Old World Meets New World
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Old World Meets New World
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Home Made Wine
Old World Meets New World is all about making home made wine with grapes from California by combining the New World's scientific method with wisdom and experience from the Old World.
Making home made wine with grapes from crushing to fermenting to pressing to fermenting some more to ageing and to bottling and drinking is one of the most spectacular events in life.
The information below combines experience from the OLD WORLD with the scientific method from the NEW WORLD. My name is Alessandro Massaro and I was/used to be/am and have been the little boy in the picture.
The steps I follow to make BARBERA with no added sulfites and MOCK CHIANTI are listed below.
Visit my other web site for more detailed information about making wine at home with grapes, especially wine grapes that are shipped east from California (SEE - Favorite Web Sites - BELOW).
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WINE MAKING STEPS with and without sulfite
These are the steps I follow to make Barbera with no added sulfites.
1. September or October : buy 20 cases of Barbera grapes and crush the grapes into primary fermenters: no yeast or sulfites added. Measure sugar, pH and acidity, which shoud be within normal ranges. If they are not, I do not make it with no added sulfites. But I have never had a problem with the Barbera grape. The Barbera grape is usually high in total acidity and low in pH. No signs of trouble so I follow the Old World method but add steps from the scientific method.
I remove most of the stems. I am experimenting with this. I do not remove all of them at once. About 1/2 at crush, and then some each day after. The stems add tannin which helps this wine to which I add no sulfites. I think tannin also acts as a preserver.
2. 10 days later: The must or juice is pressed from the stems, skins, and seeds and placed into secondary fermenters (demijohns).I Leave some space in the demijohns or the must will spill over. I would say about 6 - 10 inches from the top depending on the strength of fermentation. I can tell from the bubbles.
I am learning that the must can sit on the skins for more than 5 days and pick up richer flavors from the skins. But, I have to keep the temperature of the room between 60-68 F. I try not to let the sugar change to alcohol too quickly. Sugar changes to alcohol more quickly at higher temperatures.
3. 10 days later: The fermented must or wine is racked to separate it from the gross lees (sediment). The word GROSS is a good one here because if I leave the must on that sediment (gross lees) the smell can be awful. I do this with grapes from California or there could be trouble. The sediment at the bottle is organic; it's soft and gushy. By this time all or most of the sugar is alcohol. I Measure it to be sure; it should be .991 or .992, and I also use CLINITEST, a residual sugar test sold at pharmacies. I put the demijohns in the wine cellar with the teperature around 50 or so depending on the outside temperature.
4. One month later: After the full moon but before the new moon, I rack the wine to help clarify it. Racking also produces natural sulfites. The oldtimers racked over many stones which caused a natural production of sulfites.
5.Three months later: I rack again to clarify and start drinking it. This has always been better than any new Beaujeleis or however you spell that wine from France and California and much cheaper. But it's not just price, it's quality!
And these are the stapes I follow to make what I call a Californian Mock Chianti.
1. Real Chianti has mostly San Giovese, a little Cannaiolo RED GRAPES and a little Malvasia or Trebbiano WHITE GRAPES.
I experiment by mixing San Giovese with Ruby Cabernet. Another time I blended San Giovese with Syrah. Another time it was San Giovese, Syrah, Petite Syrah, and Viogniere.
Anyway you can ferment them separately or together.
I crush and measure pH, total acidity, and potential alcohol, and then add whatever my measurements tell me to do. I add sulfite to kill the wild yeasts and 24 hours later introduce the yeast that will kick of a nice clean fermentation.
2. 7 to 10 days later I press the must from stems, skins, and seeds and pour must into demijohns.
3. 10 days later I rack to leave all the gross lees behind. I leave the demijohns at about 60 - 65 F and make sure all the sugar has converted to alcohol. I test residual sugar with a clinitest from the pharmacy and measure alcohol. When it is .992 I put the demijohns in the wine cellar and a temperature of about 50 or so. I do not want a secondary fermentation with grapes from California so I add sulfite (META.
4. One month later I rack and add META. Hopefully, the temperature in the wine cellar will go down to about 30, but this doesn't always happen. Cold, real cold helps clarify wine.
5. Three months later I rack and add META.
6. I invite friends and we mix and match to decvide what to blend.
7. I blend and let it stay in demijohns for about a year but frequently measure pH, total acidity, and residual sugar just to be sure nothing goes wrong. I usually rack every 3 or 6 months and add sulfite but have been experimenting with this lately.
8. After a year, I bottle and let it age in the bottle about a year before I drink it.
9. I wish I could wait as long as I have just written before drinking it.
10. Homemade wine is too good!
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FOOD RECIPES
The home made wines I make go well with simple pasta dishes; they may not always hold up well to a piece of steak or lamb; sometimes they do though. This is my favorite simple pasta recipe:
1. Pour yourself a glass of home made wine. Have a sip or two.
2. Prepare a few pieces of garlic:
Have a small onion ready:
Get a small piece of Parmigiano and Romano; the piece close to the rind is good enough.
Garden tomatoes would be great, but if they are not available, my favorite canned tomatoes are Antica Italia; they are reasonably priced and always taste fresh.
Have another sip of wine.
3. Start to boil the water.
4. Pour a little extra virgin olive oil in a sauce pan; you do not need a lot of oil for this.
5. When the oil is warm, put in the garlic; I like to grate it.
6. When the garlic is a little yellow or brown, grate some of the onion into the pan; don't put the whole onion in yet.
7. After the onion has cooked a little, put in a little home made wine and have a sip yourself.
8. After the wine has cooked off, add the tomatoes; cut the tomatoes into small pieces while they are in the pan; use the seeds and skins; they are good for you and add texture to the sauce. You can add salt and pepper to taste.
9. Add the pieces of cheese and the whole onion.
10. When the water boils, add your favorite pasta.
11. When the pasta is cooked: I hope you like it "al dente": take it out and put on the sauce.
This sauce does not have to cook a long time. More than 30 minutes is probably too much. Please do not add green pepers; they over power the taste of the tomatoes. Of course, you can add meat, but I prefer to enjoy that tomatoe taste. Hey, do whatever you want just enjoy that homemade wine!
Salute e mangia bene!
Other pastas dishes these wines go well with are:
Anchovy
Broccoli Rape
Parsley, Butter, & Cheese
Swisschard & Pignoli Nuts
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My Favorite Products
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