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I picked up 500 Lbs of must from the freezer yesterday, I haven't opened any pails yet as it's still thawing. I guess we'll be fermenting through Christmas this year. The following numbers are from Brehm and look good, but I'll get some actual data once the must warms up. I'm going with a BM4x4...

My wife had been talking about ordering a new bike, well it arrived today, so I handled some minor assembly. It has 7 speeds and is much bigger than I expected, push the button and this thing takes off at a good clip. I'm not sure how much the pedals will get used!

Just picked up 500 Lbs of must from the freezer, it will be a few days before it completely thaws. My posts are getting boring doing the same thing, but I've been enjoying this type of Cab, Merlot, and Malbec blend. The following numbers are from the supplier, it's a reasonable starting point...

I noticed a few days ago my existing cellar cooling unit was dripping water inside the cellar, just a slow drip. I don't get a lot of condensate as my cellar has vapor barriers on all surfaces including the floor and is fairly well sealed, but obviously not perfect. This has happened a few times...

Every once in a while we get questions about splitting and saving dry bacteria cultures. Some people have had success saving portions of bacteria for later use, but the manufacturers generally don't recommend saving unused bacteria once the package has been opened. I typically use the whole...

Picked up the frozen must today, 100% Sonoma Moon Mountain AVA, absolutely frozen solid, won't even bother opening for a couple of days. The following numbers are from the supplier: Brix 26.1, TA 4.7g/l, PH 3.62, YAN 133ppm, right now is the clicking of the chain on the roller coaster ride.......

Is it just me or does anyone else notice differences when tasting wine outdoors vs indoors. Many times I've had a glass of wine that I was enjoying indoors, then stepped out onto the patio and noticed the aromatics become more revealed and very detailed. I'm not sure if the reason for the change...

Just curious how many members have experienced, or think they've experienced, cork taint. I've been making wine for 29yrs now, and last night was the first time for me where I feel confident I experienced cork taint. Knowing what I know now, I think 20 years ago I had an entire batch that was...

Picked up a 1,000 lbs of 2018 frozen must yesterday, currently in the process of thawing and warming up, thought I'd take a peek. I'm going with two slightly different cofermentation blends, both will be 60%Cab, 20% Merlot, and 20% Malbec, the only difference between the two is that the Cabernet...

In a stack of old papers I stumbled across this article from a wine trade magazine, looks like I clipped it out back in 2009 due to some winemaking details that were provided. Cabernet and Zinfandel being made at Storybook Mountain.

Starting two new Cab co-ferment blends; the must is up to 50F, pulling off a couple of gallons for a DV10 starter, adding 30ppm sulfite, these grapes had extra hang time and are mature. The following numbers are from the supplier, I'll run some numbers later once blended. Getting ready for the...

Just wondering if anyone has experience with Pinot Noir from grapes fresh or frozen. My wife doesn't drink much wine, but this year she requested a Pinot Noir, and who am I to refuse? Most of my experience is with Cab/Bordeaux type blends; have not yet made a pinot. I have read a lot of...

Just got started thawing and preparing 11 pails of must. There are 9 pails of Sonoma Cab and 2 pails of Sonoma Petite Verdot; the Cab has very small berries. They'll be dumped into the vat and co-fermented with DV10 and Lallzyme EX-V. The combined starting numbers are 24.4 brix, TA 6.8g/l, PH...