Recent content by BillZ

I wanted to pass along something I have been doing for a couple of years now. I like to put my wine on oak for a month or two but do not have room for barrels. I have tried the cork screw oak, and oak chips but have settled on oak blocks. They add a lot of flavor to the wine in a short amount of...

The cab is from 200lbs of grapes I got from Amador County here in California. I think I will wait until the beginning of next year and then look at bottling 1/2 as Rocky suggested and then wait until this time next year for the rest. The trick to building up a supply of older vintages is to...

I have 13 gallons of a 2011 Cabernet that has turned out really well. I purchased a few additional carboys this year and have the space to leave it in the carboy for a while longer. What are the benefits of bulk aging in a glass carboy rather than going ahead and bottling it? Thanks Bill

Success! I splash racked a couple of days after my last post. I checked the wine right after I racked and the smell was mostly gone. I just checked again it is now all gone. Thank you for the information and advice everyone! I am looking for some information on bulk aging now. I will open a...

Been slammed with the day job, coaching two soccer teams and crushing the grapes from my backyard. I plan to rack on Wednesday and will keep you posted.

I will give that a shot and report back. Thanks

It is almost a vegetable smell, kind of sour. I started this wine in October of last year. Thanks

I have a 2011 Cab that I am wanting to bottle. This is my 4th vintage and by far me best. While the flavor is good the nose is slightly off with a bit of a green smell. Anyone have an idea of what that might be and how I treat it? Thanks

I will admit that I am not a pro but I am on my 5th vintage and this had me stumped. I have been tasting the wine every couple of weeks and the Syrah flavor did not seem to be going anywhere. Last night I decided to splash rack and then aerate the heck out of it. Two things that have worked...

I have a small vineyard in my backyard made up of Merlot and Cabernet grapes and have made wine for the last two years from it. The first year it had a light color but the flavor was good. In a attempt to improve the color this year I performed a process called Delestage daily during...

I picked up the grapes at the end of the day and am not familiar with the grower so do not know what other grapes he grows. I used Pasteur red yeast and it was a bit cold so primary fermentation took 12 days. I crushed and started MLF when the brix count was still 2 and used White Labs MLF bugs...

Can something be going on with my wine that makes it taste like a Syrah. I have 12 gallons of Cabernet that taste nothing like it should taste. It doesn't seem to have a off flavor it just has a dry Syrah like flavor. I am curious if maybe there is a chemical thing going on? Thanks

The flavor was slightly altered but not bad. I am thinking it is re-fermenting in the bottle. Either it didn't complete MLF or when I blended the 3 carboys of cab the bugs started eating again. Do I decant, test and try to get it to complete? It was pretty good when it went into the bottle.

I read somewhere that you can keep meta sealed in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. I have mine in a couple of growlers in my garage fridge and typically use it for 2 or 3 months. It isn't a matter of cost so much as convenience.

I have a long handled spoon that I cut the sides off of in order for it to fit into the carboy. I place it into a drill, hit trigger and work the spoon around the container. It makes degassing quick and easy.