My Hands-on Winemaking Class got together last night for a potluck dinner to taste the fruits of our labors. We put French oak cubes in the wines about 2 months ago, so now is a good time to give them all a taste to see if there is enough oak, or if it needs more. [...]
Tag archive: home winemaking
I just tested our 2011 syrah batch #1 for malic acid levels, and it’s finally done! I’m still baffled why this one batch, out of four total, took 2 more weeks to finish MLF than the others. The particular yeast used (ICV-D80) must have produced something that was slowing down the malolactic bacteria. I’m curious [...]
It’s almost 6 weeks after initiating malolactic fermentation on our 2011 Fallbrook Syrah. I tested malic acid levels today with the Accuvin quick tests. Batch #1 (fermented with ICV-D80) is the one batch that didn’t seem to be progressing at all, but today it seems to be below the max value on the scale. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Our syrah finished fermenting in about 7 days. Average fermentation temperatures were 80 to 82 degrees, though the bucket with Pasteur Red got up to 88 degrees on day 2 of fermentation. It was progressing smoothly so we did not add Fermaid K this time. Now it’s time to press out our wine! We decided [...]
We did a 3-day cold soak on our 2011 syrah, mostly out of convenience. I get a little nervous doing more than 2 days, and I don’t think I’ll soak this long again before pitching the yeast. Besides the cost of putting 10 pounds of dry ice into the buckets every morning, the must does [...]
Time for another syrah harvest at Live Oak Vineyard in Fallbrook! I was the first to arrive, just as the sun broke over the mountains to the East. The weather this year was perfect so far. I did smell a nearby wildfire as I drove up to the vineyard, but nothing threatening to interfere with [...]
Today I took a group of people in my Hands-on Winemaking class at Curds and Wine up to Fallbrook for a preharvest Vineyard Visit. We picked a perfect day (read as sarcasm), as a heat wave recently hit and it was sweltering. But, it’s always a lovely, if not hot, day at the vineyard. Mike [...]
I pulled out another bottle of my ‘La Jolla Caves’ Winexpert Crushendo “Montagnac Vieux Chateau d’Oc” red rhone blend to see if it is doing anything useful in the cellar. So far, this is one wine kit that has disappointed me all along, and I just don’t think this wine is going to come around. [...]