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1. Start with the finest gapes available ("one cannot make good wine from bad grapes"). SBE obtained the grapes for the second annual grape expedition from the central coast community of Paso Robles. The Paso Robles region has a long history of grape growing and wine making dating back to it beginnings in 1797 at the Mission San Miguel Archangel. Today, the central coast is an up and coming premium grape growing region. The area is home to more than 25 wineries and 80 vineyards growing grape on gentle rolling hills.
The grape chosen for this years vintage is the Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet Sauvignon is of the classic vitis vinifera grape variety. Our thanks again to the Castoro Cellars Winery who supplied the grapes.
2. Throughout the wine making process enjoy your best homemade wine or home brew with friends. The winemaker should thoroughly enjoy the process of converting bunches of sweet grape berries into fine wine. This process has historically brought people together at harvest time to celebrate the end of the summer and enjoy wine from harvests of years past.
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FIRST DAY
After grape crushing, three factors -- sugar, titratable acidity and pH -- are measured and if necessary adjusted. Then potassium metabisufite (camden) is added to sterilize the must (crushed, unfermented grapes). Yeast will not be added until day two.
Sugar -- Wine makers measure sugar in degrees bailing (Specific gravity = degrees bailing * 0.004 + 1). The sugar for our Cab measured in at 23 degrees bailing which should give us a wine with approximately 13% alcohol.
Titratable Acidity (TA) -- Acids give crispness, brightness and thirst-quenching qualities to wines and are essential components of the balance in a fine wine. Titratable acidity is the measure of the total acidË in the grape juice expressed as the tartaric content. Tartaric acid is the most common acid in grapes (others include malic and critic). The optimum TA for a big red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon is between 0.60% and 0.80%. Determining TA involves neutralizing a predetermined amount of juice with an accurately measured alkaline solution. The point of neutralization is confirmed by use of an indicator, usually phenolphthalein. For those who would like to try this at home the kits are available by mail order.
Our cab measured in at 0.55% TA. California grapes are usually low in acid and we adjusted ours upward with the addition of tartaric acid. To adjust the must by 0.1% TA add 18 grams of tartaric acid per each five gallons of must.
Editors note: The wine maker screwed up and added too much tartaric acid. Fret not, since this extra acid can be removed from the wine at a later step without affecting the finished product. The winemaker apologizes for his poor math. He was enËjoying himself just a little too much during the crush.
pH -- Is the measurement of free hydrogen ions in a liquid. Free H ions are like atomic mouse traps, just waiting for anything they can chemically grab to bump into. This includes the human tongue, and it is their presence that the tongue interprets as sour. The ideal pH of a big red is about 3.4. Our Cab must measured in at the ideal of 3.4. The must pH is very important to the wine maker. A must above 3.6 may be subject to growth of spoilage organisms. Also, a lower pH helps the potassium metabisufite (camden) to free sulfites which sterilize the must. For example, a must at 3.8 pH would require twice the addition of camden compared to one at 3.4.
Potassium metabisufite -- Used to sterilize the must. Grape skins are full of wild yeast spores that will quickly reproduce in a sweet must. Also, has added benefits of reducing susceptibility to oxidation. We will use in moderation. One camden tablet is added for each gËallon of must for a free SO2 of 50 PPM at 3.4 pH.
SECOND DAY
Add yeast. Dry Montrachet wine yeast used. After the crush, the cap on the fermenting must is punched down twice a day until the must is pressed on the seventh day. For all of you that did not have the pleasure of punching down the cap on almost 1200 pounds of fermenting Cab grapes there is always next year.
SEVENTH DAY
Press the grape must and party with some friends. Add Leuconostoc bacteria culture to wine. The addition of Leuconostoc bacteria will induce malolactic fermentation. This converts malic acid to lactic acid. There are two beneficial effects to malolactic fermentation. One, the finished wine is will be more stable (not susceptible to undergoing this fermentation after bottling due to naturally occurring bacteria in the grapes). Furthermore, the wine TA will lower since lactic acid is less powerful than malic acid. This acid conversion will smooth out the wine flavor (ask Andy about what a transformatËion last years wine went through).
Transfer into carboys with air locks. A solution of potassium metabisufite should be always be used in wine airlocks. One camden tablet per cup of water should do the trick. The wine can draw airlock solution into it during its year long wait in carboys.
TWO MONTHS (Should be done before Christmas)
Rack into clean carboy(s). Be careful not to get the lees (light colored sediment at carboy bottom) into the wine. Top the wine to within 1 inch of the carboy top with a like wine purchased or last years wine.
Editors note: This is where the winemaker will correct his screwup. We will add a TBD amount of Potassium Bicarbonate to the wine the neutralize and precipitate his over addition of tartaric acid during the crush. The winemaker has already secured a source and will provide the required amount.
Next, cold stabilize the wine. Three weeks at between 25F and 32F is recommended. This treatment will precipitate bitartrate -- cream of tartËar or tartaric acid -- as well as other solids out of the wine. Further softening and clearing the wine. If this is not possible, don't worry many small wineries don't cold stabilize either.
2 TO 3 MONTHS LATER (Should be done before April)
Rack wine again. Top up. Add two crushed camden tablets to dissolved in cup of water then to wine.
3 TO 4 MONTHS LATER (Should be done before July)
Rack wine again. Top up.
1 TO 2 MONTHS LATER (Should be done during month of
August)
Time to oak the wine. Steam 2 ounces of oak chips (your choice of French or American oak) for 15 minutes. Tie glass marbles into a nylon knee high stocking toe area (guys, remember to ask your wife before helping yourself to her nylons!). This will anchor your oak in the carboy. Sterilize the knee high by soaking in a light bleach solution. Rinse well before adding oak and tying top of knee high.
Insert oak knee high into sterile carboy. Rack wine into and top up.
ONE TO FOUR WEEKS AFTER OAKING
DependinËg on oak flavor desired keep wine on oak for one to four weeks. Remember once you over oak there is no way to reduce the oak flavor other than cutting with wine. I recommend taste testing weekly during oaking. Once desired oaking achieved, rack wine add two crushed camden tablets and one teaspoon ascorbic acid (vitamin C, for anti-oxidation) to a cup of water then to wine and top up.
BOTTLE BEFORE NEXT YEAR'S GRAPE RUN
Soak corks in overnight in one quart of water with one camden tablet added before corking. Bottle in clean bottles saved over the year. Five gallons of wine will make 25 bottles of wine.
This is a brief summary on the wine process we will follow for our 1200 pounds of grapes. I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about wine making to study up. Some excellent references are available including: From Vines to Wines by Jeff Cox (my personal favorite) and Grapes into Wine by Philip Wagner.
For the more adventurous San Diego has a v(ery good climate for growing wine grapes. Your own wine will vary depending on your exact micro climate and the grape variety chosen. The book From Vines to Wines provides all the technical information needed to start your own small vineyard and produce wine from it. I have located a nursery in Madera, GeNo's Nursery (209) 674-4752, that will sell vines by mail order for the home vineyardist. The orders for the bare root grape cuttings need to be placed before the end of December. The vines will ship UPS in the middle of February.
A simple estimation of vineyard space needed is that one wine will require about 100 square feet and ten vines are required to make 80 pounds of grapes for five gallons of wine. Also, patience is required since the vines need three seasons before the first crop.