Ok, This is the sixth year that I've made a batch of 85% Cabernet
Sauvignon,15% Cabernet Franc from CA Central Valley grapes. In past years
my results have been good but the wine was never as dry as I'd like. This
year I kept more stems in the fermentation vat and the result is much, much
dryer. Presently, the wine tastes almost sour like red bing cherries that
aren't very ripe. Is there anything I can do to tone the sourness down at
this point?

Would a malolatic fermentation do more hard than good at this stage?

Frank Bacon wrote:

> Ok, This is the sixth year that I've made a
> batch of 85% Cabernet
> Sauvignon,15% Cabernet Franc from CA Central
> Valley grapes. In past years
> my results have been good but the wine was never
> as dry as I'd like. This year I kept more stems
> in the fermentation vat and the result is much,
> much
> dryer. Presently, the wine tastes almost sour
> like red bing cherries that
> aren't very ripe. Is there anything I can do to
> tone the sourness down at this point?
>
> Would a malolatic fermentation do more hard than
> good at this stage?

You probably got a lot of "green tannins" from the
stems. I will let others comment on how to deal
with this as I am no expert.

Your previous Central Valley wines probably had
high alcohol and lacked acidity which can have
the effect of "sweetness" but did not have the
harsh tannins to mask the "sweetness" frrm the
excessive alcohol and or lack of acidity.

One thing you can do in the future is try to blend
some of the Central CA grapes with grapes from
other regions that do not have the super high
brix and lack of acids.

Paul,

Thanks for your comments. Next year I'll try adjusting the blend and the
amount of stems I leave in. However this year I have 54 Gallons of Sour
Cab. Short of Blending it, does anyone else have any suggestions?

"Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote in message
. ..
> Frank Bacon wrote:
>
>> Ok, This is the sixth year that I've made a
>> batch of 85% Cabernet
>> Sauvignon,15% Cabernet Franc from CA Central
>> Valley grapes. In past years
>> my results have been good but the wine was never
>> as dry as I'd like. This year I kept more stems
>> in the fermentation vat and the result is much,
>> much
>> dryer. Presently, the wine tastes almost sour
>> like red bing cherries that
>> aren't very ripe. Is there anything I can do to
>> tone the sourness down at this point?
>>
>> Would a malolatic fermentation do more hard than
>> good at this stage?
>
> You probably got a lot of "green tannins" from the
> stems. I will let others comment on how to deal
> with this as I am no expert.
>
> Your previous Central Valley wines probably had
> high alcohol and lacked acidity which can have
> the effect of "sweetness" but did not have the
> harsh tannins to mask the "sweetness" frrm the
> excessive alcohol and or lack of acidity.
>
> One thing you can do in the future is try to blend
> some of the Central CA grapes with grapes from
> other regions that do not have the super high
> brix and lack of acids.