Category: Malbec Wine

Wine Making Yeast Bits

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What separates wine from simple juice is the fermentation process in wine making. Fermentation involves wine making yeast, not any other type of yeast like your bread yeast.

Importance
 
Wine yeast is the most important ingredient in wine making. Not only as an ingredient but the process of mixing it with the must will make or break the whole batch of wine. It is said that the real winemaker is not the person making the wine but the yeast itself. The yeast works to absorb the sugar from the fruit and creating alcohol and carbon dioxide in equal portions.
 
Timing
 
The timing of mixing in the yeast is crucial as well. One can neither put the yeast too early nor too late, in the whole wine process. At best, wine making yeast is mixed in at least twenty four hours after the fruit is crushed. And it is left to stand interacting with the must for at least five to seven days, with only a few stirring twice to thrice a day.
 
Activation
 
For better results, wine making yeast must be activated first before mixing it into the fruit must. How? Mix the yeast into a cup of juice squeezed from the must and set aside for at least twelve hours before mixing it into the must. Or a cup of warm water will suffice. Do not use hot water as the temperature will kill the yeast rather than activating it. You know the yeast is active when the mixture looks like it is boiling.
 
Buying
 
Buying yeast is extremely easy. Just make sure that the label reads wine making yeast or something to that fashion. Any generic brand will make do for the amateurs. But if you are the brave type or already an aficionado, those specialty types are great choices. The amount you buy is also noteworthy, a ten milligram packet of yeast is sufficient to work on ten gallons of grape must.
 
So you see, even the hardest part of the wine process, which is the part involving wine yeast, is relatively easy once you know why it is crucial, what to buy and how and when to use it.

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Getting Wine Theme Kitchen Decor Work

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Wine theme kitchen decor can add a touch of the rustic Mediterranean to your home. It can make your kitchen look stylish and upscale, especially if you do it in a way that works well. If you are going to remodel then you may wish to consider wine theme kitchen decor if it is something that would be in keeping with your character and personal taste.

It is easy to find kitchen decor accessories and accent pieces that have a vineyard theme. You can purchase such items at the stores in your municipality or via the internet. However, making the wine theme kitchen decor work well is a little trickier. As with every other room that is decorated with a particular theme you can easily make things look excessively garish if you don’t put some thought into what you are doing.

Start with the Basics

If you choose wine theme kitchen decor it is best to start with the basics before you buy any accent pieces or accessories that are reminiscent of vineyards. Begin by choosing materials and paint colors. Natural rustic materials such as stone, marble and granite tend to compliment wine theme kitchen decor.

You should also choose paint colors that are in keeping with your vineyard theme. For instance, warm yellow, oatmeal, terra cotta, leaf green and a light reddish-purple that is similar to the color of grapes could work very well in such a kitchen. Once you have chosen your materials and colors you will then be in a position to choose matching wine theme kitchen decor accent pieces and accessories.

Keep it Simple

When you are searching for wine theme kitchen decor accessories try not to go over the top. If you insist on making sure that every picture, bowl, plate, table cloth, dish towel and window dressing has a vineyard theme then the overall effect will be course and excessive. It is better to limit the number of wine theme kitchen decor items. The idea here is to suggest rather than insist. Stick a wine rack or two, some decorative bottles, a few ceramics, a candle holder and a couple of prints that have a vineyard theme.

If you don’t want your kitchen to look too complicated you had best avoid tablecloths, drapes, place mats and wall clocks with a wine theme, especially if they clash with the rest of the decor. By keeping it simple your kitchen will look classy and chic. If you have made it work well your guests will be reminded of elegant country homes in the heart of rural Italy rather than the latest discounts on offer at their local liquor store.

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Wine Making Hydrometer Basics

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A hydrometer is an indispensable tool in the winemaker’s arsenal. Hydrometers are used at different stages in the wine making process, and by learning what your hydrometer is saying you’ll be able to refine your wine making techniques.

Basically, the heavier, or denser a liquid is, the higher the hydrometer will float. When just starting a batch of wine, the juice is “thick” with sugars. When fermentation occurs the juice goes from the thicker, syrupy consistency to a thinner liquid containing more alcohol. Thus, a hydrometer will float at different levels all throughout a fermentation as the liquid goes from “thicker” to “thinner”.

Specific Gravity is one scale on your hydrometer. This scale is based on the weight of water. A hydrometer floating in water will have a specific gravity of 1.000 When you start a batch of wine a typical specific gravity reading will be around 1.080. At that point the juice is 8 percent thicker than water. When fermentation is complete, the reading will be around 0.995, meaning that the sugar has been turned into alcohol and the juice is now thinner than water.

Another scale on your hydrometer is potential alcohol (PA). To arrive at potential alcohol readings you must measure the PA at the beginning of fermentation and also again at the end. An example might help here. Suppose you measure the PA of your juice at 14 % when beginning fermentation. This reading means that “potentially” you can get 14% alcohol from your juice. But not all fermentation use up every bit of sugar. If you take a reading when fermentation is complete and the PA is 1%, then your wine has 13% alcohol, the difference between the two readings.

Another scale on most hydrometers is Brix, also known as Balling. This is usually used by advanced wine makers and also commercial wineries. The Brix scale shows the percentage of sugar in the juice by weight. For instance, if you have a reading of 22 on the Brix scale, that means the juice is made up of 22% sugar by weight. Wineries will use this scale to determine that their juice can produce the percentage of alcohol they desire.

A hydrometer is a very useful tool for the homemade winemaker. The more you use one the more familiar you’ll become with the various scales and how powerful their information they provide can be.

Yeast in Homemade Wine Making

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Yeast kicks off the fermentation process in wine making. After adding it to your must, it begins to consume the sugar, producing equal amounts of ethanol and carbon dioxide.

There are wild yeasts everywhere around us, including on the skins of grapes if you’re making wine from fresh fruits. Generally, winemakers discourage these yeasts from fermenting by adding sulfites to kill them off before they can get started. This is done so the winemaker has more control over the fermentation and can produce a consistent wine from batch to batch.

There are basically two types of wine available to home winemakers; liquid and dry.
Most homemade winemakers prefer to use dry yeast. It’s easier to store and to work with.
A subject of debate among homemade winemakers is whether or not to re-hydrate the dry yeast you’re working with. I’ve found that re-hydrating is really not necessary and in fact can lead to problems if the process is not done exactly right.

Two things that can adversely affect the performance of your yeast are the temperature and also the oxygen level. In order to achieve a proper, vigorous fermentation the temperature needs to be maintained between 70 -75 degrees. There are exceptions and variations to this. Some white wines are fermented at lower temperatures to enhance certain flavors, but special yeast is used to do this.

Oxygen is needed during primary fermentation because the yeast are multiplying rapidly during this stage and without air this multiplying can be severely restricted. During primary fermentation the use of an airlock is discouraged so the wine can get all the oxygen it needs. Primary fermentation lasts approximately 7 days and 70 percent of the fermentation is complete at this point.

During secondary fermentation the wine is usually placed in another vessel with an airlock attached. The airlock is to allow carbon dioxide to escape while preventing bacteria and other micro-organisms. The reduced exposure to air also gets the yeast to stop multiplying and put its energy into making alcohol.

Yeast is a crucial part of homemade wine making. The more you learn about yeast and the fermentation process, the more you’ll be rewarded wine batch after batch of consistent, delicious homemade wine.

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Sonoma County Wine Country

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France has historically been the top of the heap when it comes to wine production. Northern California has certainly given France a run for its money in the last 40 plus years. The Sonoma County wine region is one area that doesn’t get as much attention as it should, but it has a ton to offer.

Sonoma County is located above San Francisco and sits close to Napa Valley. Although located above San Francisco, the best way to access the area is through the Oakland airport. Regardless, an hour or two later in a rental car will deliver you to an absolutely beautiful set of valleys that are lined with wineries. This means vineyard after vineyard, a site to behold for both the eyes and palette.

Sonoma County is roughly a square in size with 50 miles per side. There are 260 wineries in the County. Over the roughly one million acres in the county, sixty thousand of them are planted with vines. There are 13 different American Viticulture Areas [AVA] in the county. Of these, Chardonnay is the dominant choice with over 15,000 acres planted. Cabernet Sauvignon comes in a somewhat distant second with over 10,000 acres planted. Overall, Sonoma Country produces between five and seven percent of the total wine tonnage in California every year.

On a personal front, I can tell you Sonoma County has much to offer in both the quality of wine produced and the general culture of the area. Napa Valley is the undisputed media darling of Northern California, but this also makes it a hectic place when it comes to tastings and such. Sonoma County is the opposite. Unlike Napa, you can head over to a quality winery like Stag’s Leap and talk personally with the vintner [makes the wine] and viticulturist [grows the grapes]. It is a quaint and friendly experience that reminds you of years past when California was a hidden secret when it came to wine production. For better or worse, those days are long gone.

Sonoma County is often overshadowed by Napa. If you are considering a trip to the area, try Sonoma County for a relaxed, education experience in fine wines at fine wineries.

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