2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Wine

Although I still have Cabernet Sauvignon leftover from 2019, I wanted to make a third wine this year. I couldn't find any Sirah, and didn't manage to get up to Oregon Wisconsin to pick wine grapes during the season. I really wanted the white grapes from them, and they are ripened early this year. All of which is to say that, I made this small batch because they had it at my grape dealer which was Jennaro Brothers in Milwaukee this year. 

The refractive index showed 23.4 degrees Brix which would make 12.1% alcohol. I added 233 g for a projected 13.5%

2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Recipe

Grapes                    36 lb

Yeast energizer        1 g

Pectic enzyme        1 g    

Sugar                        233 g

Lalvin EC1118        1 packet

This fermented quickly so on the fourth day I pressed it and transferred it to a glass demijohn. This made about 10 liters. 

April 2, 2022 Update

The Malolactic fermentation has finished. The titratable acid is high at 15.6g/L as tartaric. Last year's titratable acid was also high. The measured pH is 2.9.

2021 Merlot

These merlot grapes were fairly firm when I got them. (The grapes were from Delta Packing Co in Lodi CA. Smiling Baby brand.) I used a home-made milk-crate type destemmer, and then crushed them in my crusher. The crusher did not so a great job. While the grapes were generally cracked, the majority of the grape stayed in the skin. I ran most of the must through my old crusher to do a better job. The measured sugar content went up after the second crushing from 12.7 to 13.1 degrees Brix. 

2021 Merlot Recipe

Merlot grapes        144 lb

pectic enzyme            4 g

yeast energizer            5 g

sugar                        741 g

Lalvin EC 1118             2 packets

The Brix refractive index was 13.1 degrees, and corresponded to 13.1% alcohol. I added some sugar to get to 13.4%. 

Fermentation started slowly. I added a second packet of yeast on the second morning. Of the three batches I started last Friday, this one is fermenting the slowest. At 6 days it is still significantly sweet. 

 

2021 Muscato Wine

The muscato juice had a share content of 23% (Brix of 21 degrees) for a projected alcohol content of 11%.  I thought about this a while, and decided not to add sugar. The thought is that Muscato is usually made at lower alcohol content, even as low as 7%. (I can always fortify it later, if I want to.) 

2021 Muscato Wine

Grapes                            108 lb

Yeast Energizer              3 g

Pectic enzyme                3 g

Lalvin QA23 yeast        1 packet

I pressed the grapes immediately. The grapes were very juicy and they extruded themselves through gaps in the press. 

I kept the grapes in the press overnight, and drained two liters that way. In the morning I cranked-down on the press and got more wine out. In the morning, the drained grapes were firmer, and I could press them in the normal way. 

Fermentation started immediately, and the juice was fairly dry after four days. I transferred it to a glass demijohn at that time..  

Spring 2022

I put this outside for about a week for cold aging to help the insolubles to fall out of solution. 

Update: 8/27/2022

I backsweetened about half of this batch with 1.0% dextrose. This made the tartness milder, but still there. At 1.5 or higher, the flavor seemed less complex -- it is hard to describe, but I didn't like it as well. 

The rest of the batch may be used for blending with my reds. 

The wine has an OK flavor, but is not very complex. 

Calculators for Wine Making

Here is a link to several calculators for wine making. 

https://techniquesinhomewinemaking.com/index.php/winemaking-tools/?fbclid=IwAR2RCslZUAw8Brb7P66Z4wwYGZ-6tPffohx-GQNT01_v3c79jPwNhT7Vm6M 

In Vino Falsus: 2020 Zinfandel Second Wine and the 2017 Sweet Merlot

My 2017 Merlot was finish two ways, most was finished dry and its great, but some was finished sweet. That's because my DW tasted the fermenting wine while it was sweet and liked it. I took ten liters out and finished it sweet by adding sorbet. Guess what? When the wine was done, she didn't like it anymore. I don't blame her, because this slightly sweet red was too robust to be a desert wine. 

I was unable to restart the fermentation, so I made little wine from frozen white grape & concord grape juice, and while it was vigorously fermenting, I added it to the 2017 Sweet Merlot, but it didn't restart. 

Last year with my 2019 Merlot, I added 2-3 quarts of rapidly fermenting must to the Sweet Merlot. No success. 

A problem with working so hard to recover problem wines is that each time you blend it, there is now more of it. I started with 10L of Sweet Merlot, and now have 15L of blended sweet wine that no one wants. 

Now, I am taking the pressed grapes from my 2020 Zinfandel, and making a second wine -- also called a false wine. (And not the same as what the French in Bordeaux call a second wine.) A second wine is made from sugar water and the already-fermented pressed grapes from a regular batch of wine. The pressed grapes flavor the water, and while no expects it to be as good as the first wine, and can be good enough. In fact, I recall the weaker, lighter second wine as being better than some of my grandfather & father's first wines. (Which says something about how robust and oaky those wines were.)

In this case, I am going to use my problematic 2017 Sweet Merlot to buttress the flavor. If this works, I'll have 30L of good wine instead of 15L of undrinkable wine. 

2020 Zinfandel Second (False) Wine and Blend with 2017 Sweet Merlot

16 L             Water

Pressed grapes from 110 pounds of fermented Zinfandel grapes 

15 L             2017 Sweet Merlot (modified as described above)

10 lb            Sugar

4t (17g)        Yeast energizer

4t (15g)        Pectic enzyme         

This fermented pretty well for a month, but did not go to dryness. I decided it was too acidic, and corrected it with calcium carbonate (and some Acid-X). Then I restarted the fermentation with Champagne yeast. 

After another month one container was good, and the other container was still sweet. I blended the two containers, and am hoping for the best. 

Sept 2021 Update: This worked better than I could have hoped. The wine eventually did ferment to dryness. 

The new wine blend is plenty good, and nothing to be embarrassed about. 

 

Yeast Strains

We know that yeast selection is important to avoid a wine-making disaster. 

Yes, it is possible to use a  wild strain to make a good wine. But what about the opposite, when you have already made a bad wine what can you do beside whine, nothing. You should have used a better yeast. 

Here is a good wine yeast selection chart.  Don't forget my old Lalvin post.

Formerly there was also Red Star Yeast, which was purchased by Lasaffre, and whose wine products are now sold by the Fermentis (fermetis.com) division. Red Star in the USA is a joint venture of Lasaffre and ADM. It seems to be 100% commercial and not for hobbies. 

2020 Symphony Wine

I called down to my grape vendor, Caputo's, for Muscato grapes, but when I got there they were sold out. I purchased Symphony grapes because that was the only white grape in stock. (Aside from Chardonnay, which am not interested in.) 

While I had never heard of Symphony, I learned it was developed in 1948 at UC-Davis by a famous viticulture professor, Harold Olmo, a cross between Muscat of Alexandra and Grenache Gris. Muscat of Alexandra is different from Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, which is the usual Muscat. Both Muscats are among the most ancient grape varieties. Muscat of Alexandra was originally grown in Alexandra, Egypt. 

I paid for the grapes, and got them in the car, and finally tasted them. They had a good grapey flavor, and tasted sweet at the time. Later I learned I still need to add some sugar. The juice was 1.098 g/ml and 22.8 Brix which should make 12% alcohol. I targeted 13% alcohol and added about 1 pound of sugar. The juice was fermenting nicely the next morning.

I had a hard time pressing them because the soft grapes kept extruding themselves out of the grape presser, and it took a long time to get the juice to drip out. I expect I got 17 L from the two cases. 

2020 Symphony Wine Recipe

72 lb Symphony grapes (DePalma)

2 teaspoons yeast energizer

2 teaspoons pectic enzyme

17 ounces of sugar

1 packet Lalvin 71B

Update: 8/27/2022

I backsweetened this wine with 2.5% dextrose. This made the tartness milder and a little smoother. I tested a variety of sweetener levels, and 2.5% was the best.