Anyone else making wine with Chilean Grapes?

[pumpkinman2012]

Just curious to see if anyone else took advantage of the Chilean grape season.
I have the following at various stages:
6 lugs of Malbec currently cold soaking - really nice grapes.
6 lugs of Merlot currently cold soaking - Not too bad, lost a few lbs to some rot.
3 lugs of Malbec fermenting with 3 Malbec Juice pails for a friend.
9 lugs -Bordeaux Blend - 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 11% Merlot - Cold Soaking
12 Gallons of Moscato - Really great tasting, fermenting with a new yeast, split the batch, trying a new enzyme as well on one.
12 Gallons Pinot Grigio - Really great tasting, fermenting with a new yeast, split the batch, trying a new enzyme as well on one.

Anyone else making anything?

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I guess that's a big...NO...LMAO....
And yes, I still have 9 cases of various brews bottled, I stocked up well to get me through the wine making season...LOL!

 

[Yooper]

Sounds awesome! I would have to travel (far) to get lugs of grapes, so unfortunately I rarely do it. I'm so jealous!

 

[pumpkinman2012]

I have some real nice batches of wine currently aging in oak barrels that I started this past fall, and 4 others from this fall that wont get rotated into the barrels for another 6 months, all of these taste amazing, even at 6 months, all of my reds get oak barrel time and age at least 18-24 months prior to bottling, the whites are usually ready to bottle in 6 months. I find myself making fewer varieties, but larger batches that we enjoy, or to blend, a super Tuscan blend will be made when the Sangiovese and Cab Sav get rotated out of the barrel, I have Merlot just waiting to be added to that blend as well.
It's almost time to buy larger barrels.
I'll be more than happy to send a bottle or two when they are ready.
Tom

 

[Twerp129]

Where does one acquire Chilean grapes in the northern hemisphere? Presumably the whites are destemmed, crushed, and pressed before being shipped? Do they send you Brix, TA, PH before it ships?

 

[canvasback]

i just got 2 buckets of cab sav juice they were out of grapes . trying it for the first time , do you have any pointers ?

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Great job Pumpkin, now you made me drool on my self at work! Lol. JK! No, this year I went north to BC Canada for my wife's Pinot Noir, and I have a French southern blend for myself. Moving.... again! So I have had to be conservative in my purchases this year. One of these days I will settle down like you and Yooper and get some serious batches done!

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Twerp129:
Most distributors that can get Fall grapes from California will also offer Chilean grapes in the spring, here in NY there are several, I prefer M&M in Hartford CT, they always have outstanding grapes and juice buckets. We can get the whites pre crushed and pressed, or in whole grapes, I prefer to get the whites as a Juice, I've never had a problem with the Chilean whites, and to be honest, I feel that the Chilean Moscato and Pinot Grigio are as good as any Californian Moscato and Pinot Grigio that I've purchased.
You can get the Brix, PH, TA and so2 from the distributor, I prefer to test them myself, one of the best purchases I've made was the Vinmetrica SC-300, the accuracy and ease of the testing process justifies the cost for me.
Canvasback:
To be honest, when I purchase red juice buckets, I make sure that I also purchase a lug of grapes as well and add at least 10 lbs of crushed grapes to the fermenting bucket, in this case, the lugs are 18lbs, I'd add the whole lug, this will render a wine that is very close to a wine made from fresh grapes, you'd be surprised just how much of a difference it will make, I also add opti-red, it improves body, color stability, and mouthfeel, which results in red wines with more intense color, rounder mouthfeel and better tannin integration in red wines. Add it during fermentation.
For Cabernet Sauvingnon, I would use BDX yeast from Lalvin, it will help to bring out the Berry, and Jam characteristics in the cab, help with the color stability and help to improve the mouthfeel.
WilliamSlayer:
Thanks! Pinot Noir takes a lot of patience and experience, my hat is off to you! I understand 100% about limiting yourself due to having other responsibilities, I may have to limit myself this fall, I have a bunch of plans for grapes, but I think that if I don't take my wife on vacation, she might murder me....LOL!!! She is a saint, she puts up with my beer and wine making..lol

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Lol. Same here. ;-)

 

[pumpkinman2012]

Here is the latest update:

The Malbec, Merlot and Bordeaux Blend have all finished fermenting, have been pressed and are currently going through Malolactic fermentation, no problems at all, as a matter of fact, this is the strongest MLF that I've had to date, visible airlock activity, very visible activity in the carboys.

I started 12 gallons of second run wine using all of the pressed grapes from all three batches, 24 lugs in all, it made a real nice Rhone style blend, it has gone through fermentation, and is currently going through MLF as well.

I bottled the 2nd run Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese from this past fall, and made a real nice 84% Sangiovese 16% Cabernet Sauvignon blend, that is incredible, and a Super Tuscan blend 77% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Merlot, all second run except for the Merlot.

If you haven't made a 2nd run wine, or never heard of it, I'll be happy to share the process with you.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

I would love to hear about that process on the second running this wine!

 

[pumpkinman2012]

WilliamSlayer,
This is a real nice way of getting "free" wine from the pressed grape skins, most people toss them out when they could be making a nice Rose' or even a fairly robust wine from them, depending how hard you press them for the first run, and how much water you add.

Don't let the name "second run," or any negative things you may have heard about it turn you away, Second runs have been used around the world throughout the history of winemaking.

Traditionally, second run wine is made with the pressed grapes/pomace after the 1st pressing, obviously, there’s plenty of juice, color and flavor in those skins.

As a general guideline, most people add 1 gallon of acidulated water (the addition of tartaric acid is needed) for every two gallons of juice extracted during the first pressing (that's the total of both the fermenter and the first pressing), this will render a light bodied Rose’ type wine, I like to add less water which gives me a wine that is a bit more robust than a Rose’, I add 7 grams of Tartaric acid per liter (28 grams per gallon) of water, Fermaid K, and I dilute enough sugar in the water to give me a starting gravity between 21- 23 Brix (1.080-1.090 SG) depending on what I’m making. The skins still have enough yeast on them to start fermenting.

These wines not only make a nice mellow daily drinking wine, or in my case, a real nice blending wine while I patiently wait for the first run wine to age, but they can make a real nice wine by adding less water, for my 2nd run Cabernet Sauvignon, I used 1/2 gallon of water for every 2 gallons, I am thrilled with it, everyone that has tasted it so far has compared it to a commercial wine.
The other added bonus is that I bottled these at 7 months, plus, you can use them as a good “top off” wine.

Again, I know that most people press the grapes fairly hard and then toss the pressed skins out, I have a problem with tossing out grape skins that may have something to still give back to us, and I like the idea of “free wine”…lol, you’d be surprised how good it can be when you don’t try to stretch it out too far with a lot of water.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

WilliamSlayer,
This is a real nice way of getting "free" wine from the pressed grape skins, most people toss them out when they could be making a nice Rose' or even a fairly robust wine from them, depending how hard you press them for the first run, and how much water you add.

Don't let the name "second run," or any negative things you may have heard about it turn you away, Second runs have been used around the world throughout the history of winemaking.

Traditionally, second run wine is made with the pressed grapes/pomace after the 1st pressing, obviously, there’s plenty of juice, color and flavor in those skins.

As a general guideline, most people add 1 gallon of acidulated water (the addition of tartaric acid is needed) for every two gallons of juice extracted during the first pressing (that's the total of both the fermenter and the first pressing), this will render a light bodied Rose’ type wine, I like to add less water which gives me a wine that is a bit more robust than a Rose’, I add 7 grams of Tartaric acid per liter (28 grams per gallon) of water, Fermaid K, and I dilute enough sugar in the water to give me a starting gravity between 21- 23 Brix (1.080-1.090 SG) depending on what I’m making. The skins still have enough yeast on them to start fermenting.

These wines not only make a nice mellow daily drinking wine, or in my case, a real nice blending wine while I patiently wait for the first run wine to age, but they can make a real nice wine by adding less water, for my 2nd run Cabernet Sauvignon, I used 1/2 gallon of water for every 2 gallons, I am thrilled with it, everyone that has tasted it so far has compared it to a commercial wine.
The other added bonus is that I bottled these at 7 months, plus, you can use them as a good “top off” wine.

Again, I know that most people press the grapes fairly hard and then toss the pressed skins out, I have a problem with tossing out grape skins that may have something to still give back to us, and I like the idea of “free wine”…lol, you’d be surprised how good it can be when you don’t try to stretch it out too far with a lot of water.

Very interesting! I would not have thought to add water. Hopefully I get to try this some time. Thanks alot for the insight! (Love this website for the idea sharing! )