Every harvest, winemakers must decide which products and additives (if any) to include in the winemaking plan. Commercial products touting miracle results can be tempting, but should we be skeptical? This sensory session will focus on side by side testing of several commercially available fermentation products (such as glutathione additives, non-Saccharomyces yeast, and concentrate), as well as yeast dosing rates. Join us for an in-person sensory session to hear more.
Good Management of Malolactic Fermentation-Sensory Impact
Tartaric and malic acids, taken together, make up most of the acid fraction of grape juice and wine. When adding acid at harvest, many winemakers add exclusively tartaric acid while others add a blend of tartaric and malic acids. These acids have different impacts on pH, and are thought to have different sensory impacts. Which addition strategy is better? Does it matter? Join us for a virtual sensory session exploring these topics and evaluating experimental wines.
High pH red wines are common in Virginia and the most common remedy to high pH is the addition of tartaric acid. Yet, questions remain about when to do this addition. Join us for an in-person sensory session as we discuss how to balance acid addition timing based on potassium levels during fermentation. We'll also discuss options to predict this shift with common winery tools to avoid costly external lab analysis.