* News Updates
* Special offers
* Post reviews
Create Account

Syrah In My Closet: Start the Presses

Written By: Michael Keba on Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wine 101 - Pressing wine is a precise and crucial element of the wine making process. It's also a tough task for a single college winemaker to handle.

It took about a week and a half for the fermentation to come to a halt. My vat of purple pulp stopped bubbling carbon dioxide, signaling the time to proceed with pressing. Unfortunately, I was suffering a severe time crunch when this happened. My infant wine had to be neglected until I found some spare time the next weekend to nurture it back to good health.

Pressing: The separation of the liquid from the grape solids (skins and seeds).

The skins and seeds are what impart color, flavor, and tannins to wine. I'll try to quickly summarize the last one; the term tannin refers to a class of large polyphenolic compounds found in plants that have been used commercially for hundreds of years to tan animal hides into leather. Why should the wine drinker be concerned about tanning leather? The tannins naturally found in grapes are responsible for much of the body, flavor, and mouth feel of wine. The antioxidant properties of tannins are one of the reasons wine can age so long. Tannins decompose over time to yield interesting flavors and aromas that are difficult to reproduce. This is why some aged red wines are so highly sought after ($$$). Interestingly, the amount of time a wine can age is directly related to the amount of tannins it contains. I've been learning a good deal about chemical reactions lately, and it has been interesting to see how I can apply material from my classes to applications beyond homework problems. Actually, I might have to write a research paper on resveratrol for my chemistry class. Resveratrol, another wine compound, has seen recent press for its possible life extension effects (anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, etc.), which may provide explanation for the "French Paradox", that is, health benefits associated with regular red wine consumption. It might be a tough read, but I'll try to make it interesting for those not enamored by organic chemistry (myself included). Keep checking for updates over the next month.

Now, back to pressing wine. The longer wine is left un-pressed, the more compounds are absorbed from the skins and seeds. Each grape has distinct characteristics contained within its skin, which the winemaker aims to express by giving the wine proper contact with its solids. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon is traditionally heavily tannic. To express the grape’s full potential, the must (juice with skins and seeds) is often left un-pressed for many months, soaking up large amounts of complexity from the solids. This gives Cab its long aging potential and the puckering sensation that sometimes turns off beginning wine drinkers. To add additional complexity and body to the wine, oak barrels are often used to add their own tannic compounds. In general, red wine is pressed after fermentation, while white wine is almost always pressed before. White wine lacks much of the tannic structure that red wine has, giving most more "drinkability" for the novice wine drinkerthem a simpler taste. Because of this, a white can usually not age as long as a heavy red.

For the syrah in my closet, I was able to connect with the student wine club on campus for some crucial equipment. With the help of DEVO, the Department of Enology and Viticulture Organization. I able to pick up of the club's basket press that Friday afternoon. Driving through a college campus is an interesting experience. Especially when all classes get out on the hour and there are thousands of bikers riding to their next class. Especially when you are driving your friend's enormous over-sized pickup truck.

The design of the basket press has stood the test of time. The one I used was probably not much different that ones used during biblical times - basically it's half of a caste with gaps between the slats. It was very easy to use; you just scoop up some must, pour it into the basket, and catch the crudely filtered wine that runs out between the wooden slats. The first liquid that runs out is called free run wine. It is mildly tannic compared to the juice still trapped in the solids. After you have poured all the must in, you put the top on the basket, crank down, and squeeze the rest of the liquid from the pomace (solid grape matter, minus the liquid). In commercial winemaking, the winemaker catches this liquid separately from the free run. Each successive pressing is labeled 1st press, 2nd press, etc. and is kept in its own respective container. The harder the press, the more tannins extracted from the pomace. The different runs of wine are later blended by the winemaker to achieve the desired consistency in the finished wine.

Once again, my lack of materials limited me; I didn't actually press my wine. I let the free run juice flow straight into my 7-gallon glass carboy, which quickly filled up before I could start cranking down. I would have liked to capture some pressed juice, but I never had much use for empty jugs before this project.

The pressing took place on the back porch of my apartment, where I was greeted by a sizable cloud of gnats. These insects were not invited to gorge on my newly birthed beverage, so I had to think quickly. I remembered that one of the freeloaders (friends) that frequent my apartment had left a cheap cigar on the coffee table the weekend before. I definitely wasn't going to smoke it, and thought that the gnats wouldn't want to either. I lit it on a table outside, and the plume of smoke proved to be a very effective means of keeping these bugs away. I'm pretty sure that the winemakers smoke inside their wineries in France. Maybe they do it for the same reason.

My pressing took place at the end of October, and it's been sitting untouched in my closet ever since. All the hard work is done, but it still has a long way to go before it is drinkable wine. There has accumulated a good deal of sediment on the bottom of the container. I think it's about time to proceed with the next step, racking, to siphon away the liquid from these particles. I think I might have a free day in the next few weekends, so I soon will be telling that story.

Send to a Friend Add to: Digg Add to: Del.icio.us

 Related Videos for Syrah In My Closet: Start the Presses

 1  2  3  4  5 ...  Next >> 

Old Original Bookbinder's in Philadelphia Interview and Wine Tasting Old Original Bookbinder's in Philadelphia Interview and Wine Tasting
Posted on Monday, April 9, 2007

A marathon tasting! Few wines pair better with seafood than Sauvignon Blanc, and no country is producing it better these days than New Zealand. In...read more

Bookbinder's Philadelphia Seafood Sampler Food and Wine Pairing Bookbinder's Philadelphia Seafood Sampler Food and Wine Pairing
Posted on Thursday, April 12, 2007

Pairing shellfish and white wine may seem like a no-brainer, but with the wide range of whites available today, it's more difficult than you might...read more

Decanting Your Wine Decanting Your Wine
Posted on Tuesday, November 13, 2007

This week "The Classic Wines Minute" explains the importance of decanting your wine. We review three wines, a white 2005 Chardonnay, a red Chateau Haut-Ballet...read more


 

  Be the first to comment on this article


mkeba
Davis, CA
Posted on 3/06/08

Let me tell ya... there's nothing like getting your own two hands dirty...And yes, perhaps I should write my own no nonsense guide about how to make. Maybe after I work an internship at a real winery to gain a little more perspective...


shadowoptics
Miami, FL
Posted on 3/03/08

Wine 101 - heads up for a mess.


JS12
Philadelphia, PA
Posted on 2/21/08

Mike -You know what would be great help - if once the wine is complete you make a how-to no nonsense guide for guys like me. Luckily, i have no roomies!


mkeba
Davis, CA
Posted on 2/21/08

JS12,My apartment no longer smells! It was quite fragrant during the fermentation; my roommates/roommates girlfriends didn't let me forget about it. Fortunately, it has been in an airlocked glass carboy since pressing. All smells have been locked in.


csoma
Raleigh, NC
Posted on 2/21/08

Wine 101 it is. Learning to make wine is a windy road. Best of luck on continued success!


JS12
Philadelphia, PA
Posted on 2/20/08

Awesome, your grapes are becoming wine.What's your apartment beginning to smell like?


whycant
Mays Landing, NJ
Posted on 2/20/08

Seems pretty messy! But here's hoping it turns out to be worth the effort in the long run.

You need to log into your ClassicWines account to leave a comment on this article. You can log in here. If you do not have a Classic Wines account you can sign up here.