Red wine making information

Red wine making – The first step in making wine is to have the wine grapes picked perfectly. The grapes need to be harvested at the proper time in their life cycle and also at the right time of the day to make sure that the acid and sugar are all at the right balance for the wines. Then the grape needs to be crushed and de-stemmed. In 90% of the grape varieties their larger stems should be removed. Following the instructions in the acid testing kit, test the total acidity. If the acidity level is less than 7% enough tartaric acid should be added to bring it to the normal level. Using hydrometer, test the sugar level, if any deficiency is found correct them by adding enough sugar to bring the sugar level to 22%. When the tests are completed and corrected the juice must be sulfited. With correct estimation add enough sulfite to get sulfur dioxide level between 50 and 130 ppm. Depending on the condition of the grapes the amount needed may vary, since moldy grapes may need the most concentrated dose. If you are adding 65 ppm SO2, then the yeast should be immediately added. Else if you are using more that 65 ppm then the yeast should be added 6 hours later. ¼ oz of yeast food should be added for every 100 lbs of grapes. The yeast should be spread evenly across the crushed grapes surface. After some with to twelve it must be stirred thoroughly. Stirring must be done twice a day until the fermentation process beings. During the fermentation process, the grape skins will come up and form a solid layer called cap. Once the cap has been formed it should be pushed back again into the fermenting just twice a day until they are ready to be pressed. During some point in the fermentation process, the temperature should be allowed to reach as high as 90° F. This is very important to extract the color from the grape skins. The rest of the fermentation can take place around 60-75°F. Additionally during fermentation you can add ML starter or this can be added at the end of the process if you have Enoferm Alpha strain of bacteria. When the desired level has been achieved the wine should be pressed from the grape skins. Then the wine should be transferred to the secondary fermentor, filling them ¾ full. Then the fermentation lock should be put to make the container rest for week or two. This has to be done to make all the visible signs of fermentation to be ceased. At the end when no more bubbles are coming through the lock, the wine can be removed and can be placed in storage containers. Top up the containers and let them strand for a month. After one month, rack the wine, add sulfite to about 20 ppm and place them in topped up containers for about four to six months. By late July or August, remove the wine from the rack, bottle them, cork the bottle and lay them down for bottle aging. During bottling time the sulfite level should be adjusted to 30 ppm. This can be done if you plan to store the wine. Most of the red wines will benefit from at lest one year of additional aging.