Nope. Not yet.
My plan for 2017 wine from California grapes
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Nope. Not yet.
I'd offer to come over and taste it (and a few others) tomorrow but the wifey has a work weekend and I've got to be around to pick up my daughter at the school at some unknown afternoon hour (after getting her there at 6 am). So much for sleeping in...
Been in the woods this weekend, trying to shoot Bambi. No luck.
So I got a wild hair and decided to finish the blend.
* 19.5 gallons of Cab/Merlot/PV in a 59/29/12% blend;
* 5 gallons of PV/Cab/Merlot in a 50/36/14% blend. And,
* 3/4 of a gallon of PV left over.
Another plus, the sour is pretty much gone.
* 19.5 gallons of Cab/Merlot/PV in a 59/29/12% blend;
* 5 gallons of PV/Cab/Merlot in a 50/36/14% blend. And,
* 3/4 of a gallon of PV left over.
Another plus, the sour is pretty much gone.
I need to come taste!
I'll bring some sausage for lunch once I perfect a recipe. The kielbasa is pretty good at this point...Weisswurst is good, bratwurst is getting better.
I'll bring some sausage for lunch once I perfect a recipe. The kielbasa is pretty good at this point...Weisswurst is good, bratwurst is getting better.
Sounds like a plan!
I think for my finishing touch on these blends, I’m going to add some tannin or French M+ oak. Let it sit another three months and bottle in spring.
Went to my lhbs this weekend and picked up oak spirals for the wine. French medium toast. It said to use one for ever three gallons of wine and let it sit for six weeks for full extraction.
I decided to only drop one spiral in each of the Cab-dominated blends. The PV dominated blend is making me very happy right now so I figured I shouldn’t fiddle with it anymore.
I’ll let them sit until it’s time to bottle.
Since I had a spare spiral, I dropped it in to my Aussie Chard that’s aging on fine lees. It will be interesting to see what it does.
I decided to only drop one spiral in each of the Cab-dominated blends. The PV dominated blend is making me very happy right now so I figured I shouldn’t fiddle with it anymore.
I’ll let them sit until it’s time to bottle.
Since I had a spare spiral, I dropped it in to my Aussie Chard that’s aging on fine lees. It will be interesting to see what it does.
It’s two months later and I had a big rack-a-palooza last night.
Racked a bone dry French rose into a secondary and began clearing it; and racked the Australian Chard and the Luna Bianca into clean carboys.
Then, I racked the three cab dominated 2017 blends to get them off of the oak spiral. It will need a little time to mellow but, generally, it was a good move.
Interesting - there were a lot of crispy wine diamonds at the bottom of each carboy. I’m going to leave them nap for 3 more months and taste them again before bottling.
I only dosed the PV dominated blend with Kmeta (didn’t rack). I might rack it next month to see if I have the same wine diamond issue. But after 6 rankings in one night, I couldn’t bring myself to do another.
Racked a bone dry French rose into a secondary and began clearing it; and racked the Australian Chard and the Luna Bianca into clean carboys.
Then, I racked the three cab dominated 2017 blends to get them off of the oak spiral. It will need a little time to mellow but, generally, it was a good move.
Interesting - there were a lot of crispy wine diamonds at the bottom of each carboy. I’m going to leave them nap for 3 more months and taste them again before bottling.
I only dosed the PV dominated blend with Kmeta (didn’t rack). I might rack it next month to see if I have the same wine diamond issue. But after 6 rankings in one night, I couldn’t bring myself to do another.
Bill McNab
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Hopefully I am connecting with Lodi area CA winemakers.
I need a little advice please and thanks.
I made Petite Sirah wine from grapes in 2018.
I live in TN and have to drive to Detroit where I can obtain premium CA grapes crushed and destemmed.
2019 I plan to make P.S. and Cab Sauv plus Barbera or Zinfandel.
Can anyone generally tell me if harvest dates for those grapes in the Lodi area are in the same time frame.
Trying to avoid 2 trips to Detroit. ( Have family in Windsor, over the border from Detroit in case anyone is thinking that I love driving, family visit at the same time.)
Thanks for replying.
Bill.
I need a little advice please and thanks.
I made Petite Sirah wine from grapes in 2018.
I live in TN and have to drive to Detroit where I can obtain premium CA grapes crushed and destemmed.
2019 I plan to make P.S. and Cab Sauv plus Barbera or Zinfandel.
Can anyone generally tell me if harvest dates for those grapes in the Lodi area are in the same time frame.
Trying to avoid 2 trips to Detroit. ( Have family in Windsor, over the border from Detroit in case anyone is thinking that I love driving, family visit at the same time.)
Thanks for replying.
Bill.
Bill, the harvest dates in Lodi and compared to, say the Suisun Valley, are comparable. But, from what I recall Petite Sirah tends to come in a little later than the others (maybe two to three weeks later). My first wine from grapes was a PS and I remember getting antsy because everyone else's grapes had come in but mine. YMMV.
I've gotten grapes from the Lodi area the last few years, have done Cab, Petite Sirah and Merlot, those grapes have all been picked around the end of the first week in October. No experience with the Zin or Barbera...........
Just thinking out loud, but Brehm has a distribution facility for their must in Chicago, and they freeze must, so buying from them, even if you're harvest timing wasn't the same, it's easy to hold there until all of the grapes are in..
The big grape suppliers in that area all have large cold storage facilities. They can hold the early ripening grapes for a few weeks and then ship them all out at the same time on the same truck. Not always the best practice but the only possible way to get wine grapes shipped out all across the US with decent quality on one truck.
Bill McNab
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Thank you Gentlemen for replying, I am assuming you are Gentlemen, wait a minute, you must be, you make wine.
Bill, I live here (Sacramento) and every year is different. We were harvesting grapes near Lodi at the end of October 2017. In 2018, the harvest started in late September. I have seen grapes being picked as early as late August! I don't thinks that helps you, but there is a significant variation. I hope you can get all of your grapes at once, but Tennessee to Detroit seems like a long drive to do more than once. Maybe just do 1 varietal but make more of it?
Zinfandel does tend to ripen a bit earlier than say, Cabernet. Not sure about Barbera but it's one of my #1 favorite food wines, and plan a significant vintage in 2019.
Good luck!
I don't know what kind of a drive that is but mine is over 3 hours and my spring grapes are coming in about a week apart. I just asked the vendor to keep the first ones in the freezer so I only make on trip.
Bill McNab
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I will probably fo the same, my supplier has a nice big cooler / freezer.
CDrew has a good idea also.
TN to Detroit is a 10 hour drive one way.
I surely do envy winemakers living near grape country, although, if I was living there I would make too much wine,
Thanks to all for replying.
Bill.
CDrew has a good idea also.
TN to Detroit is a 10 hour drive one way.
I surely do envy winemakers living near grape country, although, if I was living there I would make too much wine,
Thanks to all for replying.
Bill.
10 hours is a really long drive. What part of Tennessee are you in? We have a group in Maryland that gets Lodi grapes and I think there is a person on the forum that does a group buy in N Carolina. I think it's @whackfol. You might want to reach out to him.
Bill McNab
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I am 1 hour West of Knoxville. Just over a year ago I moved from North Carolina. Muscadine rules in NC.
I am more interested in premium CA grapes.
I will try reaching out to the link you mentioned, thank you.
I am more interested in premium CA grapes.
I will try reaching out to the link you mentioned, thank you.
They do get Cali grapes but I think from Lodi as well. I don't know if you consider Lodi a quality region.
