Wine contains a number of soluble proteins that are derived from grapes. In fact, several processes that enhance skin exposure or extraction time during harvest and fermentation can increase protein concentrations of wine. This includes basic harvest operations like mechanical harvesting, crush and destemming (as opposed to whole cluster pressing), and maintaining late press fractions. […]
Acetic Acid Bacteria Growth in New Vintage Red Wine
A Case Study The Problem A freshly fermented batch of red wine, wine pH above 3.65, was put into a variable capacity tank (VCT). Following the completion of malolactic fermentation, approximately 50 ppm sulfur dioxide was added to the wine. The lid to the tank was floated on the surface of the wine and sealed. […]
Set Your 2020 Winemaking Ambitions
Do you get to the end of the calendar year and feel desperate for a little time off? Unless you get to complete your winemaking season by September, physically, the end of the year can be grueling in the cellar. There’s a general rush to get as much completed as possible and stored away in […]
Time to Get ‘Darn Good’ at Making Wine!
“Can I cold stabilize my wines outside?” “I apply a nitrogen blanket to my wines. How long can I leave this inert gas blanket on the wine before I need to apply nitrogen again?” “Which bentonite is best for protein stability?” “I cold stabilized my wines, but after blending and bottling, tartrates formed in the […]
Top DG Winemaking 2019 Posts
If you’ve been following DG Winemaking this year, you’ll notice that a new post is distributed about every other week. While I try to keep topics timely, it’s apparent that some are of more interest than others. Below are five titles and blurbs of the most visited posts for the 2019 year. Whether you read […]
Cold Stability is More Than Taking Advantage of Cold Winter Temperatures
One of my favorite movie scenes about “wine diamonds” was in Amy Poehler’s recent movie release, “Wine Country.” (Note: this trailer is probably not appropriate for your little ones!) I believe the group was at Baldacci Family Vineyards (though they used an alternative name in the movie) when one of the tasting room employees was […]
