2018 Grape Season Underway

[mainshipfred]

That low a ph probably good you co innoculated, could have had problems. Just checked my Malbec. It finished at 3.39. The juice from the 2 lugs of grapes was 3.84 and I misplaced my noted for what the juice was and I never checked the ph of the Cab skins. All of mine finished in the 3.3 range except the Carmenere 5.51. Like yours, and for the first time, all mine are also promising.

 

[Johnd]

Yup- so far so good. Only concern now is optimal acid for aging. I really don’t wanna start messing with it too much. But 3.2 is kinda low. Maybe I’ll just give em a cold soak over the winter.
And this ph of 3.2 doesn’t even register on “problem scale”. I’ve got myself some fully dry, malo free, healthy wine ready to let Mother Nature and Father Time do what they do!

Congrats on the MLF! Just remember that CS on a wine with pH of 3.2 will drop the pH lower, not raise it......

 

[Ajmassa]

Congrats on the MLF! Just remember that CS on a wine with pH of 3.2 will drop the pH lower, not raise it......

Duh. Of course I’m aware of that. I was just testing you to see if YOU remembered! Good job on passing the test. ........ and thanks for the much needed reminder.
I don’t know where I’d be without this forum.

 

[jburtner]

Starting to think about 2018 fall grapes. I think i’m interested in a batch of Pinot Noir. Maybe three buckets worth will end up as a good 6 gallon at bottling without squeezing them too hard. Maybe even a bucket each from three different sources for a PN blend. If I could stagger the ordering and receipt of each such that they are 7-10 days apart I could add the next bucket to each ferment to extend the maceration time and keep the ferment active. Perhaps also rig up some cooling mechanism or chamber to make for an extended and leisurely ferment for the PN.

Keeping it fairly simple this fall. Seems like i’ve got plenty stock in the cellar so a batch or so per season for the next while should allow me to focus on the specifics of each

Starting to compile notes on various sources now and considering production options.

Cheers!
-jb

 

[pgentile]

Starting to think about 2018 fall grapes. I think i’m interested in a batch of Pinot Noir. Maybe three buckets worth will end up as a good 6 gallon at bottling without squeezing them too hard. Maybe even a bucket each from three different sources for a PN blend. If I could stagger the ordering and receipt of each such that they are 7-10 days apart I could add the next bucket to each ferment to extend the maceration time and keep the ferment active. Perhaps also rig up some cooling mechanism or chamber to make for an extended and leisurely ferment for the PN.

Keeping it fairly simple this fall. Seems like i’ve got plenty stock in the cellar so a batch or so per season for the next while should allow me to focus on the specifics of each

Starting to compile notes on various sources now and considering production options.

Cheers!
-jb

I've been thinking hard about the fall harvest as well. When you mention "buckets" do you mean juice buckets or buckets of whole grapes(lugs)? If grapes you'll need around 100lbs or so to get 6 gallons. T

I like your extended maceration approach. I'll be curious on the progress and outcome.

I'm planning on doing a 3rd year of premium red zin. Starting to build a vertical. Also leaning towards a batch of alicante and a batch of sangiovese with blend in mind.

In 5-6 weeks grapes will start coming in. Think I got last years Zin sept 2nd.

 

[mainshipfred]

I've been thinking hard about the fall harvest as well. When you mention "buckets" do you mean juice buckets or buckets of whole grapes(lugs)? If grapes you'll need around 100lbs or so to get 6 gallons. T

I like your extended maceration approach. I'll be curious on the progress and outcome.

I'm planning on doing a 3rd year of premium red zin. Starting to build a vertical. Also leaning towards a batch of alicante and a batch of sangiovese with blend in mind.

In 5-6 weeks grapes will start coming in. Think I got last years Zin sept 2nd.

5-6 weeks, I didn't realize we were that close. What I'm dealing with is I have a potential new source for grapes but as of now don't know what they will offer. Secondly my local sources somewhat depends on their yield. The nice thing about local is I can monitor the weather and see the grapes prior to purchasing and make a last minute decision. The pre ordered not so much. I plan on making 4 or 5 ten gallon batches and plan on keeping two 30 liter barrels. Tannat is a must and second is Petite Verdot and Cab Franc. After that I'm looking at Syrah, Petite Sirah and Chambourcin for reds and Petit Manseng or Viognier for whites. But I won't rule out a Norton or quality CAB Sauv.

 

[pgentile]

5-6 weeks, I didn't realize we were that close. What I'm dealing with is I have a potential new source for grapes but as of now don't know what they will offer. Secondly my local sources somewhat depends on their yield. The nice thing about local is I can monitor the weather and see the grapes prior to purchasing and make a last minute decision. The pre ordered not so much. I plan on making 4 or 5 ten gallon batches and plan on keeping two 30 liter barrels. Tannat is a must and second is Petite Verdot and Cab Franc. After that I'm looking at Syrah, Petite Sirah and Chambourcin for reds and Petit Manseng or Viognier for whites. But I won't rule out a Norton or quality CAB Sauv.

I like your line-up and plan.

 

[jburtner]

It’ll be buckets of frozen must for the fall as I don’t have any sources close enough for fresh. I wish I did but i’m in the middle of TN.

Three buckets should net a good 6+ gallons of free run so i’ll be sure to have enough for top up and racking losses. Last time I made a three bucket batch I mixed my free run and press wine and yielded about 9gal total. This time i’ll plan to keep separate.

Brehm already has pre-order pricing out so I may go ahead and commit to a bucket of theirs. There was a place in WA that ships frozen must too but I’ll have to look them up again and I’ll check with Musto when they have some more info too. If I’m able to time the shipping right with three buckets I could extend the active fermentation and maceration out to 3-4 weeks - at least for the first bucket in the series

Cheers!
-jb

 

[Boatboy24]

@mainshipfred : Are you going with the local group buy?

 

[mainshipfred]

@mainshipfred : Are you going with the local group buy?

I'm thinking about it. Just haven't their grape list yet. Still working on the local vineyards though.

 

[pgentile]

It’ll be buckets of frozen must for the fall as I don’t have any sources close enough for fresh. I wish I did but i’m in the middle of TN.

Three buckets should net a good 6+ gallons of free run so i’ll be sure to have enough for top up and racking losses. Last time I made a three bucket batch I mixed my free run and press wine and yielded about 9gal total. This time i’ll plan to keep separate.

Brehm already has pre-order pricing out so I may go ahead and commit to a bucket of theirs. There was a place in WA that ships frozen must too but I’ll have to look them up again and I’ll check with Musto when they have some more info too. If I’m able to time the shipping right with three buckets I could extend the active fermentation and maceration out to 3-4 weeks - at least for the first bucket in the series

Cheers!
-jb

I forgot you're in Tennessee. Ah yes frozen musts, your yield looks right for 3 buckets. I've been eyeing these up the past year or so. Good luck

 

[bluecrab]

@mainshipfred : Are you going with the local group buy?

@Boatboy24 Hi. I've been lurking on this forum for a couple years and your post made me come out of hiding. I bought from Harford Vineyard in the past, but now I'm looking for a new source for grapes. Can you elaborate on the "local group buy"? Is this something others can join?

 

[Boatboy24]

@Boatboy24 Hi. I've been lurking on this forum for a couple years and your post made me come out of hiding. I bought from Harford Vineyard in the past, but now I'm looking for a new source for grapes. Can you elaborate on the "local group buy"? Is this something others can join?

Hey @bluecrab . The 'local' buy is something Fred found with the Washington Winemakers. I'm not sure what I'm doing yet, but I'm leaning toward making the longer drive up to Philly to hit Keystone Brewing or Gino Pintos. @mainshipfred can probably elaborate more on what he's found. And he's found quite a lot between that wine club and local growers.

 

[mainshipfred]

@bluecrab I sent this to @Boatboy24 earlier. Received this email this morning. Still nothing final but it's a start. The prices look good so far. Grapes and juice are brought to some parking lot in N VA

[email protected]
10:18 AM (1 hour ago)

to Jimgearing

General price and availability email will probably come out next week. Look for end of September delivery on reds and some whites.
Prices are up this year $2.50-3.00 a box, but not due to the usual suspects. US DOT is requiring truckers to sleep, but not while behind the wheel and moving. Electronic logs are allowing increased enforcement of the rules. As a result, freight costs are up significantly. Grape costs are roughly flat.
NEWS NEWS NEWS: We have the ability this year to get a separate and earlier delivery of white grapes.
In the past, we have put white and red grapes on the same truck. White grapes are harvested earlier, so they sit in the warehouse, sometimes getting sold out before we order. They also always lose some vigor.
So... Muscato, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier look like they can get on a truck by the end of August, arriving here 2-3 days later.
The next batch include Albarino, Johannesburg Reisling, Malvasia Blanca, Muscato (different region). The harvest dates for these grapes fall within the range of the reds, so we don't need to ship these early.
We don't have prices yet, but it looks like it will be $35 (Muscat) to $40 (the rest of the whites).
I'm looking for who wants to order Muscato, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier for a separate shipment to arrive in the first week of September, and approximately how many boxes.

This is not binding. The question is do we have enough interest to fill half a pallet - 20 boxes or so. Less than that will not be worth it.

Let me know.

Jim

 

[mainshipfred]

I'm going to have to keep monitoring the weather here for local grapes but I'm not sure with all the rain we've been having that this will be the best year for VA grapes. My intentions were to stay primarily local but I have to start rethinking it.

 

[bluecrab]

@bluecrab I sent this to @Boatboy24 earlier. Received this email this morning. Still nothing final but it's a start. The prices look good so far. Grapes and juice are brought to some parking lot in N VA

[email protected]
10:18 AM (1 hour ago)

to Jimgearing

General price and availability email will probably come out next week. Look for end of September delivery on reds and some whites.
Prices are up this year $2.50-3.00 a box, but not due to the usual suspects. US DOT is requiring truckers to sleep, but not while behind the wheel and moving. Electronic logs are allowing increased enforcement of the rules. As a result, freight costs are up significantly. Grape costs are roughly flat.
NEWS NEWS NEWS: We have the ability this year to get a separate and earlier delivery of white grapes.
In the past, we have put white and red grapes on the same truck. White grapes are harvested earlier, so they sit in the warehouse, sometimes getting sold out before we order. They also always lose some vigor.
So... Muscato, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier look like they can get on a truck by the end of August, arriving here 2-3 days later.
The next batch include Albarino, Johannesburg Reisling, Malvasia Blanca, Muscato (different region). The harvest dates for these grapes fall within the range of the reds, so we don't need to ship these early.
We don't have prices yet, but it looks like it will be $35 (Muscat) to $40 (the rest of the whites).
I'm looking for who wants to order Muscato, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier for a separate shipment to arrive in the first week of September, and approximately how many boxes.

This is not binding. The question is do we have enough interest to fill half a pallet - 20 boxes or so. Less than that will not be worth it.

Let me know.

Jim

@Boatboy24 , @mainshipfred : Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the info. I emailed the Washington Winemakers when their info was originally posted in this thread. I never received a reply, so I thought you may have found a new local group. I'll probably go with Gino Pinto, Procacci Bros., or S&S Grapes.

 

[mainshipfred]

@bluecrab where are you from. I'm assuming somewhere near the bay, Baltimore Annapolis? I'm not ruling Gino Pinto or Procacci Bros but you're probably an hour or more closer them me. Also haven't ruled out S and S. Sitting tight and waiting for everyones lists to come out. I'm viewing no Harford as a forced opportunity to find other sources. Some, for me at least, may work out to be a better option.

 

[GreenEnvy22]

All my muscat are going through veraison now, riesling look like they are starting too.
Gave them a good spraying with Pristine today and now off to the cottage for a week. will see how everything looks in a week.

 

[bluecrab]

@bluecrab where are you from. I'm assuming somewhere near the bay, Baltimore Annapolis? I'm not ruling Gino Pinto or Procacci Bros but you're probably an hour or more closer them me. Also haven't ruled out S and S. Sitting tight and waiting for everyones lists to come out. I'm viewing no Harford as a forced opportunity to find other sources. Some, for me at least, may work out to be a better option.

I guess my name gave me away. I'm from the Annapolis area. Harford was closer, but the others are close enough. I'll be watching this forum for more info as the price lists come out, too.

 

[mainshipfred]

I just tasted my spring wines. I'm not a huge Merlot fan but after 2 months it has a nice spicy nose and very fruity. Put in an American Oak spiral a few weeks ago. I got it primarily for blending but may just bottle some as a single. The Malbec doesn't have the spice but is also very fruity and no oak in it yet, waiting for a barrel. The Carmenere is very good as well but I can't put my finger on the nose or flavor profiles. It was made with a bucket and 10 lugs of skins. Last but no least is the all grape SA Cab, absolutely awesome. Been in a somewhat neutral barrel for 2 months. Not much oak given off yet and will probably put this in in a new barrel as well. After a year and a half this spring was the first time I felt totallycomfortable with what I was doing and I think the rewards will show. A big thank you to everyone that helped through the initial phases.