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Showing posts from October, 2012

Commercial Run

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This is it.  Time to get serious.  This is the year that I go from producing 20 gallons to 320 gallons of Riesling.  With the license in hand, I am pressing ahead with four - eighty gallon tanks.  Innoculation with D47 yeast began on Tuesday morning, October 16 at 7 am.  The Riesling juice Brix was 20.6, a full degree higher than last year.  I added enough sugar to bring the primary fermentation starting point to 23.1 degrees Brix. I am maintaining fermentation temperature control in the mid to low 60s with two Vornado TVH600 Whole Room Vortex Heaters with automatic climate control.  During primary fermentation, I am also running a 160cfm FANTECH exhaust fan with a fresh air intake motorized operating damper.  A rigid metal duct located one foot from the floor pulls the CO2 from the fermentation room and expels it to the rear of the winery.  Fresh air is poured in by twin overhead ducts located six inches from the ceiling. After one week, fermentation is proceeding beautifully.