Hi,

I have a question about extended maceration. Let's say that you are
making a red wine and you are not doing extended maceration. Then,
after the primary fermentation slows down, you press the grapes and
then you store in carboys for secondary fermentation. Now let's say
that you want to do extended maceration. You wait for the primary to
slow down, then you just keep the must in the fermenter and continue to
punch down the cap, except that you cover the thing with CO2 after
every time so that the must is not in contact with oxygen. So my
question is this, after you are done with extended maceration and you
press the grapes, do you still go to a secondary fermentation or do you
cold stabilize it, or just store it? Thanks.

I think the problem is in your understanding of what extended
maceration (EM) means. EM is conducted *after* alcoholic fermentation
is *complete*. Thus, there can be no "secondary (alcoholic)
fermentation" after EM. You can (and usually would) certainly conduct a
MLF after EM.

Ben

> I have a question about extended maceration. Let's say that you are
> making a red wine and you are not doing extended maceration. Then,
> after the primary fermentation slows down, you press the grapes and
> then you store in carboys for secondary fermentation. Now let's say
> that you want to do extended maceration. You wait for the primary to
> slow down, then you just keep the must in the fermenter and continue to
> punch down the cap, except that you cover the thing with CO2 after
> every time so that the must is not in contact with oxygen. So my
> question is this, after you are done with extended maceration and you
> press the grapes, do you still go to a secondary fermentation or do you
> cold stabilize it, or just store it? Thanks.