On 20 Nov, 13:18, Joe Sallustio > wrote:
> On Nov 20, 7:07 am, michael > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Dear winemakers,
> > I need some advice on how to mature and
> > store wine in a
> > reasonably organic way.I have been growing enough grapes in the last
> > couple
> > of years to make about 5 gallons of wine each year.I live in
> > Herefordshire in
> > the U.K.,and have a south facing limestone site which seems to ripen
> > the
> > grapes by about mid October.The only spray I use is wettable sulphur
> > every
> > two weeks or so throughout the growing period.I pick the
> > grapes,discarding
> > any rotten ones,and wash them carefully.I then proceed to crush and
> > press
> > the white grapes immediately and leave the reds to ferment on the
> > skins for
> > four or five days before pressing them.Fermentation usually begins
> > within a
> > day or so,and I keep the juices under an airlock.The fermentation
> > usually
> > lasts about four to five weeks,and I then rack the wine off the lees
> > on a cold
> > day.At this stage the wine tastes very promising-very fruity and not
> > too sharp.
> > Indeed,it is very drinkable!
>
> > My problem comes when I leave the wine(in 1
> > gallon
> > demijohns)to mature for several months,and particularly with the
> > whites.The
> > wines seem to become much duller and lose their fruity taste and
> > aroma.
> > I keep the airlocks in the demijohns in this period in case of a
> > period of warmer
> > weather which could start off the fermentation again.
> > For example,a gallon of Schonberger (a full
> > flavoured white)
> > harvested in October 2006 fermented out by end of November 2006,tasted
> > extremely good until about May 2007.From then on the colour has
> > slightly
> > darkened,and the quality has gone to such an extent that the wine is
> > now
> > only just drinkable.
> > At all stages,I do not use metabisulphite
> > and am wondering
> > whether this is the problem.My wife seems sensitive to sulphites in
> > commercial
> > wine,so I am trying not to use them-hence the careful washing of the
> > grapes.
> > I have now read that organic winemakers are allowed to use a small
> > amount
> > of sulphite,but I do not know when it is added or how much.
>
> > Could someone please identify whether my
> > problem appears
> > to be lack of sulphites,and whether perhaps the dissolved oxygen in
> > the juice
> > at different handling stages is enough to cause the wine to
> > deteriorate,even
> > though the wine in an airlocked demijohn is basically closed to air.
>
> > Thanks,Michael
>
> Michael,
> It's probably a combination of both. You use sulfur sprays so your
> wine probably contains small quantities of sulfite anyway. If you
> want to avoid it's use be very careful when racking to avoid splashing
> of any kind; insert your racking drain all the way into the receiving
> container and let it fill gently with no splashing. Try to limit
> your racking to one or two before bottling. Some prefill containers
> or bottles with CO2 to avoid oxygenation also.
>
> I use sulfite in small amounts. 1/8 teaspoon of pot meta per 5 gallon
> US is usually enough to protect a wine.
>
> One thought might be to split your batches and sulfite one and not
> sulfite the other to see how it fares; you would be able to see how it
> affects your wife also without risking the whole batch.
>
> Joe- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks for your reply Joe.One further query.I do not normally put my
wine into 75cl bottles at any stage,but keep it in a gallon demijohn
and put it into carafes for fairly immediate consumption during the
following week.I have bottled occasionally to give wine to one of my
children,but the bottling then takes place when the wine is quite
young.My query now is how to keep wine in a 1 gallon demijohn nice and
fresh,and perhaps I will have to use sulphites at some level.What I do
not understand is why wine maturing in oak barrels for some years
seems to age well without oxidation-is it to do with the large volume
of wine barrels compared with my smaller but impervious glass
vessels.The problem I am having does not yet seem to affect my red
wines,which have higher acidity.Do you also know how much sulphite is
allow for organic wine makers?Thanks again.Michael