Grape Mash update Monday ......

The daily process of pressing down the cap of the mash has begun.  As the grapes ferment, the liquids collect at the bottom of the vessel.  In order to promote good fermentation we punch down the grape skins into the liquid twice a day.

There are two readings that I take during this week.  I take a mash temperature reading and I take a brix reading with a hygrometer.  The initial temperature reading was 68 degrees on Sunday.  The temperature reading Monday(below) was 78 degrees.  As the fermentation proceeds, the process generates heat which raises the temperature.

The initial alcohol reading of the unfermented grape juice was  13.5%.  Which means that there is sufficient sugar in the juice to generate 13.5% by volume of alcohol after fermentation is over.

This number will go down as the sugar is consumed by the yeast and converted to alcohol and the fermentation proceeds.  As of Monday this reading was 11.8%