Copyright 1999
Chapter 8
CRUSH SEASON
Crush seasons only lasts about eight weeks, and wineries must pick, transport and crush all the grapes needed for their annual supply of wine in that short time. Crush seasons are busy, hectic times for winery personnel, and twelve or fourteen hour workdays are quite common. Winemakers make many decisions during this busy period, and many of these decisions must be made quickly. Unfortunately, hastily made decisions often result in poor wine quality. Most winemakers prepare a detailed crush plan early each season to reduce the number of these high risk decisions.
Crush seasons are not so hectic for home winemakers. Nevertheless, home winemakers have the same kinds of problems each year, and most home winemakers also benefit from well thought out crush plans.
Deciding what varieties of wine will be made is the first step in developing a crush plan. Then the winemaker decides how many gallons of each variety will be produced. Once the varieties and quantities have been established, the more detailed winemaking issues such as potential sources of grapes, fruit costs, equipment cleaning, cooperage requirements, etc. can be addressed.
Most home winemakers have limited time during crush season, and even routine chores such as repairing and cleaning equipment need to be planned well in advance. Crush plans should be formulated many weeks before harvest time, and then the plan should be followed until all of the new wines are safely stored away in the cellar
FRUIT QUANTITY
The quantity of wine produced from a ton of grapes is called "wine yield." Wine yield depends on the variety of the grapes, the type of equipment available, the winemaking techniques used, etc. Professional winemakers, using modern horizontal presses, often get 160 or 170 gallons of quality wine from a ton of fruit. Home winemakers generally use small vertical basket presses, and home winemakers seldom get more than 150 gallons per ton. Consequently, most home winemakers require 13 or 14 pounds of grapes for each gallon of wine. When small batches of red wine are made at home without a crusher or press, wine yields will be much lower, and about twenty pounds of grapes will be needed for each gallon of wine. Making white wine without a press is not feasible.
All wine containers must be kept completely full of wine throughout the winemaking process. Wine stored in barrels evaporates, and significant quantities of wine are lost each time wine is racked. Containers must be "topped up" periodically, and extra wine is needed to keep the containers full. Winemakers always produce extra wine (about 15%) just to keep the containers full.
Getting grapes from the same vineyard each season is always an advantage. Winemakers learn what to expect from the fruit when grapes from the same vineyard are processed year after year. After a few seasons the winemaker knows what adjustments are needed, and he or she can "fine tune" the wine easily. These small adjustments are important to wine quality, so winemakers prefer to work with fruit from the same vineyards each season. Sometimes novice home winemakers believe "grapes are grapes," but they learn the value of grape source continuity after a few harvests.
Buying Grapes
Wine grapes are bought and sold by the ton, and higher prices are usually paid when home winemakers purchase fruit in much smaller quantities. This is why many home winemakers pool together each season and purchase grapes in ton quantities. Grapes are hauled from the vineyard in field lugs (picking boxes holding about 40 pounds), half-ton bins, one-ton tanks and in large gondolas. When small quantities of fruit are purchased from a vineyard, the size of the containers used can be important. A serious problem can develop when a ton of fruit is needed, and the grapes are coming out of the vineyard in five ton gondolas.
When grapes are purchased from an outside source, the grower should be contacted early in the season. Grape growers like to have their grapes sold well before harvest time, so purchase arrangements are best made well before the Fourth of July.
The grower's harvest criteria should be discussed and carefully considered. Some growers harvest as early as possible each season, and red grapes are often picked very close to 22.5 Brix. Trying to make a "big red" wine from under-ripe grapes is not realistic, and if the growers harvest criteria is not compatible with the style of wine planned, the winemaker should look for another source of grapes. Who will pick and the price of the grapes should be clearly established when purchases are made from outside sources.
Harvest time depends on many factors, and picking times vary from year to year. The grape varieties, vineyard location, soil, weather conditions and irrigation schedules all influence harvest times. Rain late in the season often delays picking by a week or two. Many variables are involved, and accurately predicting when grapes will be ripe is nearly impossible. Consequently, winemakers should keep in touch with the vineyard and follow the development of the grapes as they ripen. Then the winemaker will be ready to process the grapes promptly when harvest time finally arrives.
Expecting commercial growers to sell their highest quality fruit to home winemakers is not realistic. Commercial growers prefer to use their best quality fruit to entice large wineries into multi year contracts. Five, seven or even ten year fruit contracts are often beneficial to both the grower and the winery. Practically all of the highest quality wine grapes are sold under long term contracts, so home winemakers are always at a disadvantage when attempting to buy quality grapes on the open market. A few home winemakers plant their own vineyards and produce estate wines simply because high quality grapes are so difficult to buy.
Warm Fruit
Oxidation and other changes start to occur when the grapes are picked, and fruit should be loaded, transported and processed quickly to minimize these changes. However, exceptions to the above rule are sometimes necessary when grapes are picked late in the afternoon on a hot day. Under these condition, the grapes may be very warm. Hot fermentations are difficult at best, so in this situation, letting the fruit sit overnight and cool down may be the lesser of two evils. Larger wineries cool warm fruit with large refrigeration systems. Small wineries and home winemakers try to avoid warm fruit. On harvest day, small producers get to the vineyard early while the grapes are cold. Then they load, transport and process the grapes quickly.
Unfortunately, home winemakers seldom have much control over when or how the grapes are picked. Large vineyards must cater to local wineries, and grapes going to a winery are usually the first to be picked and loaded. Handling small quantities of grapes is often difficult for large vineyards, and the grower is usually doing the home winemaker a favor. Therefore, when a home winemaker picks up a ton of grapes, he or she often has little choice and must accept warm fruit picked late in the day.
Growing Grapes
Many professional and amateur winemakers prefer to grow their own grapes because having complete supervision of the vineyard gives the winemaker the greatest control over grape quality. Most home winemakers are never able to purchase really high quality fruit, so when a home winemaker is determined to make quality wines, his only alternative is to plant a small vineyard. When suitable space and water are available, planting a few hundred vines is a practical solution to the high quality fruit dilemma, and more home winemakers are becoming growers.
Material costs for a standard two-wine trellis and a drip irrigation system range from $1,000 to $4000 per acre. Sometimes, used vineyard materials can be found, and the savings can be quite large. Vines can be grown on their own roots in areas where the phylloxera root louse is not a problem. Cuttings can be planted in these areas, and cuttings are easier, faster and less expensive to plant than rooted stock. Often cuttings can be obtained for nothing each year at pruning time. When cuttings are planted with reasonable care, a 95 percent "take" can be expected.
Yields
Crop yields from any vineyard depend upon the grape variety, weather, soil conditions, water, etc. Yields of one to two tons of grapes per acre are common in old, unirrigated, coastal vineyards. In the Central Valley, heavily fertilized and irrigated vineyards planted with Carignane, Grenache or Zinfandel grapes often produce twelve or more tons per acre. However at these high crop levels, the color is deficient, the acid level low and overall fruit quality is often poor. Yields around four or five tons per acre can be expected for well grown, high quality grape varieties. If an acre containing 600 vines (a reasonable number) produces four tons of grapes, each vine would be producing about 13 pounds of grapes. Thirteen pounds of grapes will make about a gallon of wine, so an average vine might produce about one gallon of wine each year.
A value of one gallon of wine per vine may be too optimistic for small, isolated vineyards. Such yields apply to large, mature vineyards managed by experienced grape growers. Small vineyards are more difficult to manage successfully, and small, isolated vineyards are more susceptible to deer, coyote, rabbit, bird, bee and wasp damage. Home vineyards planted with Cabernet or Chardonnay grapes often average about two tons per acre.
GETTING READY
Conscientious winemakers take a complete inventory of winemaking materials and supplies, and orders for needed cellar supplies are placed. Then all of the equipment is assembled, inspected and repaired several weeks before harvest time. Then when each piece of equipment is in good working order, all of the equipment is cleaned carefully. Conscientious winemakers are prepared to make wine long before the first grapes of the season are picked.
Supplies
Orders for winemaking supplies should be placed several weeks before harvest time because suppliers are very busy just before and during a crush season. Home winemakers often get together and order winemaking supplies in commercial quantities to reduce their winemaking costs. For example, a 500-gram package of Prise de Mousse active, dry yeast cost $8.00 in 1996. The cost of a 5-gram envelope of the same yeast was $0.75, so buying yeast in five gram envelopes is expensive for home winemakers making more than 50 gallons of wine.
Home winemakers bottling twenty or so cases (50 gallons) of wine a year will need the following winemaking supplies each crush season.
Tartaric and citric acid. Active dry wine yeast. Malolactic bacteria (optional) Yeast nutrients (Di ammonium phosphate, yeast hulls, Superfood, etc.). Sulfite powder. Fining materials (bentonite, gelatin and Sparkolloid) Filter materials (pads or cartridges). Laboratory test chemicals. Sanitation materials (chlorinated TSP, Clorox, etc.).
Equipment
Most winemakers assemble, inspect and test their equipment several weeks before harvest time. All machinery should be checked for rust and corrosion, and motor powered equipment should be inspected for cracked belts and frayed electrical cords. Rusty equipment should be scraped, sanded or sandblasted. Then the clean surfaces can be painted. When all repairs are complete, the equipment should be tested for proper function. When everything is in good working condition, the equipment should be scrubbed with a chlorinated TSP solution. Then the equipment should be rinsed with clean water several times and drained completely. All winemaking equipment should be in good working condition, clean and ready for use before the first grapes are expected.
Tanks
All empty tanks, drums and other containers should be checked for leaks. After any needed repairs have been made, the containers should be scrubbed with a chlorinated TSP solution. Then the containers should be rinsed several times with clean water and drained. Drums, carboys and other small containers can be stored away until needed. In a few wineries several weeks of hectic bottling are required each crush season because the tanks are full of last year's wine. Most winemakers do not postpone bottling, and they have clean, empty tanks well before the crush season.
Barrels
Empty barrels should be checked for acetification or moldy smells or off-odors. Novice winemakers must learn to trust their noses when cleaning and testing wood cooperage. Sweet smelling barrels should be filled with clean water and carefully checked for leaks. Sometimes leaky barrels must be soaked for several days to swell the stays and stop the leaks. Then the barrels should be sterilized either by burning a sulfur wick or by filling the barrel with SO2 gas from a high pressure cylinder. Barrels sterilized with sulfur dioxide can be held in good condition for several weeks if they are kept tightly bunged to retain the sulfur dioxide gas. Barrels stored in this way must be rinsed with clean water immediately before they are filled with wine. Empty barrels stored for more than a few months will require extra attention.
SUMMARY
Lots of things can and do go wrong during crush, and most winemakers develop detailed crush plans early each year to reduce the number of quickly made, high risk decisions
Most winemaking materials keep well, but sulfite powder, yeast and laboratory reagents should be replaced each season. Orders for winemaking supplies should be placed early in the season because suppliers are very busy just before and throughout the crush season.
Generally, large vineyards prefer to sell their grapes early in the season, and outside fruit sources should be contacted and arrangements to buy grapes should be made early.
All winemaking equipment should be inspected, repaired and put in good working condition. Then the equipment should be scrubbed, rinsed and completely drained. The equipment should be ready to use long before the expected harvest time.
Most winemakers try to go into the crush season with a well-thought out crush plan, adequate winemaking supplies, clean functional equipment and empty tanks.
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