Now I've Done it! The pressure is on!

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grapeman

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As many of you know, I work at the Willsboro Cold Hardy Grape Trial Vineyard. I do the daily work needing to be done to maintain the vineyard and such. This week was our first main picking for 2009. We ended up picking 12 varieties and got a couple tons of grapes or so.


This year we will again be sending 10 varieties of grapes to the wine lab in Geneva at Cornell. They will be using standardized methods and set yeasts to compare grapes varieties for wine. We had the 10 done last year and most folks were less than impressed with the generic lab wines. We want to send them again this year, but requested a wine more typical of a commercial wine. We were told that they don't do that type of wine
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, they only have lab type facilities.


That's when my foot got shoved in my mouth as I agree to a request to make matching wines of the grapes we send out there. By that I mean, they get half the grapes and I get half the grapes, to each make our version of wine. I'm expected to make the commercial type wines- 10 in all. I know I can do it, I already have from all the varieties, but.........
I am up against some pretty heavy hitters here, including the head folks at the Enology Department of Cornell - including Anna Katharine Mansfield - formerly of the University of Minnesota where many of them were developed.


This should be fun, but makes my life even more hectic. We decided to do this yesterday afternoon so I arrived home with half of them today or about 600 hundred pounds. Stay tuned!
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Appleman,
I have TWO words for you.


GOOD LUCK. I know you can beat them.
 
Way to go! Kind of odd that they wouldn't attempt to make the best that can be made from the varieties available. I would sure think yours would better represent what the grapes can and cannot do. Good luck with them!
 
Wow, you have your work cut out for you now Rich!!!!!!! All that on top of what you already have going on. Do you have the vessels for all this? Hows the selling going on your grapes this year?
 
JW we were thinking the same thing!


Wade they will need to get replacements for me to fill up. I haven't picked much myself yet. I have been letting things ripen as much as possible, but that is coming to a close. I will start picking more very soon.


Now tomorrow I will need to get going in the winemaking area more again. I'm letting them chill tonight. This morning my door was frosted shut on the trunk when I went to leave to pick!
 
Good luck, Rich! I know if anyone can do it, you can. I have the utmost confidence in you,
 
I will be checking on this wine making area and vineyard of yours in a few weeks!!!
 
Rich,

Nothing like a challenge
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-- but remember, we're all here for you! One of my favorite sayings is... (besides the one below) "none of us is as smart as all of us!"
 
You the man buddy !!! Now lets get some pictures posted on this thread and keep us appraised of the priogres s it develops.
 
As I recall the Cornellians were at your place a while back and you completely wowed with your wine. You have nothing to worry about.
 
Rich,

I wish you all the best. I know that you will produce the best wines you can to showcase each variety.

P.S. I would really like to know where you find the time and energy to do all this. I think one word sums it all up.DEVOTED
 
Now that i have prepped enough large fermenters, I am headed out to run them through the criusher/destemmer. I don't have time for a lot of pictures but will try to get a couple.
 
I suspect your welcoming this challenge with a huge smile!

I think this is a challenge that you can do with ease

Good luck to you and hope the grape Gods look upon you to make great wine from them.......... Could lead to a promising future in "professional" wine making....

WHADDA MEAN NO TIME FOR PICTURES????????

THERE'S ALWAYS TIME FOR PICTURES!
 
Sure wish I was closer, I would love to watch, learn and help!
 
Thanks everyone. I am indeed enjoying this. I have offered to do it for two years now, and I guess the time is right.


I already put a few of mine up agianst the generic lab ones and the people choice awards made mine the clear winners.


I had 600 pounds from the 5 varieties this week and will get another 5 next week. The crusher motor worked great. After hooking the power back up into my winery,I fired the motor up. The first batch was 200 pounds of LaCrescent and it took all of 5 minutes to run them through into a Brute.


After crushing them yesterday I sulfited them all and added pectic enzyme to the whites. I am pressing the whites today and may get a few more pictures then. I did get a couple pictures yesterday and will upload them along with a couple from today.


I am not getting super fancy with these wines. I just want to show what the average winemaker is capable of getting making these cold- hardy grapes without fancy chillers and other sophisticated equipment. Sometimes simpler is better. Using simple techniques, materials and yeasts is sometimes better for making good to great wines. I have no chillers for primary orbladder presses or even stainless tanks, but I do have patience............ and pay attention to what the wine is telling me it wants to become!
 
impressive impressive impressive

lets see..intellectuals versus an innovator???? hmmmmm gee i wonder where the winner will come from
 

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