The rewards and frustrations of home winemaking

Tag archive: wine kit

More Limited Edition Wine Kits in Progress

A few more Limited Edition wine kits have come in.ย  I posted previously about starting the Cellar Craft Chateau du Pays; I’m going to bulk age this wine for while, but I did do an extra racking about a month after stabilizing and clearing to take out the second addition of Hungarian oak cubes, so […]

“Sail Bay Sundown” 2-year Tasting Note

We finally opened the last bottle of our RJ Spagnols Limited Release Argentinian Trio white blend.ย  This wine was bottled about 2 years ago now, and it was a good thing we were drinking the last bottle.ย  We really loved this wine, in fact it won a silver medal and “Best of Class” at the […]

Pacifica White Post-Bottling Tasting Note

I just bottled the Winexpert 2010 Limited Edition “Pacifica White” blend this past Thursday. As usual, there was one partial bottle left, but I’m just now getting around to tasting it. This wine has amazing, mouthwatering aromas of peaches, apricots, and honeysuckle. The wine is clear, very pale yellow in color; huge, ripe, juicy flavors […]

Wines in Progress

I have several wines in progress currently, besides the petite sirah and merlot that is waiting to be bottled.ย  I started a very cool Super Tuscan red blend wine kit from Cellar Craft, “Rosso Fortissimo”, which is almost ready to be bottled. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese and comes with […]

Chamblaise Bottle Shock

We opened yet another Chamblaise for dinner tonight, a mere 2 1/2 weeks after bottling, and I was reminded that wines undergo bottle shock within the first month after bottling. This bottle was definitely suffering from it, though it wasn’t awful — it just tastes “off” when it has bottle shock. I’m sure if we […]

First Wine, 3 1/2 Years Later

Our stock of my first wine kit, a Winexpert Cabernet-Merlot, is slowly dwindling. It is developing bell pepper notes, in both nose and on the tongue. Definitely entering a stage of maturity now, but only 6 more bottles left anyway.

Chamblaise 2009 vs. 2010 Tasting Notes

I saved one bottle of 2009 Chamblaise to compare to the newly-bottled 2010 vintage.ย  Part of the comparison was to see how much this wine changes with some aging, if at all. We tasted the 2010 Chamblaise first.ย  It has rich aromas of fresh-picked pear and green apple with hint of freshly-mowed grass. Very clear, […]

La Jolla Caves Red Tasting Note

The Winexpert “La Jolla Caves” red rhone blend is not quite 3 years in the bottle now. This wine has been quite a roller coaster, and this bottle is just adding to the sordid history. I’m not sure if the bottle opened is flawed, but it has a nose of port or sherry, with blackberry […]

Brunello 2-year Tasting

I’ve been excited about trying out this Limited Edition wine again, hopefully it’s almost ready.ย  I decanted very briefly before first taste; it’s still very foamy.ย  Not much “soapiness” on the nose, mostly light, bright fruits with hint of spice. Very clear garnet in color.ย  Good oak on the tongue giving slightly buttery mouthfeel, with […]

Best of Class Award and Silver Medal at SD County Fair!

I entered two wines into the San Diego County Fair Homemade wine competition: ‘Bahia Belle’ Bordeaux Blend, a 50/50 blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot made from fresh grapes, and ‘Sail Bay Sundown’ RJ Spagnols Argentinian Trio Limited Release white blend.ย  One of my fellow winemakers also entered the same cabernet sauvignon and merlot as […]