells, and tastes good. I think it will be tasty this year. Five gallons will make 25 bottles--a little more than usual because the vines set a lot of fruit. If all goes well, there should be some new rosé ready at Thanksgiving--or by Christmas at the latest.

Meanwhile, the Cabernet continues to ferment in the living room, but it will soon be dry and ready for the addition of malolactic bacteria to begin malolactic fermentation.

Wines I'm Making: Wine Chores (July 10, 2013)

In the past couple of days, I've made some progress toward finishing various wine chores I've been putting off. Following the odd rain we had at the end of June, it was important to spray the vines with sulfur again to prevent mildew. That I achieved a few days after the rain. So far, everything looks good--no signs of the mildew and the vines set a lot of fruit this year.

I racked the 2012 Cabernet that's been resting and topped up the containers with a bottle of our 2011 wine. Judging from the tastes I got while siphoning, the 2012 looks very promising. The 2011 was a bit light, but the 2012 seems to have real depth. I look forward to tasting it again after it's bottled. I'll probably bottle it around harvest time, or sometime in late October.

I finally bottled the "second-run" wine I made a while back from the pressed skins of the 2010 grapes. I've neglected this experiment--and for good reason. The wine was never very attractive. Making wine from pressed skins works. That much I learned, but the wine it makes is dull and lifeless. Having let this go so long, it has acquired an added oxidized component. It's in gallon jugs now and out of the way, but it's probably destined for the drain.

The most important chore remaining for this year is getting the nets straightened out and on the vines before this year's crop of grapes begins to show color, which should be in about a month. The nets are off the vines but tangled and full of dead weeds. I need to stretch them out, check them for damage, clean around the vines, and then get the nets back in place sooner rather than later. It's my goal for the day.

Wines I'm Making: Hard Cider--Second Racking (February 25, 2013)

Yesterday, I racked the hard cider I'm making--the second racking ("racking" refers to taking the liquid off the lees and transferring it to a new container, part of the process of using gravity to clear it of sediment). I siphoned the liquid off the rather fluffy deposit at the bottom of the container and into a new, clean container. The first time I racked the cider I had to top up the vessel with nearly a pint of new liquid. I used fresh apple juice, which added sugar back that subsequently began to ferment again. That activity had mostly stopped.

This time, I filled the gap at the top of the container with finished local cider (only a small amount was required). I suspect I will have to rack my cider once more to get it completely clear, but it's mostly there. As the days have been a little warmer recently, I'll be watching for signs of ongoing fermentation, but I think it's mostly finished. After the final racking, I will bottle the cider and dose it with a touch of sugar to induce a final fermentation in the bottle, which should give it a little effervescence. I've never tried in-bottle fermentation before and never closed bottles with crown caps, but I will rely on the good guidance of the people at our local wine, beer, mead, cider, and cheese-making supply store, The Beverage People. Having just harvested about 60 pounds of honey from our (sadly dead) beehive, I may try making mead next.

Wines I'm Making: Cider Racked (February 19, 2013)

My first attempt at making hard cider is coming along nicely. The fermentation had mostly stooped (after 20 days), so I racked the cider off its lees today. There was quite a lot of sediment in the bottom of the container, so I had to top it up after the racking. I used apple juice, fully expecting the new sugar to revive the fermentation a little, but so far there has been no reaction. It may just take time. We'll see what's going on tomorrow. In the photo, taken while siphoning the cider into a clean container, you can see the deep layer of sediment.

Wines I'm Making: 2011 Cabernet Bottled (January 4, 2013)

Finally got around to bottling the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc. It was a small batch last year. We produced only 33 bottles of wine, but it's quality that counts. I had a tough time of it this time around. First, I used a slightly larger diameter tube for siphoning the wine and a shorter length--mostly because when replacing my siphon I couldn't remember what size I had used in the past. The large size made the wine flow much faster than I'm used to and the shorter length combined with cold weather made the tube stiff and unwieldy. The result was much more spillage than usual. I estimate I lost more than a bottle. In a commercial winery that might be a miraculously small amount of spillage. Here, making wine from the grapes we grow in the back garden, it's 3% of annual output. Second, the crushed Campden tablets failed to fully dissolve. It really is important to see to it that the sulfite is evenly distributed throughout the wine. Finding much left at the bottom of the carboy, I had to laboriously siphon thirty bottles back into the container and then rebottle them. I didn't want some of the bottles to be unprotected and others to have much too much sulfite. Two lessons learned the hard way. Anyway, the wine is now in bottles awaiting capsules and labels (which I have yet to design and print). Judging from what I consumed while siphoning, the 2011 wine will be good, but it is more tannic than usual and has a bit more acidity, suggesting that it will take time to open up. I estimate it will start showing well around 2018.

I also did the first racking of the 2012 wine. Working on the assumption that enough time had passed to allow malolactic fermentation to go to completion, I sulfited the wine lightly and transferred it to clean containers, leaving behind the gross lees. I added oak staves, as usual. The wine (8 gallons, or 40 bottles) is now resting.

Wines I'm Making: 2011 Cabernet Racked Again

Yesterday, I racked the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc off the sediment following the copper sulfate treatment I gave the wine on December 2. I had noticed a hydrogen sulfide smell, which apparently can result from a low level of yeast nutrients during fermentation, a function of the weather's effects on the grapes. It's not a problem I've had before, but it turned out to be easily cured. The treatment works virtually immediately. The copper sulfate binds other sulfur compounds and creates copper sulfide, which is insoluble in wine. It drops to the bottom of the container and is left behind by a subsequent racking. Apparently it's a common practice. I had planned to do a follow-up treatment with yeast hulls that is designed to remove more, but after consulting with my wine advisers (the people at our local wine supply store), I decided it won't be necessary.

I don't like to add anything to the wine, but tiny amounts of residual copper are much better than sulfur stink. Also, I figure that we are exposed to small amounts of copper all the time anyway--as most modern water pipe is copper. I took the opportunity also to add the oak staves that will give the wine its oak exposure through to bottling at around this time next year. The wine tastes a little light--probably a consequence of the cool summer and the late rains, this year but it's too early to know for sure. In other winemaking chores, it's about time to start designing a label for our 2011 Sangiovese rosé. I'll be bottling that ahead of Christmas. The photo above shows a 6-gallon carboy cleaned and rinsed, awaiting a wine transfer.

Wines I'm Making: Racked 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon (September 11, 2011)

Today I racked 11 gallons of wine--mostly the eight gallons of our 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. Everything went smoothly. I sulfited the wine lightly, using six Campden tablets in the eight gallons, which should mean a sulfur level of about 49ppm. I also racked three gallons of "second-run" Cabernet--wine made from the lees of the real wine. I got a chance to taste both wines for the first time in about six months. I'm very pleased. Everything looks, smells, and tastes good. Even the faux wine is acceptable (this method of re-fermenting the lees seems to work better with red wine than it does with rosé).

I'll be bottling this wine in the next few weeks, ahead of harvesting the 2011 grapes. I tested a random Cabernet grape today and was surprised to find it at 18 brix already. I'm aiming for 24.5. If the weather remains good, that means we should be harvesting in about the third week of October. With the electric fence on and the nets secured, I'm hoping we'll get there with no further losses to animals.

Wines I'm Making: A Busy Time of Year (2010)

This is a busy time of year because of all the winemaking going on--a winery in miniature is in operation here. Yesterday I bottled the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc to make room for the Sangiovese rosé in the only six-gallon containers I have. The rosé appeared to be mostly finished fermenting--on day 18, the longest fermentation I've done so far. But I 'm only the shepherd; the time it takes is the time it takes. Next chore (although a pleasant one) will be to design labels for the 2009 wines--and, before too long, for the 2010 rosé; the rosé should be ready to sample by around Christmas.

The turbid, fermenting rosé was beginning to clear as the action of the yeast slowed, and the wine tasted dry, so I thought it best to limit oxygen exposure by racking the wines into a single big container. I sulfited lightly (four Campden tablets in six gallons plus three fifths, or about 40ppm). Sulfite is supposed to kill any yeast still alive, but I suspect it wasn't enough because the wine continues to send up streams of fine bubbles, and the airlock is still percolating. That's just as well. The new rosé is now protected from oxidation at least to some extent by the sulfites and the lack of air space in the new container, and any ongoing fermentation will make the wine completely dry, the way I like it.

I put the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon/Franc into 30 bottles but left one uncorked. We tasted it last night for the first time. It was in shock from the bottling and the sulfiting, so not at its best, but it was enough to get a first impression. I'm very pleased. I reserved some overnight in a decanter, helping to blow off sulfites and giving the wine air--it had developed some lovely leathery scents, rose-like scents, and cocoa scents. The palate was broader and more generous too, again marked by leather and cocoa. An excellent effort, if I say so myself. The photo shows toasted oak staves that were in the resting wine for a full year and the siphon filling bottles.

The 2010 Cab is still in the front room undergoing malolactic fermentation. Soon that will be done. It's been 11 days since the wine was inoculated. Activity appears to have slowed, but malolactic fermentations can be hard to judge. I will have to test it. I have every reason to hope the 2010 wine will be better even than the wine just bottled--the vines are a year older, I know what I'm doing now, the vines didn't suffer from mold or critter attacks (raccoons) because I've got the sulfur spraying, netting, summer trimming, and electric fence down to a routine now. As long as the weather cooperates. This year, we made good wine despite difficult weather. Should be ready for anything now--except the unexpected.

Wines I'm Making: Racked Zinfandel

I did a paper chromatography test on all the wines yesterday and found that the malolactic fermentation was mostly finished in the Zinfandel, so I racked the wines, sulfited lightly (to about 50ppm) and added medium toast French oak staves to both the three- and five-gallon carboys. The Cabernet needs more time and the second-press Cab still shows a lot of malic acid, so I will wait to rack both those wines. The "fake" Cab is too acidic because I accidentally added more acid blend than I had intended. I'm hoping further malolactic fermentation and then some serious cold to precipitate tartrate crystals will help soften it. The Sangiovese rosé I moved into the garage where it's cooler. Will have to rack that wine soon, too.