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Oregon Wines Blogs
10pm - time to press (October 13, 2009) It was as good a time as any. The wine was between 1.03 and 1.08 in each of the fermenters. Yes, we could have waited longer, but we figured we had already gotten optimal extraction from the skins, such that a little time for the wine to just bubble by itself couldn't hurt.
And so the process began. I was assisted by my wife Virginia. We took turns, one person holding a carboy with a funnel in the neck, up to the spout on the front of the press, while the other person scooped a quart of wine/must at a time out of the fermenter and placed it in the middle of the press. As the center filled up and the scoops of pomace gave way to more and more juice, it started flowing freely into the carboy. The process was so efficient, in fact, that when it actually came time to pressing the skins, I was tempted to forgo it entirely and just use the free run wine (that which runs free from the press without any pressing). I calculated that the pressing only gained about 1 gallon of wine per each fermenter, or, about 10% of the 32 gallons of wine we ended up with at the end of the evening.
That is probably the greatest surprise for me. Having worked with Pinot Noir a number of years, I was not prepared for the sheer amount of liquid from the Tempranillo and Syrah, or, how few skins there really were in the end, considering how many gallons of wine we came away with.
32 gallons! And here is a picture for proof.
 You may notice that the two carboys in the front actually have their airlocks taped down. For some reason, the two 5-gallon carboys do NOT fit the correct rubber stoppers, and I'd rather use some tape to hold them in place than let them go and risk them falling out for any reason.
The next step is to just let it all sit and continue its work. It appears malolactic ferment is still underway (this is to be expected), as well as the fact the wine still has another 12-18 hours left before it depletes any remaining sugars. But for now, the work is done, and the 2 hours we spent cleaning up everything with a high-pressure garden hose is now time well invested in the OregonWines.com 2009 vintage!
Best regards,
David Anderson
Previous Posts 5pm Update - Alllllmost there..... (October 13, 2009) It's beginning to sound like Porkins from Star Wars, when he was flying down the trench. "almost there... alllllmmoooostt thheerrrrreee..." Except that in Star Wars, Porkins met a fiery fate, whereas in the case of the wine, it should turn out beauti... 9am Update - Getting closer yet (October 13, 2009) Specific Gravity: 1.015 - The wine should be ready to press by later tonight. I called up Above The Rest and secured a wine press. Picked it up shortly after noon with the intention of pressing this evening. It is now all set up in the garage,... 12:30am update - almost there (October 12, 2009) It has been a fast 24 hours. If the slight odor of H2S (hydrogen sulfide -- think bad eggs) throughout the house wasn't evidence of something going on, then the hydrometer was there to reassure any doubters that the ferment was going strong and nearl... 4pm Update - Fermentin' away (October 12, 2009) Here are the latest readings: Temperature: 76F Specific Gravity: 1.040 At this rate, pressing may be ready by Wednesday early morning. Another update coming this evening. David Anderson ... Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble... (October 11, 2009) A 12-inch cap? Really? On each of the 24-gallon fermenters? Wow. 1am, that's where it's at. Huge cap. Slight bit of sulfur odor but still quite healthy. About 80F temperature now. Gravity adjusted for temperature = 1.062 At this rate, t... Ferment is well underway... (October 11, 2009) At 9am, I checked the must. It had been fizzing away all night in that nice, cozy little blanket-and-space-heater corner of the garage. The new cap was now fully developed, a good 9-10 inches deep, and a rampant ferment bubbling away underneath. Extr... And we have a cap... (October 10, 2009) 36 hours into the ferment, it dawned on me just how cold the garage was this year, much more so than previous years. Plus, I couldn't find the blasted electric blanket cord (I had the blanket but no way to well, plug it in), meaning the blanket nicel... Vinting begins anew (October 08, 2009) It has been a good two years since I last delved into home vinting. The past 24 months have been an extremely busy and unforgiving time of much change, mostly positive, which forced me to prioritize responsibilities over passions. That said, t... Oak Aging begins (February 13, 2008) January 18 was a good day. Four full carboys of Pinot Noir had at last completed their Malolactic ferment, and it was time to rack them off the fine lees and malo sediment. Only five carboys were used in the racking. Starting with a fresh and ... Malolactic Fermentation Checkup (December 15, 2007) Having left the wine alone for many weeks, it was time again to check the status of its malolactic ferment. Here are the results: Malic Acid: 30-50mg/L pH: 3.65 TA: .62 Malolactic ferment is almost complete. In fact, It probably is comp... The second (sediment) racking (October 19, 2007) It's been just under 48 hour since we pressed the Pinot Noir into four glass carboys (vessels). By this time, quite a bit of sediment had precipitated to the bottom of each vessel. Using a clean, fifth carboy, I was able to transfer the contents of t... Pinot Noir Pressing and Racking Complete! (October 17, 2007) It's done. This evening the wine was pressed and filled into four carboys. Prior to pressing, we'd set up the entire space: laid down plastic tarps on the garage floor, a bucket of iodophor solution and a spray bottle of pure grain alcohol nea... 11am Update - fermentation near completion (October 17, 2007) I decided to forego the test at 2am and simply punched the cap. I did draw a sample this morning at 11am and found specific gravity is now at 1.016 (1.019 @ 78F). This means it should be just about ready when we begin pressing it this e... Gravity, pH, and Malo - and how they all tie together (October 16, 2007) All is well tonight. I drew a sample and tested it for a variety of things. Specific Gravity: 1.024 (1.027 adjusted for 78F). Still dropping at a steady pace. Should be ready for pressing by this same time tomorrow evening (I've schedul... What Does a Ferment Cap Look Like? (October 16, 2007) I realized I've been using a lot of terminology in this blog without necessarily taking the time to explain some of it. One of the biggest mysteries out there is the wine cap -- the thick mass of skins that forms on the top of the fermenting wine. It... Primary ferment is beginning to slow (October 16, 2007) The ferment has slowed dramatically, according to the readings here, and I am a bit concerned. The reading last night was right around 1.035, and this morning both are just a hair under, like 1.030 or so. I'll check it again this afternoon just to ma... Primary ferment may be stuck -- or not (October 15, 2007) The ferment seems to be slowing down a bit. Now at 1.035 on both fermenters. In fact, the second fermenter hasn't changed too much in 12 hours. I'm hoping it is simply a mis-reading of the results and not the early signs of a stuck ferment. Also, the... A broken wine thief - I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned (October 15, 2007) I'd broken the wine thief during yesterday evening's work, and had to drive into Main Brew in Hillsboro to pick up a new one. Core temperature on the ferment is holding at 78F. Gravity reading about 1.040 - a considerable change since Tuesday night. ... Core temperature rising and gravity falling fast (October 14, 2007) Core temperature is around 78F now, specific gravity is at 1.060 and falling rapidly. The entire ferment is at a rapid pace now, and may be mostly completed as early as Wednesday. Now the tricky part - to calculate the precise time I'll need to rent ... Ferment inoculated with malolactic culture (October 14, 2007) The fermenters are now quite warm, internally reading 73-74F after punching the cap. It's so cold in the garage I've decided to keep the electric blanket going for a little while longer. I inoculated the fermenters with a freeze-dried malolact... Ferment kicking into high gear (October 13, 2007) 2am now. Ferment is kicking into high gear. Gravity is now reading about 1.075, meaning some 20% of the sugars have already been fermented. The fermenters are now at 74F, after punching down the cap. And the cap is about 14 inches deep, definitely th... Primary Ferment and Cap Formation (October 12, 2007) Cap formation continues at a progressive pace, now some 6-8 inches in depth. A wonderful smell of full ferment is now clearly detectable some 20 feet away from the fermenters. The electric blanket is doing the trick. Core temperature is now up to 66F... Pinot Noir cap development begins (October 12, 2007) Checking on the ferment this afternoon, I was pleased to see modest cap formation of about 3-4 inches. I thoroughly punched down the two caps and carefully stirred the pulp with the hand-made puncher I had crafted last year out of an oak dowel and bo... Commencing the Ferment (October 11, 2007) I've had the must in cold soak since last Saturday. Five solid days of contact with the skins - a day longer than most might recommend with a Pinot, but I needed a little extra time to get the yeast starter going. All right... I admit... I actually f... New vintage of Pinot Noir for fall 2007 (October 07, 2007) This year proved to be an odd one for growing. It showed a tremendous amount of potential towards the start of summer. A very early growing season by all accounts. And yet, there were periods of cool and wet weather, and finally, early rains, which t... Three months becomes two weeks - Pinot has been bottled (February 25, 2007) 16 gallons of Pinot Noir were successfully bottled this afternoon in our wine studio. Three very full carboys had been loaded up with oak chips and happily soaking away for two weeks. While I had previously thought two to three months would be needed... Pinot Noir Put on Oak (February 10, 2007) There it is. The final step is now complete. MLF had all but finished up, and was <50ppm. Therefore, I racked the three carboys into three fresh vessels. This involved first thoroughly sanitizing each new carboy about three times (using Iod... January 18, 2007: MLF Complete (January 18, 2007) It's there. Done. About time! Tonight I tested the Pinot Noir. Here are the results: ML is at 30-50mg/L. Quite low, low enough in my mind to stop the show and continue on. <30 is desireable, but looking at how it's slowed down in rec... November 10, 2006: A Bug In the Programming (November 10, 2006) Over the past 2 weeks, I've been regularly stirring the lees to help MLF along, keeping the carboys in a very dark, warm room @ 75F, and have noticed things progressing fairly well. Until today. Upon stirring the lees, a dead earwig floated to... October 28, 2006: MLF Update (October 30, 2006) I decided to move the three carboys into a small room on the lower level of our house, indoors from the cold garage. Even with a (wasteful) space heater blasting, the carboys couldn't attain much higher temp than 68F. Upon moving them indoors, they a... October 25, 2006: Checkup of MLF (October 25, 2006) Tonight, I decided to add some yeast nutrient to the wine, in part to help pump up MLF. It's been sluggish the past few days, and I want to see this thing through as quickly as possible (for the sake of the MLF bacteria and wine), to prevent H2S prod... October 23, 2006: Malolactic Ferment Notes and Thoughts (October 23, 2006) I'd been debating whether to pitch MLF or not, given the amount of lees in the carboys. Having read a few places, spoken with some people, and checked the carboys myself, I determined the majority of carboy sediment is fine lees. I was really surpri... October 23, 2006: AccuVin Malic Acid Test Conducted (October 23, 2006) Hokay. This morning, I returned the press to the supply store, and picked up AccuVin's Malic Acid test kit. Unlike paper chromatography, which provides rough estimates for Lactic Acid levels, the AccuVin test specifically tests for the amount of Mali... October 23, 2006: Got a press. Pressed. No longer feeling pressed! (October 22, 2006) I wanted to fill you in on the last 24 hours. Yesterday evening, the wine dropped by S.G. .03 in just 15 hours! It was time to press, so I drove by the local wine supply shop and snagged one today. I had a very enjoyable afternoon. A friend came over... October 22, 2006: Need a Press. Fast. (October 21, 2006) Just when things are going well with your batch of wine, you forget the rule to *never* assume anything is happening, without confirming it scientifically. This morning, the wine showed a S.G. of around 1.035. 15 hours later, that figur... October 21, 2006: Eruptive Ferment. Literally. (October 21, 2006) This afternoon, I decided to take a break from all this vinting, and go for a short hike with my wife, son, and dog in Forest Park. Little did we know that St. Helens had timed it just right. Right as we rounded a corner to get a perfect view of the ... October 21, 2006: Are Hydrometer Readings Affected by Pulp? (October 21, 2006) I posted that question on the winemaking group. One individual wrote back: > Maybe I am mistaking but aren't you in the process of pulp-fermenting ???? > So the lees are still in the must. And therefore you will be extrating > colour, flavour ... October 21, 2006: Pinot ferment crazy fast! (October 21, 2006) 8am, Saturday morning. Thick cap as usual. Vats extremely warm. About 80F. S.G. 1.035 (adjusted for 80F). The must/wine has changed. Much of the sugars are gone. The wine is a bit tart, tannic, and strong in flavor. David... October 20, 2006: Pinot ferment advancing (October 21, 2006) As of 6pm, the cap is now regularly pushing upwards of 8 inches thick. S.G. is 1062 (adjusted for @74F). The must/wine tastes fantastic. ... October 20, 2006: Ferment Update (October 19, 2006) Punched the caps again. They are getting very thick, about six inches each. Very strong CO2 odor in both. Stirred carefully and resealed with a few toots of CO2 from the tank. I've concluded that while my TA may now be around .9 to .95 average... October 19, 2006: Update on fermentation (October 19, 2006) Current readings for the ferment as of 5pm: S.G. 1.092 TA .97% pH 3.78 This is fine. I can cold stabilize the wine later on to help drop the TA. As for the pH... it's a little high, but this could still be due to poor mixing of th... October 19, 2006: Tartartic Acid Redux (October 19, 2006) On the rec.crafts.winemaking group, a member asked how I'd determined the amounts of Tartaric acids, based on pH and TA tests. Here are the numbers and thought process: Some of my initial calculations were incorrect. Part of the problem is tha... October 19, 2006: Deep-stir and a forming cap (October 19, 2006) Update, 9am - I checked on the ferment in both vats, and found a bit of a cap had already started forming. Pushing it down and carefully deep-stirring the top layer of yeast throughout the must, the ferment is off to a very good start. Definite nose-... October 19, 2006, 12:15am - we have ferment! (October 18, 2006) Large colonies and clouds of the yeast have developed. Bubbling away - no need to add CO2 to the vats as I suspect there's already plenty of gas being generated to protect the surface. I gently stirred the yeast about four inches deep in... October 18, 2006: Pre-Ferment Jitters (October 18, 2006) Well, it all comes down to this. 20 gallons of Pinot Noir must has been cold-soaking for 72 hours. I'm almost ready to pitch the yeast starter, but took a few final pH and TA readings, and wanted to do some rechecking. After 3 days cold-soak... October 17, 2006: Preparing for Fermentation (October 17, 2006) All things in order, bagged ice added once more this morning to the must in cold soak, and it was time to prepare for tomorrow's fermentation kickoff. I removed the ice from the must, now at 56F, and added a water solution with 1tsp of Diammon... October 16, 2006: Build Your Own Cap Plunger (October 16, 2006) What is a cap plunger? It's a tool you use to press down the cap of grape skins that develops in the top of a fermenter. It can be hard and crusty, and rise above the level of CO2, leaving it vulnerable to microbial infection. The answer is to regula... October 15, 2006: Taking samples of the Pinot must (October 16, 2006) Current test results for the Pinot must sitting in cold soak: Temperature: 52F S.G. 1.092 (12.5% potential alcohol) T.A. .67-.70% Sulfite test: inconclusive due to poor mixture ... October 14, 2006: Vendange 2006 with Pinot Noir! (October 16, 2006) Salut, mes amis. It's that time of year again. The time when all home vintners rub their hands together in delightful anticipation of the months to follow. The vendange is upon us! Er, it was anyway. I for one all but missed out on it, thanks ... 6/17/2006 Viognier Bottling (June 17, 2006) Round 2 of the Viognier bottling took place yesterday evening -- very late I might add -- and demonstrated why sometimes, a good thing comes to those who wait. Weeks ago, I bottled the first batch of the Viognier, only to find, to my dismay, t... Viognier Bottling (May 24, 2006) April 20, 2006 - We chose to bottle one of the 5-gallon Viognier carboys. Simple procedure - took S.G. which came in at about .997, for a final alcohol content of around 12.5%. Added some non-fermentable sugars to condition the wine, and set about fi... Hard Cider Finished (January 03, 2006) Weeks have now passed since I bottled the cider, that succulent, moderately sweet brew of fermented apples, which lay out in my garage for months... and every time I open up a 12-oz. bottle of the stuff, I am reminded of the amazing potential this st... Cider Update (December 15, 2005) It finally came time to bottle the cider. From the previous racking, the cider was now near-sparkling clear. Only a hint of cloudiness remained in the carboys, much higher quality than any previous batches I have brewed up. The final Gravity c... Cider Update (October 30, 2005) Transferred the Viognier to secondary fermenter carboys. Still fizzing away. S.G. now reading 1.025. ... Cider Update (November 13, 2005) Approximately two weeks ago, I added a clarifying agent called Sparkaloid to the carboy of cider. It comes as a gray powder, and you prepare it by first boiling it in a cup of water for ten minutes, add it directly to the carboy, and mix well. ... Viognier Update (October 26, 2005) Fermentation still well under way. Current gravity readings: 1.042 taken at 63F, or about 1.0425. Seven days into fermentation, this is right on track. In another three days or so, I will transfer the wine to new fermenters where they can continue th... Fall 2005 Wine and Cider Recipes (October 15, 2005) This post begins with the fall harvest of 2005. It was time to harvest the grapes in our back yard. Niagara (white concord) grapes. Not enough, as it turned out, since neighborhood racoons ate quite a few in the week prior to harvest. So instead, I d... Oregon Hard Cider (January 20, 2005) Closely related to winemaking is the art of cidermaking. The following is a quick write-up of OW staff's latest ventures into cider production. Stay tuned for complete vinting notes of the latest wines! In late 2004, a few of us began experimenting ... Introducing The Home Vintner (October 24, 2004) What do you get when you take freshly pressed grape juice, pour it into a large vat in your garage, mix in bisulfites and nutrients, warm it up, and add a bunch of yeast? If you answered "liquid bread", you're wrong. If y...
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