I thought it might be interesting to find out what home winemakers (or small
wineries) us for primary grape fermentation.

At present all I use is white plastic drums around 250L (60 Gal) with lids.
This appears to work o.k. for red wines but I am not comfortable continuing
with these for white fermentations (chardonnay/seyval) for fear of too much
oxidation.

I am thinking of getting a 250L SS Steel fermentation container with a
spout. Could this be used for reds also? I have also seen SS barrels
available. What would these be used for?

Thanks

Joe

Joe Ae wrote:

> I thought it might be interesting to find out what home winemakers (or small
> wineries) us for primary grape fermentation.

For my barrel I carry out the primary fermentation in a rubbermaid brute
container... it's only 120 litres though.

If I were doing less than 300 litres I would split my white up between
those 54 litre demijohns. I've recently acquired four for less than
C$50, keep an eye out on the classifieds and garage sales.

One day I wouldn't mind getting a nice floating lid SS tank though. A
man can dream...

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields

Hi Charles

How much head room do you leave when fermenting whites in 54L DJs?
Where do you ferment when you have 300L to do?

Joe

"Charles H" > wrote in message
...
> Joe Ae wrote:
>
> > I thought it might be interesting to find out what home winemakers (or
small
> > wineries) us for primary grape fermentation.
>
> For my barrel I carry out the primary fermentation in a rubbermaid brute
> container... it's only 120 litres though.
>
> If I were doing less than 300 litres I would split my white up between
> those 54 litre demijohns. I've recently acquired four for less than
> C$50, keep an eye out on the classifieds and garage sales.
>
> One day I wouldn't mind getting a nice floating lid SS tank though. A
> man can dream...
>
> --
> charles
>
> "Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
> forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
> - W.C. Fields

"Joe Ae" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Charles
>
> How much head room do you leave when fermenting whites in 54L DJs?

I'm not Charles, but ~10% headspace is fairly safe.

> Where do you ferment when you have 300L to do?

French oak barrels. The newer, the better.

Tom S

Joe Ae wrote:

> Hi Charles
>
> How much head room do you leave when fermenting whites in 54L DJs?
> Where do you ferment when you have 300L to do?

As Tom said 10%, and I don't think I'd put grape solids in a demijohn,
and if I were using a yeast I knew foamed a lot I might leave more room,
especially if there is an empty demijohn kicking around.

I'd do 300L in a new barrel if the wine was one that merited such good
treatement, or if I were doing 300L or Riesling or Gewurzt I'd buy a SS
tank.

--
charles

"Once ... in the wilds of Afghanistan, I lost my corkscrew, and we were
forced to live on nothing but food and water for days."
- W.C. Fields