2009 Riesling

By David A. Gerling

Just about everything that could go wrong with this wine did so, but it won a Silver Medal at the 2010 New York State Fair!

NOTE: A key to abbreviations used follows this article.

This made 5 gallons of wine.

Log Notes

Oct. 23, 2009: I got 5 gals. of juice from Doug Allen (JD Wine Cellars). I added 1.7g KMBS to get 50 ppm. I put the juice into a 10-gal stainless steel container for the fermentation.
The TA was 1.28, the pH was 2.80 and the Brix was 19.
I added corn sugar to raise the Brix to 22. I added 57g of K bicarbonate to reduce the acids by 3g/L. The new numbers were TA 1.10 and pH 3.2.
I made a yeast starter (see How to Make a Yeast Starter) with Lalvin 71B-1122, which will reduce the malic acid by up to 40%, and added the yeast starter to the juice.
I added 3g of Fermaid-K yeast nutrient to the juice.
The juice fermented at 70-75° F, stirring once per day (stirring releases some heat and CO2 and mixes up the yeast and nutrients).

Oct. 25:  I added 3g more of Fermaid-K nutrient.

Oct. 27:  I added the last 3g of Fermaid-K nutrient.

Oct. 29:  I added 1g of DAP nutrient.

Oct. 30:  I racked into a 5-gal glass carboy. I added 1.3g of KMBS to get 40 ppm.
The TA was .95, the pH was 3.44, and the S.G. was .992.
I put the carboy into my garage.

Dec. 9:  I racked into a 6-gal pail. I added 1.3 g of KMBS to get 40 ppm.
I smelled H2S gas (rotten eggs), so I added 1ml of copper sulfate and let stand overnight.

Dec. 10:  The smell had gone away the next day.
I added Super-Kleer to fine the wine and put it back into a 5-gal carboy.
I put the carboy back into the garage. The temperature was about 40°F.

Mar. 14, 2010:  I racked the wine into a 6-gal pail. I added 1.1g of KMBS to get 40 ppm.
The TA was .62 and the pH was 3.5. I added 40 g of tartaric acid. Now the TA was .71 and the pH was 3.3.
I added 14g of PVPP fining agent to reduce the amber color in the wine.
I waited 24 hours, stirring 6 times.

Mar. 15:  I racked the wine into a 5-gal carboy and put it in the garage.

Mar. 26:  I racked the wine into a 6-gal pail. The amber color was almost gone and the wine was clear.
I added 2.5 g of K Sorbate.
I added 195g of sucrose sugar to get 1% sugar.
I bottled the wine through a .2 u filter using my ENOL Matic Machine.
The final TA was .71, the pH was 3.3 and the sugar was 1%.

 

KEY to abbreviations used:

DAP  di-ammonium phosphate, a commonly used yeast nutrient.

K bicarbonate  potassium bicarbonate, to buffer (reduce) acid.

KMBS  potassium metabisulfite.

K sorbate  potassium sorbate, a stabilizer that prevents further yeast production.

PVPP  polyvinylpolypyrolidone, a plastic-based fining agent that removes browning in white wines and reduces bitterness.