Hi all,

I have written an article on making wine from Pinot Noir. It can be viewed at:

http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/Pinot.htm

Any comments/suggestions are most welcome (email above address).

Ben

In article >,
(Ben Rotter) wrote:

> http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/Pinot.htm

I didn't read it all very carefully, but what I did read looks like
great information. Thanks for taking the time to write this. Personally,
I find a large variation in the flavor and quality of Pinot Noir here in
the US. I have tried many of them and only found very few that I would
prefer to drink.

--
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine

(remove spamblocker from my email address)

Ben,
You obviously did a great deal of research and spent a lot of time
putting this article together, and for that I thank you.
The article seemed to give several different view points and methods
which I liked for several reasons. Not only does it show that there is many
ways to make an award winning wine, but it also shows how different and
steadfast some of the wine makers are to their particular methodology. This
should serve as a reminder to all serious wine makers when someone says for
example: "Gelatin is the best fining material for Red wines". Not only can
these generalities be false, but it is also a stylistic issue as well as
some particular winemaker's point of view. I think if good winemaking
practices are followed at all times then the wine will reflect that first
and foremost and that is most important in my book.
Sort of rambling here, but I liked the article and appreciate the time
you put into it.
John Dixon
"Ben Rotter" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi all,
>
> I have written an article on making wine from Pinot Noir. It can be viewed
at:
>
> http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/Pinot.htm
>
> Any comments/suggestions are most welcome (email above address).
>
> Ben

Great stuff, Ben. Been through several Pinots with varied results. One
thing- In the following paragraph:

Bentonite fining
Most red wines have sufficient tannin to be cold stable. However, given that
Pinot is often low in tannin it is not uncommon for Pinot to throw a protein
deposit/haze. Bentonite may be used to solve this problem. Bench testing is
encouraged and recommended, however a light bentonite fining (0.25 g/l) is
usually sufficient as a ballpark figure.

Don't you mean "heat stable"?

Thanks and regards,

John

"Ben Rotter" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi all,
>
> I have written an article on making wine from Pinot Noir. It can be viewed
at:
>
> http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/Pinot.htm
>
> Any comments/suggestions are most welcome (email above address).
>
> Ben

Thanks to all three of you for your comments. I am glad the style of
article (having various viewpoints) was appreciated (as John Dixon
mentioned). I think the variations seen in Pinot (which Greg
mentioned) is even more a reason to present the techniques this way.

John DeFiore wrote:
> "Most red wines have sufficient tannin to be cold stable."
....
> Don't you mean "heat stable"?

I do, thanks for pointing out that typo (article corrected).

Ben

Ben:

Great write-up. The one thing I didn't understand was some of the
fermentation times... especially at high temperature. My pinot seems
to ferment dry in about 5-7 days with fermentation in the 20C-26C
range and maybe a spike to 30C. I don't understand the long, hot
fermentations you referred to... such Jadot's. Also, did you research
approaches for maximizing color extraction?

Thanks, ...Michael

"Michael Brill" > wrote in message
om...
> Ben:
>
> Great write-up. The one thing I didn't understand was some of the
> fermentation times... especially at high temperature. My pinot seems
> to ferment dry in about 5-7 days with fermentation in the 20C-26C
> range and maybe a spike to 30C. I don't understand the long, hot
> fermentations you referred to... such Jadot's. Also, did you research
> approaches for maximizing color extraction?

The way I read that was that they were extended macerations past dryness
with an external heat source if need be to keep the temperature up. Of
course I may be wrong but I can't imagine any way to keep the yeast from
fermenting all the sugar for 25 days at high temp. I really enjoyed reading
about the various methods in Burgundy since it's my favorite winemaking
region in the world.

Regards,

John

Michael Brill wrote:
> Great write-up. The one thing I didn't understand was some of the
> fermentation times... especially at high temperature. My pinot seems
> to ferment dry in about 5-7 days with fermentation in the 20C-26C
> range and maybe a spike to 30C. I don't understand the long, hot
> fermentations you referred to... such Jadot's.

It's as John stated. I've corrected the text to read "long maceration
in open wooden or stainless steel tanks, or auto-vinification vats for
25-30 days during which time fermentation takes place at high-end
temperatures for maximum extraction". I hope that clears up any
confusion - thanks for pointing it out.

> Also, did you research approaches for maximizing color extraction?

Cold soaking, saignée, and pressing at Brix 0 are all techniques which
maximise colour extraction. The "Techniques for Given Problems" lists
these as solutions for lack of colour and the fact that they maximise
colour is mentioned under each respective technique.

Thanks Michael and John for your comments. I'm glad you got something
out of the article.

Ben

Dear Ben

I made my first Pinot Noir wine this year and this article would have been a
huge help.

My only comment is what I learnt this year is that regular tasting of the
wine from the start to finish really helps in defining the time to
do things, pressing, blending, racking etc. One really needs to learn to
taste a wine.

Ben, thanks for sharing this with us. It will be ready for next years Pinot
Noir and congratulations on a great article!

Cheers
Marc



"Ben Rotter" > a écrit dans le message de
om...
> Hi all,
>
> I have written an article on making wine from Pinot Noir. It can be viewed
at:
>
> http://members.tripod.com/~BRotter/Pinot.htm
>
> Any comments/suggestions are most welcome (email above address).
>
> Ben