It has everything to do with the time the wine was in contact with the
skins - how long was that? My guess is that becaues of the rigorous
fermentation, you may have not gotten enough extraction. Depending on
what you were trying to do, the 1.01 SG may even be longer than normal,
which is why I ask about the time.

Also, what temperature were you fermenting at?

Rob


Pino wrote:
I just made some merlot from grapes and I am disappointed in the
color
intensity. During the rigorous primary fermentation I detected an
h2s odor
and therefore pressed a little early SG 1.010. The finished wine is
0.995.
The wine has gone through MLF and cold stabilization.
Was the little hiccup during primary enough to prevent full color
extraction
or should I have done more?
Joe

I pressed after 6 days since an H2S odour was developing (gone now). I
didn't measure the must temp but the room was 70F.

Joe

"Rob"
It has everything to do with the time the wine was in contact with the
skins - how long was that? My guess is that becaues of the rigorous
fermentation, you may have not gotten enough extraction. Depending on
what you were trying to do, the 1.01 SG may even be longer than normal,
which is why I ask about the time.

Also, what temperature were you fermenting at?

Rob


Pino wrote:
I just made some merlot from grapes and I am disappointed in the
color
intensity. During the rigorous primary fermentation I detected an
h2s odor
and therefore pressed a little early SG 1.010. The finished wine is
0.995.
The wine has gone through MLF and cold stabilization.
Was the little hiccup during primary enough to prevent full color
extraction
or should I have done more?
Joe

I think it fermented too quickly, and you ended up with too little time
with skin contact. For instance, I took almost 2 weeks with a slow
fermentation on pinot this year, and it is a little light (as a pinot
should be), and a zinfandel done last year which fermented in about 10
days resulted in a wine that is obviously zinfandel-colored, but not as
deep as I like.

I am aware of folks who use "pectic enzyme", which breaks down cell
walls and kinda speeds up the skin extraction process, though from what
I've tasted you get extra flavors, both good and bad, so it doesn't
always work out. I've also heard of 2-3 week ferments, and cold soaks,
where the grapes are soaked either pre- or post-fermentation on the
skins for contact times of up to a month to extract out as much color
and flavor as possible. This has to be done *very* carefully, so as
not to allow oxidation or the growth of unwanted beasties in the wine,
so you've been warned.

The good news is that, since you stopped the H2S, you still have
something drinkable! While it may not end up that great, heavy dinner
wine you wanted, you might just have a great summer sipping wine when
Chardonnay just doesn't seem the right answer.

One other word of advice, from my own experience - I actually bottled
earlier this year a kit-Merlot that seemed to be under-extracted. Be
very careful with oak, if you were thinking about using it. Mine's now
a hint of grape stuck in a 2x4. You've likely got delicate flavors as
well as delicate colors.
Good Luck, and tell us how it turns out eventually.

Rob

Pino wrote:

I just made some merlot from grapes and I am disappointed in the color
intensity. During the rigorous primary fermentation I detected an h2s odor
and therefore pressed a little early SG 1.010.

What sort of cap management where you doing?

--
Charles Horslin
Kitchener and/or St.Catharines, ON

Charles

I pushed down the cap and stirred 2x a day ( morning and evening).

Joe


"Charles H" wrote in message
...
Pino wrote:

I just made some merlot from grapes and I am disappointed in the color
intensity. During the rigorous primary fermentation I detected an h2s
odor
and therefore pressed a little early SG 1.010.

What sort of cap management where you doing?

--
Charles Horslin
Kitchener and/or St.Catharines, ON

Rob

I am confused I thought a hot vigorous fermentation would get the most color
and flavor.

Am I understanding that a cooler longer fermentation would result in more
color extraction?

Joe

"Rob" wrote in message
ups.com...
I think it fermented too quickly, and you ended up with too little time
with skin contact. For instance, I took almost 2 weeks with a slow
fermentation on pinot this year, and it is a little light (as a pinot
should be), and a zinfandel done last year which fermented in about 10
days resulted in a wine that is obviously zinfandel-colored, but not as
deep as I like.

I am aware of folks who use "pectic enzyme", which breaks down cell
walls and kinda speeds up the skin extraction process, though from what
I've tasted you get extra flavors, both good and bad, so it doesn't
always work out. I've also heard of 2-3 week ferments, and cold soaks,
where the grapes are soaked either pre- or post-fermentation on the
skins for contact times of up to a month to extract out as much color
and flavor as possible. This has to be done *very* carefully, so as
not to allow oxidation or the growth of unwanted beasties in the wine,
so you've been warned.

The good news is that, since you stopped the H2S, you still have
something drinkable! While it may not end up that great, heavy dinner
wine you wanted, you might just have a great summer sipping wine when
Chardonnay just doesn't seem the right answer.

One other word of advice, from my own experience - I actually bottled
earlier this year a kit-Merlot that seemed to be under-extracted. Be
very careful with oak, if you were thinking about using it. Mine's now
a hint of grape stuck in a 2x4. You've likely got delicate flavors as
well as delicate colors.
Good Luck, and tell us how it turns out eventually.

Rob

If I'm wrong about this, I'm sure others will correct me (they have
before! :-) ), but I base my comments mostly on talking with various
professional winemakers, and a little on my own experience.

Their comments were that color and flavor extraction for red-colored
wines was more about time the must had skin contact (fermented or not
fermented), as opposed to speed of fermentation or temperature of
fermentation. Like I said, I am aware of winemakers who cold soak
(pre-ferment) thier red wine musts with the skins for days or weeks
before finally warming the must to an acceptable fermentation
temperature, then finally perform the fermentation still on the skins
(28 days for one particular Russian River Pinot, if you can believe
it). I've also heard of fermenting must with skins, then instead of
racking as the fermentation ends, introducing a continuous blanket of
inert gas over the must to allow the skins to soak longer in the young
wine before pressing (I think this technique is actually taught in one
of the basic home winemaking books you can get at any decent store, but
which one it is at the moment escapes me). All this to extend the time
the skins are in contact with the must/wine. 6 days is short,
especially for a wine that is thought to be a very dark-colored wine.
Rob