Cava...

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Cava...

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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 09 9:03 am Post subject: Cava...

...actually it tasted a bit more like champagne but basically white fizzy wine.

Last year I attempted to make a white white out of a few cartons of white grape juice and a dozen or so small bunches of wine grapes growing in our garden. The grapes didn't provide much juice but by squashing them and fermenting them in the juice for a week or two I thought I would get some flavour into the wine. Strained into a dj and fermented out, or so I thought, and then bottled. No sugar was added.

As I didn't mind a slight sparkle, like you get with some white wines, I didn't worry about it completely fermenting out. However, it actually turned out to be as fizzy as a normal sparkling wine. Luckily none of the corks popped and we've now drunk all the bottles and I must say it turned out very well, easily as good as some cheap, medium dry sparkling wines. Not as much flavour as I would have liked but it had some and also a sort of biscuity taste, it certainly didn't last long.

So, I plan to do the same again this year and take some proper notes. I'll also be more cautious when bottling as I don't want any bottles to brake. But for less than �1 a bottle it can't be bad.

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 09 9:05 am Post subject:
Ooh, yes. Full instructions needed, please, as that's one of her major food groups.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 09 9:24 am Post subject: Re: Cava...

Treacodactyl wrote:

we've now drunk all the bottles

or ' We're drunk and the bottles are empty'

gil
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Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Thu Jun 11, 09 11:05 am Post subject: Re: Cava...

Treacodactyl wrote:

.. .So, I plan to do the same again this year and take some proper notes. I'll also be more cautious when bottling as I don't want any bottles to brake. But for less than �1 a bottle it can't be bad.

Much less worry if you use champagne bottles, stoppers and muselets.

Or use the 'methode champenoise' with a deliberate secondary fermentation in the bottle, following on from a complete primary ferment.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 09 7:24 am Post subject:

I think I would be more nervous about wiring in the corks. With that batch I made the corks were just inserted using one of those hand-lever things and although they didn't budge I know they'll pop out before the bottle go. Much less glamorous but I think I might go down the beer bottle route if I did it properly.

However, it's really just an idea and there's a chance we might not get many grapes this year. I have tried to look for a sparkling wine kit but didn't find anything with a quick search.

gil
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Joined: 08 Jun 2005
Posts: 18415

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 09 8:32 am Post subject:

Stoppering and wiring down champagne corks is reliable. That's what they're designed to withstand, along with the thickness of the bottle. Besides, the sparkle/2ndary ferment finishes as soon as enough CO2 has been generated to fill the airspace between wine and stopper, which is enough to create the fizz.

I'd be more nervous about crown caps, myself, though the same principle would apply, as beer bottles are not as robust.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 09 8:37 am Post subject:
It's the wiring down that worries me, the only way for a lively brew to escape is to smash the bottle. Are all champagne, cava, fizzy plonk bottles the same or are some more robust than others?

Northern_Lad

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 14210
Location: Somewhere

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 09 8:40 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

It's the wiring down that worries me, the only way for a lively brew to escape is to smash the bottle.

Are all champagne, cava, fizzy plonk bottles the same or are some more robust than others?

I think they're different, but all thicker than standard glass. Was a monk called Dom P. who perfected the bottling of fizzy plonk.

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 09 12:02 pm Post subject:
Bottles for bottle-fermented stuff (Champagne/high price tag New World/some cava) are thicker than the ones used for tank/transfer method or CO2 injection wines.

sean
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Jun 12, 09 12:06 pm Post subject:

Northern_Lad wrote:

Was a monk called Dom P. who perfected the bottling of fizzy plonk.

Bzzzt. Wrong. He mainly worked on blending wines from different vineyards/areas and was aiming to make still wine.

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