Harvest is coming soon.
Let’s pretend I’m a winemaker; the catalogues for winemaking supplies have just arrived and I’d better get with the program and order whatever I’ll need to make Harvest 2011 the Vintage of the Century.
What’s that, you say? Wine is made from grapes? I know, I know. But I’m a modern winemaker, with a scientific bent.
I’ve been checking the crop in the field, and honestly, I’m not sure it will be the best I’ve ever seen this year. We had some mildew in July that was never quite controlled; that acre on the southwest slope is looking a little raisined; and yellow finches just punctured the grapes near the woods.
This will be a year when a winemaker like me needs help.
I get several catalogues from winery supply companies. But let’s choose just one, American Tartaric Products, and see what they’ve got that can help me out.
Now, as you know, wine is made when the sugar in grapes is fermented by action of yeast that converts it into alcohol. It’s simple: crush the fruit, wait for the indigenous yeast from the field or in the cellar to start gobbling up the sugar and pretty soon you’ll have wine. Let the sediment from yeast and fruit particles settle and then bottle the stuff.
Ah, but we can’t trust those native yeasts to make a good fermentation. What if they are the same yeasts that were used years ago to make sauerkraut or vinegar in this same building?
What if the native microflora consist (as is common in areas with diverse crops) of
kloeckera apiculata
instead of the more desirable
saccharomyces cerevisiae
? Kloekera are not alcohol tolerant; they will die after an alcohol of about 7 percent is reached, leaving an unstable, sticky liquid whose smell has been described as most like “a banana wearing nail polish riding a bale of hay.”
I don’t want that to happen, so I’ll use a cultured dry-active yeast, similar to the kind used to make bread, but isolated from successful wine fermentations in many parts of the world. There are dozens to choose from, with names like “Saint Georges S101” (kills dragons?) and “B.C. S103.” I Think I’ll try CK S102 for my sauvignon blanc; it’s selected from the Loire “for its ability to intensify aromatic profiles of white wines.”
The thing is, my sauvignon has rather thick skins this year. I’d better get some pectic enzyme to break down the skins and enhance varietal aromas. Zyme-O-Aroma should do the trick, though I could try Zero-Cinnazyme in case there could be vinyl phenols in my wine.
Now, the yeast will get my fermentation off to a good start, but I know from past experience that my SB tends to be low in nitrogen, especially since the fruit condition isn’t great, so I won’t let the juice have much skin contact. So, better safe than sorry, I’ll add some yeast nutrient, maybe Bioferm Equilibre, which “decreases organoleptic deviation risks.” It’s like giving the yeast some vitamins and minerals in a nice protein shake.
I think I’ll try some barrel fermentation of my SB this year, but I can’t afford barrels at $900 for a 60-gallon container. I love that hint of oak, vanilla and smoke from barrels, and I can achieve that by adding some Heinrich Oak Alternative Oak Shavings, which I can add right at the crusher to give my wine “structure, toastiness and vanilla.”
If the fruit comes in with too much acidity (as it might this year), I can adjust it by adding some potassium carbonate (potash). On the other hand, if the pH is too high, I can lower it with some tartaric, fumaric, malic or citric acid.
Sometimes, the wine needs a little fine-tuning once it’s fermented. To keep it from turning brown, I’ll have some Defy-Ox (mostly ascorbic acid, or vitamin C) handy. In case it does turn brown, I’ll get some Phenol-Fine clarifier and deodorizer.
To make sure it’s not cloudy, I’ll add some pure bentonite clay, Puri-Bent. Later, before bottling, I’ll probably smooth out any harshness with Isinglass, made from “collagen from the swim bladders of sturgeon” and not (as I’m sure you thought) curtains from the surrey with the fringe on top.
Before bottling, I may use some LGA-20 Gum Arabic Solution that comes from Acacia trees and “increases roundness on the palate as well as body and structure.”
Maybe not, though. I hate messing with nature.
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