http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html Answers to questions received through the Vancouver Amateur Winemakes Association website. Tues, 17 Jan 2006 16:15:00 GMT en-us Vancouver Amateur Winemakers Association webmaster@vawa.net http://www.vawa.net/Images/Barrel4.gif http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#zinfandel Q: I have a zinfandel from 2003 and it is weak in colour and body, but has a spicy, fruit forward nose. Are there techniques I might have employed to obtain more colour and body? What grapes are best for blending with zinfandels and what are the usual proportions for blending? D. Ainslie http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#zinfandel http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#bigreds Q: I've purchased good quality Cab grapes and I want to end up with a big red wine that's drinkable after 2 or 3 years of aging. How much skin contact should I be giving it, and how exactly do I know when to press? J. George http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#bigreds http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#vegetalsmell Q: Last fall I had problems with off aromas being produced by my fermenting wine. Not the sometimes rotten egg smell I get which can be corrected by adding DAP or a complete nutrient. This smell was more metallic or sewage-like. Is there any way of preventing this problem? E. Urquhart http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#vegetalsmell http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#fizzyreds Q: Last Fall I purchased some Yakama Merlot on which I did a MLF. In late April I filtered and bottled a 5 gallon carboy of the Merlot because I needed the carboy for some different wine. On Memorial Day weekend I had company over and opened a bottle - although young it had a great nose and was very smooth. One month later I opened another bottle and to my surprise the wine was fizzy. It did not pop when I opened it but when poured it had a hazy cloud of bubbles in the middle of the glass and I could feel it in my mouth. I tested the sugar which was bone dry and did a MLF test which came out with just a slight trace of MLF (99% was complete). I measured the S02 and I had 50 ppm. Later I went to try the bulk of the Merlot which I had in a stainless steel tank and it also was slightly fizzy. What's going on? C. Joyce http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#fizzyreds http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#oxygenation Q: True or false: Exposing the primary fermenting skins/juice to oxygen is good. Exposing fermenting juice in carboys to oxygen is bad. If both are true, then where does the oxygen/no oxygen point occur? C. Joyce http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#oxygenation http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#va Q: I allowed the headspace in my barrel to get to big and had a lactobacillis contamination. I treated it with lysozyme, but ended up with noticeable VA and ethyl acetate odors. Is there any way to reduce the odors, or treat? E. Urquhart http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#va http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#chardonnaysurlees Q: I am barrel fermenting some Chardonnay and am thinking about leaving the wine " sur lees " for a couple of months following fermentation, which I understand is a fairly common practice at many wineries. However, other sources seem to insist that failure to first rack off the gross lees will likely result in off aromas and flavors. How do you reconcile these views? T. Schillemore http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#chardonnaysurlees http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#spritzy Q: I am a new wine maker in New Jersey. I made my first batch this year with my father and have a question about a phenomenon I've experienced with my wine. After crushing and fermenting for about a week, we placed our wine in 5 gal glass jugs for continued fermentation (last September). In late December after the fermentation stopped, we decanted the wine into other 5 gal jugs. As we did that, I took a taste and noticed that it was bubbly, not visibly, but when you drank it you could feel it on your tongue. Otherwise it tastes great. Do you have any idea why this has occurred? J. George http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#spritzy http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#mycoderma Q: I have a batch of Cab Franc that I have been bulk aging in two 20 L carboys, with about ½ inch of air space below a solid bung. It had been developing nicely and I was very happy with it. Then one day I noticed that a thin, patchy, white-grey film floating on the surface of the wine in both carboys, and when I pulled the bungs the wonderful nose was gone. Is there anything I can do to restore this wine? D. Vick http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#mycoderma http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#fermentors Q: I'm concerned with the smell of plastic fermentors leaching into the fresh grape juice as it ferments. Given the three different FDA approved choices below, which would be considered the best choice for use as a primary wine fermentor, about two weeks time around a temp of 80°F: High Density Polyethylene Resin - maximum service operating temperature 110°F, OR Polypropylene Resin - maximum service operating temperature 220°F, OR Polyvinylidene Fluoride Resin - maximum service temperature 230°F? J. McMaster http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#fermentors http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#PinotNoir Q: I am currently maturing 2006 Pinot Noir from excellent fruit I purchased in the Yarra Valley, a cold climate near Melbourne, Australia. The yields were cut back to approximately one ton per acre, so the concentration and flavours are fantastic. The wine was fermented with wild yeast, and no enzymes were added. It has just finished MLF and is now resting on fine lees in two-year-old French oak. Can you tell me how long it should take to achieve the mouthfeel benefit from yeast autolysis? Also, I am a little unsure of rigorous mixing with a cordless drill as suggested in some texts. Is that too much of a rough treatment for the wine? I tasted a bottle sample with food and found it exceptionally fruity, with a highly jammy, sticky aroma. I am just not happy with the development of the body at this early stage. I am sure that more time with the lees will ensure the creamy texture I am trying to achieve. Just on that, do you know if the 'barnyard' aromas common to lovely burgundies are developed in the fermentation process or from the ageing process? C. Joyce http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#PinotNoir http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#potcarb Q: You have a link on your website to an article on De-acidification Using Potassium Carbonate". I have tried using potassium carbonate on overly acidic wine from several BC and Washington grapes, but the rate of acid reduction has been inconsistent and generally much lower than suggested in the table shown in the article. Is there a reason for this? B. Collings http://www.vawa.net/winemaking-faq.html#potcarb