Muscato and Cabaret Sauvignon Update

As described below, I made the grape juice from the Muscato grapes, and fermented it for 7 days in open top primary fermentor before transferring to a demijohn. I got about 18 liters yield from the three cases of grapes. I did not adjust the sugar content.

I tracked the refractive index to monitor the fermentation:

27 Sept   23 (so called Brix units)
28 Sept   15
29 Sept    12
30 Sept     9
1  Oct       8

The book says that the refractive index should go negative before moving to a secondary fermentor, but I did not to that.

It has been a week since then, and the wine is slowly clarifying. The wine is not evolving carbon dioxide quickly though the trap though, so I am a little worried.


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The cabaret sauvignon fermentation started more slowly. I monitored the refractive index twice a day since I was worried about it.

27 Sept   pm      24.4 (so called Brix units)

28 Sept  am       24.1

               pm      22.8  

29 Sept  am       21.8

               pm      19.7

30 Sept  am       15.8

              pm       13 

1  Oct    am       11.6

              pm      10.3

2 Oct     am        9.7

Similarly I wish I could have let this go farther. I pressed the grapes, and got about 36 L from the four cases of grapes.  

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon

I started the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon today because the grapes at the market (California Wine Grapes on Fort Street) looked so good. It is actually three cases of Cabernet Sauvinon and one case of Merlot -- all from California. The sugar content is good at 1.12 g/ml for over 13% alcohol content, however the refractive index measured at 23.2 Brix (whatever a Brix is), and that is good for 12%. I added another 550 g of sugar, which on approximately 10 gallons or 38 L of juice, should be good for 13.5 % alcohol or so.

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Recipe
108 lb (3 cases) Cabernet Sauvignon (Top Brass from Earlemart CA)
36 lb Merlot (Lodi Gold, Lodi CA)
13 g potassium bisulfite
10 g pectic enzyme
550 g sugar
10 g yeast energizer
1 packet Montrachet yeast from Red Star (added the next morning)


It took me about three hours to make the juice in my hand turned machine, and then I fished most of the stems out by hand.

In the grape crusher

May 13, 2012 Update

I allowed this to ferment for 20 months during which time I added 1 tablespoon of wine tannin to sharpen the flavor and 2 grams per liter for oak chips also for some sharpness. The result was a fairly simple wine that was strong, but not that fruity or that tannin-y. I wonder if more aging with help it. Currently it is inferior to the 2010 Zinfandel by a good bit.