Those are my Merlot and Cab from 2017. Guess 4th time is not a charm.
2018 Grape Season Underway
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Those are my Merlot and Cab from 2017. Guess 4th time is not a charm.
And you did those post primary ferment, not by co inoculating...time to bottle and drink, I'll be over (to drink, not work).
the cubano is good BTW.
Yep. They were post AF. I’m going to rack and dose this month and move on.
But, this effort has inspired me: coinoculating from here on out.
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Thought my season was over, then they pull me back in.......hahaha. Got my Petit Syrah finishing up MLF in my fermonster, that is a tannin animal really puckers your mouth during a taste. Just tasted my Syrah in the barrel, oak is still light after 5 weeks- gonna go 8 weeks. Then I might throw the Petit Syrah in it for 12 weeks. These wines are gonna be bottled aged for a year or so , I don't care of they are over oaked a tad.Then a marketing email from Keystone arrives, they still have Washington grapes. I never made Carmenere and they have 800lbs of it. I may swing by and pick up 110 lbs. Decisions.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Well, I'm done. I think. Just pressed the HHH Merlot (was at 1.020). Everything cleaned up and I'm ready to rest. Will rack tomorrow.
How much did you get?
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
About 8 1/4 gallons. I did the Fred trick and pressed, then emptied the press and gave it another go. Probably got another half gallon from that.
Pretty good for 107 lbs.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Go for it, Carmenere is a really rare grape in the US, only 30 acres of it in the entire state of california. I didnt know they had a good deal of it in washington.
Something to know about Carmenere its usually got a lot of acid but only moderate tannins.
@ceeaton @Boatboy24
There are some familiar faces on the Washington Winemakers page - there are photos of the pickup and crush posted: http://washingtonwinemakers.org/2018GrapeDelivery/pages/20180929_103657.htm
There are some familiar faces on the Washington Winemakers page - there are photos of the pickup and crush posted: http://washingtonwinemakers.org/2018GrapeDelivery/pages/20180929_103657.htm
I'm just ecstatic they got a side profile picture of me.
Edit: and how did Fred escape that shot?
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Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
A bunch of Jim's in that pic. Thanks Heather!
4 out of 5. Someone needs to crop that Craig person.
Since I'm picking up some Lanza grapes I was doing some research. I thought it was a wine region but it's the family name of the Owners of Wooden Valley Winery in the Suisun Valley AVA
https://www.woodenvalley.com/
https://www.woodenvalley.com/
Picked up the Lanza Petit Verdot and they look very nice. Talked to Mario about the Wine Share they sponsor on January 26th. Two of the Lanza brothers attend one of which is the winemaker as well as the original producers of the Lodi Zinderella. There are also around 30 local commercial winemakers that buy their grapes from them. There are no guest speakers but rather it is an open floor for anyone to ask questions to these professionals and inneract with other home winemakers. Mario said he feels bad for the professionals because they barely have time to enjoy their dinner but that's their purpose for being there. Last year there were around 200 home winemakers many of whome are familiar with each other and some might be intimadated with this although I don't think this would be a problem for any of us. Really considering going. @vacuumpumpman this may be something you may want to consider. I remember you asking about things like this.
Edit: I forgot to mention CPF Winemakers is affiliated with Gino Pinto and some other place in Conneticut.
https://www.cfpwinemakers.com/
Edit: I forgot to mention CPF Winemakers is affiliated with Gino Pinto and some other place in Conneticut.
https://www.cfpwinemakers.com/
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pgentile
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Those grapes look very nice. Very jealous Fred! I'm sold after this year on the higher level boutique grapes from known regions and vineyards. The Lanza stuff looks great, the Paso Robles Zin I got this year is already a better wine at 6 weeks than the premium Zin Regina Grapes the previous two years. I almost went for the Zinderella grapes this year.
I have this event on my radar. Going to try and go.
Musto Wine Grape is the other affiliate I believe in Connecticut
stickman
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I agree, those grapes look good. It seems like a good idea to have some Petit Verdot on hand for blending. I've used Petit Verdot in a few blends, but never tasted it on its own. In 2015 I did a Cab coferment with Petit Verdot 80/20, way more Petite Verdot than what I see as typical; while bottling, a friend of mine described the taste of the blend as "purple", whatever that is, but now after a couple years in bottle it is very interesting, it seems to have violets and lavender in the nose.
It's the only Bordeaux varietal I haven't made this year. Heck I even have Carmenere which some consider the sixth noble grape. I am making it for blending but there are several local VA wineries making it as a single varietal or at least the dominant varietal. It's actually very nice by itself.
I saw several one ton bins of petit verdot when I was picking up my grapes this year, they really looked incredible, so I did a little digging thinking I might try my hand next year. This is an article that I read last month, pretty interesting insight into PV as a single varietal wine: https://winefolly.com/tutorial/featured-wine-petit-verdot/
Also found and ordered a bottle of 2013 Tor Petit Verdot Vine Hill Ranch, which was barrel rated (92-94)+ back in '14, it's in the middle of its drinking window, will be tasting it as soon as it arrives and settles down from its travels.
Rating: (90 - 92)+
Drink Date: 2014 - 2029
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Issue Date: 30th Oct 2014
Source 215, The Wine Advocate
The least impressive wine in this portfolio is still an outstanding effort. The 2013 Petit Verdot Vine Hill Ranch has avoided the rustic, astringent tannins of Petit Verdot as well as the sweaty saddle leather-like character this varietal can possess. It exhibits a black color, good sweetness and silkiness, and 10-15+ years of drinkability. Not yet released.
