Visitors to our vineyard

Louis Mostert, a former South African vintner, is visiting his daughter who lives in Ireland and asked to stop by to see what we were doing. He was very encouraged and has put us in touch with a enologist in SA who wants to come to Ireland. 

Louis owned a vineyard and winery in SA but has sold it and retired. He now consults for other vintners. He thought our vines looked very healthy. It's always good to hear from people who know what they are doing that we are not insane. 

The Rondo leaves have just turned a pleasing shade of reddish-orange. All the others are still green. 

Adding sugar to control alcohol

Measuring SG with a hydrometer

When must ferments, it is turning sugar into alcohol. Last year, our wine was high in alcohol. This year, I think it will be lower and may need a boost. Less sugar in the fermentation equals less alcohol in the wine. 

Trying to control the alcohol content of your wine is not always necessary. Most recipes are designed to make a wine that is in balance and has an alcohol level that is appropriate to the wine’s traditional style.

Wine recipes often call for specific quantities of sugar. But if you are starting with grapes, adding half the sugar that a wine recipe calls for does not give you half the alcohol in the wine. This is because some of the sugar is coming from the fruit itself.

An easy way to get around this is to use this general rule of thumb when attempting to control the alcohol content of a wine:1 pound of sugar dissolved in 5 gallons of must will raise the potential alcohol content by approximately 1%.

“One pound of sugar added to 5 gallons of must will increase the wine’s potential alcohol by 1%.”

The opposite holds true as well.

Controling the alcohol content of your wine

The biggest problem with this generality is that it does not tell you what your potential alcohol level is  before you make any adjustments. If you are following a wine recipe that calls for a specific amount of sugar, it will only get you in a potential alcohol range, not an exact target. This is because the amount of sugar contributed by the fruit can vary.

The best way to adjust the beginning sugar level in your wine’s must is to use a wine hydrometer. Most gravity hydrometers have a Potential Alcohol scale that will tell you how much alcohol the sugar in your wine can potentially make. Knowing this will allow you to control your finished wine’s alcohol level with more precision.

What's the best alcohol level in the finished wine?

The wrong alcohol content can have consequences. Too little and your wine can spoil, too much and it can taste harsh.

The alcohol level of a wine should be at least 8%. Wine needs alcohol to keep contaminants in check. Over time, wines that have 5%-7% alcohol are more susceptible to spoilage and tend to turn brown.

You also do not want your wine’s potential alcohol to be more than 14%. There's a limit as to how much alcohol a wine yeast can tolerate. Shooting for an alcohol level that is beyond your yeast’s ability to ferment can result in either a stuck fermentation or a wine that is too sweet.

The Alcohol by Volume (ABV) is calculated by subtracting the start gravity from the finish gravity and dividing this figure by 7.362. For example, the starting point for our wine last year was 1.100 and if this fermented down to 0.990, the drop will have been 110 points. This divided by 7.362 is 14.94% ABV. In fact, we ended up with a very high alcohol content but not as high as the calculation. 

Raising the specific gravity (SG)

Raising the specific gravity of wine with sugar syrup is a good way to get the SG up to where you need it when making a wine that just needs a little boost. Knowing how much sugar syrup to add to the wine to get from point A to point B on a hydrometer scale is very useful. To do this you need to know the specific gravity of the sugar syrup. 

You can use a wine hydrometer to determine the specific gravity of the sugar syrup you make. Just put the hydrometer in a sample of the syrup just like you would when testing your wine. If the reading goes off the scale, add an equal amount of water and sugar syrup to a sample large enough to fill the cylinder in which you are doing your readings. Then take a gravity reading and times it by two.

As an example, after you added equal parts of water and sugar syrup, let's say you get a reading of 1.110. That would mean that the sugar syrup’s 'actual' SG is 1.220. You double the 'gravity' part of your reading because you cut the sugar syrup by half. 

Once you know the SG of the sugar syrup, raising the specific gravity of your wine with sugar syrup is just a matter of some calculations. 

Let’s say you want to add 6 ounces of sugar syrup that has a specific gravity of 1.300 to a gallon of wine:

A gallon of wine has 128 fluid ounces. You want to add 6 fluid ounces of sugar syrup for a new total of 134 ounces. Now you need to spread the gravity of (220 times 6) over the 134 ounces. So it is (220 X 6) divided by 134. That equals 9.8507. 

Let's make an equation

(Gravity of Syrup x Ounces of Syrup Per Gallon)/(128 + Ounces of Syrup Added) = Rise in SG

or

(220 x 6)/(128 + 6) = 9.85

There is a very good explanation and useful chart on this page. 

So if you are raising the specific gravity of a must with a sugar syrup that has a specific gravity reading of 1.220, and you add 6 fluid ounces of that syrup to each gallon of homemade wine, then the specific gravity of that homemade wine would be raised by 9.85 points on the gravity scale. For example, if the wine has a specific gravity of 1.060, the new reading would be 1.06985. You could round it to 1.070.  That yields a potential alcohol figure of 9.2. That's perfect!

I have ordered a book that many call the bible of home winemaking:  First steps in winemaking. It apparently covers this topic very well. 

Hydrometer Chart

Specific Gravity (SG)	Potential Alcohol (PA) % by Volume	Amount of Sugar Per Gallon
1.010	0.9	0 lbs. 2 oz.
1.015	1.6	0 lbs. 4 oz.
1.020	2.3	0 lbs. 7 oz.
1.025	3.0	0 lbs. 9 oz.
1.030	3.7	0 lbs. 12 oz.
1.035	4.4	0 lbs. 15 oz.
1.040	5.1	1 lb. 1 oz.
1.045	5.8	1 lb. 3 oz.
1.050	6.5	1 lb. 5 oz.
1.055	7.2	1 lb. 7 oz.
1.060	7.8	1 lb. 9 oz.
1.065	8.6	1 lb. 11 oz.
1.070	9.2	1 lb. 13 oz.
1.075	9.9	1 lb. 15 oz.
1.080	10.6	2 lbs. 1 oz.
1.085	11.3	2 lbs. 4 oz.
1.090	12.0	2 lbs. 6 oz.
1.095	12.7	2 lbs. 8 oz.
1.100	13.4	2 lbs. 10 oz.
1.105	14.1	2 lbs. 12 oz.
1.110	14.9	2 lbs. 14 oz.
1.115	15.6	3 lbs. 0 oz.
1.120	16.3	3 lbs. 2 oz.
1.125	17.0	3 lbs. 4 oz.
1.130	17.7	3 lbs. 6 oz.

Steps in making wine

The first step in making wine is planting the vines and tending to them for five years before expecting a harvest. You lose your first measly harvest to the birds because you decided to wait one more day for the sugar to increase around year 4. You get a small but encouraging harvest at year 5. Now finally in year 6, there are plenty of grapes because having learned your lesson, you've protected them from the birds using raptor kites flying above, shiny CDs hanging among the grape clusters, a scarecrow, and a metal heron standing tall below. Perhaps you wrap them in mesh bags or cover the whole vineyard with mesh. Finally, the day comes when they test ripe enough measured with a refractometer. We have finally experienced that pleasure. 

This is my new list of steps to making wine so I don't have to start from scratch next year. We have decided not to use Campden tablets or any chemicals in the process. We will use them only for the sterilisation of the equipment.

1. Harvest grapes - we found that needle nose anvil shears or Cultivation Scissors are the handiest
2. Rinse grapes and let them dry and sterilize all equipment
3. Press grapes to release juice called must (by hand, by Moulin, or by fruit press)
4. Measure specific gravity (SG)
1. Pour some juice through a sieve into the testing cylinder
2. Drop hydrometer into the liquid so it floats
3. Read the SG
5. Pour red crushed grapes into a sterilised brewing bucket
6. Cover the bucket and leave for 24 hours
7. Make yeast starter
1. Boil water and allow to cool
2. Dissolve 1 tbsp sugar in 1/2 cup of water
3. Add wine yeast to the sugar solution 
4. Cover and allow to bubble for about an hour
8. If SG <1.010 consider adding sugar.  Make sugar syrup with filtered boiled water to compensate for SG (see next post for calculations)
9. Add sugar syrup and yeast starter to grapes
10. Cover the bucket and leave at room temperature (or on a heated pad if necessary)
11. Stir bucket daily, pressing grapes down into the liquid as they rise
12. After 6 days, pass juice through muslin cloth in a sieve - squeeze all juice out of grapes
13. Measure SG
14. Pour the juice into sterilized demijohns - fill as much as possible to reduce contact with air.
15. Dissolve sugar in cool boiled water to compensate for SG (see next post)
16. Add sugar water to the wine in the demijohns and set aside at room temperature to settle and ferment for several weeks.
17. Use the plastic tube to siphon the wine into clean glass secondary fermentation containers. The purpose is to separate the wine from the sediment as it ferments. Called racking.
18. Continue racking for 2-3 months until the wine runs clear.
19. Run the wine into bottles using cleaned plastic tubing, leaving space for cork and a half-inch more
20. Insert corks or screw caps
21. Store upright for the first three days
22. After 3 days, store bottles on their sides ideally at 55 degrees F (13 degrees C).
23. White wine ready to drink after 6 months. Red wine should be aged at least 1 year.

The price of some wines

A customer of the new Nusr-et restaurant in London was shocked when he received a bill for more than £37,000. Salt Bae's restaurants are notorious for serving £700 steaks and £200 burgers. And yes, they ordered the Golden Tomahawk for £850 (was there really only one main course ordered?). But what sent this customer's bill soaring was the wine. First a 1996 Petrus for £9100, 2 bottles of Petrus 2003 for which they paid £19900 and 2 bottles of Dom Perignon Rose for £1620. There were 4 guests at the dinner after all. That's a lot of wine for 4 people. Even the Norwegian water was super pricey. And it's all just made that restaurant famous! 

After all, Chateau Lafitte-Rothchild 2010 goes for €13070 a bottle. Château Mouton Rothschild 2005 a mere €11530 a bottle including VAT. On Google, 6 bottles of 2003 Petrus can be obtained for the bargain price of €24430, if you can source it. Château Margaux 2005, 1er cru classe Bordeaux, feels like a steal at €6,790 incl. VAT for a case of 6 bottles. That's €1,131.67 / Unit. 

Of course, the 15% service charge accounted for almost £5000. I hope they got what they paid for. 

I think I will investigate the second wines of Bordeaux. An explanation on Millesima.ie:

'Second Wines : Key Points

"Second Wines", typical concept of Bordeaux, do enjoy the same terroir and the same care as their elder siblings. The main difference lies here in the age of the vine. Replanted parcels, dedicated to produce the "Grand Vin" in a few years' time, will be used to create the Second wine. It offers a different interpretation of a wine by its producing estate. The know-how remains identical, whether considering the process followed in the cellars, maturing methods or bottling. In great vintages, such 2nd wines enable to assess and enjoy the style and quality of great names from Bordeaux at more affordable rates.'

Vineyards in Denmark

Maybe we are not so crazy. I had no idea there were vineyards in Denmark. Whereas we are Europe's westernmost vineyard, they are touting being Europe's northernmost vineland. Since 2000, they have been making wines in Denmark. There are four key regions: Jutland, Funen, Zealand and Bornholm.

We started in 2015 in Mayo. There are vineyards now in counties Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, and Cork. We are not yet producing thousands of bottles, but hey, it's a start and you never know. 

Sediment settling

 

Day 2 and the sediment is already settling and the juice clarifying. This stage is called racking. Why I don't know. But from here, we will use gravity to siphon the liquid from the top and leave the sediment behind. One does this usually about a week into the racking. Then again until it's as clear as you want before bottling. 

Making wine

Yesterday, we decanted and strained the Solaris must through cheesecloth in a sieve and squeezed all the remaining juice out of the grapes through the cloth. We measured specific gravity of 1.0075 so we don't have a long way to go. The liquid is quite cloudy so it will take some time to clarify in the demijohn. The tiny drops I tasted were actually quite good but strongly flavoured.

We had a lot more red must from the Rondo grapes so Alex devised a method of forming a ball in the cheesecloth and squeezing it in his hands. We pondered whether we should make grappa but thought better of it. 

Again the specific gravity read 1.0075 so we surmised we harvested a bit early. For next year, I have purchased a refractometer so we'll be a bit more scientific. Last year, our Rondo came in at 1.02 so we had a long way to go to get to .99. This year, we won't have as much alcohol content. The juice tasted much sweeter last year. This year's juice is a bit harsh tasting but the smell is lovely. 

So we have one demijohn of white and two of red. That's getting better already. Now we wait. The trouble is, we have forgotten from year to year what we need to do. I suppose I should take a course.