I just tested our 2011 syrah batch #1 for malic acid levels, and it’s finally done!ย I’m still baffled why this one batch, out of four total, took 2 more weeks to finish MLF than the others.ย The particular yeast used (ICV-D80) must have produced something that was slowing down the malolactic bacteria.ย I’m curious […]
Tag archive: testing
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. […]
We did a 3-day cold soak on our 2011 syrah, mostly out of convenience.ย 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.ย Besides the cost of putting 10 pounds of dry ice into the buckets every morning, the must does […]
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 have a few wines that are due for bottling, but I was waiting until I opened my shop because I needed corks, and it seemed to make sense that I should buy them from myself.ย So today I’m finally bottling my Amador county primitivo.ย I’ll bottle most of it as 100% varietal, but I’m […]
It’s been about 4 weeks since I added fresh malolactic bacteria to the syrah to try to get MLF going again.ย I’ve been stirring it once or twice a week and keeping a heat pad on it overnight and in the cool parts of the daytime to keep the temperature between 70 – 80?F.ย I […]
I’ve been meaning to set up a free SO2 aeration/oxidation (A/O) system for a while to test our wines. I’ve mentioned before that the “quick tests” are difficult to read (especially for red wines, since it relies on a color change in the purple range) and are notoriously inaccurate.ย From the information I could find, […]