http://bbrblog.com/2008/10/01/champagne-sent-up-in-dispatches/ The closest link between the people that make wine and the people that drink it Mon, 14 May 2012 21:29:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.3 http://bbrblog.com/2008/10/01/champagne-sent-up-in-dispatches/comment-page-1/#comment-26999 Wilanda Tue, 27 Mar 2012 06:42:46 +0000 http://bbrblog.com/2008/10/01/champagne-sent-up-in-dispatches/#comment-26999 If you're planning on geiang your wine for some time (>1 years) the yeast you use will not really change your wine. Most aromas formed by yeasts are unstable and will disappear with time, although the yeast-manufacturing-companies want us to believe something else. Personally I believe we don't need artificial yeast for making red wines, but anyway. Considering ripening: sugar-acid ripeness is just one of the things we look at. If there is already raisining occuring, I expect the sugar content to be sufficient.I would however taste the grapes and test especially the seeds. The seeds have to be ripe, if not they can give your wine some bad/bitter tanins (tannin ripeness). The seeds are ripe when they are (caramel) brown, and when you chew on them they should be crispy.The third ripeness is aroma ripeness. This is something very difficult to measure, as most aromas in the grape are fixed to the sugar in the grape, and are only liberated during fermentation. If you don't want to over-oak your wine,use the smallest dose mentioned on the package. I would use a small proportion (say 2 gram per liter) during fermentation: it will help to stabalize the color. When you press off the wine, throw the chips away you used during fermentation, and add the other part of the chips. Good luckJP If you’re planning on geiang your wine for some time (>1 years) the yeast you use will not really change your wine. Most aromas formed by yeasts are unstable and will disappear with time, although the yeast-manufacturing-companies want us to believe something else. Personally I believe we don’t need artificial yeast for making red wines, but anyway. Considering ripening: sugar-acid ripeness is just one of the things we look at. If there is already raisining occuring, I expect the sugar content to be sufficient.I would however taste the grapes and test especially the seeds. The seeds have to be ripe, if not they can give your wine some bad/bitter tanins (tannin ripeness). The seeds are ripe when they are (caramel) brown, and when you chew on them they should be crispy.The third ripeness is aroma ripeness. This is something very difficult to measure, as most aromas in the grape are fixed to the sugar in the grape, and are only liberated during fermentation. If you don’t want to over-oak your wine,use the smallest dose mentioned on the package. I would use a small proportion (say 2 gram per liter) during fermentation: it will help to stabalize the color. When you press off the wine, throw the chips away you used during fermentation, and add the other part of the chips. Good luckJP

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