Hello. I've been making wine for about three years now. I feel that my
knowledge on the subject is still greatly lacking. I am able to create good
wines most of the time, but sometimes when all is said and done, I have a
few problems. Here they a

1.) Some of my wines are astringent to the tongue. Specifically to the
edges of the tongue, if that makes a difference. This only happens
occasionally, and I am not really sure why. Most recently it happened when
making a Rose'. I had made some Vidal Blanc wine about 1 year ago. Around
4 or 5 months ago, I purchased several gallons of Steuben grapes. I
fermented the Steuben grapes on the skins for around 7 days. I then removed
all of the excess grape skin material, and added the Vidal Blanc wine I had
already made to the Steuben mixture. I am not sure of proper technique for
making a Rose' wine. This was kind of an experiment for me. When all was
said and done, I ended up with a wine that was extremely bitter and hot on
the tongue. The Vidal Blanc that I added to the mixture initially was 14%
ABV. The end result of the Rose' seemed to have a much higher ABV although
I do not have a specific measurement of the alcohol content right now. I
was able to 'cover up' the astringency with simple syrup, but if I had
wanted the Rose' to be any less sweet, I would not have been able to mask
the taste. Can anyone tell me what probably happened? I typically adjust
acid levels pre-fermentation. Is there a good procedure to follow for
adjustment following the completion of fermentation and clearing ?


2.) With white wines, I have been having a problem maintaining SO2 levels.
My wine always seems to oxidize - get a brownish tint to it. The wine does
not look brown really, but it does not have the color that it should. What
can I do to ensure that my wine does not oxidize, or to help prevent
oxidation? Also, I'm looking for a good cheap way to accurately measure
levels of SO2. I've been told the most accurate way would be to do some
sort of titration which requires very expensive equipment. I can't think of
the name of it right now.

3.) I will be planting Vidal Blanc grapes in the Spring. 1 acre of them,
approximately 700 vines. This will be my first planting. If anyone has any
tips about grape growing in general, or about Vidal Blanc specifically, I
would be all ears. I have several books I am reading, The Midwest Grape
Production Guide, General Viticulture, Sunlight Into Wine, Small Fruit Crop
Management, and I'll be ordering the Compendium of Grape Diseases. Any
other suggested reading? Also, any tips on trellising? Probably only my
wife and I, and a few others will be doing all of the planting, and all of
the trellising. We'll be using a basic double cordon training system.

Sorry for the long posting, it has been a long time since I have been to
this newsgroup. I have always found the people here to be very
knowledgeable and willing to share information.

On Jan 2, 6:04 pm, "John F" > wrote:
> ...
> 1.) Some of my wines are astringent to the tongue. Specifically to the
> edges of the tongue, if that makes a difference. ...

Astringency on the front of the tongue is associated with acidity.
Astringency on the sides of the tongue is from tannins. If you are
adding no tannin, then I suggest cutting back on skin contact (press
earlier), aging your wine longer, or decanting in advance of serving.

> 2.) With white wines, I have been having a problem maintaining SO2 levels.
> My wine always seems to oxidize - get a brownish tint to it. ...

What grapes are you using? Some native American grapes are known to
produce wine that oxidizes easily. Jack Keller wrote about one on his
site but at the moment I can't find the reference. If proper SO2
levels aren't working for you, perhaps you should consider using an
inert gas when racking. Also double check all of your airlocks and
bungs; make sure everything is airtight. On the off chance that you
are aging in oak barrels, you should consider switching to carboys in
order to avoid the micro-oxygenation that occurs with barrels.

> 3.) I will be planting Vidal Blanc grapes in the Spring. 1 acre of them,

I wish I had an acre of anything :-}

Greg G.

John F wrote:
>
> 2.) With white wines, I have been having a problem maintaining SO2 levels.
> My wine always seems to oxidize - get a brownish tint to it. ...

I found the item on Jack Keller's website. His blog from May 27th,
2007 at http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/wineblognew.asp details the
issue. The grape variety in question is Blanc du Bois, but I'm under
the impression that the issue may affect other varieties to a lesser
extent.

Greg

On Jan 2, 8:04 pm, "John F" > wrote:
I had made some Vidal Blanc wine about 1 year ago. Around
> 4 or 5 months ago, I purchased several gallons of Steuben grapes. I
> fermented the Steuben grapes on the skins for around 7 days. I then removed
> all of the excess grape skin material, and added the Vidal Blanc wine I had
> already made to the Steuben mixture. I am not sure of proper technique for
> making a Rose' wine.

Well, I make hybrids also and blending can be very unpredictable. You
must do trial blends. Your technique wasn't standard but if it worked
out this time who is to complain. Rose is not made by blending, it's
made by very short skin contact; hours to a day at most. That way you
extract less from the skins and maintain the fruitiness. I think that
may have been your biggest issue. You can use the skins in another
wine, they don't have to go to waste.


> 2.) With white wines, I have been having a problem maintaining SO2 levels.
> My wine always seems to oxidize - get a brownish tint to it. The wine does
> not look brown really, but it does not have the color that it should. What
> can I do to ensure that my wine does not oxidize, or to help prevent
> oxidation? Also, I'm looking for a good cheap way to accurately measure
> levels of SO2. I've been told the most accurate way would be to do some
> sort of titration which requires very expensive equipment. I can't think of
> the name of it right now.
>
For whites, titrettes from Chemetrics are cheap, they are useless for
reds. The more accurate way to do this is aeration oxidation but you
will spend around $250 on hardware and chemicals. It's worth doing
though.

I fermented whites in glass to good effect this year. If you can find
a way to seal up your fermenter after the first day or so you may see
less darkening.

> 3.) I will be planting Vidal Blanc grapes in the Spring. 1 acre of them,
> approximately 700 vines. This will be my first planting. If anyone has any
> tips about grape growing in general, or about Vidal Blanc specifically, I
> would be all ears. I have several books I am reading, The Midwest Grape
> Production Guide, General Viticulture, Sunlight Into Wine, Small Fruit Crop
> Management, and I'll be ordering the Compendium of Grape Diseases. Any
> other suggested reading? Also, any tips on trellising? Probably only my
> wife and I, and a few others will be doing all of the planting, and all of
> the trellising. We'll be using a basic double cordon training system.
>
I'm not much help here, I don't grow grapes. Sorry. Your county
agricultural agent may be your best source of info here.

Thank you for all the great information.

"Joe Sallustio" > wrote in message
...
> On Jan 2, 8:04 pm, "John F" > wrote:
> I had made some Vidal Blanc wine about 1 year ago. Around
>> 4 or 5 months ago, I purchased several gallons of Steuben grapes. I
>> fermented the Steuben grapes on the skins for around 7 days. I then
>> removed
>> all of the excess grape skin material, and added the Vidal Blanc wine I
>> had
>> already made to the Steuben mixture. I am not sure of proper technique
>> for
>> making a Rose' wine.
>
> Well, I make hybrids also and blending can be very unpredictable. You
> must do trial blends. Your technique wasn't standard but if it worked
> out this time who is to complain. Rose is not made by blending, it's
> made by very short skin contact; hours to a day at most. That way you
> extract less from the skins and maintain the fruitiness. I think that
> may have been your biggest issue. You can use the skins in another
> wine, they don't have to go to waste.
>
>
>> 2.) With white wines, I have been having a problem maintaining SO2
>> levels.
>> My wine always seems to oxidize - get a brownish tint to it. The wine
>> does
>> not look brown really, but it does not have the color that it should.
>> What
>> can I do to ensure that my wine does not oxidize, or to help prevent
>> oxidation? Also, I'm looking for a good cheap way to accurately measure
>> levels of SO2. I've been told the most accurate way would be to do some
>> sort of titration which requires very expensive equipment. I can't think
>> of
>> the name of it right now.
>>
> For whites, titrettes from Chemetrics are cheap, they are useless for
> reds. The more accurate way to do this is aeration oxidation but you
> will spend around $250 on hardware and chemicals. It's worth doing
> though.
>
> I fermented whites in glass to good effect this year. If you can find
> a way to seal up your fermenter after the first day or so you may see
> less darkening.
>
>> 3.) I will be planting Vidal Blanc grapes in the Spring. 1 acre of
>> them,
>> approximately 700 vines. This will be my first planting. If anyone has
>> any
>> tips about grape growing in general, or about Vidal Blanc specifically, I
>> would be all ears. I have several books I am reading, The Midwest Grape
>> Production Guide, General Viticulture, Sunlight Into Wine, Small Fruit
>> Crop
>> Management, and I'll be ordering the Compendium of Grape Diseases. Any
>> other suggested reading? Also, any tips on trellising? Probably only my
>> wife and I, and a few others will be doing all of the planting, and all
>> of
>> the trellising. We'll be using a basic double cordon training system.
>>
> I'm not much help here, I don't grow grapes. Sorry. Your county
> agricultural agent may be your best source of info here.
>