The fermentation process moved along much quicker than we had planned on (or expected), and rushed to a stop after only 5 days. 

I knew the fermentation was about finished when the cap no longer needed much punching down and started to slip back into the layer of juice. The next time we do this, I’d like to slow this down a bit to give the juice some more time to marinate with the skins.  I’m interested in the added color, especially in a cab.

We took our food grade garbage bucket of “new wine” back to Mountain Home Brew to press all of the juice off of the skins.   The store provided us with a bladder press for the job.  I was surprised that at least 3/4 of the juices strained right out without having to use the press.  The other quarter came from the actual “pressing.”  The bladder press is a pretty neat deal, utilizing a porous sac and an inflatable bladder that is pressurized with a water hose.

We were in and out in about 15 minutes and driving home with about 8 gallons of wine in two separate 6 gallon carboys.

At this point, the wine was tasting REALLY tart and acidic. I have to admit I was a little bit worried about it ever becoming a drinkable and enjoyable adult beverage.  When I say tart, I’m talking sour patch kids, tart.  We decided to encourage a malolactic fermentation, which turns the malic acid into a more gentle and smooth lactic acid by adding some bacteria cultures.  We added an air lock to each carboy and put the wine to rest for another week.

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