The Home Wine Press

Issue 12 Dec. 2010-Jan. 2011 ______

Next RAHW Meeting SAVE THE DATES!!! The next RAHW meeting will be Saturday, January 8, 2011 at Annual Club Banquet 12:00 noon, at The Nutcracker Our Fourth Annual RAHW Banquet for members and their guests will Restaurant, 2159 Empire Blvd., be on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rick's Prime Rib House at 898 Buf- Webster. falo Road, Gates. Cocktails start at 5:00pm and dinner at 6:00pm. The Feel free to bring a guest! Don’t buffet menu will be similar to last year, with prime rib, pasta, a chicken forget to bring a wine glass. dish, rolls, salad and other vegetables, and a cash bar. The cost of $30 If you are bringing homemade per person also includes hors d’oeuvres, dessert, coffee and tea. wine to share, please make sure Payment goes to Bruce Dunn. See him at the next meeting or send a you mark the bottle with your check (made out to RAHW) to Bruce Dunn. Plan now to attend! name and the type of wine. All members are welcome to also Annual HWC Winemaking Seminar attend the Board Meeting that will The NYS Home Wine Committee of the American Wine Society will be held at the same location at hold its 27th annual winemaking seminar on Saturday, August 13, 2011 11:00 am, an hour before the gen- at the Monroe County Cooperative Extension, 249 Highland Avenue in eral meeting. Rochester.

The all-day seminar is open to anyone interested in winemaking. Presen- tations tentatively scheduled include a deductive wine tasting and a hybrid case study. A rough draft agenda should be posted in the spring on In this issue: the Home Wine Committee website www.nys-homewine.info. Previous seminars have been extremely informative, and next year’s will no doubt Making cherry port on page 2. be just as helpful. Put it on your calendar now! NEW wine pairing column! See page 3. WineMaker Competition Deadline The numbers on 2010’s The 2011 WineMaker International Amateur Wine Competition, spon- Finger Lakes grapes, page 4. sored by WineMaker magazine and the world’s largest international competition for home winemakers, is accepting entries now through Learn about MLF on page 5. March 4, 2011. Home winemakers compete for gold, silver or bronze Know your bottling terms on medals in 50 categories. page 8. Wines need to arrive at Battenkill Communications in Manchester Cen- Profile of a club officer on ter, Vermont by March 4, 2011. The entry fee is $25 U.S. for each One page 9. (1) Bottle entry, and individuals may enter up to 15 wines. For complete contest rules and details, go to www.winemakermag.com/competition. Determining Potential Alco-

hol—revisited on page 10. SAVE THE DATES!!! and more!

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About our newsletter

LOG NOTES: 2007 Ruby Slippers— The Home Wine Press is pub- Making my first Cherry Port lished bimonthly by Rochester Ar- ea Home Winemakers club of By John S. Facci Rochester, NewYork. Several years ago a good friend of mine gave me a bottle of cherry To unsubscribe, change your email wine from Woodbury Vineyards (www.woodburyvineyards.com) in Fredonia, NY. The flavor was so unique and pleasing I became address, or submit questions or news, please email newsletter@ hooked on the idea of making fruit wines. My first attempt at a non- grape wine in 2007 led to an equally pleasing cherry port. After con- rochesterwinemakers.org. sulting Jack Keller’s website (winemaking.jackkeller.net) as well as © 2010 RAHW All rights reserved. several other recipes online, I came up with my own hybrid recipe using both sour and sweet cherries, attempting to balance flavor and color. As with cherry pie, sour cherries provide what we think of as cherry flavor while sweet cherries provide a wonderful ruby color— Know your limit— which is why I call this wine Ruby Slippers. please drink responsibly. Fresh-picked cherries from Schutt’s on Plank Road in Webster were used. Luckily, both were available for picking on the same Saturday in July as their seasons overlap only slightly. The project started with my wife, my son and me picking enough sour cherries in early morn- ing for wine, pies and winter eating. We picked something like 50 lbs The Art of Wine of sour cherries of which only about 12 were used for wine. Then onto picking sweet cherries. I made the mistake of tasting one sweet Winemaking is not only an art in cherry right off the tree and found out exactly how awful is the taste itself, it inspires art, too. The Me- of residual pesticide. You definitely don’t want that in your wine, so morial Art Gallery will soon be wash well. (The rest of the instructions for making this wine are showing an exhibit called ―Wine found on the next page.) and Spirit: Rituals, Remedies and Revelry‖. The first two bottles were opened at a wedding one year later and The exhibit, which will run from were quite a hit with the extended family. By two years, about 75% January 30 through April 10, 2011, of the batch was consumed, which in a way was unfortunate as the includes more than a hundred ob- flavor mellowed significantly and improved to more of a vermouth jects ―steeped in the mystique of feel, as those who tasted this at the November meeting can attest. wine‖, from a Neolithic wine jar I’ve since made other batches with varying ratios of sour to sweet dated 5400–5000 B.C.E. to a Picas- cherries. A ratio of about 5:1 sour-to-sweet cherries yields a flavor so painting. that seems to be most appealing. A more intense flavor can be Public programs with wine-related achieved by using more fruit. This year I experimented with a high themes will be presented during the alcohol cherry melomel (a portomel?). A melomel is fruit wine made exhibition and are included in the with honey instead of sugar. The latter recipe is based on 20 lbs of admission price, including ―The sour cherries, about 3–4 lbs of sweet cherries and enough orange Origins and Ancient History of blossom honey to bring the S. G. to 1.12, fermenting with EC1118 Wine‖, a lecture by Dr. Patrick and fortifying to 20%. Sugar was added to balance the alcohol. This McGovern on March 31. allows the honey flavor to come through. So far the taste at first rack- The MAG is located at 500 Univer- ing has been very gratifying. Cherry wines are easy to make and the sity Avenue in Rochester. See possibilities for experimentation with various varieties and fruit com- mag.rochester.edu for museum binations are nearly endless. hours, admission price and other continued on next page information.

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continued from previous page NEW column! Cherry Port Log Notes The most requested feature for this newsletter has been wine and food Made 3 gallons. pairings. Thus, we introduce a new 12 lbs sour cherries column that will contain recom- 2.5 lbs sweet cherries mended pairings obtained from 5.5 lbs dextrose various sources. Pasteur Champagne yeast You may submit your own recom- 1.5 tsp acid blend mendations based on your ex- 0.5 tsp grape tannin periences, or send us something 1 tsp pectic enzyme you read or heard about. Either a 1 tsp di-ammonium phosphate particular brand of wine or a type 1 small orange of wine may be specified. 1 tbsp key lime juice 2–3 lbs sucrose Your own experience with the same 160 proof vodka or equivalent food and wine may not match what you read here due to individual Approximately 12 lbs of Montmorency sour cherries were pitted (9.43 tastes. But the fun is in trying them lbs pitted weight) and about 2.5 lbs of sweet cherries were pitted yield- out! ing 1.74 lbs pitted fruit. I don’t remember the variety of sweet cherry we picked. The latter were crushed by hand in a 20-qt. stainless steel pot, and 5.5 lbs dextrose were added and stirred into the mixture. Fi- Perfect Partners nally, previously crushed sour cherries were added. wine and food pairing Seven pints of boiling water were poured over the cherry/sugar mix- Wine: any Riesling late-harvest or ture and let cool to room temperature. To this was added 1.5 tsp acid ice wine blend, 0.5 tsp grape tannin and a heaping tsp each of pectic enzyme and di-ammonium phosphate yeast nutrient. Finally the juice of one Food: classic apple pie small orange was added to preserve color, and because I had some Recommended by: International lying around I added a dash of key lime juice. At this point the juice Riesling Foundation newsletter of was a rich red color and the S. G. was 1.120, approximately 16.5% Dec. 3, 2010. potential alcohol by volume. The mixture sat overnight with a tight Know of a great wine and food cover over the pot to allow the enzyme to act. pairing? Submit it to newsletter@ Pasteur Champagne yeast (one packet) was hydrated with some of the rochesterwinemakers.org. Please cherry must until foamy, then returned to the must. After five days (S. include the source of the recom- G. = 1.046) the must was racked into a 3-gallon carboy. The fruit was mendation. scooped into a filter bag, squeezed and the juice added to the carboy which was topped with water and fitted with an airlock. First racking was at three weeks with dense lees, S.G. was 0.990. Fer- Fast Fact mentation was done in our kitchen where the temperature was 75–80°F. The wine was quite bitter at this point due to high alcohol. Sufficient Fruit flies are known carriers of 160 proof vodka (Devil’s Springs) was added to bring alcohol to 20% acetobacter, a spoilage bacteria that by volume as measured with a capillary vinometer. Sugar was added to converts wine into acetic acid (vin- taste (about 2.5 lbs). egar). Spring 2000 WineMaker magazine Second racking was at six months. A scant 1/8 tsp sulfite was added to the three gallons prior to bottling. Have a recipe or log notes of a favorite or award-winning wine you’d like to share? Email it to [email protected].

www.rochesterwinemakers.org The Home Wine Press Dec. 2010-Jan. 2011 – Page 4 The Year That Was— An analysis of this year’s Finger Lakes grapes

By Dale Ims In the June-July 2010 issue of The Home Wine Press, I presented some data about Finger Lakes grapes which I obtained from the Fall Bright website (www.fallbright.com). What I tried to do there was to utilize the archived data available on that site to do some quantitative comparisons of sugar contents and titratable acidities (TA) between and among several different varieties of grapes and from year-to-year. In that earlier article, we looked at the long-term averages (years 2001– 2009) of sugar content and TA for each of 14 different grape varieties (nine white and five red) and also did year-over-year comparisons by averaging all the reported values for each crop year. The results were then illustrated in charts, and an updated version of one of those charts with this year’s data added is shown here. As summer turned to fall, we heard the predictions about the quality of the ’10 crop, and then we probably saw evidence of that in the proper- ties of the grapes and/or juices that we got this year. However, it’s comforting to me to see the actual numbers and how they compare to previous years. The chart shows that what I’ve termed the season- average sugar content was the highest—and the season-average TA the lowest—that we have seen over the 10-year period for which there is data available! In fact, average sugar content for the 14 varieties was 19.7% for the 2010 crop year—almost a full percentage point higher than the previous high Average Sugar and TA Levels by Vintage (All Varieties), 2001-2010 value in our data set (2001). In addition, the average TA value was 7.8g/l, the lowest during the 10- year period, but only 0.5g/l lower than the previous low year of 2002. Of course, it only makes sense to celebrate record highs and lows if they’re not too high or low! Given my own wine-style preferences— and from the raw data on the 14 varieties—I would say that six or seven of the juices would have required little or no adjustment in the sugar content (Brix ≥ 21), and that eight or nine of the juices would require little or no adjustment in TA (TA ≤ 7.5g/l). In fact, a few of the juices might have benefited from the addition of a bit of acid. Quite an improvement over 2009!!

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Malolactic Fermentation

An introduction to MLF By David A. Gerling

Malolactic fermentation (MLF) has become a common practice in

winemaking in recent years, though it likely occurred naturally

throughout the history of winemaking. Inoculation with malolactic bacteria (MLB) started commercially in the last two to three decades and is now done on almost all premium red wines, and on certain white wines such as Chardonnay. Home winemakers too can change the flavor profile of their reds and Chardonnays to make them mellower and less fruit forward by introducing MLF. MLF MLF is the transformation of malic acid (green apple taste) into the softer-tasting lactic acid plus carbon dioxide gas, by either cultured or wild MLB. Lactic acid is so named because it is also found in milk products. MLB occur naturally in the air and on the grapes. The good MLB are MLF from the Leuconostoc genus, the most common one being L. oenos. This genus is also named Oenococcus in some of the newer books. Bad MLB cause off flavors in wine or spoil the wine altogether. Bad MLB include bacteria from the Lactobacillus genus, which give the wine a spoiled milk taste, and bacteria from the Pediococcus genus, which give the wine an oily texture, a buttery or cheesy smell (from the MLF large quantity of diacetyl produced), acetic acid and a mousy taint. Since two of the three MLB are undesirable, winemakers usually kill all of the MLB by sulfiting at crushing— 45–50 ppm free sulfur for red grapes and 70–80 ppm for white grapes. Then you can inoculate after alcohol fermentation with a pure strain of the desired MLB. Potassium sorbate should not be used if an MLF has been done, since the MLB use the sorbate as a nutrient and would cause a geranium flavor and smell.

Getting MLF started Photo © photoxpress.com MLF can be started as soon as alcoholic fermentation is completed. This is the most widely used method as the two fermentations are kept “MLF is the transfor- separate with no competition for nutrients. That also leaves no unfer- mation of malic acid mented sugar for the MLB to metabolize, reducing the risk of volatile (green apple taste) into acids (VA), the main one being acetic acid (vinegar). the softer-tasting lactic Recommended freeze-dried MLB cultures to use include Lalvin 31, acid plus carbon dioxide Enoferm Alpha, Lalvin Bacchus O. oenes, and Viniflora CH 35. Two gas, by either cultured or direct-inoculation liquid cultures are Wyeast Laboratories Vintner’s wild MLB.” Choice and White Labs WLP675. Presque Isle sells the freeze-dried Lalvin Bacchus O. oenes and Vi- niflora CH 35. Vinquiry has freeze-dried and liquid MLB cultures. continued on next page

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Here are the factors favorable for MLF: 1. Select a wine yeast strain that is compatible with MLF. Some strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae work well, while strains of Saccharo- myces bayanus have been known to suppress MLF because they tend to produce more sulfur dioxide than other yeast. 2. The pH should be higher than the prescribed minimum pH. Oeno- “Paper chromatography is coccus oenus can live at a pH of 3.0–3.3, but would do better at a the best way to test for higher pH. (Lactobacillus and Pediococcus bacterial growth is al- MLF completion. Kits… most impossible below Ph 3.3, but at pH 3.6 they grow well.) have all of the materials

3. Make sure the wine’s free SO2 is less than the maximum prescribed and chemicals you need by the culture’s manufacturer. Sulfur dioxide is a very effective inhi- to do a chromatograph.” bition agent against MLB growth, even in the bound form. 4. The temperature should be 68–70 degrees F. Below 59 degrees F the growth of MLB is very near zero. 5. Feed the MLB with plenty of nutrients such as Lallemand’s Opti- Malo or Presque Isle’s MicroEssentials Oenos. 6. Keep oxygen away from the wine. Most MLB grow and survive better with very little or no oxygen.

7. Get a full set of manufactures’ instructions when you buy an MLB culture and strictly follow them. Three wine samples (dark spots at MLF generates tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. Shake the carboy; a right) plus malic and lactic acids rush of small bubbles is a good sign of MLF. When the bubbles slow, were just placed on the paper, which is now ready to be put in the then stop, MLF is usually done. solvent However, paper chromatography is the best way to test for MLF completion (see photos at right). Kits, such as the ones sold by Presque Isle Wine Cellars, have all of the materials and chemicals you need to do a chromatograph. Detailed instructions are included. Chromatography involves the use of dangerous chemicals, so always conduct the test in a well-ventilated area (the solvent has a very powerful and irritating smell) and follow the instructions very carefully. After MLF is complete, the wine can be racked and sulfited for a free SO2 of 40–50 ppm. Also check the TA and pH, as explained below.

Controlling TA in a wine with MLF Both photos by David Gerling During MLF, malic acid will be converted into roughly equal propor- A chromatograph after being put in tions of lactic acid and carbon dioxide gas, resulting in a TA decrease the solvent, removed and allowed to equal to one-half the malic acid concentration. The reduction in TA will dry. This one had two wine samples be in the range of 1–3 g/l (.1%–.3%) and the pH will increase .1–.2 units. (dark spots at right) and shows that So you will want the TA to start .1%–.3% higher and the pH .1–.2 units the malic acid has been changed lower than you want to end up with. If you need to increase the TA or into lactic acid lower the pH before MLF, do so before the start of alcoholic fermentation, using tartaric acid. continued on next page

www.rochesterwinemakers.org The Home Wine Press Dec. 2010-Jan. 2011 – Page 7 continued from previous page A Nose for Wine After MLF is complete, if the pH and TA are in the range you want (pH of 3.3–3.5 and TA of .6%–.7%) you can cold stabilize the wine. By Tom Banach But if the pH is too high and the TA too low, you can add tartaric acid Sources for local wine info: before cold stabilizing. Tartaric acid additions will affect the pH more www.fingerlakeswine.com Up- than the TA, so the pH will be lowered more than the TA is raised. dated every Thursday. Find out After cold stabilization the pH will go down if the pH was 3.7 or lower what's new with Finger Lakes win- at the start of cold stabilization. It will go up if the starting pH was eries and wine events in our ar- above 3.7. The TA will also come down some. ea. ―Wine and Vine‖ blog by Sheila Livadas and Holly Howell. You will want your red wines’ final pH to be 3.5 or lower for wine stability, and the TA to be .65%–.75%. Taste your wines and adjust www.savorlife.com Home to radio them to the way you like them. shows Naturally Green, For the Love of Food, Discover the Finger If you don’t want MLF in your wine Lakes, Savour Toronto, Niagara MLF is not desirable for all wines, so here’s what to do if you don’t Wine Country and The Grapevine want it: hosted by Michael Warren Thom- 1. Add free sulfur dioxide (SO ) beyond the maximum before the start as. Shows are on 1040 WYSL and 2 of alcoholic fermentation, usually 45–50 ppm for reds and 70–80 ppm 92.1 FM Saturdays and Sun- for whites. days. Check website for times. www.democratandchronicle.com 2. Keep the temperature below 60 degrees F after alcoholic fermenta- Read wine writer Holly Howell's tion. column every other Tuesday. 3. Keep the pH below 3.5. www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com 4. Add lysozyme, a naturally occurring enzyme that breaks down the Finger Lakes wine trail information. cell walls of the MLB, killing them. www.fingerlakeswinecenter.com 5. Filter your wine through a .45u or smaller filter, which will remove The wine tasting center at Sonnen- the MLB and most of the yeast. berg Gardens promotes the Finger Lakes and its wineries. For more information nywcc.com NY Wine and Culinary If you’re ready to try something new in your winemaking and you Center promotes New York wines. think your reds and Chardonnays could benefit from mellowing their Sign up for classes in winemaking taste, why not give MLF a try? This article was written with infor- or pairing. mation from these books in my home winemaking library, which are available for club members to use: www.fingerlakeswinecenter.org A new Finger Lakes Wine Center in  Techniques in Home Winemaking by Daniel Pambianchi Ithaca has wine tasting and classes.  Home Winemaking Step by Step by Jon Iverson

 Concepts in Wine Chemistry by Dr. Yair Margalit, Ph.D. RAHW Financial Report  Concepts in Wine Technology by Dr. Yair Margalit, Ph.D. Our current balance as of November 13, 2010: Special Fund1 $ 82.00 Site to See General Fund 1090.00 www.wineloverspage.com/questionary2/index.php—Frequently Total $1,172.00 asked questions about wine answered briefly and clearly by Robin 1 The Special Fund is for buying Garr, a wine enthusiast and educator. winemaking equipment that will be available to all members.

www.rochesterwinemakers.org The Home Wine Press Dec. 2010-Jan. 2011 – Page 8 WINEMAKING TERMS DEFINED:

 Bottles and Bottling by Jill Misterka and Ken Beard Here are a few terms that relate to bottles and bottling: Did you know?

Legs, also known as tears (as in aging to let finished wine sit quietly in a dark, cool place for a period crying), curtains, church windows of time before drinking, giving the wine time to mature. The time or fingers, are the rivulets that slow- length depends on the specific wine. Also called cellaring. The two ly and unevenly run down the inside types are: of the glass after wine is swirled. bottle aging to let finished wine sit after bottling for a period of The definition of legs is well time before drinking. known, but the cause has been quite

bulk aging to let finished wine sit in a carboy or tank for a period controversial.

of time before bottling. Some wines have more or less legs bottle style these are the most common: than other wines. Over the years, Bordeaux a bottle shape with pronounced ―shoulders‖ and straight wine experts have attributed the sides. variation to several causes, including a wine’s body, its sugar content, Burgundy a bottle shape with slanted ―shoulders‖. its glycerol content or its alcohol Champagne a bottle style used for sparkling wine because it has co ntent. Often the presence of legs extra thick glass and a large punt to help it withstand the pressure. is mistakenly considered a sign of a high -quality wine. Hock a bottle shape that is tall and slim with very slanted sides. Also called Reisling. Currently the accepted cause of legs is a scientific phenomenon called bottle shock A temporary change in taste that sometimes occurs the Marangoni effect, which refers immediately after a wine is bottled and may last for a few weeks. to the fact that alcohol evaporates capsule a foil or plastic covering over the top and neck of a wine more quickly than water, and that bottle. Its purpose is mostly decorative, though it can keep dust and such uneven evaporation has an mold off the top of the cork. Also called shrink cap. effect on the surface tension of the wine droplets. Thus a wine’s alco- clarify to remove cloudiness from wine before bottling. This is hol content seems to be the main achieved by filtering, fining or bulk aging until it clears by itself. contributor to legs. cork a stopper for a wine bottle, made from either real cork (a piece The bottom line? Wine legs are of the bark of a cork oak tree) or a synthetic material. Corks come in pretty to look at but are not an indi- different widths and lengths for different size bottles. A standard 750 cator of a wine’s quality. ml bottle takes a #9 width cork. Thanks to Hank Kingston for sug- corker a machine used to insert corks into bottles. Corks initially are gesting this topic. much wider than the bottle neck, so the machine squeezes the diameter of a cork to fit and then pushes it down into the bottle. Sources: Paula S.W. Laurita on www.bellaonline.com; Daniel Pam- crown caps metal covers with crimped sides used on beer bot- bianchi in June-July 2009 Wine- tles, and sometimes used on Champagne bottles in place of corks be- Maker magazine; en.wikipedia.org. cause of their lower cost. degasse (dee GAS) to stir wine before bottling to remove any carbon dioxide bubbles left over from fermentation.  fifth a standard-sized bottle of 750 ml, so called because it holds about a fifth of a U.S. gallon. continued on page 13

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COOK WITH WINE: WINEMAKER PROFILE: Dick Catalfo WINE JELLY by Mindy Zoghlin Dick’s wine making journey began in October by Jill Misterka 2005, inspired by a friend who shared both his Wine jelly is an elegant addition to interest and inexperience in the hobby. He put up a brunch, luncheon or company three carboys (one each of Zinfandel, Merlot and dinner menu. Chianti) but fermentation was stymied by the 3 cups wine* presence of too much metabisulfite. 1 box SURE JELL pectin Fortunately, the stalled fermentation was short- ½ tsp. butter or margarine (to re- lived and easily fixed. A few months later Dick answered a newspaper ad to buy carboys from Photo by Bruce Dunn duce foaming) Dick Catalfo 4 cups sugar, measured into a sepa- the late Joe Nardone, Rochester wine making rate bowl legend and American Wine Society President. Joe diagnosed the stuck wine problem in February 2006 and re-started fermentation. The first Measure wine into a 6- or 8-quart batch of wine was saved and, more importantly, Dick formed a close stockpot. Stir in pectin, then add friendship with his mentor Joe and his wife Angel. When Joe devel- butter. Heat on High, stirring con- oped Alzheimer’s and became unable to make wine independently, stantly, until mixture is at a full Dick stepped in and ―taught‖ his mentor to make wine just as his men- rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop tor had taught him. We see this so often in home winemaking—what bubbling when stirred). goes around comes around. Stir in sugar. Return to a full rolling In 2006 Dick became a founding member of RAHW. He has served as boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stir- the Secretary ever since, delighting in the club’s camaraderie and the ring constantly. Remove from heat. members’ willingness to share knowledge. Three years ago when Skim off any foam with a metal founding members of the NYS Home Winemaking Committee of the spoon. American Wine Society stepped down, Dick, Tom Banach, Dave Ger- Fill sterilized jelly jars while hot ling and Tim Gregory stepped up. We all benefit from their knowledge, and process as usual for jam. If you experience and hard work don’t know how to process jam, Dick has entered his wines in the NY State Fair competition each year place mixture into freezer-safe con- since 2006, and won Silver and Bronze medals each time. His best tainers leaving a ½‖ space at the wines were the blends, which received Silver medals. Dick’s foray into top, cool, cover tightly, label and blends was nothing short of serendipity. A friend bought Dick some freeze. Keep refrigerated when juices from Canada. Since the Brix were so low (12–14), Dick bought thawed. a 50-pound bag of sugar to chaptalize them. Later he discovered that Makes (6) 6-oz. jelly jars. the Brix were low because the juices were halfway fermented. The resulting wines were too sweet, so Dick blended them with Baco Noir * Original recipe called for Zinfan- and Dechaunac, which are naturally lower in Brix. The blends won del, but we cleaned out our refrig- three awards! Dick has been blending his reds ever since. erator and used a mix of Apple, Niagara and Traminette wines, all This year Dick is putting up six wines (Cayuga, Seyval, Riesling, Zin- dry. Most any wine can be used, fandel, Leon Millot and Chianti), some of which he has not made be- but don’t use all dessert or ice wine fore. His advice to new winemakers: Make the wine the way you want because too much extra sugar may it to taste; Do as little as possible to the wine. interfere with the gelling process. Dick is a retired electrician and lives in Penfield with his wife Fran. Source: adapted from They have four grown children (all of whom enjoy drinking Dad’s brands.kraftfoods.com. All recipes wine!) and eight grandchildren. In addition to home wine making, Dick are tested before printing. enjoys hunting and fishing. He restored a ’64 Corvette Roadster in 1992 and is an active member of the Rochester Corvette Club. He likes to make Barbera, and likes to drink Barbera, Sangiovese, Alicante, Vignoles, Riesling and Zinfandel.

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Determining Potential Alcohol—Revisited By Dale Ims Previously I had submitted an article to the Feb.-March 2010 issue of this newsletter in which I related how different books, pamphlets and on-line references predicted different levels of alcohol from the complete fermentation of a juice with a given Brix or specific gravity (SG). In that article I showed how variable those predictions of potential alcohol were, and presented an alternative—what seemed to me to be a totally plausible relationship between the sugar content of a juice and the alcohol content of the completed wine. This all seemed very reasonable and attractive, but I've come to realize and prove that it's not quite correct either! That seemingly-plausible relationship, which I called Equation 1 in the previous article, was found in a book by Jean Jacobsen (Introduction to Wine Laboratory Practices and Procedures), and which that author had extracted from an earlier, well-respected book (Principals and Practices of Winemaking, by Roger B Boulton, et al). After a good bit of work—which culminated in a trip to the NY State Agricultural Ex- periment Station library in Geneva to obtain a copy of the paper cited in the Boulton, et al, book as the origin of the equation—I discovered that Boulton, et al, had misinterpreted the admittedly confusing earlier reference1, but that Equation 1 could be corrected by re-stating the sugar concentrations in units of gm/L.

A European connection “This equation conveniently I re-formulated the equation using the required units for sugar concen- calculates the potential trations, then realized that what I ended up with was functionally identical to another equation in the Boulton, et al, book, a formula widely alcohol from the specific used in Europe for calculating potential alcohol: gravity of the juice while incorporating the proper Potential ethanol in vol% = 0.059 * [2.66 * Oe – 30] (Equation 2) units for the sugar con- where Oe is the Oechsle of the juice and is defined as centrations.”

Oe = 1000 * (SG20/20 – 1.000). This equation conveniently calculates the potential alcohol from the specific gravity of the juice while incorporating the proper units for the sugar concentrations. To use this equation, one must measure the specific gravity of the juice at a temperature of 20°C with a hydrometer standardized at 20°C, subtract 1.000 from the hydrometer reading and multiply the difference by 1000 to first calculate the Oechsle of the juice and then enter that value into Equation 2. In that equation, the Oechsle of the juice is multiplied by 2.66 and then 30 is subtracted, with the subtraction done to compensate for non-fermentable compo- nents in the juice. continued on next page

1 Marsh, G.L. Alcohol Yield: Factors and Methods. Am. J. Enol. 9:53-58

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PA continued from previous page

So what’s the difference and how does it compare? In Figure 1 we compare the predictions of Equations 1 and 2; in this chart the line connecting the Equation 2 data points has been bolded to make it more visible. We see here that the predictions from the two equations are essentially equal at low sugar concentrations (Brix), but that the two data sets diverge at higher sugar contents. In fact, the data set from Equation 2 shows some upward curvature and it is this curvature which causes the two data sets to diverge, and as a result, the differ- ences in the predicted levels of potential alcohol are relatively large at the higher sugar concen- Figure 1. Comparison of potential alcohol predictions of Equation 1 (“PA- trations. Brix”) and Equation 2 (“PA-Oe”).

In Figure 2, we look at how the predictions from Equations 1 and 2 compare with a sampling of data from other sources. This chart is the same one that appeared in my first article on this topic in The Home Wine Press, but for this use I have deleted one curve relating to Equation 1 predictions and added a new curve (labeled ―PA- Oe‖) which is the predictions of Equation 2. Note that in the range of Brix required to get reasonable alcohol levels in the finished wines, 20–25 °Brix, there is very little scatter among most of the data sets. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the values calculated from Equation 2 were essentially identical to those from the Fulkerson catalog—finally, Figure 2. Comparison of Equation 2 (“PA-Oe”) with other data sources: the two data sets that agree! Fulkerson catalog (“Fulk”), The Home Winemaker’s Handbook (“HWH”), the Honey Flow Farm website (“HFF”), the Jack Keller website (“Keller”), and continued on next page the Jean Jacobson book (“JLJ”), which is really Equation 1.

www.rochesterwinemakers.org The Home Wine Press Dec. 2010-Jan. 2011 – Page 12

PA continued from previous page A practical use for Equation 2 For those of us who have gotten comfortable with the use of weight% of sugar (Brix) in juices, it may not be practical to start using gm/L instead. However, we can use our newly found equation for predicting potential alcohol to set target Brix levels for the juices which we will be converting to wines of a desired alcohol content. To that end, we can pick numbers off of the plot of Equation 2 on the charts above, but if you are of a scientific bent, there are several techniques which can yield precise values. The table below lists the results obtained via use of one of those techniques.

Desired Alcohol Level Degrees Brix “We can use our newly (Volume%) found equation for predict- 10 18.3 ing potential alcohol to set 11 19.7 target Brix levels for the 12 21.1 juices which we will be 13 22.5 converting to wines of a 14 23.9 desired alcohol content.”

15 25.3

So, we have a new and improved equation to use to estimate potential alcohol, and this one gives results which are in close agreement with those from other sources—in fact, identical with one! For Equation 2, the units work out as they should, and the theoretical basis is sound. I have reached the end of my search for the true basis for the estimation of potential alcohol from the sugar content of starting juice. After being presented with the results of my findings, Roger Boulton, lead author of Principles and Practices of Winemaking, has acknowl- edged that Equation 1, which appears in his book, is incorrect. I guess that as a home winemaker, I shouldn’t feel too bad about having been an at least temporary believer in the validity of Equation 1; after all, Principles and Practices of Winemaking is a college-level text, and authors of newer books on winemaking (like Jean Jacobson) have been misled, too! For additional information regarding Dale’s research, see the longer article that he wrote and sent to Roger Boulton. That article will ap- pear on our website, www.rochesterwinemakers.org, as soon the new version of the website becomes available.

www.rochesterwinemakers.org The Home Wine Press Dec. 2010-Jan. 2011 – Page 13 Addendum Bottling Terms continued from page 8 finish a bottle’s closure style, usually a choice of cork or screw top. Our ―WINEMAKING TERMS DE- FINED: Fermentation Terms‖ col- filtering moving the wine through a filter in order to remove particles umn in the previous issue left out from the wine. Different size filter pads (usually measured in microns) the following term: remove different size particles. Filtering is often done before bottling to remove any leftover yeast in the wine. chaptalize (SHAP-tuh-lize) to add sugar, either to a juice to create punt the indentation on the bottom of some wine bottles, which more alcohol during fermentation, makes a bottle able to withstand more pressure. Punted bottles are or to a finished wine to sweeten it. commonly used for wine that needs aging in case fermentation should restart accidentally. split a bottle that holds 375 ml, half of a standard-sized bottle. Classifieds stabilize to stop fermentation so the wine can be bottled. This is achieved by filtering to remove the yeast or adding potassium sorbate TO SUBMIT a free classified ad to prevent the yeast from reproducing. for winemaking equipment, please ullage (UH-ledge) the airspace between the top of the wine and the send an email to: newsletter@ bottom of the cork in a jug, carboy or wine bottle. It should ideally be rochesterwinemakers.org. Don’t ½ inch high. Too much air may allow oxidation of the wine. Also forget to include your contact called head space. phone number or email address. In our next issue: Terms found on wine labels.

Some resources were used from winemaking.jackkeller.net.

Highlights of the Last Meeting There were 36 members in attendance on November 13 to have fun and to share members’ wines and ideas on making great wines. Dean and Suzanne Frohm from Pittsford were welcomed as our newest members. Jim Emens brought his 2009 Lilac wine for tasting, and the Misterkas brought a ―mystery wine‖ for tasters to guess what it was made from. No one guessed Green Tomato. David Gerling, with input by others, gave a tech session on the effects and benefits of malolactic fermentation (see page 5). Cold stabilization was also discussed—leave the wine in the cold as long as you can without freezing it, and make sure you rack immediately after bringing it back into warmth or the tartrates will dissolve into the wine again. Tim Fitch, our webmaster, reported that our new web site should be completed very soon, and Jill Misterka thanked those who contributed to the last newsletter. Bruce Dunn reported on our upcoming installation dinner, to be held at Ricks Prime Rib House on April 30 (see page 1). Tom Banach spoke for the Home Wine Committee about next year’s Seminar, to be held on Saturday, August 13 (see page 1). Ken Pearce knew of someone selling 17 used carboys (3, 5 and 7- gallon) with carriers, for well below the market price. The club voted to purchase them for resale to club members. Vance Davis volunteered to drive to Ithaca and pick them up.

www.rochesterwinemakers.org The Home Wine Press Dec. 2010-Jan. 2011 – Page 14

Calendar of Events for 2011 Saturday, January 8 ...... RAHW general meeting Friday, March 4 ...... Deadline for WineMaker magazine competition Saturday, March 12 ...... RAHW general meeting Saturday, April 30 ...... Annual Club Banquet Saturday, May 14 ...... RAHW general meeting Saturday, July 9 ...... RAHW general meeting Saturday, August 13 ...... HWC Home Winemaking Seminar Saturday, September 10 ...... RAHW general meeting Saturday, November 12 ...... RAHW general meeting

About Rochester Area Home Winemakers Officers: President: Ken Pearce Vice President: Mindy & Ben Zoghlin Secretary: Richard Catalfo Treasurer: Paul Carletta Board of Directors: Tim Gregory (Chairman) ...... Ken Beard ...... Paul Carletta ...... [email protected] Richard Catalfo [email protected] Terry Chrzan ...... Ken Pearce ...... [email protected] Mindy & Ben Zoghlin [email protected]

Committees: Newsletter Committee: Tom Banach (Chairman), Jill Misterka, Rich- ard Catalfo, Ken Beard Social Committee: Bruce Dunn (Chairman) Website: www.rochesterwinemakers.org Webmaster: Tim Fitch ...... [email protected] Facebook Group: Rochester Area Home Winemakers