2015 FAll Vintage 

There tends to be two main styles of Merlot. The "International style" favored by many New World wine regions tends to emphasize late harvesting to gain physiological ripeness and produce inky, purple colored wines that are full in body with high alcohol and lush, velvety tannins with intense, plum and blackberry fruit. While this international style is practiced by many Bordeaux wine producers, the traditional "Bordeaux style" of Merlot involves harvesting Merlot earlier to maintain acidity and producing more medium-bodied wines with moderate alcohol levels that have fresh, red fruit flavors (raspberries, strawberries) and potentially leafy, vegetal notes.

This is what the chromatography paper looks like before the test

10/24/15  Cabernet fermentation has slowed significantly. Brix is down to 2.  I transferred the wine to two 6 gallon carboys and started malolactic fermentation.

The classic profile of Cabernet Sauvignon tends to be full-bodied wines with high tannin and noticeable acidity that contributes to the wine's aging potential. In cooler climates, Cabernet Sauvignon tends to produce wines with blackcurrant notes that can be accompanied by green bell pepper notes, mint and cedar which will all become more pronounced as the wine ages. In more moderate climates the blackcurrant notes are often seen with black cherry and black olives notes while in very hot climates the current flavors can veer towards the over-ripe and "jammy" side.

This is what the chromatography paper looks like after the test

10/18/15  Picked up Napa Valley juice today. Two 6 gallon pails each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. I excited because Napa Valley juice is a premium juice and is not always available to home winemakers. Cabernet Sauvignon measured 26 Brix, pH 3.50, and TA .58. Merlot measured 24 Brix, pH 3.20 and TA .61.   After taking the initial readings I added 50 ppm SO2 and 6 oz Oakmore to each fermenter.

10/21/15  Fermentation strong.  No off odors.  Sugar is now at 1/3 depletion so I added yeast nutrients (Fermaid K).

Progress Notes

​Vino fatto con la famiglia e gli amici.

Roccograndi wine

How do you know when MLF is done? The picture on the left shows the 3 acids present in the wine, tartaric, malic, and lactic. MLF converts malic acid to lactic acid. The bottom row show the tartaric acid which will remain when the test is completed. The middle row shows the malic acid and the top row shows lactic acid.  So is MLF complete? Not yet. When MLF is complete the middle row will practically disappear.

10/19/15  Ready to add yeast.  Made yeast mixture using BM 4x4 yeast and Go-Ferm. Juice temperature 59 degrees F.  Added yeast.

MLF not completed

02/09/16 Well, enough time has passed that MLF should have occurred but unfortunately it was a no go.  After 3 months and MLF not completing I decided to inoculate the wine with fresh ML culture.  I assume that because we had a mild winter and did not have our heat on much this winter my basement was too cold (60 degrees F) to complete MLF. Yesterday and through the night I ran a small heater and warmed the temp to 70 degrees. This morning I removed 6 oz wine from each carboy and added one packet of the same liquid ML culture I used initially. After adding the culture I mixed 5 grams of Micro Essentials Oeno ML Nutrient to 60 ml warm water and added slowly to the carboys.  You need to add the nutrient slowly as the wine will initially foam up. Once the foaming subsides I topped each carboy off with some of the wine I removed early. I should note that I sampled each carboy prior to adding the ML culture and flavor and aroma is truly beautiful but I can not wait until the tart tasting malic acid is converted to the softer lactic acid. 

12/05/15  5 weeks have now passed since I innoculated the wine with malolactic culture. Time to start testing for completeness.  Using Chromatography paper to test. On the picture below you see where I have marked the various acids (Tartaric, Malic, Lactic) along with a sample of each of the wines I will be testing. MLF is completed when the malo acid is converted to the softer lactic acid.