"Negodki" wrote in message
...
"Dan Emerson" wrote:

I generally press when the brix is zero, or the gravity is 1.0 or
less. There is usually still a cap. Should I wait until the cap
falls? I've heard about falling cap but have never seen this.
Impatient or a worry wart I guess.

A "standard practice" is to press when the Brix falls to 0, or soon
thereafter. Others press around 1.010. Others wait until the cap "falls"
(or
more accurately, sinks), and there are no more floating solids. Others
wait
3-4 weeks (which takes special methods to protect the wine from
oxidation).

The "special methods" aren't all that complicated. It's just a matter of
keeping air away from the wine and stirring the must to keep it from going
reductive (H2S). I spritz the top of the must and then smooth a trash bag
down against the surface of the must. Laying a few pieces of wood down on
the plastic to keep it in contact with the wine helps. That keeps air away
pretty well.

The longer you wait, the more extraction of colour, flavour, and tannin,
will occur, and the heavier a wine will result. And the longer you wait to
press, the longer you will have to wait to drink the wine, since extended
maceration usually means much more aging is required.

That's not necessarily true. Pressing at zero Brix will tend to yield a
wine with harsher tannins than pressing a couple of weeks beyond dryness.
The extended maceration encourages polymerization of harsh tannins into big,
soft tannins. Also, the color tends to be reabsorbed by the pulp during
extended maceration.

If I wait until the cap falls, do I have to use an inert gas? What
about pressing after the cap falls. Pressing seems so violent.

Pressing isn't a problem. The aeration is good for a young wine -
especially a red. Prior to and after pressing it is necessary to take
protective measures with the wine (topping up, inert gas, sulfiting), but
not while you're actually pressing it.

As long as the cap is floating, the fermentation is producing enough CO2
to
protect the wine in the primary, and there is no need to use an inert gas.

Not true! The low rate of CO2 production may lure you into a false sense of
security, but if the CO2 gassing is not _considerable_, the surface of the
must is a good breeding ground for all the spoilage organisms. They only
need a _little_ bit of air to survive and then thrive.

Once the cap sinks, the ferment is probably complete, or very close to
being
complete, and you should press imediately (or take steps to protect the
wine
from air). I don't understand the reference to violence. First, one should
always press gently, and secondly, you have to press sometime, and it's no
more violent before the cap drops than afterwards.

I tend to agree, but I always press a good deal harder than _gently_.
There's a lot of good stuff in the heavy press fraction. It might be
advisable to keep the heavy press fraction separate for awhile - possibly
for a different fining regimen than the free run and light press wine - but
I usually end up incorporating it into the main lot.

When I press, I generally scoop the whole mess, juice and pulp into
the press and press away. Should I try to try to wait until the cap
falls and try to draw off the juice from the pulp before pressing?

You are using the correct procedure. There is no need to "try to draw off
the juice from the pulp before pressing", nor would it be possible without
straining. Even though the pulp is no longer floating, it is still
suspended
throughout the must. If you waited for it to sink to the bottom, and
clear,
then you would be asking for problems.

However, you should use a press bag or fiberglass screening in the press,
and pour the juice through it, letting the solids accumulate in the press
basket. Only when there is no more free-run juice, should you begin
pressing, and then as gently as possible. It takes longer, but
hard-pressing
will force undesireable tannins and bitter flavours from the skins. Some
people separate the free-run juice from the pressed juice (and then
combine
it later), but I don't see the point in this.

See my comments above re differential fining.

I want my wines, cabernet and pinot, to have that big mouth feel
(which at least my Pinot doesn't have) and I think my past pressing
practices may play a part. Also, I don't use barrels, and that may be
part of it too.

There are many factors in achieving "mouth feel". Barrel aging imparts
tannin (which can be simulated with oak chips) and a mellowness which
cannot
be duplicated. But barrels are expensive and more trouble than glass or
stainless steel carboys, so one must decide how important that mellowness
is
to them.

The best way to get oak character into glass or stainless fermented wines is
to ferment with wood chips in the primary, and carry them along as long as
necessary to achieve the desired effect. Sure, barrels are better but you
can do _very_ well with just chips and an occasional racking.

Tom S