What's in your glass tonight?

[ceeaton]

Or, when they hold up one, but you see two.

I'm mixing up some experimental dough for tomorrow's pizza cook. I added flour and 350g of water to get 70% hydration. Problem was I added 1000g of flour.

I think I've had two fingers of beer today, lol!

 

[jswordy]

A little Pinot Grigio at the Japanese steakhouse. Now settling in with two (ish) fingers of this:

View attachment 97248

Oh. My. God.

 

[Shurt1073]

A little black cherry wine from an Island Mist kit tonight while sitting on the balcony .... Arrived the end of December.

 

[heatherd]

My son was in Napa/Sonoma last summer and picked this up for me at the winery. We opened it last night for my birthday. Wow. Really nice! View attachment 96613

That is a really good wine - I've had it before and it sets the bar for Madeiras.

 

[Hazelemere]

Brehm frozen California juice Chardonnay 2021

On its own this is what I get:

high acid

smell of buttered popcorn

I've had moderate acid "buttered popcorn" from fresh Washington Sheridan Vineyard grapes crushed and pressed which I liked better so have worked on ways to fix this which is out of whack but not unpleasant.

The Chardonnays from California that I like come from Carneros and Sonoma in a non-fire season e.g. Sangiacomo is stunning but I can't get it anymore. Chateau St. Jean from Sonoma when Dick Arrowood made it was equally good.

So I have a few carboys of this high acid buttered popcorn Chardonnay that I'm trying to fix to drop the acid and make it more of a fruit bomb.

So here is the result of today's experiments:

2/3 Chardonnay 1/3 Cyser, then 1/2 Chardonnay 1/2 Cyser (look above for the Cyser). I didn't like it. I'm fussy. The Chenin Blanc 2/3 Cyser 1/3 blows it out of the water.

Then I tried adding dextrose to the Chardonnay from SG 1.000 to SG 1.010.

This improved the sugar/acid balance but still gave me the "buttered popcorn smell"

Then I added about 1/2 gallon of Cyser and 2 bottles of Chenin Blanc plus sulphite + sorbate at about SG 0.999 to 4.5 Imperial gallons of Brehm Chardonnay..

Voila..... this is much better i.e. the smell of the Cyser and Chenin Blanc really improve the Chardonnay.

So for me winemaking after 55 years of doing it is to focus on flavours and smells i.e. forget about names. Blend anything with anything to improve anything.

PS I've never made the same wine twice because fruit flavour and smell from fresh or frozen fruit which is all I ever use, except for dried elderberries, (i.e. no kit wines) changes year to year and sometimes dramatically.

Van Gogh said he never stopped trying to learn how to improve his technique. We can all learn from Van Gogh
.
Namaste

Klaus

PS I ended up at SG 1.000 for the Chardonnay which I will retaste and likely bottle at Easter ( 29 bottles)

Tasted today a day later. This is really good. Not because I made it and need accolades, ribbons and trophies from competitions. It just tastes good. French style. I've got another 55 bottles of this high acid buttered popcorn Chardonnay that I will absolutely be blend this way i.e. 1/2 gallon of Apple Cyser from high tannin, high acid russet apple juice and blueberry blossom honey with 2 bottles of high acid Chenin Blanc per 4.5 Imperial gallons of Brehm Chardonnay from frozen, high acid juice. The Cyser gives the Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc (mostly Cyser) give the Chardonnay the smell that it was lacking and I was looking for.

Bottom line: for my palate alone .......this is delicious Chardonnay that should age for eons.........totally unexpected and only possible because of a really fragrant Cyser.

Before I say the last thing that I want to say to all of you.....

I came first out 200 wines 2 years in a row with Raspberry wine that my friends entered.

I mention that for 1 reason only. I'm a serious winemaker (55 years experience) and grapegrower (45 years experience) and organic farmer (45 years) growing raspberries, apples, grapes, blueberries, sour cherries, cherries and picking wild blackberries and wild cherries.

The last thing..............Treat winemaking like gourmet cooking i.e. highest level possible

Level 1 - Chef Boyardee spaghetti

Level 2 - Spaghetti from a kit i.e. pasta and rest of the ingredients are separate

Level 3 - Ragu or equivalent sauce on fresh cooked pasta with parmesan, asiago or romano cheese

Level 4 - lean ground beef (organic if you can get it), with organic onions or leek, cremini or portabella mushrooms, fire-roasted crushed and/or diced tomatoes, your best cooking wine, unsalted beef broth, garlic, organic herbs - sage -thyme-oregano with worchestershire sauce, tamari soy suace, smoked paprika, pepper

The key to this whole monologue is FOCUS ON FLAVOUR AND SMELL.

after dealing with the paint by numbers technicalities..


You may get lucky and make great "paint by numbers wines" but don't count on it. If You make enough wines and have a good sense of smell and taste, you can fix a lot of wines such as the Chardonnay that I just talked about.

Last thing I want to say...............What a great bunch of people.....................true zealots!

Namaste


Klaus

 

[David Violante]

 

[jswordy]

Yup! Drunk again! OMG, France...

 

[Hazelemere]

Yup! Drunk again! OMG, France...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3RI4c5lYnc

View attachment 97338

 

[jswordy]

Alcohol is a physical experience, not a spiritual one. Cheers!

 

[Hazelemere]

Yes, it is bad for spiritual awakening. As someone who was on that path before, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind. Alcohol is a physical experience, not a spiritual one. Cheers!

Namaste

 

[jswordy]

Namaste

Or any one of a number of religious phrases, yes...

 

[Hazelemere]

Chenin Blanc Cyser Pyment 2021-2022

This is 80% high acid frozen Brehm California Chenin Blanc juice mixed with 20% Russet apple juice Cyser containing unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey. SG is 0.995.

Comments:

Acidity: this is better than Chenin Blanc on its own. SG is 0.995 instead of 0.992 which also helps make it less tangy.

Tannin: russet tannin raises the tannin on this so it should age really well in a cooler due to its acidity.

Smell: the Chenin Blanc smell is good on its own honey dew and straw. The russet and honey smells make it even more complex.

Flavour: good Loire style, rich with a long finish. I may make more. Right now I have 2 cases of this and will re-sorbate it into a carboy so it doesn't referment. This is a pleasant surprise that should age. I'll probably bottle it at Easter.

 

[jswordy]

Got plans for tomorrow so I think I'll restrict myself to one small glass of this just okay wine a bit later on, and call it a night.

 

[geek]

 

[sour_grapes]

View attachment 97483

I am always impressed that you managed to keep some old stock! I don't have anything that old that I made...

 

[winemaker81]

I am always impressed that you managed to keep some old stock! I don't have anything that old that I made...

hint: make more wine!

 

[sour_grapes]

hint: make more wine!

Don't worry: I was able to draw that obvious conclusion! Now to do something about it....

 

[geek]

2016 La Bodega Port style….yummy!!!

 

[ibglowin]

2013 Bookwalter Protagonist. 95% CS 5% Syrah. DNS!

 

[jswordy]

Mmm.... I hope some survives a couple more years in the cellar. But if not.... Oh well...