2012 Muscat, Day 5 (Oct 3)

Outdoors was much warmer overnight than it's been, maybe 10 degrees warmer, but the cellar temp stayed down.

Inside the Muscat 1 poly tank,
with the cooling paddles.
Yeast heaven.

6:00: cellar is 71 F.  Loud down here!  The water trap on Muscat 1 is popping every three or four seconds, and the whole grapes of Muscat 2 are pinging around like the steel tank they are in is a drum.

Muscat 1, 73 F and 11 Brix.  Disappointing on the temperature front.  Comparing it to last year the cellar has stayed cooler this year but the wine warmer.  Right now the wine is 3 degrees warmer and 2 Brix drier.

Muscat 2, though, makes all small worries embarrassing.  It's doing a full blown red style fermentation. 84 F and down to 6 Brix or so.  The juice I'm able to extract and measure is so thick with particles that I'm not wildly confident of the hydrometer reading.  It's ahead of where the last reds we did were at this point.

18:00: Scorched!  Room is 71F.  Muscat 1 is 73 F and 8 Brix, close to ready for transfer to filled carboys.  Muscat 2 is still at 84 F with a very thick cap.  I thought I might try to press it myself this evening or tomorrow morning, but to heck with it.  Am thinking now that I'll let it go still and we can work briefly as a group on the weekend to press it.

Jon brought over a bunch of different ice packs this evening, and they went into Muscat 1 along with the rapi-kools.  Even though there will be little need for temp control once we hit 5 Brix, maybe we can stretch it out one day more than we would have otherwise.