Cabernet Sauvignon
Robert, who had acidity problems with an undiluted Concord grape wine, is understandably hesitant to take an unguided plunge into making a Cabernet Sauvignon. Had he been a frequent reader of The Winemaking Home Page, he would have known how to deal with high acidity native grapes. Still, I cannot fault anyone who demonstrates such unbridled enthusiasm.
- 5 gallons Cabernet Sauvignon juice
- 2 tsp pectic enzyme
- 6 crushed Campden tablets
- 3 tsp yeast nutrient
- 1 packet Montrachet, Pasteur Red or Champagne yeast
Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are, in my opinion, one of the nobler red wine grapes gracing this planet. It would be folly, however, to lump all Cabs together. Distinctive regions grow this magnificent grape distinctively, and a premium Cab grown in Rioja, Spain will taste, smell and feel quite different from a similar premium Cab grown in Napa, California or Pauillac (Bordeaux), France. That being the case, the question naturally arises if the methods of winemaking in the various regions account for the distinctions. The answer is an unambiguous yes and no. Yes, different methods do account for different qualities in the finished wines, but no, the differences in methodologies are not so great as to override regional distinctions in soils, sunlight, micro- and macro-climates, and the adaptation of the vines themselves to these variables. Few other grapes display regional affinities as markedly as do Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Then, too, the Cabernet Sauvignon grape is somewhat finicial. It tends to form hydrogen sulfide during initial fermentation on the cap. Treatment with diammonium phosphate at the crush usually corrects this tendency, and I certainly wouldn’t be concerned with it for a juice purchased from an established vineyard. Cab is also capable of producing slightly off fragrances of berries, bell peppers and cigar smoke. These are caused by natural components, some of which are below detection thresholds, and are usually quite subtle if present at all. I, for one, would not worry about them–there is little the home winemaker can do to correct them anyway.