r/winemaking • u/eyeslikeemeraldcity • 3d ago

General question Fermentation Heater

Hello,

I'm making some home wine from grapes. I'm fermenting in an open top barrel and am looking for solutions to heat/maintain heat on my ferment. Does anyone have any suggestions? I looked into aquarium heaters, but I was reading the rubber and plastic on those aren't tolerant with high acid/alcoholic solutions.

I'm thinking maybe a heating belt to wrap around. The circumfrence is 116.5" at the widest part. Right now I have a space heater that I'm moving around. Trying not to run it too much though as I don't have a tarp to tent.

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u/devoduder Skilled grape 3d ago

What volume (lbs or kg) of grapes are you fermenting? Fermentation produces heat naturally and with enough grapes you shouldn’t have to worry about heating it. When I ferment 1,000lbs of grapes in a half ton bin the problem becomes keeping it from getting too warm.

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u/bloodyheader_5943 3d ago

that's a lot of grapes. what's the ambient temp where you're at? i ferment smaller batches so i just use a seedling mat with a thermostat, but might not cut it if your space is cold

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u/eyeslikeemeraldcity 3d ago

It’s definitely not fall-time North East temps, but it does get cold. A winery I worked at used heating belts on tanks, and though they were small (the belts) they actually worked really well. Just can find them online.

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u/eyeslikeemeraldcity 3d ago

It's 0.55 tons. I guess I'm more concerned about keeping the heat when I get under 8-5º brix or so when fermentation has slowed down and not generating a lot of heat on it's own.

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u/devoduder Skilled grape 3d ago

That’s similar to what I do, are you using a macro bin for fermentation? As long as the ambient temperature doesn’t get too cold you should be fine, I’m in California and our winery only gets down to mid 60s and I’ve never had a need to warm a fermentation. I prefer a cooler and longer fermentation, which allows flavors and aromatics to develop slowly whereas a quicker and hotter fermentation can produce off flavors. Fermentations won’t stop until the temperature gets under 45°f, I make a pet nat in a chilled tank that I ferment at 55-60°f which takes about 30 days but produces wonderful aromatics.

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u/eyeslikeemeraldcity 3d ago

I have it in a puncheon. Took the head off and crushed into it. I typically like to ferment my cabs around 85°F. I’ll go up to 90°F if I want more color extraction. I checked the 10 day forecast and it’s supposed to be upper 40’s low 50’s at night and mid-upper 70’s in the day. My garage stays really cool though, so I’ll open the door when it gets warm outside.

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u/eyeslikeemeraldcity 3d ago

Are you making wine at home? Unrelated to heat question is tap water. My city uses chlorine in the tap water. I'd like to use my outside hose for cleaning or any additions needing hydration. Is there a reliable filter I can run between the siget and hose?

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u/devoduder Skilled grape 3d ago

No, I’m a very small production commercial winemaker and winery owner, this barn is our winery.

As far as water filtration goes I don’t have the knowledge to advise you on how to remove chlorine, we use well water so hopefully someone else can chime in on a solution. I do know that chlorine in any amount is bad in a winery as it leads to the formation of TCA or cork taint (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_taint), definitely be careful using your water.