Petit Manseng: Lessons learned through WRE trials
Joy Ting
In addition to understanding ripening kinetics in Petit Manseng, the WRE has sponsored many other practical experiments with this variety, most of which focused on making balanced dry style wine. Following are recommendations from those trials:
- In 2019, three different wineries (Hark Vineyards, Early Mountain Vineyards, and Tarara Winery) harvested Petit Manseng at 2 or 3 different levels of ripeness, making wine from each harvest. Based on chemistry and sensory results, two of the three sites had at least one harvest with balanced acidity and alcohol while one site did not. The window for optimal harvest time may be narrow. (Published in the Grape Press).
- Though the excessive acidity is likely due to tartaric acid, malic acid still contributes.
- Selected yeast strains have been shown to consume malic acid during fermentation, reducing TA and increasing pH (King Family Vineyards, Walsh Family Wine)
- To date, experiments seeking to put Petit Manseng through malolactic fermentation have not been successful. Anecdotally, winemakers that have found success with this approach advise using no SO2 at crush, and allowing ambient fermentation to occur. Be advised, these can be very long fermentations.
- Hyperoxygenation of juice may improve fermentation kinetics without impacting aromatics.
- If chemistry is too extreme juice dilution is an option for completing fermentation, but diluting sugar also dilutes flavor.
- Cofermentation with another variety that lowers the Brix and TA is also a good option.
