Oh no...in the case of wine grapes, fermentation is usually done & over with in about 7 days if I remeber correctly, then you strain, clarify & bottle.
The aging is what takes time, but the alcohol is already there at 7 days.
I have idiot firneds make wine & found them drinking it at 8 days.........I scolded them to allow it to age & mellow but it did no good.
This is what you do:
Wash, stem & crush, strain out seeds as they can be bitter in the wine.
In the case of reds, skins & juice go in a clean vat & add Campa tabs to kill all other natural yeast, then after that (next day) brix, see how much sugar there is naturally & add if needed...then test acid, if acid is needed add, then the yeast & cover with a cheescloth & stir 2-3x a day.
when it is fermenting it bubbles & smells soooooooooo good !
When fermentation is done, the bubbles all gone, brix test again to see if there is sugars left, if none, that means all sugars have been turned to alcchol (& that can be measured too)
Time to add clarifyer (in whites) and allow the sediment to sink, then sulfites to preserve (must be done) and bottle with as little air injected as possible..all total, a week or week & 1/2 ?
Steel Winery in Lake County one of my hangouts where I sold alot of artwork
Cannot even tell you how wonderful a winery smells!
I just put my name on the "volunteer" list for the local winery. It is right around the corner from me. I am so excited to be able to "help". Sounds really fun.
