Historical pictures from Cross Creek Winery 96/97

9/21: We decided to pick next weekend no matter what. We expect to be around 24 degrees. Even if we stay flat at 23.1 degrees, we will be OK on sugar.

9/28 – Pick Day: We cleaned well the primary fermentation containers (PFCs), the grape crates, and the crusher/destemmer. This plus a fair bit of time planning took roughly six hours.

3:00: We took the netting off.

3:30-4:45: We picked the grapes, which after all the preparation work was very rewarding and peaceful. We were brutal in what we decided to keep. There was some powdery mildew and some shriveled fruit, but very little in what we kept. We estimate that we picked and used roughly two thirds of the fruit.

We got four not completely full grape crates:



The harvest was much less than we had expected. We changed from our plan of using the 30 gal. PFC to using the 10 gal. PFC.
 

We optimized, marking only the 30-gallon fermenter because it was so time consuming, but later wished we hadn’t when we had much less must than we planned for.

We fashioned a large funnel from the heavy plastic to channel the grapes from the destemmer into the grape crate we used as a crush basin.

We picked over the grapes again. We got 7½ gallons of must.

Measurements of the must taken:
 

Brix = 23° (hydrometer)

Brix = 22° , 22.2° (refractometer)

We used the hydrometer reading because it was more plausible given our last refractometer reading (and because we wanted the answer to be higher).

Temperature = 25° C = 77° F

pH = 3.35

TA = .58

 

Painfully arrived at since we are not good at adding liquid a drop at a time.

We did not standardize the NaOH.

These are good numbers; we are pleased.

Available alcohol = (23 – 3) x 1.083 x .59 = 12.78%. (This is exactly what we wound up with: 12.8%, what .)

6:50: We added 20 ppm K₂S₂O₅ (very low).
 

= 2 x (.08 g/gal for 10 ppm) x 7.5

= .16 g. x 7.5 = 1.2 g.

9/29 – Day after Pick: Wine at 62° at 9:00 a.m. We decided to wait until later in the day when the wine would be warmer before adding the yeast.

2:30: Wine is 67° .

7.5 gallons Þ 1½ packages of Pasteur Red yeast.

1.8g./gallon of Superfood Þ 13.5 g. for 7.5 gallons
 

@ ½ ounce = ½ package Superfood

2:45: Added the yeast and Superfood.

We speculated that the lower readings with the refractometer yesterday might have been due to our not stirring the wine. We stirred the wine and took a reading with the refractometer, getting 22.8° .

We also measured with the hydrometer: 23.9° .

The color of the wine has gone from a clear light grape purple yesterday to a deeper, somewhat opaque, raspberry purple this afternoon. The wine became even more opaque when we added the Superfood.

pH = 3.5 (in contrast to yesterday’s 3.35).

Wine temperature as measured with the pH meter = 22° C

9:00: Temperature of the must = 68° .

We added the 7.5 grams of vinaflora oenos malolactic bacteria (1g./gal.) and 1.5grams if Leucofood (.2g. Leucofood/gallon):

9/30 7:15 a.m.: Punched down the wine.

Room temperature = 60° .

Must temperature = 68° .

Hydrometer reading = 22.7° Brix.

We hear a reasssuring light fizzing from the must.

8:30 p.m.: Punched down a 6" cap (seems big).

Lots of grape frothy bubbles.

10/1 8:20 a.m.: Punched down and took more pictures (end of roll and start of roll).

Room temperature = 60° .

Must temperature = 66° .

Hydrometer reading = 17° Brix.

9:45 p.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 60° .

Must temperature = 72° .

Wednesday 10/2 8:30 a.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 60° .

Must temperature = 68° .

Hydrometer reading = 14.8° Brix.

7:30 p.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 64° .

Two lizards in the sink.

Thursday 10/3 7:30 a.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 60° .

Must temperature = 70° .

Hydrometer reading = 6.0° Brix.

7:30 p.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 70° .

Must temperature = 75° .

Hydrometer reading = 3.7° Brix.

Friday 10/4 8:00 a.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 58° .

Must temperature = 67° .

0-30° Hydrometer reading = 2° Brix. ^-5-5° Hydrometer reading = 3.5° Brix.

7:30 p.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 70° .

Saturday 10/5 8:00 a.m.: Punched down.

Room temperature = 66° .

Must temperature = 68° .

Hydrometer reading = .5° Brix (^-5-5° Hydrometer).

Sunday 10/5: We must have pressed and transferred to a 2.8 gallon carboy, a 1 gallon jug, and a .5 gallon jug (no journal entry made).

Monday 10/5: No visible change. All stoppers comfortably on.