From Vine to Wine
Part 4: Waiting for Wine--The Aging Process
By
Steve Trabun
By day, Steve Trabun is a Project Consultant
with Avista Corporation. In his off-time,
he and his wife Dana have been making a journey-to vineyards far and
wide, seeking fellow "wineaus" (others who appreciate fine wines),
and toward their own "perfect bottle." It's a hobby that is hard to
beat when it comes to sharing the fruits of your labor with friends
and family. We have followed along as they went from "Catching
the Bug" to using "Kits" and then to
the "Vineyards and Beyond." Here is the
final chapter of their story.
Home Winemaking, Part 4
Waiting for Wine: The Aging Process
Secondary Fermentation
After the primary fermenting process was complete, the alcohol
content in our wines ended up between 13 percent and 15 percent. For
the red wines, it was now time to press the skins to prepare for the
next stage of fermentation. Using a mesh cloth, we pressed each red
wine and transferred the contents into six-gallon carboys. In a
couple of instances, we had a little extra wine that we placed into
one gallon jugs. This excess would be used later in the process to
"top off" the carboys so that there would be no room for air,
bacteria's favorite friend.
Rack 'n' Roll
In early January we "racked" the wine from its current carboy into a
clean one, leaving behind the "lees" or sediment. (A special siphon
hose and other winemaking toys are a handy investment to help with
this process.) As the sediment settles to the bottom, the wine
becomes clearer. The process of racking the wine from one carboy to
another, leaving the sediment behind at the bottom, results in air
space remaining at the top of the wine's new carboy. The excess wine
that we saved in the one gallon jugs was poured in to top it off, so
that little to no air was present to cause oxidation or spoilage.
Amazingly, after only three months, all of our wines had become
very clear. Of course, it was also an opportunity for Dana and I to
sample each of the wines. Much to our surprise, each of the
varieties had their own distinct flavor and they were quite good. So
good, that after we had topped off each of the carboys, we consumed
all the excess wine.
Flavor Enhancers
At the same time, we decided to begin fine tuning some of our wine
through the "oaking" process. There are a couple of options for
giving wine a toasty oak flavor. One common method is to add oak
chips (French, European, or American) to the wine in the carboy.
Another option is to transfer the wine from a carboy into small oak
barrels that are generally available to home winemakers. This year,
we chose to take the easier route, and purchased French oak chips at
Jim's Home brew. We added the oak to our Chardonnay and Carignane.
From Carboys to Bottles
The aging time prior to bottling wine is generally nine months to
one year for reds and about six to nine months for whites. We were
definitely eager to get our wine bottled, and by the time you read
this, we will have bottled our Chardonnay. We'll do the same with
our red wines in June or July.
We also began designing the labels for our 2002 Tre Vino vintage
wines. With our love of wines and sailing, you might imagine what
we've created. Our labels are shaped like a large, wind-filled
mainsail on top of a sailboat hull. When we tested one on a bottle,
the sail-shaped curve of the label nicely followed the shape of the
glass-Tre Cool!
 In
mid-February, after oaking our Chardonnay for about one month, Dana
and I checked the clarity and tasted the results. We were amazed at
how clear the wine was, and it tasted better than many of the
Chardonnays we had recently purchased. So without hesitation, we
decided to bottle it. We only ended up with about 15 bottles, since
we started the process with just 60 pounds of grapes that Jed Morris
had hand-picked for us in the fall of 2002.
This was the one wine that I suspected might end up becoming our
cooking wine, since the grapes were from very young vines (about two
years old) and the acidity was quite high-so high, in fact, that I
added chalk to the primary fermentation in an effort to reduce the
acidity. Also, I didn't have enough of this wine reserved to fully
top off the three-gallon carboy, so I ended up adding some Kendall
Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay. Anyway, thinking that we had all
of these variables working against us (except for the Kendall
Jackson) we were quite amazed with the results.
After bottling the wine, we wax-dipped the yellow glass bottles
in a plum colored wax and tried out our new "TreVino" labels. All in
all, they actually turned out pretty good. The wine will continue to
age on its side for the next few months. And with only fifteen
bottles, we'll give one to Jed for all of his efforts in
hand-picking the grapes, and the others we'll savor at a slow
pace-about one bottle per month.
We also decided to taste our red wines, and much to our surprise,
they are all very clear and have a wonderful "nose" (smell) to them.
They taste young, but after only four months since the process
started, this was to be expected. So we added some French oak chips
to the merlot and sangiovese, and will let them continue to age for
the next several months.
The Synergy of Sharing
We've been discussing the idea of a "blending party" with Jed. The
idea is for several of us in our winemaking circle to each bring a
carboy of red wine, hopefully of different varietals, and try
various combinations of blends in individual wine glasses. When the
perfect combination is achieved, and the group agrees on which blend
is best, then those varietals are blended, the wine is bottled and
divided between the winemakers.
We're definitely in an "experimental" phase-this is still our
first year of making wine from grapes. And although we would
contribute some of our reds to the blending party, we're still very
interested in analyzing our own processes and results.
Vintages of the Future
There has definitely been a lot of discussion around the 2003 grape
harvest. I am certain that we'll make a greater quantity of wine
this year. Let's face it, with only 15 bottles of Chardonnay and 30
bottles each of merlot, sangiovese and carignane, we're on strict
rations. It's like prohibition at the Trabun household. Okay, that's
an exaggeration. Truth be told, we keep spending a lot of money on
the great red wines of the Spokane, Walla Walla and California
regions.
We've discussed fermenting our grapes this year through a process
known as malolactic fermentation. This is a slower fermenting
process leveraging bacteria, and generally results in much more
flavorful full-bodied wines. There is also greater risk of failure
if you don't control the bacteria correctly.
We've had conversations with Bob at Jim's Home Brew about all
pitching in and bringing up a whole bunch of grapes from the
Pleasants vineyard and crushing them in their parking lot this fall
(don't know if it's legal, but it sure sounds like fun).
Another conversation with my brother-in-law has us transforming
our garage into a climate-controlled environment where we would
store his 500-gallon stainless steel tank for primary fermentation
and secondary wine storage.
In another conversation, Dana has us growing bonsai grape vines
in our own backyard. Yep, they have grape vines trained to produce
large quantities of grapes from even the smallest of vines.
It's unclear which direction our adventures in winemaking will
lead us this fall. One thing is for sure: we're going to be making a
lot more wine from grapes this year!
A few years ago, we christened our sailboat "Absolut Breeze"
after our love for vodka. We have definitely made a transition into
the world of wine. (Should the boat be renamed "Grape Breeze"?)
Although we aren't true connoisseurs of our new found favorite
liquid beverage--not yet, anyway--we certainly have a strong
appreciation for the effort and process involved in the "art and
science" of making quality wine. And let's face it; it's great for
the heart and soul! It's been a great journey from vine to wine.
Cheers and TreVino!
Part 1
| Part 2 | Part 3
| Part 4
This is the final installment of the series. However, Steve
may offer updates from the home winemaking front in future issues!
Click here to send any comments or questions to Steve.
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