is there a generally accepted time ( specific gravity ) to press ? I
know I should be checking SG daily ,,,,, but double shifts don't leave
much time at the end of the day.....lucky enough to get her to punch
things down a couple times a day for me . what's a good # for SG ? If
I were to consider an extended maceration , rather than pressing after
primary ferm goes still , is it worth the risk during forcast 80 deg
days ? are there special precautions to take such as gas blanketing ,
etc ? how long would it take to get to the point where I need to
press ? I've heard commercial wineries that do ext mace. go as much as
40 days. Is there that much of a benefit ?

wrote:
> is there a generally accepted time ( specific gravity ) to press ? I
> know I should be checking SG daily ,,,,, but double shifts don't leave
> much time at the end of the day.....lucky enough to get her to punch
> things down a couple times a day for me . what's a good # for SG ? If
> I were to consider an extended maceration , rather than pressing after
> primary ferm goes still , is it worth the risk during forcast 80 deg
> days ? are there special precautions to take such as gas blanketing ,
> etc ? how long would it take to get to the point where I need to
> press ? I've heard commercial wineries that do ext mace. go as much as
> 40 days. Is there that much of a benefit ?
>
Any SG below 1.03 is reasonable for pressing reds off the skins.

A week of extended maceration is generally long enough. I do as much as
3 weeks, and found diminishing benefit beyond two weeks. For my taste,
the wine just becomes more tannic and eventually bitter (due to phenolics).

When I want to do extended maceration, I cover my must (open top 10
gallon fermentor) at about 1.03 SG with clear plastic wrap by laying the
plastic wrap directly on the cap (i.e. not on the top of the fermentor).
This keeps the cap moist and helps trap CO2 in the cap to minimize
oxidation and spoilage. It is a good idea to do inert gas blanketing
(CO2 or argon are best, nitrogen is ok but not as protective); it
minimizes the amount of ethyl acetate produced during the extended
maceration. Ethyl acetate is an early sign of the start of spoilage.

Gene

regarding extended maceration. I am trying something this year that
is working real well. I have (2) 55 gallon primary fermenters. I put
the plastic wrap down as you mentioned - 2 layers in different
directions. Then, I stretch a large trash bag over the top and tie
the bottom in a knot - to eliminate a lot of air space. Now here is
the cool part - we use a vacuum cleaner and suck the air out of the
bag so it inverts down tight against the plastic wrap covered must.
Then we pump in argon. We suck it out one more time to remove
residual O2, then pump in more argon - Just so that the bag no longer
touchs the plastic wrap. We are on our second week of ex.mac now and
taste daily. So far so good.

Marc

On Oct 1, 12:00 am, wrote:
> is there a generally accepted time ( specific gravity ) to press ? I
> know I should be checking SG daily ,,,,, but double shifts don't leave
> much time at the end of the day.....lucky enough to get her to punch
> things down a couple times a day for me . what's a good # for SG ? If
> I were to consider an extended maceration , rather than pressing after
> primary ferm goes still , is it worth the risk during forcast 80 deg
> days ? are there special precautions to take such as gas blanketing ,
> etc ? how long would it take to get to the point where I need to
> press ? I've heard commercial wineries that do ext mace. go as much as
> 40 days. Is there that much of a benefit ?

Ted,
40 days is a long time. Probably the best advice is taste and smell
each day. If you start smelling rotten eggs H2S is on it's way and
you either need to press or aerate and check more often.

Joe