Winemaking is therapeutic for me, sometimes I think it causes me to need therapy..........
Is Winemaking my Therapy?
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Willija10
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Brother - you speak truth!
But would bring that upon myself. Never feeling satisfied until [insert unrealistic goal here]- like a fully renovated knocked out wine room, large enough vol to fit 1/2 barrels (so I can buy French), from top AVAs, making high quality wine, w/ perfect #’s , stored in 60°cellar, etc etc. (Wine room & cellar— still in the plan. Always!)
I would end up ‘micromanaging’ my winemaking. Obsessive nature has pros and cons tho . - for example I think I could write a damn book on MLF now. And vetted the production of juice pales so much I could probably perform a full audit! Ya know, just consumed with being ideal on all fronts.
Winemaking is much more enjoyable for me when confident in decision making & equipment - and Knowing what’s important but especially what’s NOT as important*
New territory = less confident = stress.
-Acid removal + CS? Hated it. Avoiding like the plague now.
-Post ferm tannin?- nope! Way too many option and I fear ruining the wine.
-Bought a Vinmetrica w/ all the bells & whistles a while back. I barely touch it. When I do- all work stops & out comes the manual. Gotta figure it out. Numbers don’t stabilize. Wasting time. Ugh. I quit. Back to work. Back in my groove. In my comfort zone. Life is good. Vinmetrica lives to see another day.
-Acid removal + CS? Hated it. Avoiding like the plague now.
-Post ferm tannin?- nope! Way too many option and I fear ruining the wine.
-Bought a Vinmetrica w/ all the bells & whistles a while back. I barely touch it. When I do- all work stops & out comes the manual. Gotta figure it out. Numbers don’t stabilize. Wasting time. Ugh. I quit. Back to work. Back in my groove. In my comfort zone. Life is good. Vinmetrica lives to see another day.
Man. I was a chemist in a former life, and I avoid most personal wine testing. (Really, I have a degree in Chemistry and and a cert from the American Chemical Society. I have not thought about it in years) I have sent samples twice to Lodi Wine Labs and let them do their $50 magic. In my real life I send stuff to the lab all the time, but I don't do the testing myself. I am considering a Vinmetrica though. I want to measure and know SO2 levels in real time.
I'm thinking going forward of 2 wines per year, about 30 gallons of each and letting Lodi WIne Labs handle the testing. Expensive per gallon but better and cheaper than maintaining my own lab.
You're taking some of the fun out of it by sending your samples to a lab. Plus as you indicated it's nice to be able to take SO2 levels on a fairly regular basis.
Sometimes it (or perhaps the winedrinking part) makes me want to lie down on a couch....
Some words of caution. If you do too much winemaking therapy at some point you will end up needing an "intervention" of sorts. Case in point. I just spent the last two days emptying out my 8x10 wine shed. Over the years I kept adding more and more empty bottles. Both my own and empty commercial bottles that were of amazing quality and "too good to toss". At some point I completely filled that shed with empty bottles and could not even think about entering it much less getting to anything. I emptied it out completely (case by empty case) and only kept bottles that had been used once by me (peel off label). I think I took over 1000 bottles to the Eco Station for recycling! The winery is clear once again and ready. The shed has about 30 cases of empties that are separated by color and shape. I can get to my C/D, primaries, press and actually walk around.
I had become a wine bottle hoarder!
I am feeling much better now Dave...........
Really I am.........
I had become a wine bottle hoarder!
I am feeling much better now Dave...........
Really I am.........
I'm not opening the pod bay doors for you. "Case in point" is a nice double entendre.
But I get the dilemma. I had saved and hoarded bottles for 2 years, had friends save bottles, and had 30 cases to bottle up the 2018 vintage. But no more. All new bottles from now on. Label peeling is tedious and in the end, not reasonable. I can see reusing bottles I've already gone through, but I'm just not feeling the desire to peal 20+ cases of bottles for next year.
But I get the dilemma. I had saved and hoarded bottles for 2 years, had friends save bottles, and had 30 cases to bottle up the 2018 vintage. But no more. All new bottles from now on. Label peeling is tedious and in the end, not reasonable. I can see reusing bottles I've already gone through, but I'm just not feeling the desire to peal 20+ cases of bottles for next year.
I think I had reached the theoretical B-Max (Bottle Max) where I had cleaned up enough bottles that I would never have to clean another but then either friends or I would drink a nice commercial bottle and I would look at it like........
My precious...........
My precious...........
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I have about 35 cases of empties in the wine making area. More green and blue than clear. But every time I go to a winery, I have to test his day the labels come off and if easy, I have to ask if I can take any used bottles off their hands. My wife calls it an obsession and gets irritated with me.
I now have too many bottles saved, as well. i still keep ones that I had de-labeled and for which my labels easily come off, buy all else gets recycled now.
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It’s work to do the bottle prep but I doit a little at a time. One or two cases max then take a break from it.
Nope— I saved em for a while. Scattered in boxes all over. And I absolutely HATE cleaning em up. But no more. The hassle wasn’t worth it IMO.
But just like everything else- whether bottles or testing— ya pick your battles. I look forward to diving into the Vinmetrica soon.
And I never looked forward to scrubbing bottles [emoji16]
But just like everything else- whether bottles or testing— ya pick your battles. I look forward to diving into the Vinmetrica soon.
And I never looked forward to scrubbing bottles [emoji16]
I don’t have a problem with empties, mine’s more of a full bottle issue. After starting winemaking and quickly filling two 200 bottle wine fridges, I had to build a 2,000 bottle cellar. It’s now full, with 30 and 60 gallon barrels full of wine, 3/4 ton of grapes about to ship, and wine club shipments about to drown me in November.
Hi, my name is John, and I still have a problem.
Hi, my name is John, and I still have a problem.
LOL!! Maybe...... I'm really trying to thin down the cellar inhabitants, still have a lot of kit wines that are hitting 3 - 5 years in age, some batches still have 28 or 29 bottles. I've got some folks that I give wine to pretty regularly, and they always return bottles to me, inlaws, the ladies at the barber shop, parents, etc.. Gonna have to start giving away cases me thinks. Have the materials and space to build a couple more small racks, maybe 50 bottles total, so that'll help. Making wine with friends now, so they take some wine away from the bottlings, that helps also, and only making wine once a year at fall harvest. A labor of love.
Great post and cautionary tale. The wine one makes accumulates fast. And then needs to sit around a few more years to mature. And then it takes awhile to drink. I'm buying much less commercial wine, dropping out of wine clubs, and next year plan to cut production just a little. 2018 was 70 gallons, this year will be about 60, and 2020 planning 45. That is, unless I have another space with temp control......
I used to enjoy a cocktail here and there. No more. Gotta drink the wine and make room for more wine.
No problem here, no siree!
Cxwgfamily
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All,
Winemaking is therapy for me at this stage. Although could be moving toward obsession quickly. Although I focus on fruit wines from my state, I find myself making more and more wine from different fruits. Up to about bout 100 gals this year. Planning on more next year. It is amazing how many friends you have when you make drinkable to good wine.
Cxwgfamily
Winemaking is therapy for me at this stage. Although could be moving toward obsession quickly. Although I focus on fruit wines from my state, I find myself making more and more wine from different fruits. Up to about bout 100 gals this year. Planning on more next year. It is amazing how many friends you have when you make drinkable to good wine.
Cxwgfamily
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
Ha! If I ever make it to LA, I'll help you clear space for a few bottles. LOL!
