marcO wrote:
> Question: I have never wanted to extend the maceration past dryness
> for fear of something bad happening, yet I hear people doing it all the
> time. My assumption was that these people had nice Stainless Steel
> fermenters they could close up tight from O2, but my setup is not so
> elaborate- Plastice drums with cloth to keep the bugs off. Am I
> missing something here? I'm making about 110 gal and I don't want to
> risk it by letting it sit around dry.
> any thoughts?
> Marco

You can do it for some time with a layer or two of plastic wrap like
Saran on top - I've done about a week like this with no ill effects.
But make sure to taste and nose the wine every day and press quickly at
any sign of trouble. To reduce the danger, split the batch and do the
extended maceration on a smaller amount, that way you can also compare
the result with the regular treatment to see which you like better.

Pp