Clinitest on dry reds
 

As I wrestle with my '04 cabernet sauvignon to bring primary
fermentation to completion, I thought I'd ask the group for opinions on
Clinitest results in dry red wines. In particular, I'm curious if
there's a practical threshold you look for to feel reasonably
comfortable that a dry wine will not be at risk for microbial spoilage
due to RS? Secondly, does anthocyanin concentration affect the assay?


My current cab hasn't tested below 0.5% RS but has no perceptable RS
(at least not to me). It does happen to be very deeply pigmented.
Perhaps Pasteur Red is a poor closer? Opinions on other appropriate
yeasts for this type of wine is appreciated.

Thanks
RD

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> As I wrestle with my '04 cabernet sauvignon to bring primary
> fermentation to completion, I thought I'd ask the group for opinions on
> Clinitest results in dry red wines. In particular, I'm curious if
> there's a practical threshold you look for to feel reasonably
> comfortable that a dry wine will not be at risk for microbial spoilage
> due to RS? Secondly, does anthocyanin concentration affect the assay?
>
>
> My current cab hasn't tested below 0.5% RS but has no perceptable RS
> (at least not to me). It does happen to be very deeply pigmented.
> Perhaps Pasteur Red is a poor closer? Opinions on other appropriate
> yeasts for this type of wine is appreciated.
>
> Thanks
> RD

RD,
Dry, red fermentations often contain from 0.1 to 0.2 percent of
unfermentable sugar. So, many winemakers assume that red wines showing 0.2%
or less sugar are dry and reasonably stable.
Anthocyanin pigments do not affect the assay significantly, but Clinitest
results tend to be too high (true values are less than the measured values).
I have never found Pasteur Red to be a poor closer, but I prefer EC-1118
yeast for most red wines.
Lum
Del Mar, California, USA

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> As I wrestle with my '04 cabernet sauvignon to bring primary
> fermentation to completion, I thought I'd ask the group for opinions on
> Clinitest results in dry red wines. In particular, I'm curious if
> there's a practical threshold you look for to feel reasonably
> comfortable that a dry wine will not be at risk for microbial spoilage
> due to RS? Secondly, does anthocyanin concentration affect the assay?
>
>
> My current cab hasn't tested below 0.5% RS but has no perceptable RS
> (at least not to me). It does happen to be very deeply pigmented.
> Perhaps Pasteur Red is a poor closer? Opinions on other appropriate
> yeasts for this type of wine is appreciated.
>
> Thanks
> RD

RD,
Dry, red fermentations often contain from 0.1 to 0.2 percent of
unfermentable sugar. So, many winemakers assume that red wines showing 0.2%
or less sugar are dry and reasonably stable.
Anthocyanin pigments do not affect the assay significantly, but Clinitest
results tend to be too high (true values are less than the measured values).
I have never found Pasteur Red to be a poor closer, but I prefer EC-1118
yeast for most red wines.
Lum
Del Mar, California, USA

Thanks for your thoughts, Lum. Sorry this post appears twice in
slightly different forms - this first attempt appeared to be
unsuccessful so I resubmitted a few days later. Both you and Tom S
have expressed similar opinions on Pasteur Red's ability and reasonable
'dryness'. It seems early pressing is likely to be my problem. By the
way, your book has been a terrific help to me.

RD

Thanks for your thoughts, Lum. Sorry this post appears twice in
slightly different forms - this first attempt appeared to be
unsuccessful so I resubmitted a few days later. Both you and Tom S
have expressed similar opinions on Pasteur Red's ability and reasonable
'dryness'. It seems early pressing is likely to be my problem. By the
way, your book has been a terrific help to me.

RD

Lum

I am not sure if you saw the post that I did a few weeks ago. It seems
that Bayer is no longer going to make - or has already stopped making -
Clinitest. We have used the newer product - Multistix Pro Reagent
Strip - and it seems to work fine, but I have heard few comments about
their accuracy in wine. I have used them and compared them with
enzymatic reducing sugar results, but this is a one dog study.

Comments?

Regards

Jerry


"Lum" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> As I wrestle with my '04 cabernet sauvignon to bring primary
>> fermentation to completion, I thought I'd ask the group for opinions
>> on
>> Clinitest results in dry red wines. In particular, I'm curious if
>> there's a practical threshold you look for to feel reasonably
>> comfortable that a dry wine will not be at risk for microbial
>> spoilage
>> due to RS? Secondly, does anthocyanin concentration affect the
>> assay?
>>
>>
>> My current cab hasn't tested below 0.5% RS but has no perceptable RS
>> (at least not to me). It does happen to be very deeply pigmented.
>> Perhaps Pasteur Red is a poor closer? Opinions on other appropriate
>> yeasts for this type of wine is appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks
>> RD
>
> RD,
> Dry, red fermentations often contain from 0.1 to 0.2 percent of
> unfermentable sugar. So, many winemakers assume that red wines
> showing 0.2%
> or less sugar are dry and reasonably stable.
> Anthocyanin pigments do not affect the assay significantly, but
> Clinitest
> results tend to be too high (true values are less than the measured
> values).
> I have never found Pasteur Red to be a poor closer, but I prefer
> EC-1118
> yeast for most red wines.
> Lum
> Del Mar, California, USA
>
>

Lum

I am not sure if you saw the post that I did a few weeks ago. It seems
that Bayer is no longer going to make - or has already stopped making -
Clinitest. We have used the newer product - Multistix Pro Reagent
Strip - and it seems to work fine, but I have heard few comments about
their accuracy in wine. I have used them and compared them with
enzymatic reducing sugar results, but this is a one dog study.

Comments?

Regards

Jerry


"Lum" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> As I wrestle with my '04 cabernet sauvignon to bring primary
>> fermentation to completion, I thought I'd ask the group for opinions
>> on
>> Clinitest results in dry red wines. In particular, I'm curious if
>> there's a practical threshold you look for to feel reasonably
>> comfortable that a dry wine will not be at risk for microbial
>> spoilage
>> due to RS? Secondly, does anthocyanin concentration affect the
>> assay?
>>
>>
>> My current cab hasn't tested below 0.5% RS but has no perceptable RS
>> (at least not to me). It does happen to be very deeply pigmented.
>> Perhaps Pasteur Red is a poor closer? Opinions on other appropriate
>> yeasts for this type of wine is appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks
>> RD
>
> RD,
> Dry, red fermentations often contain from 0.1 to 0.2 percent of
> unfermentable sugar. So, many winemakers assume that red wines
> showing 0.2%
> or less sugar are dry and reasonably stable.
> Anthocyanin pigments do not affect the assay significantly, but
> Clinitest
> results tend to be too high (true values are less than the measured
> values).
> I have never found Pasteur Red to be a poor closer, but I prefer
> EC-1118
> yeast for most red wines.
> Lum
> Del Mar, California, USA
>
>

"Lum" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> As I wrestle with my '04 cabernet sauvignon to bring primary
>> fermentation to completion, I thought I'd ask the group for opinions on
>> Clinitest results in dry red wines. In particular, I'm curious if
>> there's a practical threshold you look for to feel reasonably
>> comfortable that a dry wine will not be at risk for microbial spoilage
>> due to RS? Secondly, does anthocyanin concentration affect the assay?
>>
>>
>> My current cab hasn't tested below 0.5% RS but has no perceptable RS
>> (at least not to me). It does happen to be very deeply pigmented.
>> Perhaps Pasteur Red is a poor closer? Opinions on other appropriate
>> yeasts for this type of wine is appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks
>> RD
>
> RD,
> Dry, red fermentations often contain from 0.1 to 0.2 percent of
> unfermentable sugar. So, many winemakers assume that red wines showing
> 0.2%
> or less sugar are dry and reasonably stable.
> Anthocyanin pigments do not affect the assay significantly, but Clinitest
> results tend to be too high (true values are less than the measured
> values).
> I have never found Pasteur Red to be a poor closer, but I prefer EC-1118
> yeast for most red wines.
> Lum
> Del Mar, California, USA
>
>
>
Lum is right about the definition of a dry red being less than or equal to
0.2%. But I would not call a 0.5% red a semi sweet either. If it tastes
like you want it, great! But do not worry about microbial infection. No
pathogens live in wine. There is a slight chance that it may start
fermenting again if you do not stabilize it but I doubt that 0.5% would
cause a danger of burst bottles. If you are worried about infection, then
use a standard dose of Sulfite. But you should be using sulfite to prevent
oxidation anyway and that would be enough. If you are worried about
refermentation, give it a dose of Sorbase as well. If you let it bulk age
for at least a year and it is perfectly clear, I would not worry about
refementation.

Ray