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64 WINES&VINES July 2016 WINEMAKING WINE EAST EASTERN WINE LABS Serving the Analytical needs of East Coast Wineries WWW.EASTERNWINELABS.COM Ph 609-859-4302 Cell 609-668-2854 chemist@easternwinelabs.com AOAC Member EasternWineLab_Mar09.qxp 1/22/09 9:47 AM Page 1 individually, using an Enolmatic single-bottle vacuum filler. The bottle is finished with a T-cork, label and capsule. Karasz feels that the brandy is ready for con- sumption immediately, but some- times he will let the bottles sit a short while before selling them. Rock Stream's other main dis- tilled product is grappa. Karasz was introduced to this spirit while stationed with the U.S. Army in Italy for three years. All varieties used are estate-grown. After crushing and pressing the grapes, he places about 2 tons of skins into covered 1-ton grape bins and adds some tap water, cane sugar and yeast. He declined to identify his "recipe" for water and sugar, but he does use Lalvin 71B yeast. He treats the skin must much like a red wine, regularly punching it down to keep the must mixed. He allows about two weeks to com- plete fermentation but lets it take longer to complete, if necessary. The result is like a mash—firm enough to pick up with his hand, but still have liquid dripping out. Before loading the still, Karasz places a large, perforated disc in the bottom and then "shovels" the must into the still. He uses about 15 5-gallon buckets per still load. Karasz's distillation process is the same as for brandy, but he noted that his quantity of hearts will be slightly less (about 5 gallons). "This stuff is really tricky on the tails. This is where you really have to taste and watch it carefully to make sure it doesn't turn cloudy," he said. Grappa distillate will tend to cloud with some impurities sooner—and more than regular brandy. Dilution with distilled water is the same, lowering the distillate to 80 proof. Karasz does not expose the grappa to oak, and he uses the same filtration and bottling protocol as with brandy. However, when using Vignoles, Karasz noted the slightest haze, so he used a 0.3-micron cartridge, which effectively cleared the haze. Karasz adds an interesting twist to marketing his grappa. He offers his customers a do-it-your- self oak option with the American Oak Infusion Spiral, produced by The Barrel Mill and made specifi- cally for "aging" spirits in a single bottle. Karasz offers customers a taste of his grappa treated with oak for reference, then sells the spirals to customers for $5 apiece. Six Mile Creek Vineyard Ithaca, N.Y. Paul King is the winemaker/distiller at Six Mile Creek Vineyard, located about 2 miles south of Ithaca. While working as an environmental biolo- gist at Boyce Thompson Institute (associated with Cornell University) in 1989, King met the vineyard manager of Six Mile Creek, who asked him for help dealing with some diseases in the vineyard. King became interested, worked the 1989 crush there and stayed in con- tact with the winery. In 1999 he began working full-time at Six Mile Creek, assisting in the cellar, work- ing in the vineyard and performing a variety of tasks common to work- ers at small wineries. Around 2003, the vineyard yielded a bumper crop of Seyval, and the winery's owner, Roger Bat- tistella, decided to purchase a still to use up the extra Seyval wine. The distillation equipment included a copper 150-gallon stripping still and 24-gallon copper Alembic-style pot still, both from Portugal. Cur- rently King distills from estate- grown Seyval and/or Cayuga White wine, primarily fermented with Lalvin DV-10 yeast. The finished wine does not have any SO 2 addi- tion and can be distilled immedi- ately after fermentation is complete. If any carbon dioxide is left in the young wine, it must be degassed prior to distillation. The Six Mile Creek Vineyard yields an averages of 3.5 to 5 tons of Seyval per acre, and King esti- mates that 160 gallons per ton of 11% alcohol Seyval wine (distilled three times for his vodka and gin) produce about 18 gallons of 80- proof spirits after dilution with dis- tilled water. In the past, King has used one 1,600-gallon tank of Seyval wine for distillation, but due to increased demand, he may have to increase production and would purchase Seyval, if necessary. The first distillation takes place outside, under cover, with the 150-gallon still. A large propane burner heats the still, which is sur- rounded by a fireproof wrapping to keep the heat contained. Etha- nol production begins at 76.4° C, with the methanol and other im- purities developing at lower tem- peratures. This lower temperature distillation (the heads) is dis- carded. In the first distillation, he determines what is used for hearts and what is considered tails by temperature, an alcoholmeter and taste. The hearts and tails are kept separate, and the next distillation is done inside with the 24-gallon still. It also is heated by propane,