The rewards and frustrations of home winemaking

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

We are planning to bottle the syrah soon, and I will also probably bottle the primitivo as well. The merlot and petite sirah in the barrels have not picked up enough oak for our tastes, so we’re going to leave them for another year. I realized I haven’t cleaned out the airlocks on my carboys […]

John and Paula York hosted the annual Ramona Valley Vineyard Association summer social at Hellanback Ranch. It was HOT, even in the shade, but such a beautiful location.  Everyone brought wine and a side dish, and John grilled up home grown and raised beef burgers — they were SO good.  We got to taste a […]

We visited Fallbrook Winery yesterday with some of our friends.  It has been unusually cold and dreary around San Diego, but the sun eventually came out later in our tour.  We were greeted by Vernon Kindred, one of the winemakers at Fallbrook.  He walked us through some of the vineyards while describing the growing season […]

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.  One of my fellow winemakers also entered the same cabernet sauvignon and merlot as […]

It is really too early to be opening this wine, but I was dying to try it.  Definitely has that “kit nose”, that weird “soapy” scent that most red kits have (but do lose over time).  I used a Riedle balloon glass for this tasting, no decanting.  The nose is dominated by “kit scent”.  Very […]

I popped by to check on the merlot and petite sirah in barrels at my friends’ office.  While I was there I took some samples to test for free SO2. Last time I tasted these wines there was no detectable oak, which was not expected from barrels that have only been used once so far.  […]

Our May SDAWS meeting was held at Milagro Farm today.  Jim Hart hosted us and gave us a tour of the vineyards and told us about his recent wine releases.  He is winemaker for Milagro Farm Vineyard & Winery and also at Hart Winery in Temecula.  Milagro Farm Vineyard & Winery is in the Ramona […]

Tonight we’re drinking our last bottle of 2007 “Del Mar Racetrack” Bourgeron Rouge.  We did a taste comparison with 2007 BV Vin Pays d’Oc Pinot Noir.  Our “Racetrack” had much more fruit character, much more depth of flavor.  The BV almost tasted like plastic when tasted head to head. All in all, we are very […]

This wine has really taken its time to come together, but it is definitely improving now more and more.  I did decant, but tasted just after decanting.  Not a lot of solids thrown out or left in the bottle.  Kit taste and aroma is gone, with no foam at all. Velvety aromas of chocolate, brambles, […]