An article on the health benefits of wine said that the traditional methods used in Southern France and Sardinia were responsible for the higher phenolic content of their wines.
Does anyone know what this method(s) are? Apparantly key to these methods is fermenting on the skins for 2-3 weeks. How can this be done safely?
thanks Joe
You must keep a layer of CO2 on the wine. You can either ferment in a sealable container that allows you to keep the cap down such as a stainless steel primary with a floating top or you can use a CO2 canister and maintain a CO2 layer on top of the wine.
Ray
The very short piece that I saw on TV news seemed to indicate that it was due to the age of the vines. Of course, I believe very little of what I see on the TV news.
Steve
No more punchdowns, just let it rest with a tight cover of plastic wrap. The CO2 left in the wine should protect it for a week or more. I do this to some of my zin, and I like the result.
Gene
P> Thanks for the information!
With Pinot Noir they also may run off some of the free run and use that as another wine; that concentrates the remainder. The free run makes a very nice blush wine. California Central Valley Grenache is even better as a blush, very perfumed.
Joe
That is an interesting suggestion. My Pinot Noir is usually not very dark. I may try this next year. thanks Joe
If the cap is still forming, you must punch it down. But it should settle before the extended fermentation finishes. I have done this and found that I was nervous about it and gave it up. I, like you, have read that the extended skin contact will yield a darker wine. But then I have red that after most of the fermentation is over the skins can actually start taking the pigments back up and lighten the wine. I don't know?????
Ray
I've seen a graph of the colour and tannin extraction in terms of length of skin contact, I think in the Margalit's book. The tannins keep on increasing although at a low rate after 10 days or so; colour intensity reaches maximum at 7-10 days and then drops down a bit - so yes, this would indicate the colour gets lighter. The drop on the graph is not big, so it doesn't mean that an inky Can will suddenly turn light.
Also, the other issue is colour stability, and the higher tannin extraction in the extended maceration could help with that.
Pp
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