FAQ—How do I keep my white ferments cool?

 

There is general agreement that white juice should be fermented at cool temperatures, taking several weeks to complete the process rather than the several days common with red must. The cooler ferments have better varietal fruit flavor. 12-15ºC is usually the target (check the recommendation for your yeast). Commercial wineries can use jacket-cooled tanks to achieve the desire temperature. Here are some of the strategies of Club members for the home winemaker.

Home winemaker options

  1. Wait for cooler temperatures. Ferment outside or in an uninsulated room. Problem: Outside temperatures are variable.
  2. Use a cold water bath. Keep your fermenter in a larger vessel in which you circulate cooler water. One Club member circulates a stream of steady-temperature well water around his fermenter, with the well water then moving to a cistern for later reuse. You could also run a clean (and alcohol resistant) length of garden hose in coils through the ferment.
  3. Use ice packs. Keep a selection of ice packs (you can use 1L and 2L pop bottles, with paper and marking removed) in your freezer. Regularly add one to the ferment to keep the temperature down.
  4. Use an old fridge or cooler. Make sure the thermostat will manage the temperature range you want.
  5. Build a small room with its own air conditioner and rig a thermostat. This is the most elegant and adaptable solution. Ambient room air temperature will need to be less than your desired fermentation temperature.

WARNING: CO2 will build up inside any small room or cooler user for fermentation. Be careful.

 


Prepared by Rod Church, September 1, 2004, on the basis of discussion
 among Club members at the August 2004 meeting.