The rewards and frustrations of home winemaking

Monthly archive: 10 2007

$8 Chardonnay Label

I wanted to call my chardonnay “Torrey Pines”, after the state park here where the rare Torrey Pine grows in a protected area.  They are really neat pine trees, they grow near the coast and so tend to have a windswept shape to them.  So, to get a good picture we drove to the park […]

Racking Australian Chardonnay

Chardonnay is at SG 1.00, time to rack!  Smells yummy! You can see the bits of the oak chips that were added in the primary.  Some did make it through the racking cane into the secondary, but it should be OK — they’ll fall out over time (I assume).

Time for Limited Editions!

I have discovered that the wine kit companies make special limited edition wines every year that are supposed to be “exceptional quality.”  I’ve been pretty impressed with the quality so far, so these should be really exciting!  Here’s what I got: Pacific Quartet:  A blend of very cool whites from the Pacific, including Vidal from […]

Chardonnay to Round Out the Cellar

Looking over the inventory and considering the wines we often drink, I invested in an Australian Chardonnay kit.  This one has oak – 120 g toasted French oak total — so should be interesting.  They recommend aging 1 – 3 months, peak aging 1 – 2 years.