VASCM: Wine question

[Jim Alberti]

Hi

Very true.... As I had said in my earlier communication, wine making is like cooking.
learn enough to cook a couple of good dishes. go from there.
Some discussions have been made about the subject since the Roman times.
Whether or not to ferment in Tufa concrete in-ground tanks or above ground in clay... make the heavy stuff, mostly done in those times.
The average Roman usually diluted there wine with water when serving, to prolong the "party" and not to get too drunk!

Jim Alberti,
Alberti Vineyards 

> On Sep 29, 2013, at 12:05 PM, Joe Miller <jmiller1068 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Jimmi:
> 
> I understand your desire to know and understand various choices in winemaking, but if you asked a dozen very experienced wine makes what is the correct temperature to ferment a wine at or what sugar should you press, you could well get a dozen different answers or even more. The fact is that there is no one, well documented answer to many of these questions. Even one winemaker will tell you that they can do different things in different years depending on the grape characteristics. Different varieties need different handling, and even with the same variety different years can require different approaches.
> 
> I know this is not very helpful when you haven't had the experience to make these decisions based on past efforts, but some of them aren't that critical. Given the same lot of grapes, one vintner may press at 5, another at 1, and a third when the wine is dry and the cap has sunk. All three wines may turn out rather similar or different, depending on many variables. For example, I like to press before the wine is dry, so that continued fermentation after the press will help to purge the wine of air it picked up during the press, but some great wines spend more than three weeks in the fermenter, the last with the cap on the bottom. Because there are so many variables in winemaking and so few specific highly defensible ways of doing things, you can get many answers to a single question. So I would suggest you not only look at the answer that is given, but above all what it is based on, and then decide what makes sense to you.  
> 
> Not very helpful I'm afraid...
> 
> Joe
> 
>> On Sep 28, 2013, at 2:42 PM, Jim Varano wrote:
>> 
>> Members, I know this is a vineyard forum...but I know there are a few who make wine...I am new at this and I have read a few books.....and what I have read is that you press when Brix are at 0... I went to a place in Campbell for a 300 liter stainless barrel.....and this person said for Pinot Noir you press at 4 Brix?......he seemed knowledgeable ...but that threw me...no where else have I found that figure of 4 Brix for pressing.....
>> 
>> Is this correct? I am doing nothing fancy...just want to make a nice wine, using the "norm" in making it.
>> Thanks
>> Jimmi V.
>> Spider Mountain Vineyards
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
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