How to Make Chilean Cabernet at Home

Cabernet is King, no matter the region. At MWG we are grateful to be able to bring in Cabernet grapes and juices frrom Chile for wineries and home winemakers. Cabernets from Chile are very bold with notes of blackberry, casis, and plum. The tannins are medium to medium plus on the palate make this a great wine to enjoy with a steak or a hearty meal. Introducing oak into this style of wine only helps create more complexity on the palate and finish. Some winemakers also blend thier California Cabernet with thier Chilean Cabernet to create an “International” Cabernet Wine. There are lots of fun things to try when making Cabernet from Chile!

1. Crush Cabernet grapes into a sanitized bin or tub. (Each 18lb crate will make 1.25 gals of finished wine).
2. Apply 50ppm of Potassium Metabisulfite and stir well. Allow to sit for 8-12 hours.
3. Apply .5ml of Color Pro Pectic enzyme per box diluted into a 10% solution with water to the must and stir. Allow to sit for another 8-12 hours.
4. Mix Booster Rouge, FT Rouge, and Opti-Red, with spring water until it is the consistency of pancake batter and pour over top of crushed grapes. Mix in well.
5. Add rehydrate CSM yeast (1g/gal) with Go Ferm rehydration nutrient and warm water. Allow to sit for 15 minutes and pour over top of crushed grapes.
6. Punch down grapes 3 times per day throughout the duration of fermentation and monitor temperature and Brix levels daily. Use a hydrometer to test sugar content in a strained juice sample. Make sure the temperature does not exceed 85F.
7. One day after adding the yeast, add Fermaid O, mixed with spring water in to the pancake batter style slurry. Dump into grapes during a punch down.
8. After the depletion of 1/3 of the Brix (when the Brix level is between 16-11), add Fermaid O that is mixed with spring water into the pancake batter style slurry. Dump into to grapes at a punch down.
9. Add Malo-lactic bacteria the same day as the Fermaid K. If you are using liquid cultures, just pour over the grape must and mix. If you use the dry cultures, rehydrate them in warm spring water according to their specific directions, utilizing any rehydration nutrients recommended.
10. When the Brix have dropped below zero, press the wine into a sanitized tank, carboy, or demijohn. Make sure the vessel is topped up all the way to the top of the neck and sealed properly with a bung and airlock.
11. Rack after 48 hours and then again in a week. Allow MLF to complete before adding sulfites.
12. Allow the wine to age and rack it every 2 months and add sulfites when racking.

Recipe by the Winemakers at Musto Wine Grape

Interested in making your own wine? Musto Wine Grape Company is here to help! Musto’s New England’s largest supplier for home winemaking products and services. Visit juicegrape.com or give us a call at (877) 812 – 1137 to learn more.