fermentation – Winemaker's Academy

How to Detect a Stuck Fermentation

admin — Sat, 13 Sep 2014 02:44:00 +0000

Recently Barbara wrote in with this question on a possible stuck fermentation: How can I tell if my wine is stuck and not fermenting in the secondary fermenter? Should the airlock be bubbling? -Barbara Matt’s Answer: Hi Barbara, Thank you for reaching out with your question! Being able to identify a stuck fermentation is an …

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Carbonic Maceration of Wine Grapes

admin — Fri, 27 Dec 2013 01:45:12 +0000

Carbonic maceration is a unique method of fermenting grapes into wine. While it doesn’t completely ferment all of the sugar into alcohol, it does impart a unique character on the wine. What makes this method of fermentation so different is that you begin with whole, unbroken grape clusters still on the stems. The grapes are …

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How to Re-Hydrate Yeast

admin — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:09:10 +0000

Yeast, a winemaker’s best friend, and star of the show when it comes to fermenting grapes into wine. They make it all possible. With a properly hydrated yeast your fermentation will start strong and be less likely to get stuck. Which is why it’s critical to understand how to rehydrate yeast. What is dry yeast? Dry yeast is …

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Advanced Wine Making Techniques

admin — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 12:43:21 +0000

Complexity in wine separates the great wine from the rest. Creating a complex wine, however, requires the use of advanced wine making techniques. Here are three techniques you can start applying to your own wine making to take it to the next level. It doesn’t matter if you’re making wine from a kit, frozen must, …

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The Most Neglected Piece of Winemaking Equipment

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 04:50:18 +0000

It’s inexpensive, easy to use, and easy to neglect. The cost of neglecting it, however, is all the wine your making. So what is this little savior of wine? The airlock. Why Are Airlocks So Critical? First, they keep out all of the undesirable micro-organisms that seek to ruin your wine. Vinegar bacteria, lactic bacteria, and weak …

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The Anatomy of a Grape

admin — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 11:06:22 +0000

Knowing and understanding grapes is absolutely essential to making good wine. After all these little berries are what it all starts with right? By their very nature grapes are the perfect winemaking fruit. No other fruit contains the perfect amounts of sugar, acidity, and phenolic compounds to create such an amazing beverage. Any other fruit …

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The Epic Rise and Tragic Fall of a Yeast Empire

admin — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:09:28 +0000

The unfermented must is a vast and plentiful breeding ground for yeast. Food in the form of dissolved oxygen and sugar abounds. For the right strain of yeast this is the perfect place to establish a thriving empire. The winemaker sets the yeast in motion. They hydrates the yeast, preparing them to conquer this new-found …

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Checking the Specific Gravity and Racking

admin — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 08:00:31 +0000

After the primary fermentation has slowed down (after about 7 days) it’s time to check the specific gravity. What this tells us is how the density of the wine compares to that of water. Grape juice is more dense than water. Thus before we fermented the grape juice the specific gravity was over 1.0. As …

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Fermentation Has Begun

admin — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 22:39:34 +0000

Five days ago I began making a six gallon Shiraz wine kit. As I go I’m recording videos on how it’s done, here’s the first video on what comes in a winemaking kit. Today I wanted to share my first update on my wine. I’m four days into the wine making process. After the first day the …

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Fermenting Juice into Wine

admin — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:48:07 +0000

Now that we’ve pressed the juice out of our grapes it’s time to turn it into something more fun. Namely, alcohol! To do this we need to employ the help of our new best friend Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (yeast). A Little Background on Yeast Yeasts are tiny little organisms that reproduce through cell division. There are …

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