The rewards and frustrations of home winemaking

Tag archive: barrel

Syrah Day

Today I’m finally getting around to taking care of the 2010 Syrah we just brought down, plus I need to stir and check the progression of the MLF on the 2011 Syrah.  My Hands-on Winemaking class did the initial test for lactic acid in all four batches of the 2011 Syrah last Sunday, and all [...]

Syrah Goes for a Ride

Paul and I are not happy with the way the 2010 Syrah is tasting.  It has been hanging out in the Flextank for about a year now, with oak cubes, but it just tastes kind of closed up.  Supposedly the Flextank “breathes” like a barrel, but right now I’m not buying that.  We both agreed [...]

As the Lees Settle

Another full day of wine racking and shuffling!  Dave sent me an email that the merlot barrel needed to be topped, so first I racked off the smaller bottles of merlot and took 2 cleared bottles to the office winery to top off the barrel.  I thought I had enough to top off and leave [...]