From Harvest to Port (Muscadine)

[tally350z]

I have started this thread because this weekend I am going to harvest about 60 to 70 pounds of Muscadine grapes and make a port. I will try to get as many pictures as possible. Should be fun process, if anyone has any tips or tricks to harvesting please let me know..

 

[Photony]

Just be selective about the grapes you pick and make sure they are ripe. If you're picking bronze, the ripe ones will seem to have a translucent skin. If you're picking dark, pick only the solid purple ones. And be sure to taste along the way to confirm your choices!

 

[tally350z]

Yea, I'm def going to be doing some sampling as I go. Also this run out ther is too see how ripe they are at the moment. If they are not quite ripe enough I will go back next week or two. I'm also going to be bringing my refractometer to test the brix..

 

[tally350z]

It was pretty fun picking the grapes..I only got a few picks because a storm was coming in..I managed to get 40 pounds.. I only picked the nice deep purple ones..

 

[twofor1]

What recipe will you be using? I will be getting about 6 gallons of muscadine next weekend and trying to find a solid recipe.

 

[tally350z]

I really don't have a recipe that I will be following.. I will post my procedure and recipe when I begin..

 

[tally350z]

So here is a gereral idea/recipe that I will be attempting.
5 gallon batch
40lbs of Muscadine grapes. De-stemed and crushed in a big nylon bag(as to remove later). Bring the must up to 1.100 with water and sugar as needed. Will post more details on how much I used when I attempt this. Add 1/4 tsp pectic enzyme, 3/4 tsp yeast nutrient, 1.5 oz mild-hungarian oak, 5 crushed Campden tablets. Let sit for 12-18 hours. Than pitch yeast, using Lalvin EC-1118.
Once gravity has reached 1.010 I will add more sugar to boost the gravity back up to 1.020 and let that ferment out. Repeat the process until the yeast craps out. Once the yeast craps out I will fortify with brandy(still not sure how much, will use the calculator to determine what I want to bring the % too).

Anyone have an input on this recipe/process?

 

[Photony]

At 8#s per gallon you might want to check the acid level as muscadines are usually high in acid. Adjust if necessary.

 

[tally350z]

I don't have a way to test the acidity level in the must. I know they are highly acidic, so should I just go about adding some potassium bicarbonate to the must to be sure..

 

[Photony]

I would probably just go ahead with your recipe and see how you like it after fermentation. You can adjust it then if you think it's too high. Also, it gives you a chance to order a test kit (under $15).

 

[tally350z]

Used 30 pounds of the grapes in the 6 gallon batch. 7 lbs of sugar and go an OG of 1.102.
Pitched the Montrachet yeast on it after about 12 hours with the yeast nutrient, campden tabs, and pectic enzyme. I saved the 10 lbs of grapes cause I have an idea and wanted to see what some people think. I am going to mash to grapes and get the juice from it. The gravity of the grapes is 1.055, rather than using more simple sugar additions I will use the juice to crank up the alcohol %, while getting some more flavors from the juice? Is this a decent idea? How will I measure the final alcohol %?

 

[tally350z]

Checked the gravity yesterday and its down to 1.065. When it gets down to around 1.020 I am going to add some sugar to boost the abv. I also just bought my brandy, I am going to use Paul Mason Grande Amber. I tasted some it is nice and smooth with a decent oak flavor coming through. So far the plan is to add 750ml once the wine gets to around 17-18ish%...