I"m trying to figure out when to pick my grapes
If you want an opinion:
When the grapes are sugar sweet you are good. Because it’s that sweetness (sugar) that’ll convert into alcohol. Don’t overdo it !! When they are good, they are good…Leave them out to long and they’ll start drying out or catch a fungus or rain (I suppose rain ain’t a problem in Nevada…) Should the peel start getting loose from the pulp you’ve overdone it, harvest immediately.
The “Cav Sauv” and “Merlot” should be ready together at the same time. The “Zinfandel” shouldn’t be far apart but I’ve got no experience with it, and from what I understand it’s a different beast altogether (might be 30 days apart, so there’s NO managing that time gap), Probably not even meant to be mixed with the others (but you can try it and have the pleasure of making something unconventional that can’t be found in stores…)
As for the process:
After cutting the grapes from the vines have several containers ready. I’d recommend 2x5liter containers, and one container with a broad open top. You don’t have any need for equipment with those quantities - so you’ll have the pleasure of doing it by hand. Take the grapes of the stems (don’t put the stems in, they’ll add little to nothing and you’d have to take them out later…) Smash them by hand and let the smashed grapes ferment together with the grape juice. You’ll see the fermentation within 48 hours. I recommend harvesting in the morning, so the grapes won’t be hot and the fermentation will go smother - because it is massively exothermic.
After that it will ferment for up to 20 days - here I’m a bit unsure of the exact moment in your setting (I can check up on that). But after that, top of the 5 liters leaving one inch of the neck unfilled. Seal air-tight and wait until March. If you open in the meanwhile the air might sour your wine. That’s why a spare container is advisable so you’ll have some margin to top off the main containers (there’s no real problem if they are plastic, just make sure to wash them well). You can ferment everything together in the broad open-top container. (Take care to choose containers adequate for edibles.)
When you’re going for the final containers after fermentation is done, use a “colander” to take the smashed grapes out (press them tightly by hand to get any wine out) . This is essential!!
I’d advise using something like a coffee filter (the rougher the grain the better, you don’t need to filter it all, but please do decant) before consuming (in March/April) - or else the wine can “literally” be chewed and bitten (I personally like that.)
-After tasting go to the mirror and check your tongue to ascertain the quality of the product
P.S. If you’ve left any small secondary clusters on the vines check if they are “green” with the characteristic sourness of unripe fruit. Those should not be harvested nor added to the wine. You can leave them on the vines to ripen latter, that way you’ll have small clusters to eat latter - the birds are also likely to enjoy them.
