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    Chitosan as biocide

    I’ve been using oenobrett for 4 years as a preventative. One of the growers I used to buy fruit from recommended Lysozyme at 10 brix to get ready for malo and then a chitosan after malo is done. I’ve been happy with the results.
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    Whole Cluster White Grapes

    Last year, I foot trodded chard about 30% whole cluster/ let sit and sent the rest through the destemmer directly to the bladder press. On the 2nd press load I put the foot trodden grapes (2 hours later) in the press and then put the rest of the destemmed on top. All pressed at 1 bar. Bladder...
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    Brettanomyces yeast infection

    I go light on SO2 until ML is done and then hit it with oenobrett and SO2. Maybe worth a try for you? https://laffort.com/en/products/oenobrett/
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    Making the softest Petite Sirah possible

    Yep, viognier. Gave it a really nice nose and lift. I‘m really pleased with the wine. I wish it was my idea, but Keplinger Sumo was the inspiration.
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    Making the softest Petite Sirah possible

    Delestage for the win. It also keeps it from going reductive. I did it with Amador fruit last year in Cote Rotie style PS With 3% Vio. It‘s still a monster, but more manageable than it’s cousin which is PS from the same vineyard with a bit of Mouvedre and some Syrah. The cousin may be drinkable...
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    Dundee Hills Pinot: 3 hour decant!

    When did you bottle? I’ve found it takes about 6 mo for Pinot to get over being bottled. I had a Pinot from 2019 that was awful at the 2 mo mark. I put a cork in it and came back in 3 days and it was improved quite a bit. It was best on day 5. I’m hoping to stumble across some Dundee fruit. I...
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    What to do with Pinot Noir, light visually and in total body...

    Bad thing. No nuance of the Pinot. Light mouthfeel and sharp/hard tannins from the PV. Bad combo.
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    What to do with Pinot Noir, light visually and in total body...

    There’s some old articles out there where Ponsot said he never tasted his Pinot before April/May and he never made any decisions about it until later. I did 6 different Pinots in 2019. My favorites in the tank are not my favorites now. It is maddening how fickle the wines can be. One from Santa...
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    Smoke taint question

    The latest Bedrock Wine Podcast talks about smoke taint and one of the things that isn’t aligning with the Aussie data after smoke exposure is the amount of cresol that the CA grapes have versus the Australian at the same guiacol levels. CA grapes are much higher. The thinking is down the line...
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    Homemade vs. Commercial and what I am doing to close the gap

    Applies mainly to reds. Destemmer doesn’t remove 100% of the stems. I usually de-stem, add 25 ppm of SO2 and walk away for 24 hours before I start looking at numbers. Acid additions are better integrated if made before fermentation. During the fermentation, residual stems and fragments will...
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    Homemade vs. Commercial and what I am doing to close the gap

    I spent some time at a friends winery as they were barreling down at the end of harvest. I was lamenting the fact that I blew through the acid this year. It was spectacular fruit, but the pH was in the 3.7-3.8 range. She showed me their stash and said that folks without optical sorters always...
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    Starting Brix and yeast ABV tolerance for Tempranillo

    You can always pitch your Wyeast and get a 2nd yeast to finish it.
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    Sourcing grapes In larger than hobby amount, but less than pro amount

    Not sure where you are. Michael is great on Petite Sirah. Other stuff is hit and miss. Here’s a couple others that denote if they sell to home wine guys. https://sonomawinegrape.org/grape-marketplace/grapes-for-sale/ https://www.eldoradograpes.com/index.php/grapes-available/ I’d also watch...
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    Pinot Noir Advice?

    Give it time. In the last couple of years I’ve found it comes around in the 6-8 month mark. Making Pinot can be a roller coaster. There’s a few articles around where Ponsot and Jayer used to not even taste until April because it can be so finicky during the process.
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    Femenation went too fast

    Should be fine, keep the cap wet. If you’re worried, you can pitch the ML culture and put press and seal for the extended maceration. Then you have some CO2 going under the plastic.
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    2018 Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon

    I’ve heard it from where I got my grapes in Clements Hills and also in a Mokelumne vineyard in Lodi. I bought mine from a vineyard that was getting ready to be harvested by Gallo a couple of days later. I think we’ll be able to get it under control.
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    2018 Lodi Cabernet Sauvignon

    I drove up and got some Cab from Lodi a couple of weeks ago. It’s been such a great year that not many dropped any crop. I had 25 brix and the worst case of bell pepper I’ve dealt with to date. I could taste it at crush. I reached out to a few others and they feel the pyrazines are related to...
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