Ready to turn some cab into vino

My friend has about 1/2 acre of Cab and i need to learn how this works. I'm trained in science and have been drinking wine for about 2 years. I need to learn everything i can and I'm not interested in making any crappy wine.

Glad to be on the forum!

Welcome to the forum !!

Well thats alot to ask for - considering harvest season is upon us.

I will try and find some previous posts that may help you -


Have you or your friend ever make wine before ?

My friend has, with mixed results. I want to take it up a notch. I'm going to assist him this year, with the idea of learning and being a lot more involved next year.

I've only been drinking wine for 2 years, and want to make something good!

Thanks in advance.

Kind of like asking Monet "I painted 2 barns, how do I make a timeless masterpiece?"

Winemaking is as much art as science, you can learn the science part, but nobody can teach you how a grape will taste as a finished product, or how a 10% vs. a 12% blend of Merlot will affect your wine. These things take years to learn.

You need to start now and jump in. You WILL make crappy wine, its just part of the learning process,

Understood. That's part of the learning...

So, if you're blending in Merlot, at what point in the process is that done?

I thought you only have a 1/2 acre of Cab ?

Where are you located ?
Have you checked the brix on the grapes yet ?
How old are the vines ?
any pics ?

I take it that we are talking about 2000-3000 pounds of grapes ?

I'm in So Cal. We already harvested a full pickup truck load of Cab, crushed with a machine and set aside 150 gal of must, and my friend measured what I think was brix and said it was perfect. I'm so new to this, I'm not sure what that is, I'm thinking sugar content? The vines are 3-4 yrs old. I'll dig up some photos and post later.

My friend has a plan for most of it this year, 2 types of yeast, and 2 small oak barrels, but we're going to have extra must and we have to make a plan for that or lose it. I'm really wanting to learn now what I could do to kick it up a notch next season.

As far as blending, I'm trying to understand that as his neighbors have other variety vines, they share some de-stemming equipment, and I see an opportunity for trading grapes if it makes sense.

vacuumpumpman said:

I thought you only have a 1/2 acre of Cab ?

Where are you located ?
Have you checked the brix on the grapes yet ?
How old are the vines ?
any pics ?

I take it that we are talking about 2000-3000 pounds of grapes ?

Click to expand...

The result of the harvest!

Looks like a great opportunity to learn. Do some reading on the beginner section of this forum to try and get a grip of what is going on.

Also, this is not quite a fresh grape project but I have a thread which details my first frozen must adventure ( pretty much frozen crushed grapes). If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Asking questions, making mistakes and getting your hands dirty are the best ways to learn.

Wine making has a bit of a learning curve, so don't feel bad if you don't get it all the first time around. I am still learning myself and I proud to be able to say that.

Thanks, yes lots to learn. A couple more pix from the harvest.