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Passing on an email I received from Paul, the owner of Still Waters in Paso Robles, CA. Wine Makers, We just finished barreling down our 2022 Red wines. Due to the short crop, we have some very nice used 55 gallon French oak barrels for sell. They are $1300 new and have been used for two...

Great question. The stems definitely lower acid, and if I was just trying to hit a number (say 3.7) I'd have acidulated the must. But I've made more than a few wines that have ended up at 4.0 or more that have aged very well and taste great, so it was not a concern - for me. I prefer to make...

Greetings home wine makers! Due to the fact that I have a shit ton of wine, my main goal this year was to minimize quantity and maximize quality. Hence, these are my…… 2021 Wines Merlot: 125 lbs. from a very respectable East Paso Robles vineyard / winery. This will be used as both a blender...

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. For the barrel, there are companies here that sell neutral white barrels certified for re-fill for around $150, and recoopered for around $250 last time I looked. I’d bet there are similar options closer to you (Napa / Sonoma / Bay Area). For the juice...

I would make the best tasting wine possible, i.e., blend the free run MV in lieu of dogmatically holding to your initial plan. Adapt, improvise and overcome.

Sorry in advance for the thread drift. A few years ago I left a case of homemade CS in the garage of our IN home - through an entire winter. Obviously, mad tartrates were thrown off. My wife and daughter strained a bottle into a decanter.............and loved it. Now, there are always a few...

Yes. This Rose was made with native fermentation, no SO2 or any other additives, and no fining or filtration. After press it was fermented in a 7 gallon fermentation bucket with a loose lid or towel. When it was dry (or almost dry, I don't remember), it was xfr'd into a carboy. I would...

Pick late (brown seeds, water back if needed) Whole berry ferment Cool temp ferment No enzyme extraction No added acid Soft punch downs Free run only or very soft press Old oak, no oak, or polymer aging Egg white fining to preference (could take 6 to 12 per barrel) Glycerin to preference

Hi there to you, That Rose spent no time on the skins. It was harvested and pressed the same morning. All the best to you and good luck!

@Cynewulf - Excellent, thank you!

No doubt everyone already has their fruit lined up, but some of us can't resist side projects! If you live anywhere near El Dorado County in CA, here is a list of vineyards advertising their fruit: https://www.eldoradograpes.com/index.php/grapes-available/ If you're worried about smoke taint...

This overheated blue marble is warmer than it used to be, so expecting current wines to age the way the wines in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s did is a bit crazy. Burgundy had 5 vintages in 20 harvests this century where picking began in August. After averaging 1 per century for 6 centuries.

Would've loved to have shared a meal and glass with her. https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2021/08/au-revoir-becky-burgundy-legend?utm_source=wine_searcher_news&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=25%2F08%2F25&utm_id=newsletter

A bit strange in SLO / Paso / Santa Barbara as I'm hearing everything from "60% of normal" in Paso to "looks about right" the further south you go (Santa Barbara). Overall, I think 2021 will be very much lower yielding (which sucks for farmers), but that normally means nice concentrated flavors...

Spot on AJ. But.....native MLF is not uncommon, even in new barrels - it just takes 4 or 6 months which is no problem if you are aging 20 to 30 months.

It wasn’t too long ago a post like this would attract a litany of comments about native yeast fermentation being “too risky”, “a ticking time bomb”, and that your wines would smell and taste of “funk” and “barn yard” from people dancing naked in the forest. Fact is, hundreds of commercial...

My wine bottles are simple – no capsules, no labels, just Sharpie markered. I usually write the vintage and varietal at bottling, then mostly the grand kids beauty them up with multi colored Sharpies. Gives them something to do. Plus, we’re El Dorado County country AF, is the main reason...

I serve, bring, or give away all of it.

You obviously have. Thank you for taking the time. GREAT POST.

Correct, and under the heading of “the views of Booty Juice, which are often insane, don’t reflect the views of Management”…..I will add "I believe" prior to "it is widely used commercially". No worm-can-opening was intended. And further disclosure: My brother the UCD certified winemaker...