Chronicles of the Long Shot Farm

Wine

Stalled Fermentation?

Posted on

About two weeks we added yeast to our apple cider, which was fermenting in the barn.  We checked the progress for the first few days and it seemed ok, but then we got sidetracked with the new baby, and sort of forgot about the fermenting apple cider. 

We finally went out to check on it yesterday, thinking that fermentation should be completed. But the temperature in the barn had dropped enough during the last week to stop the yeast from growing further.  Luckily, the cider was not spoiled, it had a slight alcohol taste – enough to keep it from spoiling –  but it was still really, really sweet (at 19° Brix). 

Jeff racked the cider into carboys and brought them into the kitchen.  Once they warmed up – which took all night – the yeasts “went to town”.  Each carboy looks like it is boiling from all the fermentation activity and the airlocks are just bubbling.  It sounds like there is water running in the kitchen.

Wine Chemistry

Posted on
Checking for total acidity
using our Vinmetrica

We’ve been getting better at analyzing and testing our grapes and juice.  Each year, we’ve bought additional “tools” and learned more about the chemistry and microbiology of wine.  Our last major purchase was a Vinmetrica system earlier this year, for checking pH, Total Acidity and SO2. 

Tina is currently taking a wine chemistry class at the local community college and got to use more sophisticated equipment during a “hands-on” lab this weekend.  This included an ebulliometer, a cash still and an  aeration-oxidation apparatus. We also did some chromatography and had lots of practice with different titration methods.

Checking sulfur dioxide levels
via the aeration oxidation method
Using a Cash Still to determine
levels of volatile acidity
 

Wine Supplies and Pears

Posted on

After measuring all the “vital data” for our newest batch of wine, we realized that our Total Acidity reading were a bit high, and decided to try for malolactic fermentation this time.  Of course we should have anticipated this option much earlier and ordered or bought the necessary bacterial culture.  Unfortunately, the local wine supply store did not have what we needed, and we only had a short window of time to add the bacteria (toward the end of the yeast fermentation). The closest store we could find that had it in stock was in Bethlehem, PA.  While Tina made the trip to buy malolactic bacteria, Jeff and Lars went to a friend’s farm to pick pears:

 

All in all it turned out to be a productive weekend, we got 9 bushels of pears, and we were able to inoculate our fermenting chambourcin grapes with malolactic bacteria.

More Preparation for Grape Harvest

Posted on

We had thought that we’d be picking our grapes on Labor Day weekend, but we ended up postponing it just a bit more.  Our total Brix readings were just around 20, and the pH level was around 3.1.  None of the grapes seem to be rotting, shriveling or dropping off, and the netting seems to be very protective.   And there is no rain in the forecast to dilute the grape juice.  So we continue to measure sample grapes for sweetness and acidity, as the sugar levels still go up.

So rather than picking grapes, we spent more time cleaning up the barn where we are planning to ferment the grapes.  We scrubbed one of the stainless steel tanks, which we converted from its former use in a milking parlor to a wine fermenter.  We had to lay it on its side, in order to crawl into it – first to remove a piece of metal that had been welded into the bottom of the tank (a “vortex diverter” for the automated washing system).  This was done with a dremel cutting tool, which was incredibly effective.  Duff took care of the cutting – Tina took are of the scrubbing.   

While the tank was outside the barn, we completely emptied out that section and pressure washed it down.  The press is sitting outside, where it still will need to be cleaned and sanitized as well.   Now we have the tank moved back, and it is sitting upright.  We still need to level it before we can use it, but everything is coming together!