DaveMcC
Escaping the prison of past and future with wine.
So here is just a note I made to myself. A month past MLF I am at that point where I am making periodic observations and making notes in my journal/log. I usually note the date, and the day number (i.e. D 23, or D 121, etc.) past initial inoculation of yeast. I checked today (D 189), after a few weeks since last check-in, and noted as follows:
OVZ (old vine Zinfandel) and Malbec still have an inch of lees. All 3 wines batches, including the Cab Sav, are mellowing and show great promise. Making wine, in its own microcosm, is not unlike raising children; when very young they are harsh, brash, dramatic, unpredictable. As they get older, they mature, age, even out, mellow, the peaks and valleys get less severe in their own topology.
I have had a number of worried anxious moments with all three of these wines. Too astringent, too acidic, too much of the Spanish cedar (a gamble, to be sure), not enough oak, pH too high in the OVZ, too low in the Malbec, Cab Sav too.. blah...
Patience is a virtue with wine making, but more than that; It is a requirement. Trust the process. Trust the grapes. I think I noted somewhere else that grapes WANT to become wine. That is my observation for this day. I am very, very pleased that these small batches of wine that I have worried over (did I just ruin $1K investment in grapes) actually all taste remarkable and are quite pleasing and drinkable. This observation will be quite familiar to the more seasoned (and experienced) winemakers among us, and hopefully a promising note to those of us still learning along the way.
quod patientia sit virtus
OVZ (old vine Zinfandel) and Malbec still have an inch of lees. All 3 wines batches, including the Cab Sav, are mellowing and show great promise. Making wine, in its own microcosm, is not unlike raising children; when very young they are harsh, brash, dramatic, unpredictable. As they get older, they mature, age, even out, mellow, the peaks and valleys get less severe in their own topology.
I have had a number of worried anxious moments with all three of these wines. Too astringent, too acidic, too much of the Spanish cedar (a gamble, to be sure), not enough oak, pH too high in the OVZ, too low in the Malbec, Cab Sav too.. blah...
Patience is a virtue with wine making, but more than that; It is a requirement. Trust the process. Trust the grapes. I think I noted somewhere else that grapes WANT to become wine. That is my observation for this day. I am very, very pleased that these small batches of wine that I have worried over (did I just ruin $1K investment in grapes) actually all taste remarkable and are quite pleasing and drinkable. This observation will be quite familiar to the more seasoned (and experienced) winemakers among us, and hopefully a promising note to those of us still learning along the way.
quod patientia sit virtus
