Vintage 2020: Next Steps for the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc

We left the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cabernet Franc in their half ton bins at the Jonathan Edwards Winery undergoing a "cold" maceration until Sunday, October 25, 2020 when we went back to inoculate the must. Jonathan Edwards was harvesting his Cabernet Franc at this time so we were able to repay his kindness by helping to harvest his grapes. Around 1 p.m. we rehydrated our yeast, F15 for the Cabernet Sauvignon and FX10 for the Cabernet Franc.

We calculated that we might have at most 80 gallons of juice. The yeasts that we had chosen came in convenient 80 gram packets so the two yeasts, F15 for the Cabernet Sauvignon and FX10 for the Cabernet Franc were rehydrated in 800 mL of water at 100 degrees. The F15 seemed a little bit more reluctant to be rehydrated and the FX10 was faster at rehydrating and "blooming". The must for each of the two varieties was at a very hospitable 62 degrees Fahrenheit so after the 20 minute rehydration, the 800 mL of must was added in two aliquots each spaced 10 minutes apart. A little after 2 p.m. both bins were inoculated with their respective yeasts and covered with a special half ton bin covering that my husband (Procurement Officer) purchased.

Beginning on October 26 we went to Jonathan Edwards Winery three times a day to do punch downs. During this time, the yeasts were in their lag phase, beginning to get accustomed to their grapey environment. What we did see was that the weather was going to turn decidedly cold on Friday so on Tuesday evening, my husband purchased a small rotating heater to help the yeasts along. We set up the heater on Wednesday morning, October 28, 2020:

After the heater was put in place the yeast began their activity of converting sugar into alcohol. We monitored this by the change in Brix that we observed:

Variety	10/19	10/25	10/27	10/28	10/29	10/30	10/31	11/1	11/2
Cabernet Sauvignon Brix	22.4	20.5	20.5	19	16.6	15	13.5	12.2	10.6
Cabernet Franc Brix	23.5	23.2	21.0	19.5	18	15.5	14	12	10.4

After the heater was put in place, the yeasts came out of their lag phase and entered their rapid division phase and the decrease in Brix attest to this. It is still a slow fermentation so we hope to capture some nice aromatics in the process.