Wine Grape NC 2012

Wine Making for
Beginners
Greg Cook, 4 Elements Winery
Bob Thaden, Tongue River Winery
ND Grape and Wine Association

annual meeting and conference
31 January 2014
http://4elementswinery.com
http://tongueriverwinery.com
Wine Making 101
Grow grapes
Pick grapes
Crush grapes
Ferment grapes
Bottle wine
Drink wine
Why Grapes?
Grapes have the right amount of sugar (18-30%) and the

right amount of acid (0.3-1.5%) to ferment to a beverage
that is self-preserving.
C6H12O6
(sugar)
yeast
2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2
(ethanol)
Wine from other fruits
Wine can be made from many

fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers,
even coffee and tea
Need to balance flavors, acid and

sugar to achieve a balanced wine
Often diluted with water but not always
Some great fruit wines are made from straight fruit like
grape wines
Grapes: Theres more than just sugar and acid
Astringent
Tannins
Anthocyanins
Quercetin
Resveratrol
Tannins
Sugars
Catechins
Acids
Water
Flavors come from many factors
Flavors from the grapes

Ferment with or without the skins (and stems)
Yeast strains matter
Development of aromatic esters
Aging in wood
Secondary fermentation
Red vs White Wine: Stylistic Differences
White wines are generally lighter in body, more delicate in
Red Wines are heavier in body, fuller in flavor, and have
flavors, and low in tannins (astringency)

greater tannin structure
Red vs White: Basic Wine Making Difference
RED WINES
WHITE WINES
Harvest grapes
Crush grapes
Ferment with skins
Press wine from skins
Malolactic Fermentation
Age, usually in oak barrels
Bottle wine
Harvest grapes
Crush grapes
Press juice from skins
Ferment juice only
Age, usually in steel
Bottle wine
Red Wine: Crush
Grapes are destemmed and crushed to break the skins open
Additives at crush:
but not break the seeds

Potassium Metabisulfite (K-Meta)
Pectinase
Wait 12-24 hours

Add fermentation tannins
Add Oak
Add Yeast
Red Wine: Pre-Fermentation Measurements
Measuring the Sugar (and potential alcohol)
Brix (or Specific Gravity)
Tools: Hydrometer (SG) or

Refractometer
10
Red Wine: Pre-Fermentation Measurements
Measuring the acid (Tartaric and Malic)
pH - a measure of acid strength

Titratable Acidity (Total Acidity) (TA) - a measure of the
total amount of acidic protons - buffered and not
Tools: pH meter, TA titration kit
11
Red Wine: Pre-Fermentation Adjustments
Low Sugar
High Sugar
Low Acid
High Acid
Add sugar to desired brix level

Dilute with water
Add tartaric acid (in small increments) and retest
Dilute with water or blend with lower acid juice, chemical
deacidification
12
Red Wine: Primary Fermentation
Hydrate yeast according to instructions and pitch into must

Go-Ferm, yeast hydration nutrient
Fermentation should start in earnest in a day or two
Punch down the cap at least twice a day
13
Yeast Nutrients - e.g. Fermaid K
After ~1/3 of fermentation done, add nutrient

add all at once or half now and half after ~2/3
fermentation
Diammonium Phosphate (DAP)
If nitrogen levels low or fruit is not optimal (underripe or

damaged, add DAP
14
Red Wine: Malolactic Fermentation
ML Fermentation converts Malic acid into Lactic acid
This lowers the acidity some and produces a smoother,

rounder flavor for the wine. The formation of diacetyl can
produce buttery flavors in the wine.
Use a ML Bacteria culture suitable for your pH. ML nutrients
Add during primary fermentation
can be used, e.g. ACTI-ML
Can be added around day 3

Often added near the end of primary fermentation
15
Red Wine: Malolactic Fermentation
ML Fermentation can take 4-8 weeks to complete

ML bacteria very sensitive to sulfite, so do not sulfite until
ML fermentation is complete
ML fermentation monitored by paper chromatography
16
When fermentation is near complete it is time to press and

rack into a secondary container with an airlock
SG will be close to 1.000 and CO2 production will slow

down. Skin cap may no longer be lifted up on top of wine.
17
Red Wine: Secondary Fermentation
Once fermentation slows down, it is important to prevent
Wine is transferred into a carboy (or tank/barrel) and fitted
exposure to oxygen as much as possible

with an airlock.
18
Red Wine: Secondary Fermentation
The last bit of sugar fermentation

should be complete within about 4
weeks (SG <0.998)
ML fermentation may take longer

To speed up ML fermentation, keep
the carboy in a warm location
19
Red Wine: Racking and Settling
After fermentation is complete and

sediments begin to settle out, rack
the wine into a clean carboy and
add potassium metabisulfite (Kmeta)
1/4 tsp (1.5 g) per 5 gallons will

be about 50 ppm
You can add oak staves, cubes or

spirals if you want to infuse oak in
your wine
20
Red Wine: Bottling
Once the wine is brilliantly clear, it can be bottled

If you are making a dry wine, just make sure you have
adequate sulfite levels and bottle
IF you desire a sweeter wine:
Add sugar to desired sweetness level and add

Potassium Sorbate* in addition to sulfite
Professional sterile filtration is done commercially
Bottle the wine dry and add sugar when serving
*ML fermentaiton with sorbate present will ruin your wine with a geranium smell and taste
21
White Wine
Process is essentially the same, except:
After grapes are crushed, the must is allowed to settle,
Grapes pressed first and only juice is fermented - some
preferably cold, for ~12 hours

exceptions (e.g. orange wine)
ML fermentation is generally not done for most, but can
be done for some styles
Bentonite fining is recommended to prevent protein
hazes later on
Cold stabilization recommended to prevent tartrate
crystals from forming in the bottle
22
Cold Stabilization
Potassium salts of tartaric acid precipitate out of wine when

it is chilled. For white wines, if the wine is not cold
stabilized, this may happen when you chill your bottles
Chill the bulk wine at ~25F for at least two weeks then rack
the wine off the crystals that form. Seeding can help.
23
Equipment Needed
Food grade primary fermentation container
Bucket with a loose fitting lid. Should be able to hold

about 40% more volume than your batch size due to
foaming and rising cap
Secondary containers
Glass or Plastic carboy - recommended to have at least

two for racking purposes ($25-$50)
Hydrometer and test jar (and/or refractometer) ($10)

pH meter (small portables $50-$250)
24
Equipment Needed
Sulfite analyzer ($250)

Gram scale is useful ($25)
Hoses, racking canes, silicone bungs, airlocks, bottling
wands, corker
FermCalc software - free - on-line. Very useful for
http://www.winemakingtalk.com is a great on-line forum for
calculating additives, sugar, alcohol, etc.

new winemakers
25
Chemicals and Additives Needed
Yeast, yeast hydration nutrients, yeast fermentation nutrients

Potassium metabisulfite
50 ppm = ~0.3 g per gallon, 1/4 tsp per 5 gallons
Potassium sorbate
to prevent fermentation of sweetened wine
1/2 tsp per gallon
Fining agents: bentonite, sparkaloid, superkleer, others

Pectic enzyme, Lysozyme, ML Bacteria
26
Dont forget to label your wine!
27

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Wine Making for

ND Grape and Wine Association

Wine Making 101

Grapes have the right amount of sugar (18-30%) and the

Wine from other fruits

Wine can be made from many

Need to balance flavors, acid and

Grapes: Theres more than just sugar and acid

Flavors come from many factors

Flavors from the grapes

Red vs White Wine: Stylistic Differences

White wines are generally lighter in body, more delicate in

Red Wines are heavier in body, fuller in flavor, and have

flavors, and low in tannins (astringency)

Red vs White: Basic Wine Making Difference

Red Wine: Crush

Grapes are destemmed and crushed to break the skins open

but not break the seeds

Wait 12-24 hours

Red Wine: Pre-Fermentation Measurements

Measuring the Sugar (and potential alcohol)

Brix (or Specific Gravity)

Tools: Hydrometer (SG) or

Red Wine: Pre-Fermentation Measurements

Measuring the acid (Tartaric and Malic)

pH - a measure of acid strength

Tools: pH meter, TA titration kit

Red Wine: Pre-Fermentation Adjustments

Add sugar to desired brix level

Red Wine: Primary Fermentation

Hydrate yeast according to instructions and pitch into must

Fermentation should start in earnest in a day or two

Punch down the cap at least twice a day

Red Wine: Primary Fermentation

Yeast Nutrients - e.g. Fermaid K

After ~1/3 of fermentation done, add nutrient

Diammonium Phosphate (DAP)

If nitrogen levels low or fruit is not optimal (underripe or

Red Wine: Malolactic Fermentation

ML Fermentation converts Malic acid into Lactic acid

This lowers the acidity some and produces a smoother,

Use a ML Bacteria culture suitable for your pH. ML nutrients

Add during primary fermentation

can be used, e.g. ACTI-ML

Can be added around day 3

Red Wine: Malolactic Fermentation

ML Fermentation can take 4-8 weeks to complete

Red Wine: Primary Fermentation

When fermentation is near complete it is time to press and

SG will be close to 1.000 and CO2 production will slow

Red Wine: Secondary Fermentation

Once fermentation slows down, it is important to prevent

Wine is transferred into a carboy (or tank/barrel) and fitted

exposure to oxygen as much as possible

Red Wine: Secondary Fermentation

The last bit of sugar fermentation

ML fermentation may take longer

Red Wine: Racking and Settling

After fermentation is complete and

1/4 tsp (1.5 g) per 5 gallons will

You can add oak staves, cubes or

Red Wine: Bottling