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Tom S
 
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Default Help finishing off chardonnay


"Pete" > wrote in message
...
> In October I purchased 12 gallons of chardonnay juice direct from
> California. It was shipped 30° F
>
> I fermented this to 1.010 then racked to secondaries.
> I added SO2 and french oak
> Took an acid reading, it needed no adjustment.
>
> Since the end of October it has been sitting in these secondaries.
> (2 5 gallon sealed corny kegs)
> Every other day I was bleading the CO2 from them.
> These are stored in the cool garage.
>
> Since December when the temp dropped, there has been no more CO2
> bleed-off.
>
> I looked at it today.
> It is clear and has a good taste.
> I took an SO2, it was 17ppm
>
> My questions...
>
> I was thinking of fining, sulfite and racking the wine. In
> preparation for bottling in the spring.
>
> This would also include trying to get all the Co2 out of solution.
>
> What should I use for fining?
> I have bentonite, sparkaloid and polyclar. Any preference for a dry
> chardonnay?


Bentonite for heat stability, Kieselsohl to counterfine the bentonite and
(optionally) either isinglass or gelatin to (a) improve the mouthfeel and
(b) help with the clarification. Then, chill it to cold stabilize and
"nail" the finings to the bottom before racking from the fining lees.

> I will be racking these back into corny kegs, any suggestions to free
> up the Co2?


A Fizz-X is supposed to work well for that. Just leaving it at cellar
temperature under airlock for 6 months is supposed to work too.

This is where it's nice working in barrels. The partial vacuum formed in
them between toppings degasses them quite effectively.

> Should I place them back in the cold garage?


At fining, yes.

> Should I adjust the SO2?


Definitely!

> Anything else I should do??


Measure the pH so you can judge how much free SO2 you need. As a rule of
thumb, the two digits to the right of the decimal point is the approximate
ppm of free SO2 you need. E.g., at pH 3.30 you need 30 ppm free; at pH
3.60 you need 60 ppm, etc.

Tom S