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Yes, but do you ever drink anything that does? Inquiring minds want to know! :D

I do a lot of research before I join a wine club and commit to usually 6-12 bottles a year. 90% of the wines I drink are purchased from wine club memberships/allocations. Duds are usually only blind buys from Costco or TW while on the road or Vaycay. I actually bought that same bottle of "Pitch Black" you had on a blind buy from Costco while on the road. Not great by any means but a good bottle to take to a Holiday party! LOL
 
Pacific Red 2020-2021

This is a house red which my wife likes.


Pacific Red 2020-2021
Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon2522.2%
1.100​
0.83​
13.3​
Sheridan Syrah7655.6%
1.114​
0.70​
15.6​
Black Iris
18​
22.2%
1.095​
0.75​
12.6​
120​
100.0%1.1070.57
14.4​

This is Sheridan Syrah resurrected from the dead. Sheridan Syrah had a burnt tire nose due to faulty MLF from from non-nutrient destemmed Sheridan Syrah in a drum (maybe or maybe not sulphited pre ferment) fermented with RC212 yeaast. Black Iris is a blend of wild blackberries with wild black cherries and dried elderberries (mostly frozen blackberries). The Dineen was slightly under-ripe and the Syrah was rich but flat (high brix). So this blend is an attempt to repair the Syrah.

Comments:

Colour - deep inky purple

Smell: burnt rubber smell is hardly noticeable

Tannin: high

Acid: high (must be from the Cab Sauv)

Flavour: too young - needs time for acid and tannin to drop

So I added this 1/2 glass of red to 1/2 glass of Tripleberry Chambord (blackberry, raspberry, elderberry, chambord liqueur fruit port to get a a flavour (I've posted on Tripleberry Chambord before):

Comments on this blend:

Colour: deep inky purple

Smell: better than before, very fruity

Tannin: high but ok

Acid: high but ok

Sweetness: appropriate. Tannin dominates the sweetness

Flavour: intense, rich slightly sweet, tangy, slightly tangy

Aftertaste: good, rich, viscous, fragrant....hangs in your mouth from the viscosity.

So what I learned from this is to blend my last train wreck Sheridan Syrah with any of the following alone or in combination:

1) Marechal Foch to increase the acid and drop the alcohol

2) Regent to increase the acid and drop the alcohol

3) Black Iris to drop the alcohol and improve the smell

4) Raspberry Chambord table wine - to raise the acid, drop the alcohol and improve the smell

5) 2023 California or Washington red wines from destemmed uncrushed fresh fruit

Namaste

Klaus
 

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I'm having trouble uploading the image but I will describe what I want to say.

1. Experiment with your wines even blending in a single glass e.g. blend too sweet with too tangy and see what you get

2. Much of my learning about future wine options comes from blending in a single glass of wine. If I hadn't tasted French black raspberry Chambord liqueur in a fruit port, I never would have considered blending Chambord (1 bottle) into a carboy of raspberry wine. The Raspberry Chambord 2022 table wine is the best fruit wine that I have tasted in over 50 years of winemaking. A perfect wine IMHO.

3. Taste everything including combos that you have never tasted from your wines. For example I grow organic red wine grapes Marechal Foch and Regent that really seem to improve high brix or super high brix American grapes e.g. 74% sky high brix Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah with 26% of my Regent fermented with RC 212 yeast produced a really tasty and balanced red wine.

4. Treat winemaking like fine cooking. Explore every option you can dream of to train your palate and nose.

5. I've ranked first out of 200 winemakers 2 years in a row with Raspberry wine that I never entered myself into a contest. I won winemaker of the show (Salmon Arm Fall Fair) 2 years in a row.

6. My raspberry wine that won as best of the show has morphed half a dozen different ways because I'm not interested in ribbons and trophies. I'm interested in smells and flavours having longevity.

7. My new raspberry wine i.e. Raspberry Chambord blows away any raspberry wine I have ever made IMHO.

8. Really taste and smell everything that you make alone or in combination.


Namaste


Klaus

PS I blended Chenin Blanc Cyser Pyment ~75% with Tripleberry Port Chambord ~25% just to see what it tastes like.

Here are my comments based on wine competition judging:

Colour: clear rose

Smell: good fragrant nose

Tannin: good

Acid: high

Flavour: if you like super dry roses this is fine. Otherwise it is too acidic. 5 years from now this would probably improve by dropping its acid.

Aftertaste: decent but needs eons to drop the acid

Bottom line: I wouldn't bother making this.....................................The value of a single glass blended tasting.

PSS

Vanity and Ego vs Winemaking part 1

The person that sold me fresh high end California and Washington grapes invited his best customers to an Italian lunch which was excellent. He asked us to birn our best homemade Sauvignon Blanc. Most of the wines from about 12 of us were very good except for one. The exception was an oxidized creamy hazelnut disaster i.e. no fruit which he said he brought because he thought it was interesting. IT WAS A TOTAL MESS. The winemaker has won numerous prizes. If I had judged it in a competition I would have trashed it as a total mess (I have been a judge). Ego has nothing to do with winemaking. Trophies and ribbons may make you stupid.

Vanity and Ego vs Winemaking part 2

I went to a winemaking competition dinner and one of the people at my table poured me a full glass of his 2nd run red wine from a gallon jug without asking me if I wanted to taste it. Another control freak. I tasted it and realized that the seed tannin could give me a headache. So I stood up, took my glass with me and poured all of it into a planter. Competition may create unconscious winemakers. There is a reason that I don't belong to any winemaking clubs for over 20 years.

Winemaking at the highest level has nothing to do with group accolades.

Having said that, winemaking clubs can be very useful for beginners.

In my case my local wine club helped me learn ho to make high end fruit wines.
 
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Home brewed IPA in the glass. My son brewed it. I helped him bottle it 2 weeks ago. I told him I want to make a batch for myself. He made it from scratch. He didn’t write down any notes down. He’s a scientist IRL and didn’t write down notes ? Go figure! In the back ground we’re cooking a Belgium Strong Golden Ale. Bakervinyard9CF20AB7-8C9B-4D3A-9EB2-332D936185DC.jpeg
 
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Tonight the beverage of choice is*

Cascade Cliffs 2018 Columbia Valley Nebbiolo Reserve

100% Nebbiolo
( 70% from McKinleySprings , 30 % from Cascade Cliffs vineyard )
pH 3.74
TA 0.58g/100 ml
Alc. 15.8 % by volume
Aged 20 months in American Oak
Cases Produced : 312


It is rather nice!
 
Who says Oregon Pinot has no staying power! This was right in the sweet spot still. This is sort of a 2nd label for Ken Wright. Really nice nose of strawberry, cherry, cola, baking spice and a finish that goes on and on. Light on its feet as well. Excellent and a 5 star QPR wine to boot!

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No comments, not even DNS?

IDK ... we are at the winery in Florida and they gave us some chocolate and the coffee wine 2oz or so. "Take a bite of chocolate, take a swig of coffee wine, take a bite of chocolate in that order" and IT MUST BE IN THAT ORDER according to the hostess behind the counter. So we did as instructed and it was good, not great but good, so someone in our group bought the chocolate and coffee wine. Couple days later we tried it again at the condo (snowbirds) and it was just ok. A little glass goes a long way. DNS 😆
 
Another long week. Another Old Fashioned on Friday night. :D
I had one on Wednesday this week after my annual review. I don’t usually have one during the week. However, we had some large layoffs lately which hit quite a few of my friends. We are not sure if more are coming so I felt I needed to relax after my review went well. It helped! Might have another one tonight!
 
One of the few Paso whites that made the cut!

2020 Denner Theresa.

This was so amazing when we tasted it at the winery I added it on as an extra and it did not disappoint at home. Kitchen sink blend with 40% Rousanne, 22% Grenache Blanc, 12% Picpoul, 12% Marsanne and a couple other tossed in for the fun of it. Went perfectly with the Lemony shrimp and risotto!


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