Perhaps this is a dumb question, but why press and remove all (or nearly all) solids from a white must before fermenting? Is it just to keep the tannin to a minimum and make a lighter, faster maturing wine?
Or do white skins make an unpleasant flavor contribution?
mainly, yes
somewhat.
Not sure that's a factor.
This may be part of the equation. Tannins from white grapes tend to be more bitter tasting than astringent, and the skin components can add greenish (to get technical on you) type of characteristics.
That said, some whites are cold soaked to extract flavor from the skins. Gewerztraminer and her daughter Traminette are two examples.
clyde
Hey, Clyde, don't forget Chardonnay!
Tom S
Hi All,
Just something to chew on and generate discussion...
If grapes are ripe, what is the negative from the skins?? I know tradition says to limit "skin contact" but I think the real problem is seed contact, not skin contact. Here's someting to consider... Suppose you had a seedless variety of a white wine grape like Sauvignon Blanc or Gewurztraminer. Assuming the grapes were very ripe (i.e. - minimizing or eliminating the vegetative character in the skins), what would be the downside to skin contact??? CHEERS!
Aaron
The main reason you do not use the skins in making a white wine is so you do not make a red wine. Red grapes are used to make white wine. The color comes from the skin. If you ferment just the juice you get white. If you ferment on the skins you get red. If you use white grapes and ferment on the skin you will get a white wine with red character. As you see, it is a style thing.
Ray
In ripe grape berries, about 30% of the phenols are in the skins, about 65% in the seeds and 5% in the juice. The seeds contain more phenols, but phenols are extracted more easily from skins. lum
Absolutely nothing wrong with weird. It is a mater of style. If you like red wines and you have some white grapes or grapes traditionally used for white, go against tradition and use the skins. Just let us know how it turns out. As I recall, about 20 years ago I found some unidentified small extremely sweet green grapes at the local farmers market. No idea what they were but they were not table grapes. I got a 2 lugs, crushed them and made may first gal of grape wine. Came out tasting just like a Hock wine a friend had just bought and I felt like I had really accomplished someting. Wine making is meant to be fun. Do something different.
Ray
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