The rewards and frustrations of home winemaking

Tag archive: tasting note

Blending Trials for Three Pelicans Blend

I’ve been planning to make a blend similar to Duckhorn’s “Paraduxx” for a while; their blend is a combination of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.  I was planning to substitute my 2009 Primitivo for the zinfandel, but in a previous blending trial the primitivo just overwhelmed all of the other varietals and any blend was […]

2012 Winemaker Magazine Award

We had a great time at the Winemaker Magazine conference in Santa Barbara last year in 2011, I was sorry to miss it this year.  But, the Finger Lakes are not exactly driving distance from San Diego!  I did get some great news today — I won a Gold Medal for my 2011 Cellar Craft […]

2011 Syrah Tasting Party #2

My 2011 Hands-on Harvest class met again last night to check out the progress on our 2011 Live Oak Vineyard Fallbrook syrahs. Details on fermentation and previous tasting notes are in prior blog posts.  Here are our tasting notes: Batch #1 — No additional oak was added after the first racking. Peppery aromas and very peppery, […]

Syrah Stink Update

Last weekend the barrel of 2010 syrah had NO free SO2 detectable with the Vinmetrica SC-100. I added another 1 1/2 tsp of Kmeta, and tested the free SO2 again yesterday. I noted that the odor of acetone had already subsided, and happily the free SO2 is up to 20 ppm. I added another teaspoon […]

“One Little Drop”

I was given some samples of a new product called “One Little Drop,” touted to “improve wines.” We opened a bottle of my 2009 Merlot, which is a bit on the tannic side, so decided it was a good opportunity to test it out. Basically, you put one drop of the solution into your wine […]

2011 Syrah Tasting and the Case of the Stinky Syrah

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. […]

Oak Trials: Tasting Notes

The oak trials were bottled about 2 months ago now, and I’m ready to do a tasting of the panel.  My husband has agreed to help me out, since there are 7 different wines to taste.  First is the unoaked Winexpert Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay:  dry, but not crisp, with subtle hints of apple and pear.  […]

‘La Jolla Cave’ Rhone Blend 3 1/2 Year Tasting Note

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. […]

Comparing Two Merlots: Same Grapes, Different Yeasts

I realized I haven’t really done a head-to-head tasting of my 2008 Merlot lots A and B yet. After being so disappointed with the barrel batch of merlot from that vintage, I’ve been holding out to wait 2 years to pop the smaller batch of lot A. Happily, the time has come! Tasting notes: Merlot […]

“Hotel Del Coronado” Winexpert 2008 Limited Edition Brunello Tasting Note

My “Hotel Del Coronado” Winexpert 2008 limited release Brunello is coming up on 3 years post bottling now. My first reaction to drinking this wine was, WOW! It is definitely at its peak, and is exceptional. Big, bold aromas of blackberry, sage, and light spice. Perfectly integrated flavors of currant, blackberry, and raisins with cedar […]