White Grapes made with Red methods?

[Grape Stuff]

I'm sure somebody, somewhere has tried this...Made wine with white wine grapes, but left the skins on during fementation? Why is this never done? Are the results awful? What is different (besides the obvious) between red and white grape skins?

[Innkeeper]

A optional practice in white wine making between crushing and pressing involves limited contact between skins and juice that can draw additional flavor elements from just under the grape skin of aromatic varieties.

Contact during fermentation would hamper the clarity of the wine.

[winoweenie]

Rod Bergstrom, winemaker at Joe Swan, was the original winemaker at La Crema and who operated out of a small warehouse in a strip mall in Petaluma once LOST a barrel of Chardonnay for 2 years that had skins, seeds, etc still intact. The resulting wine was actually named " Gonzo ", marketed to a few adventurous individuals such as myself, and bottled unfined,unfiltered, and undrinkable.WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/eek.gif[/img]

[Thomas]

Gewurztraminer is one grape that gets skin contact before going to press--it is, however, pink but it isn't red.

IK is correct, though. The skin contact for whites is brief, and only for flavor enhacement. Mostly, wine made from white grapes with terpine characteristics can benefit from some skin contact; that includes the above plus riesling, muscats and a few others.

[Babywewe]

I read someplace that the white skins are left togetter for a short time to give white Zin. a pinkish hew and for flavor enhancement?

[Thomas]

Zinfandel is a red grape--the grapes are left on the skins for a short time to give it the pink coloring, and then the wine is referred to as "white zinfandel."