Syrah - Day 7

Quick update:
The weather's been cold and the wine's progress has been inching along as a result. Today's numbers are for the 32 gallon fermenter 62 degrees F and 13.5 Brix. For the 20 gallon fermenter 62 degrees F and 13 Brix. Lastly, the 5 gallon batch is at 61 degree F and 12 Brix. Since we're hoping to see temperatures as much as 20 degrees higher than those, drastic measures need to be taken. I'm off to Target to get us an electric blanket to wrap the fermenters in and get those temperatures up with some mechanical aid.

Syrah - Day 5 - Tatric Acid, DAP and Temperature

Today started with finishing up a task left over from yesterday, raising the acid level of the smallest fermenter. We had some tartaric acid left over from our earlier batch of Cab. Using some quick calculations I determined that that to get the must within the desired range (6.0-8.0 total acid) we needed to add 46 g of tartaric acid [show your work: volume of must x .8 = volume of wine after pressing, (goal Total Acid - actual Total Acid in g/mL) x gallons of wine after pressing x 3.785 (to convert gallons to Liters) x 10 = grams of tartaric acid to to must, using our number (6.1 [goal acid] - 5.85 [actual acid]) x (4 gallons x .8) x 3.785 x 10 = 151 g of tartaric acid]. The tartaric acid is then mixed with water and then this solution is added to the fermenter and stirred in.

Based on yesterday's Brix numbers the must is getting close to the point where 1/3 of the sugars have been fermented. This is the point where a vintner is supposed to add DAP, a nutrient for the yeast, to the must. For every gallon of must, add 1 gram of DAP. I only had 48g of DAP, so I had to under each batch a little.

After measuring out the DAP for each fermenter add water, mix and add it to the fermenter. Nothing too fancy here.

Now that the additives have been placed in the fermenters it's time to make sure they get dispersed. Mixing the cap into the must, in the form of a punch down, is the easiest way to accomplish the mixture. Just make sure that the skins and detritus floating on the top gets mixed into the must.

The last issue that needs addressing today was the temperature of the fermenters. I took the temperature today, the 32 gallon fermenter was only at 60 degrees F, the 20 gallon fermenter was at 56 degrees F and the 5 gallon fermenter was at 54 F. With a goal temperature of 80 to 90 degrees during fermentation, that's too cold. The higher temperatures are necessary to develop some of the desirable flavors in red wine. In order to help our must reach these temperatures I pulled out a few old towels and blankets to insulate the fermenters. These insulators might get stained, but it's important to make sure our must is cuddled up snugly while it's still young and impressionable.

Syrah - Day 4 - Acid Test

Today was my first real go at the chemistry aspect of winemaking. I found myself dusting off skills I haven't used since I quit taking laboratory science classes 2nd year in college. Thankfully enough of those lessons were retained in my brain for me to pull off the basics enology requires. The first batch of test to run were about as straight forward as you get: take the temperature of your wine. The differences between the different size fermenters surprised me. The 32 gallon fermenter was 65 degrees F, the 20 gallon was slightly cooler at64 degrees and the 5 gallon came in at a downright frigid 59.5 degrees F. Considering all three are within a few feet of each other in my garage the disparity caught me off guard. Looks like I'll need to track the progress of each fermenter separately.

Next part of the wine that needed analysis is the sugar level. This is accomplished with a hand tool called a hydrometer. The hydrometer uses the density of the water to determine what the percentage sugar is, which is then translated into degrees Brix. I pulled a cup of juice from each fermenter and placed it in the sanitized test tube. Give the juice a moment to let the bubbles disperse and then gently drop the hydrometer into the juice. The hydrometer should float so that the narrow end is extending above the surface of the liquid, the level of the liquid should indicate on the scale what the percentage sugar is. The results came back at 18% from the 32 gallon fermenter, 17.5 for the 20 gallon fermenter and 18.5 for the 5 gallon bucket. There is still one more calculation to make. Since the hydrometer is calculated to 60 degrees F, and none of the juices tested were at that temperature, a little tweaking formula needs to be used. For ever degree above 60 degrees F add .03 to the Brix. Conversely for every degree below 60, subtract .03 Brix. Thus the final totals weren't substantially altered, but we're shooting for extra points for accuracy. Final total for the 32 gallon fermenter is 18.1 Brix, the 20 galloner is at 17.6 Brix and the 5 gallon fermenter's temperature difference gets rounded to 0 so the result remains 18.5 Brix.

The Last test for the day is the acid test. We did not get an acid test reading from the vineyard, so this one is our first reading of the acid level. We did get a pH reading, but the acid level and pH can differ enough to want to check both. A low acid level can lead to a weak tasting wine that isn't stable enough to age. Not something we want to deal with. If we're going to raise the acid level, now is the time to do it. All it takes is the right set of chemicals, a little juice and a steady hand with the titration.

First step in the process is to get yourself a acid test kit. Next you need 5 mL of juice to test. This measurement is important since the quantity of juice is a constant in the titration formula. Off a little bit in either direction will skew your reading high or low.

Add a little water, since the red of the juice will will mask the color change that will indicate when the Sodium Hydroxide has neutralized the acids in the wine. The last prep step is to add a few drops of the Phenolphthalein indicator. The indicator causes the color change when the pH of the solution hits 8.20.

Again precision when working with the Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) is important. Draw 10mL of NaOH into the syringe. Add a little at a time to the juice solution. Adding more than .25 to .5 mL is not recommended, since you could overshoot the neutralization point and end up with an inaccurate reading. You also want to cap the testing chamber and give a stir after each addition NaOH from the syringe. This ensures that the entirety of the mixture is being neutralized by the NaOH.

There are a few color changes to be aware of. The first one is when the pink mixture of juice and water darkens, this is not the one to concern yourself with. The color change that indicates complete titration is when the mixture takes on a green tint.

When the green precipitate is visible immediate stop adding NaOH. Record the amount of NaOH remaining in the syringe. Then subtract that number from 10mL. That is the amount of NaOH it took to completely neutralize the acids in the juice. Then take the final number and multiple it by 1.5. This will give you the grams per Liter of acid present in the juice. In my fermenters it required 4.6mL of NaOH to neutralize the sample from the 32 gallon batch. In the 20 gallon bath it took 4.2mL. In the 5 gallon batch it only to 3.9mL. Apply the chemical reaction formula and the final numbers are 32 gallon: 6.9g/L; 20 gallon: 6.1g/L; and 5 gallon: 5.85g/L. For a dry red wine, the target acid level is between 6.0 and 8.0 g/L. Looks like we might need to add some acid to the 5 gallon batch.

That will have to wait for later. I've got a bit of clean up to do in the meantime.

For a recap:
- 32 gallon - 20 gallon - 5 gallon
Temp 65 F - 64 F - 59.5 F
Sugar 18 Brix - 17.5 Brix - 18.5 Brix
Acid 6.9 g/L - 6.1 g/L - 5.85 g/L

Syrah - Day 1.5 - We have fermentation

Came back to the fermenter after dinner. We have pink bubbles and a little bit of a cap forming.

Time for a punchdown.

Monday at work...

9:38 AM - Sitting here at work wondering how all 400lbs of grapes picked on Saturday are doing. I am sure they are happy as proverbial pigs in slop as they devour our recent addition of yeast and food.

While I am a bit sad that I won't be around during the primary fermentation, I am glad that Jay will have the opportunity to experience our juice becoming wine. I have to say that tending to our batch of Cab was one of the coolest things I have down in a while. I felt like a mad scientist in the dark dank confines of my San Francisco garage carefully measuring powders and sugar levels, sanitizing obsessively, and constantly afraid that an errant microbe might turn my carefully babied creation into swill fit only for the gutter outside. However, now that the Cab is quietly in secondary fermentation, bubbling away airtight in my upstairs closet, I am glad that I can once again rejoin the world. And the world looks good...my face has flushed with renewed sun exposure, the skin on my hands has started to heal safe from constant contact with sanitizer and my girlfriend will speak with me once again as she realizes that she will no longer have to share me with a tub of rotting fruit.

Thanks to all significant others who willingly fought hangovers and mud to come out and humor 3 guys who have no idea what they are doing. Let's hope that book I keep referring to knows what it is doing!

-L

Syrah - Day 1 - Inoculation

We let the grapes sit overnight and reach the target temperature for starting fermentation of 60 degrees. Now that the wait was over it's time to introduce the yeast and the grapes to each other. The first step in this process was to revive the yeast. To do this you need to rehydrate the yeast in water that's between 94 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot enough to get the microorganisms alive and active, but not too hot as to kill them. A little experimenting with our thermometer, microwave and water from the tap was all it took to get ourselves a batch of 100 degree water, enough to revive the yeast for our twenty gallon fermenter. We also started off the yeast with a dose of yeast food recommended by the staff of MoreWine.

After dissolving the yeast starter food in the water we added the yeast to the solution and gave the yeast twenty-five minutes to wake up and get a cup of coffee. While we were waiting for the yeast to do its thing, we collected some grape juice from the fermenter to prevent the yeast from going into cold shock when we introduced them to the fermenter.

Once the yeast's twenty-five minute start time had passed, the now chunky mix of yeast and water was added to the grape juice. This mixture was then allowed to stand so that the yeast could acclimatize itself to the colder temperature and acidic conditions of the grapes.

After the yeast had time to come to grips with its new home for the next few weeks, the pitcher got poured into the fermenters and our grape juice was on its way towards becoming wine.

Day 1:
Starting Brix: 24 degrees
Acid Level: unknown
pH: 3.7
Must Temp: 60 degrees F

Syrah - Day 0

Mission Statement: In order to keep the commuting and telephone calls among the widely dispersed members of Urban Vintners (TM pending) to a minimum, we are posting our wine's progress in blog form.

Today was day zero for the second wine of the 2009 season. After our small batch of Cabernet Sauvignon cleared the fermentation tank we realized there were still grapes to be had this season. Though a little rain fatted and battered, grapes were hanging on the vine. After a week of making calls we found ourselves a vineyard scheduled Saturday for an eleven a.m. pick.

Harvest day found the three Urban Vintners and their indulgent significant others pulling up to a little homestead vineyard just east of downtown Napa. Most of the vines had been picked, but there were enough grapes left hanging for modest purposes. With a few pruning shears in hand we set to work picking our four-hundred pound quota.

The grapes on the vine were survivors. Mold and mildew had started to take hold, forcing harvesters to be selective about which clusters to take or clip off grapes that were too far gone. Despite the less than ideal conditions there were plenty of good grapes to be had and the 6 of us with some assistance from the vineyard staff were able to quickly pick our allotment.

The hand-cranked crusher-destemmer that the vineyard had available was a bit of an adventure to operate. It was balanced on a frame that required the cranker to maintain downward pressure otherwise the crusher was liable to jump off the frame. The crusher was up to the task and we managed to keep it on the frame. Within a few hours of our arrival we were ready to leave with three fermenters full of must.

The next step was back to Luke's family's house in Napa to inoculate the grapes with sulfites. After a little math determining the dosage for each fermenter we weighed and added the sulfites to kill any rogue microorganisms in the fruit. Then it was off to lunch at ABC Bakery Company.

The trip back to Sacramento in the back of my Jeep was a bit of an challenge. Highway 12 is a little more curvy than I am comfortable with 55 gallons of grapes and juice sloshing around in brimming-full-plastic trashcans behind the seat. Traffic on 80 didn't help matters either with a brimming full freeway stopping at a few points to ogle two wrecks in the west bound lanes. A little bit of juice managed to make it over the brim of the 32 gallon fermenter and splash my sweatshirt and back seat.

Back in Sacramento the grapes had to hang out in the back of my car until some assistance labor in the form of Luke showed up to help lower the full fermenters out of the tailgate of the Cherokee. Once offloaded the grapes got to acclimate to their home for the next few months, my garage, and rest overnight before we put the yeast to work on them.