Paul borrowed a bladder press from a buddy of his, luckily for us. We set up outside of the office and hooked up a hose to the press. Everything got sprayed down with sanitizer, then we started scooping the must out of the trash cans and dumping it into the press. There was actually a […]
Tag archive: home winemaking
Lot A is at –0.2 degrees brix, so that fermentation is done. Unfortunately, lot B is still at 4.2 degrees brix. It has been dropping every day, just very slowly. I ordered more yeast in case I need to reinnoculate. I guess only time will tell …..
Brix have been steadily dropping in the merlot batches. A second dose of yeast nutrient was added yesterday. Looking at the numbers, lot B has become quite sluggish. Lot A has dropped to 5.5 degrees brix, but lot B is only at 11 degrees brix. Both batches got quite hot, over 80 degrees farenheit! Hopefully […]
Almost 2 month tasting of the brunello. A LOT of oak in the nose, with a weird fruity off-smell. Not outrageously tasty, not quite integrated. Needs to sit. Will decant and taste again.
Definitely getting a distinct cap on both sets today. I have a little lab set next to the trash cans with sanitizer in a spray bottle, the wine thief and hydrometer for monitoring the brix, a floating thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature, the big spoon for stirring, and of course a plastic […]
It looks like the yeastie-beasties are at least alive in lot A, although it’s just kind of fizzing and most of the whole berries are sitting on the bottom of the bucket. Lot B, though, was going nuts! It was very vigorously fermenting and had already formed a distinct cap on top. Yeast nutrient was […]
We did a cold maceration of the grapes for 48 hours, keeping them cold with additional dry ice. Our juice was at a starting brix (sugar content) of 26 – this reading is on the high end of what you want for a good wine that’s not too hot or alcoholic. I also checked titratable […]
This is what my friends said to me. This guy Paul knew this other guy that makes wine and likes to share the grapes from this great vineyard in Sonoma with home winemakers. So of course they thought of me when they found out they could get these killer grapes. It also happens that I’m […]
To keep the cellar fully stocked, we *really* some sauvignon blanc. This kit was touted as a quick-drinker, and I’ve been really happy with the lower-end white kits. I bulk aged this wine an extra month (out of laziness and lack of time to bottle). I did have to filter this one, the low-end whites […]
The Pacific Quartet is very nice for day of bottling. 10.3% final alcohol, no oak, but did have a “susse-reserve” pack added after secondary fermentation. Did not filter, but wine is still very clear and very light greenish-golden in color. A lot of acidic notes in the nose, with citrus and apple. Zingy flavors of […]