Re: Astringency / Other

Jan 03, 2008 2 Replies


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> 1.) Some of my wines are astringent to the tongue. Specifically to the
> edges of the tongue, if that makes a difference. ...

Astringency on the front of the tongue is associated with acidity. Astringency on the sides of the tongue is from tannins. If you are adding no tannin, then I suggest cutting back on skin contact (press earlier), aging your wine longer, or decanting in advance of serving.


2.) With white wines, I have been having a problem maintaining SO2 levels.
> My wine always seems to oxidize - get a brownish tint to it. ...

What grapes are you using? Some native American grapes are known to produce wine that oxidizes easily. Jack Keller wrote about one on his site but at the moment I can't find the reference. If proper SO2 levels aren't working for you, perhaps you should consider using an inert gas when racking. Also double check all of your airlocks and bungs; make sure everything is airtight. On the off chance that you are aging in oak barrels, you should consider switching to carboys in order to avoid the micro-oxygenation that occurs with barrels.


3.) I will be planting Vidal Blanc grapes in the Spring. 1 acre of them,

I wish I had an acre of anything :-}


Greg G.

I found the item on Jack Keller's website. His blog from May 27th,

2007 at
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details the issue. The grape variety in question is Blanc du Bois, but I'm under the impression that the issue may affect other varieties to a lesser extent.

Greg

On Jan 2, 8:04 pm, "John F" wrote: I had made some Vidal Blanc wine about 1 year ago. Around

Well, I make hybrids also and blending can be very unpredictable. You must do trial blends. Your technique wasn't standard but if it worked out this time who is to complain. Rose is not made by blending, it's made by very short skin contact; hours to a day at most. That way you extract less from the skins and maintain the fruitiness. I think that may have been your biggest issue. You can use the skins in another wine, they don't have to go to waste.

For whites, titrettes from Chemetrics are cheap, they are useless for reds. The more accurate way to do this is aeration oxidation but you will spend around $250 on hardware and chemicals. It's worth doing though.

I fermented whites in glass to good effect this year. If you can find a way to seal up your fermenter after the first day or so you may see less darkening.

I'm not much help here, I don't grow grapes. Sorry. Your county agricultural agent may be your best source of info here.

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