Chapter 19.

Many people feel Chardonnay is the premier white wine grape. It produces the great white Burgundy wines including Chablis, Poully-Fuiss‚ and Montrachet, and Chardonnay vines are widely grown around the world. In 1995 about 72,000 acres of Chardonnay were planted in California vineyards, and it was the most widely planted California wine grape variety.

Chardonnay is an early ripening grape variety, and it is often the first variety picked each year. It has small clusters of round, thin skinned, light yellow colored berries. The thin skin and its early ripening characteristics, make Chardonnay fruit vulnerable to bird, bee and wasp damage. Chardonnay prefers a cool growing climate, and wines made from fruit grown in warm regions often lack acidity and varietal intensity.

Chardonnay table wine is often produced in two different styles. A light fruity style emphasizes the clean, spicy, apple characteristics of Chardonnay grapes. A heavier style wine integrates the rich, complex, buttery qualities obtained from malolactic fermentation and aging in oak. Much of the Chardonnay wine produced falls somewhere between these two extreme styles.

Arrangements were made to obtain Chardonnay fruit from a small home vineyard about thirty miles away. The arrangements were simple. The vineyard owner would supply the grapes. The winemaker would supply the corks and bottles, and the winemaker would be responsible for harvest decisions and the winemaking. Grower and winemaker would divide the finished wine evenly.

This vineyard was known to ripen early, and the grapes were usually picked in the second or third weeks of August. The first sugar sample was taken on July 26. The grapes were tested, and the TA, pH and Brix values were recorded. Sugar samples were gathered and measured each Friday morning until the grapes were picked.

The grapes were picked very early the morning of 20 August 1995. When it was light enough to see the grapes, three people started picking. Cluster stems were cut with small hand shears, and the picked fruit was carried in 5-gallon, plastic buckets. When the buckets were full, they were dumped directly into a half-ton fruit bin in a pickup truck. About 600 pounds of Chardonnay grapes were picked in less than two hours. The cold grapes were covered and transported to the crush area quickly before they became warm.

A small power crusher-stemmer was placed on top of a « ton plastic fruit bin. The equipment was washed and carefully drained. Crushing started around 9:30. The grapes were moved from the truck into the crusher-stemmer with a long handled fork. Sulfite solution was added as the grapes were being crushed. The sulfite solution provided 35 milligrams of sulfur dioxide per liter of crushed grapes.

A small vertical basket press was used to press the Chardonnay fruit. The crushed grapes were transferred from the fruit bin into the press basket with a three-gallon plastic bucket. As the basket was being filled, about half the juice ran through the press into a 5-gallon bucket. When the bucket was full, it was emptied into a 55-gallon polyethylene drum.

Press pressure never exceeded 25 psi, and the pressure was applied slowly to reduce foaming. The press cake was broken up and repressed three times before the pomace was dry. The small press had a 200-pound capacity, and three complete press loads were required.

Including the time needed to wash the crusher and the press before and after, the entire crushing and pressing operation lasted more than four hours. The 600 pounds of Chardonnay grapes (and much work) produced forty-five gallons of juice.

Testing was done when juice became available. Sugar content was measured with a short ranged hydrometer. A value of 23.3 Brix was obtained after a temperature correction was applied (the juice was cold). The acid was tested, and it was 0.58 percent. The pH was 3.52.

The Chardonnay juice was settled in a homemade "cold-box." The cold-box is made from 1-inch thick, ridged foam insulation panels, and it measures four feet wide, four feet high and eight feet long. The top of the box is hinged and can be raised for easy access. A small 7000-Btu window air conditioner mounted in one end of the insulated box keeps the temperature of the box below 56 degrees. The 55-gallon drum of Chardonnay juice was moved into the cold box when pressing was completed. The temperature of the juice was 64 degrees when the it went into the box.

In the morning, the juice temperature was down to 57 degrees. Then, 39 gallons of clear juice was racked off the sediment into a clean 42-gallon polyethylene drum. The remaining six gallons of juice and sediment were resettled in a refrigerator for two days, and an additional two gallons of clear juice was reclaimed.

The acid content of the Chardonnay juice was low just as it had been in previous years, and enough tartaric acid was added to raise the TA of the juice to 0.69 percent. Juice pH was remeasured, and the tartaric acid addition reduced the pH to a value of 3.41. California Chardonnay grapes are often low in available nitrogen, so three ounces of diammonium phosphate were also added. The DAP crystals were dissolved in a little water and stirred into the juice.

Forty grams of active, dry Prise de Mousse yeast were stirred into 350 milliliters of warm water. Water temperature was adjusted to 99 degrees, and the yeast mixture was stirred several times. The mixture was allowed to rehydrate for about 25 minutes. When the yeast mixture was smooth and creamy, it was stirred into the juice, and the drum was sealed with a fermentation lock.

No signs of fermentation were found the following morning, and fermentation could not be detected on the second morning. However, by the evening of the second day, the bell in the fermentation lock was up, and the Chardonnay juice was gassy. Fermentation was underway.

The temperature of the Chardonnay juice was maintained at 56 to 58 degrees during the cold fermentation period. Each evening the temperature of the fermentation was measured, and a hydrometer was used to check the sugar content of the juice. Five days after the yeast addition, the sugar was down to 17 Brix. After ten days, the sugar was about 9 Brix, and the sugar measured 2 Brix after fifteen days.

The Chardonnay wine was removed from the cold box on September 5. The container was topped up, and the wine was allowed to warm to room-temperature. After three days at room temperature, the wine was measured with a short range hydrometer, and the hydrometer read -2.3 Brix. After two more days, the hydrometer reading had not changed, and the Chardonnay wine seemed dry. A complete fermentation record for the Chardonnay wine is shown in theTable.

DATE	TEMPERATURE	BRIX
8/21	58	23.3
8/22	56	23.3
8/23	57	23.3
8/24	57	22.5
8/25	56	21.1
8/26	57	17.0
8/27	56	14.9
8/28	57	12.5
8/29	58	10.8
8/30	57	9.9
8/31	57	8.7
9/1	56	7.7
9/2	56	6.4
9/3	56	5.0
9/4	56	3.8
9/5	moved out of cold box	-
9/6	73	0.8
9/7	75	-1.7
9/8	75	-2.4
9/10	74	-2.4
9/12	73	-2.4

Malolactic fermentation was started by adding dry "viniflora oenos" directly to the wine. Several days later, the bell on the fermentation lock was up, and ML fermentation appeared to be underway. A paper chromatogram was made on October 6, and the chromatogram showed little malic acid remained in the wine.

Since malolactic fermentation seemed finished, an addition of 50 milligrams of sulfur dioxide per liter of wine (mg/l) was made to the new Chardonnay wine. The container was then topped up and sealed with a fermentation lock.

The wine remained on the gross lees for another two weeks. After two weeks, the wine was racked into a clean container, and the container was topped up and sealed with a fermentation lock. A sample of wine was tested, and the measurements showed the wine contained 22 milligrams per liter of free SO2. The titratable acid was 0.64 and the pH was 3.41.

On December 2, five ounces of loose oak chips were added to the Chardonnay container. A sample of wine was taken, and measurements showed: color = ok, clarity = ok, aroma = ok, taste = ok, SO2 = 19 milligrams per liter, TA = 0.65 and pH = 3.40. On January 6, a sample of Chardonnay was taken from the container. The wine was measured, tasted and carefully examined. The following results were obtained: color = ok, clarity = ok, aroma = ok, taste = ok, SO2 = 16 milligrams per liter, TA = 0.64 and pH = 3.43. The free SO2 was getting low, so 25 milligrams per liter of sulfur dioxide was added to the wine at this time.

One liter of hot water was placed in a blender, and 60 grams of agglomerated bentonite were slowly added to the water while the blender was running at high speed. The bentonite mixture was allowed to cool for several hours. The mixture was then sealed in a plastic bottle and placed in a refrigerator for a few days. In mid January, the 60 grams of hydrated bentonite were stirred into the Chardonnay wine.

The next day, the container of wine was moved into an upright freezer. The freezer is not equipped with an adjustable thermostat, but the temperature can be controlled within a few degrees with an electric timer. The freezer operated continuously until the temperature of the wine reached 29 degrees. The timer was used to keep the wine temperature between 27 and 30 degrees, and the wine was held at that cold temperature for six days. Finally the cold wine was racked into a clean container and allowed to warm to ambient temperature.

On February 9, the Chardonnay was carefully tasted and measured. The February testing gave the following information: color = ok, clarity = ok, aroma = ok, taste = ?, SO2 = 24 milligrams per liter, TA = 0.61 and pH = 3.46. The winemaker felt that the wine would benefit from more oak character, so two additional ounces of oak chips were added to the container.

On March 6, the wine was tested with the following results: color = ok, clarity = ok, aroma = ok, taste = ?, SO2 = 20 milligrams per liter, TA = 0.60 and pH = 3.44. Little oak was showing.

The wine was tested again on April 10. The results of these tests showed: color = ok, clarity = ok, aroma = ok, taste = ok, SO2 = 16 milligrams per liter, TA = 0.58 and pH = 3.45. Some oak was starting to show. An addition of 15 milligrams per liter of sulfur dioxide was made at this time.

Two samples of the wine were taken a couple of days before bottling. Lab measurements were made on one of the samples, and the data showed: color = ok, clarity = ok, aroma = ok, taste = ok, SO2 = 19 milligrams per liter, TA = 0.61 and pH = 3.44. The sulfur dioxide was too low, so enough sulfur dioxide was added to increase the free sulfur dioxide content of the Chardonnay wine to 28 milligrams per liter.

The second wine sample was used to fill a clear 375-milliliter wine bottle. The bottle was sealed with a cork and placed in a refrigerator. After two days, the bottle was removed from the refrigerator and brought to ambient temperature. After the sample had been at room temperature for 24 hours, the wine was carefully examined. The Chardonnay wine showed no haze, and no tartrate crystals could be found on the bottom of the bottle. The wine was declared to be cold stable. The next day, the container of Chardonnay wine was filtered with a 2-micron absolute pad filter to prepare the wine for bottling.

The Chardonnay wine was bottled on 1 May 1996. To reduce handling, the wine was pumped directly from the polyethylene drum, through a 0.5-micron filter and into a two-spout, gravity bottle filler. Each empty bottle was rinsed with clean, hot water and a sulfite solution just before it was placed on the filler spout. A little over an hour was required to rinse, fill and cork the bottles. Plastic heat shrink capsules and labels were applied to the bottles the following day, and the bottles were placed in cardboard cases. Labels were placed on each case to identify the contents, and the cases were sealed with 2-inch, clear plastic tape.

At bottling time the wine was brilliantly clear, and it had a pale straw color. It had a clean nose and an "oakey" Chardonnay taste. The titratable acid measured 0.61. The pH was 3.44, and the free sulfur dioxide content was 28 milligrams per liter.

Sixteen cases of Chardonnay wine were bottled. The oak taste diminished significantly after the wine had been in the bottle for a few months.

THE HOME WINEMAKERS MANUAL

by Lum Eisenman