Just picked some Pinot Blanc from my dear neighbor and was wondering
how to vint' this grape. Don't know anything about it, expect a
little from the archives.

It is 21 Brix and 0.70% TA. The seeds are mature brown, most of the
stems are also. The skin has a wonderful tannic quality to it. If I
chew the skins beyond the tannic I pick up a bitter quality that is
not dis-pleasing but I think I would like to avoid in the wine. Might
require more aging to smooth out.

So I'm thinking, can this be made into a fat white that needs aging
and maybe will pick up some complexity on the shelf? Or am I fooling
myself? I was thinking of cold soaking on the skins to give up some
flavor, maybe even just until bitterness just shows ( a few days) then
press and pitch yeast. Maybe even fermenting on the skins 'till
1.030SGthen pressing.

Is this asking too much from this grape? What do ya'all recommend?

Steve noobie
Oregon

Sounds perfect to me... I think Pinot Blanc is a relative of
Chardonnay. Are you thinking of a cold soak or 'warm' soak, as in
around 50 F or around 70 F? (Cold soak can mean a lot of things...)
I'm thinking of doing a warm soak this year on some reds, I've never
heard of that on a white. I would not ferment on the skins but that is
me.

Joe


spud wrote:
> Just picked some Pinot Blanc from my dear neighbor and was wondering
> how to vint' this grape. Don't know anything about it, expect a
> little from the archives.
>
> It is 21 Brix and 0.70% TA. The seeds are mature brown, most of the
> stems are also. The skin has a wonderful tannic quality to it. If I
> chew the skins beyond the tannic I pick up a bitter quality that is
> not dis-pleasing but I think I would like to avoid in the wine. Might
> require more aging to smooth out.
>
> So I'm thinking, can this be made into a fat white that needs aging
> and maybe will pick up some complexity on the shelf? Or am I fooling
> myself? I was thinking of cold soaking on the skins to give up some
> flavor, maybe even just until bitterness just shows ( a few days) then
> press and pitch yeast. Maybe even fermenting on the skins 'till
> 1.030SGthen pressing.
>
> Is this asking too much from this grape? What do ya'all recommend?
>
> Steve noobie
> Oregon

Hi Joe:

Thanks for the response. Yeah, I don't think I'd ferment on the skins
either.

Will crush tonight and let it sit for a day then taste and decide.

Take Care
Steve noobie
Oregon



On 18 Sep 2006 11:06:02 -0700, "Joe Sallustio" >
wrote:

>Sounds perfect to me... I think Pinot Blanc is a relative of
>Chardonnay. Are you thinking of a cold soak or 'warm' soak, as in
>around 50 F or around 70 F? (Cold soak can mean a lot of things...)
>I'm thinking of doing a warm soak this year on some reds, I've never
>heard of that on a white. I would not ferment on the skins but that is
>me.
>
>Joe
>
>
>spud wrote:
>> Just picked some Pinot Blanc from my dear neighbor and was wondering
>> how to vint' this grape. Don't know anything about it, expect a
>> little from the archives.
>>
>> It is 21 Brix and 0.70% TA. The seeds are mature brown, most of the
>> stems are also. The skin has a wonderful tannic quality to it. If I
>> chew the skins beyond the tannic I pick up a bitter quality that is
>> not dis-pleasing but I think I would like to avoid in the wine. Might
>> require more aging to smooth out.
>>
>> So I'm thinking, can this be made into a fat white that needs aging
>> and maybe will pick up some complexity on the shelf? Or am I fooling
>> myself? I was thinking of cold soaking on the skins to give up some
>> flavor, maybe even just until bitterness just shows ( a few days) then
>> press and pitch yeast. Maybe even fermenting on the skins 'till
>> 1.030SGthen pressing.
>>
>> Is this asking too much from this grape? What do ya'all recommend?
>>
>> Steve noobie
>> Oregon

I agree with Joe; I can only think of bad things when I think of leaving the
skins on the juice. With that strong acid, I'd think of just crush, press,
and vinify. I had a wonderful Italian Pinto Blanc on Saturday afternoon -
crisp, with a subtle, almost floral fruit nose. I would want to ferment cool
and slow, and try to preserve that kind of quality.

Good luck!


"Joe Sallustio" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Sounds perfect to me... I think Pinot Blanc is a relative of
> Chardonnay. Are you thinking of a cold soak or 'warm' soak, as in
> around 50 F or around 70 F? (Cold soak can mean a lot of things...)
> I'm thinking of doing a warm soak this year on some reds, I've never
> heard of that on a white. I would not ferment on the skins but that is
> me.
>
> Joe
>
>
> spud wrote:
>> Just picked some Pinot Blanc from my dear neighbor and was wondering
>> how to vint' this grape. Don't know anything about it, expect a
>> little from the archives.
>>
>> It is 21 Brix and 0.70% TA. The seeds are mature brown, most of the
>> stems are also. The skin has a wonderful tannic quality to it. If I
>> chew the skins beyond the tannic I pick up a bitter quality that is
>> not dis-pleasing but I think I would like to avoid in the wine. Might
>> require more aging to smooth out.
>>
>> So I'm thinking, can this be made into a fat white that needs aging
>> and maybe will pick up some complexity on the shelf? Or am I fooling
>> myself? I was thinking of cold soaking on the skins to give up some
>> flavor, maybe even just until bitterness just shows ( a few days) then
>> press and pitch yeast. Maybe even fermenting on the skins 'till
>> 1.030SGthen pressing.
>>
>> Is this asking too much from this grape? What do ya'all recommend?
>>
>> Steve noobie
>> Oregon
>
>