Question for people who make wine?!
ps. What's the best spot to grow grapes? Where would you grown a vineyard?
Answers: For my Biology class, we have to do a project where we pretend we own a vineyard and we have to make wine...I "picked" my grapes at the beginning of September cause the weather was warm and perfect. I know that right after picking them, you transport the grapes to a truck and water them down, there's a reason for that but can someone explain why that is? Something about how the water makes the grapes plump (but not too much water so that the sugar content of the grapes go down). Then we go the winery to make the wine. But I'm confused because how much yeast and what solutions do I mix with the grapes to get the best wine? There's something called brix that we add to the grape juice...I'm so lost. I don't even drink! I wish I could say that all my grapes died, but I can't, and I'd like some help from people who make wine.
ps. What's the best spot to grow grapes? Where would you grown a vineyard?
i'm not trying to ruin your day or anything but everything you type is fairly off the mark
you don't water harvested grapes, in fact you pray it doesn't rain during harvest so the berries DON'T get diluted
brix is a measurement of sugar content, not something you add (and brix would determine when to harvest, not "warm and perfect weather")
you need to get a book on the subject, this is beyond a simple YA explanation and ostensibly your instructor does or should know that if giving such an assignment
there is no one size fits all formula of right yeast, etc (wine STYLES play into these decisions, among other things)
there is no one climate/region that is best for grapes (one thing to answer first is the grape SPECIES)
You need to research wine making. I don't think I can possibly give you enough info to recreate a lab.
Early september would probably be pretty early for a red. You should pick based on ripeness of the grapes, sugar level, acid level, and taste. And perhaps based on weather, you don't to pick right after rain.
Do not water down the grapes. That is illegal in most wine regions.
After picking, you are going to de-stem and crush the grapes. For whites, you will also press. Reds, you will stay with the whole must to ferment. You do not add much to the grapes, perhaps some fining agents and yeast. That's about it, and both are larely removed from the wine prior to bottling.
Brix is a measurement of the sugar level.
Some of the best places to grow grapes: Burgundy, France; Bordeaux, France; Napa Valley, CA; Marlborough, New Zealand; Tuscany, Italy;