I thought it might be interesting to find out what home winemakers (or small
wineries) us for primary grape fermentation.

At present all I use is white plastic drums around 250L (60 Gal) with lids.
This appears to work o.k. for red wines but I am not comfortable continuing
with these for white fermentations (chardonnay/seyval) for fear of too much
oxidation.

I am thinking of getting a 250L SS Steel fermentation container with a
spout. Could this be used for reds also? I have also seen SS barrels
available. What would these be used for?

Thanks

Joe

Joe Ae wrote:

I thought it might be interesting to find out what home winemakers (or small
wineries) us for primary grape fermentation.

For my barrel I carry out the primary fermentation in a rubbermaid brute
container... it's only 120 litres though.

If I were doing less than 300 litres I would split my white up between
those 54 litre demijohns. I've recently acquired four for less than
C$50, keep an eye out on the classifieds and garage sales.

One day I wouldn't mind getting a nice floating lid SS tank though. A
man can dream...

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields

Hi Charles

How much head room do you leave when fermenting whites in 54L DJs?
Where do you ferment when you have 300L to do?

Joe

"Charles H" wrote in message
...
Joe Ae wrote:

I thought it might be interesting to find out what home winemakers (or
small
wineries) us for primary grape fermentation.

For my barrel I carry out the primary fermentation in a rubbermaid brute
container... it's only 120 litres though.

If I were doing less than 300 litres I would split my white up between
those 54 litre demijohns. I've recently acquired four for less than
C$50, keep an eye out on the classifieds and garage sales.

One day I wouldn't mind getting a nice floating lid SS tank though. A
man can dream...

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields

"Joe Ae" wrote in message
...
Hi Charles

How much head room do you leave when fermenting whites in 54L DJs?

I'm not Charles, but ~10% headspace is fairly safe.

Where do you ferment when you have 300L to do?

French oak barrels. The newer, the better.

Tom S

Joe Ae wrote:

Hi Charles

How much head room do you leave when fermenting whites in 54L DJs?
Where do you ferment when you have 300L to do?

As Tom said 10%, and I don't think I'd put grape solids in a demijohn,
and if I were using a yeast I knew foamed a lot I might leave more room,
especially if there is an empty demijohn kicking around.

I'd do 300L in a new barrel if the wine was one that merited such good
treatement, or if I were doing 300L or Riesling or Gewurzt I'd buy a SS
tank.

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields