I've been procrastinating in the cellar and things have begun to pile up. Imagine my sense of urgency when I got a call earlier this week that my order of Chilean Chardonnay grapes is due to arrive on April 20. Which means the Chilean Syrah grapes will arrive in another few weeks, which means I'm screwed unless I get some work done in the cellar to free up space. To top everything off, I've also been procrastinating about cleaning up the tree damage from the big ice storm back in early January. Folks, procrastinating is bad--don't do it!
However, I found a solution to my procrastination. Friday was forecast to be an absolutely gorgeous day in Boston, so I decided late Thursday afternoon to take a vacation day and spend the weekend and winin' and a whackin'. I won't bore you with the details about the brush hauling and tree surgery--needless to say my biceps are measurably larger (at least in my imagination). However, I did get some wine work done as well.
Saturday found me filling the Hungarian oak barrel with the 2008 Chilean Syrah. Contrary to advertised statements, it turned out to actually hold just shy of 14 gallons, or almost 3 of the 4 5 gal carboys. Which meant, I had enough syrah left fill 6 bottles (I'll use those for topping off the barrel) and have a good taste. Folks, I'm pretty pleased with this wine. Big burst of black cherries and vanilla in the nose and on the tongue with maybe a little rhubarb in the finish. It's of medium body and light tannins, so it will definitely benefit from a little concentrating during the barrel aging. Keeping those fingers crossed...
The carboy of Syrah left over needed racking off the precipitated tartrate crystals and fine lees, so I did that on Sunday. I also decided to try an experiment and added 1.5 g of Laffort TanCor tannins to see if I could add a little body and bite. We'll see in a few months.
Also on Sunday, I pulled the 2008 Malbec out of the barrel and filled it with the 2008 Zinfandel. At that point, I had a lot of carboy scrubbing to do and it was late in the afternoon, so I quite. A little tired tonight. I'll write an update on the Malbec tomorrow.
Cheers,
MA Winemaker
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A new Hungarian Oak Barrel Purchased!
To my faithful readers, my apologies for my absence. The Massachuesetts Winemaker's life has been rather crazy the past 9 months while I've been having to deal with some unfortunate personal crap. My winemaking activities have largely been relegated to a mere maintenance level during that time, although there are some good stories to share now that I'm getting back into action.
One action I just took was to order a new 50L Hungarian Oak barrel from Vadai World Trade. This is a new barrel source for me. I've heard nothing but good things about Sandor Vadai's products and his customer service from my fellow winemakers on the Winepress.US discussion forum. So far, the customer service has been excellent. Within 24 hrs of placing my order on-line, I received a call from Sandor's daughter to confirm my order and to let me know that Sandor was on his way to his barrel warehouse to check availability. Within another couple of days, Sandor himself was on the phone to update the prices and shipping (lower than the original quote!) and to finalize the order. Next Friday, I should be the proud owner of a Hungarian Oak barrel.
Why Hungarian oak? Well, I have an American oak barrel that my 2008 Malbec is currently inhabitating and the 2008 Zinfandel is destined to enter in another month. I've got 20 gal of 2008 Syrah that I want to aim for more of an Old World style. A French oak barrel would have been my first choice, but have you seen the prices of French oak barrels? Merci! Hungarian oak barrels have a similar taste profile to French oak that lends a caramel and vanilla finish, but at the fraction of the price. It only took a little shopping to convince myself that Hungarian was the way to go.
Stay tuned for an update on the 2008 Malbec.
cheers,
a MA Winemaker
p.s. Sorry, folks. I'm going to hijack this post instead of writing a new one. The barrel has arrived! It spent about a week in my bathtub full of water while the wood expanded to ensure the staves were nice and tight. As you can read above, I filled it with the 2008 Syrah on April 19. Here's a couple of pictures to show off my proud new family addition! I've got a couple of very slight leaks, but I'm confident that they will patch themselves in short order after the staves get fully conditioned. The big spot around the bung is due to me filling a little too full and making the wine overflow when I inserted the bung. Don't worry, I quickly got out the sanitizer and gave it a good
rub down.
One action I just took was to order a new 50L Hungarian Oak barrel from Vadai World Trade. This is a new barrel source for me. I've heard nothing but good things about Sandor Vadai's products and his customer service from my fellow winemakers on the Winepress.US discussion forum. So far, the customer service has been excellent. Within 24 hrs of placing my order on-line, I received a call from Sandor's daughter to confirm my order and to let me know that Sandor was on his way to his barrel warehouse to check availability. Within another couple of days, Sandor himself was on the phone to update the prices and shipping (lower than the original quote!) and to finalize the order. Next Friday, I should be the proud owner of a Hungarian Oak barrel.
Why Hungarian oak? Well, I have an American oak barrel that my 2008 Malbec is currently inhabitating and the 2008 Zinfandel is destined to enter in another month. I've got 20 gal of 2008 Syrah that I want to aim for more of an Old World style. A French oak barrel would have been my first choice, but have you seen the prices of French oak barrels? Merci! Hungarian oak barrels have a similar taste profile to French oak that lends a caramel and vanilla finish, but at the fraction of the price. It only took a little shopping to convince myself that Hungarian was the way to go.
Stay tuned for an update on the 2008 Malbec.
cheers,
a MA Winemaker
p.s. Sorry, folks. I'm going to hijack this post instead of writing a new one. The barrel has arrived! It spent about a week in my bathtub full of water while the wood expanded to ensure the staves were nice and tight. As you can read above, I filled it with the 2008 Syrah on April 19. Here's a couple of pictures to show off my proud new family addition! I've got a couple of very slight leaks, but I'm confident that they will patch themselves in short order after the staves get fully conditioned. The big spot around the bung is due to me filling a little too full and making the wine overflow when I inserted the bung. Don't worry, I quickly got out the sanitizer and gave it a good
rub down.
Monday, December 1, 2008
2006 Sour Cherry, aka "The Shy Bride"
Came home tonight to a dinner of Thanksgiving leftovers--turkey, roasted potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce. While that was warming up, I went down into the cellar for a bottle and decided to pull out one of my library wines. I settled on my dry 2006 Sour Cherry because it's been over a year since I've tried a bottle and I only had 2 left!
2006 Sour Cherry, aka "The Shy Bride"
Specs: 11% ABV, 100% montmorency cherries from Friske Orchard, MI
Appearance: Clear, light orange-pink
Aroma: Light and fruity with a citrus & lightly floral finish. Light cherry aroma (gee, what a surprise!).
Taste: Smooth, light cherry fruit foretaste. There's those cherries again! Light body and a bright, mildly acidic finish that lingers on the tongue.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with this wine, which was officially the 7th wine I made (third whole fruit wine from scratch). Was the first wine where I attempted to control the fermentation temperature by moving to the basement where the ambient temperature was ~60 °F. Don't know how much that actually helped. I fermented on the fruit skins for 4 days and then pressed and completed fermentation in a glass carboy. Ended up with what I would call a cherry rose.
The "Shy Bride" nom de plume was a joke. I had overshot the acid level a bit due to a low-titrant NaOH standard and the wine ended up a bit acidic when I bottle it (TA = 0.8%). At the time it had quite a bite to it, so I had an inspiration for a cute label and dashed off the following:
I could make all kinds of ironic remarks about how prophetic, appropriate, and applicable that passage has proven to be in my former marriage, but I will hold my tongue... On the other hand, the wine has mellowed quite a bit. That original tart flavor has died to a nice, bright finish that is quite nice on this rose-style wine. Just a reminder that when all else fails, just let the wine sit.
This wine also formed the basis for a Cherry Cordial by blending with amaretto. I'm going to keep the exact blend ratio and other details of the Cordial secret as it was a big hit and frankly I've never seen a similar offering elsewhere. I don't believe that any of those bottles are still in existence as the folks that I gave some to as gifts have sucked 'em down!
Cheers,
a MA Winemaker
2006 Sour Cherry, aka "The Shy Bride"
Specs: 11% ABV, 100% montmorency cherries from Friske Orchard, MI
Appearance: Clear, light orange-pink
Aroma: Light and fruity with a citrus & lightly floral finish. Light cherry aroma (gee, what a surprise!).
Taste: Smooth, light cherry fruit foretaste. There's those cherries again! Light body and a bright, mildly acidic finish that lingers on the tongue.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with this wine, which was officially the 7th wine I made (third whole fruit wine from scratch). Was the first wine where I attempted to control the fermentation temperature by moving to the basement where the ambient temperature was ~60 °F. Don't know how much that actually helped. I fermented on the fruit skins for 4 days and then pressed and completed fermentation in a glass carboy. Ended up with what I would call a cherry rose.
The "Shy Bride" nom de plume was a joke. I had overshot the acid level a bit due to a low-titrant NaOH standard and the wine ended up a bit acidic when I bottle it (TA = 0.8%). At the time it had quite a bite to it, so I had an inspiration for a cute label and dashed off the following:
Like a shy bride, this light blush starts
with gentle hints of cherry in the nose,
but ends with a tart finish on the tongue.
Served Chilled
Served Chilled
I could make all kinds of ironic remarks about how prophetic, appropriate, and applicable that passage has proven to be in my former marriage, but I will hold my tongue... On the other hand, the wine has mellowed quite a bit. That original tart flavor has died to a nice, bright finish that is quite nice on this rose-style wine. Just a reminder that when all else fails, just let the wine sit.
This wine also formed the basis for a Cherry Cordial by blending with amaretto. I'm going to keep the exact blend ratio and other details of the Cordial secret as it was a big hit and frankly I've never seen a similar offering elsewhere. I don't believe that any of those bottles are still in existence as the folks that I gave some to as gifts have sucked 'em down!
Cheers,
a MA Winemaker
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Another Summer Santa Treat!
Well, folks, it has been awhile since my last post. Been dealing with some personal upheaval in my life that occurred this summer that drained a lot of energy and time. Now that part of my life is over and closed, time to get back to some drinkin' and bloggin'! Don't worry, faithful readers, I've been saving tasting notes and stories in a big stack that I will slowly recapitulate over the next few weeks.
Starting where I left off in June, I wanted to relate some information on another bottle of wine I received during the Winepress.us Summer Santa Swap. This little gem came from Mr. Hart of Hart's Wine Cellars in western NY. Mr. Hart is an extremely knowledgeable (and quite skilled) winemaker who specializes in making wine from hybrid and vinifera grapes grown in western NY. I feel privileged to be the recipient of two of his wines and wanted to share my tasting report on his 2006 Dry White.
Hart's Wine Cellars 2006 Dry White
Specs: 40% vidal, 35% vignoles, 25% cayuga
Appearance: Clear, light straw yellow, good legs!
Aroma: Light and fruity with a bright acidic finish. Citrus and floral aromas dominate with the aromas of vignoles shining through.
Taste: Smooth, light fruit foretaste. Good mid-pallette body (there's the vidal standing up) and a slightly buttery finish.
All in all a very nice wine from a talented wine maker. The blend of grapes was very nice and balanced and produced a wine that was perfect for summer sipping.
Starting where I left off in June, I wanted to relate some information on another bottle of wine I received during the Winepress.us Summer Santa Swap. This little gem came from Mr. Hart of Hart's Wine Cellars in western NY. Mr. Hart is an extremely knowledgeable (and quite skilled) winemaker who specializes in making wine from hybrid and vinifera grapes grown in western NY. I feel privileged to be the recipient of two of his wines and wanted to share my tasting report on his 2006 Dry White.
Hart's Wine Cellars 2006 Dry White
Specs: 40% vidal, 35% vignoles, 25% cayuga
Appearance: Clear, light straw yellow, good legs!
Aroma: Light and fruity with a bright acidic finish. Citrus and floral aromas dominate with the aromas of vignoles shining through.
Taste: Smooth, light fruit foretaste. Good mid-pallette body (there's the vidal standing up) and a slightly buttery finish.
All in all a very nice wine from a talented wine maker. The blend of grapes was very nice and balanced and produced a wine that was perfect for summer sipping.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Santa Claus came early this year from Paradoxx Winery
I'm fortunate to be a member of the on-line home winemaking forum Winepress.US. Last December, a great tradition of Secret Santa wine swapping was started. I wasn't able to participate because I was in the midst of moving and unpacking, but I jumped at the chance when the suggestion was made to repeat the swap in July as an Early Secret Santa. All participants are put through a highly specialized and technical system to match swapping partners (OK, we draw names out of a hat!), and then we send 1-2 wines to each of our partners.I recently received a package from KC from Texas, proprietor of Paradoxx Winery, and decided to try a bottle of Russo Fortissimo (Bin #807) tonight. Folks, this is a very good wine. Deep and dark in color, the nose begins with dark cherry and vanilla and ends with a hint of oak and leather. A well integrated taste profile of fruit and mild tannins. A very good drinking wine. I wish I had a big old italian sausage pizza to go with it! Great, now my mouth is watering...
Thank you for sharing, KC!
Salute,
a Wine Student
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Chilean Syrah
I've alluded to also getting Chilean Syrah grapes this spring, but have been too busy to actually describe the fermentation! Will have to recap in 1 post.
Grapes were picked-up from M&M Produce on May 31 and crushed within 3 hours of pick-up while still cool. I was a little disappointed that these grapes actually had moldy clusters in just about crate. Not as bad as I've seen before, and I probably shouldn't complain too much given that they were picked on April 16 and have traveled about 3000 miles!
Sugar levels were pretty good (Brix = 23.8), but acid levels were a tad low (pH = 3.67 and TA = 4.8 mg/mL). I'm going to wait to adjust until after fermentation is over.
I innoculated with RC-212 yeast about 6 hours after crush and fermentation had started by the next morning. The syrah fermented slower than the malbec and had only fallen to Brix = 1.1 by Friday, June 6. My darling wife had a triathalon race in New Hampshire that weekend and I was strongly urged to attend to maintain marital harmony. I took Friday morning off from work and pressed must and let the fermentation continue in carboys under an airlock. This should give a smoother, more fruity wine that will be ready to drink earlier. I got 3 6-gal and 1 3-gal carboys and a 1-gal jug full of wine. By Sunday afternoon, when we returned, it still wasn't done (Brix = -1.3). I didn't have time to rack on Monday night, so I finally was able to rack off the gross lees on Tuesday, 6/10. I ended up with 4 5-gal carboys, and 3/4-gal amongt some smaller jugs. I innoculated with Lalvin VP-41 ML bacteria and MLF has noisely commenced within 24 hrs. I'm a little concerned because I think I detect a bit of H2S aroma. Can't do much about it at this point. I'm off the gross lees and MLF is in progress. Hopefully, that will blow off most of the H2S and I can splash rack to my heart's content to get rid of any residual.
The past couple of days have been HOT in Boston! I've discovered that my garage is wonderfully insulated and only reached >80 °F after 2 days of 90+ °F temperatures. After racking of the gross lees, I brought both the syrah and the malbec inside (76 °F A/C!) and have them lined up in the spare bathroom. I'll have to post a picture because it's rather hilarious to see a bathroom FULL of wine!.
Salute,
a Wine Student
Grapes were picked-up from M&M Produce on May 31 and crushed within 3 hours of pick-up while still cool. I was a little disappointed that these grapes actually had moldy clusters in just about crate. Not as bad as I've seen before, and I probably shouldn't complain too much given that they were picked on April 16 and have traveled about 3000 miles!
Sugar levels were pretty good (Brix = 23.8), but acid levels were a tad low (pH = 3.67 and TA = 4.8 mg/mL). I'm going to wait to adjust until after fermentation is over.
I innoculated with RC-212 yeast about 6 hours after crush and fermentation had started by the next morning. The syrah fermented slower than the malbec and had only fallen to Brix = 1.1 by Friday, June 6. My darling wife had a triathalon race in New Hampshire that weekend and I was strongly urged to attend to maintain marital harmony. I took Friday morning off from work and pressed must and let the fermentation continue in carboys under an airlock. This should give a smoother, more fruity wine that will be ready to drink earlier. I got 3 6-gal and 1 3-gal carboys and a 1-gal jug full of wine. By Sunday afternoon, when we returned, it still wasn't done (Brix = -1.3). I didn't have time to rack on Monday night, so I finally was able to rack off the gross lees on Tuesday, 6/10. I ended up with 4 5-gal carboys, and 3/4-gal amongt some smaller jugs. I innoculated with Lalvin VP-41 ML bacteria and MLF has noisely commenced within 24 hrs. I'm a little concerned because I think I detect a bit of H2S aroma. Can't do much about it at this point. I'm off the gross lees and MLF is in progress. Hopefully, that will blow off most of the H2S and I can splash rack to my heart's content to get rid of any residual.
The past couple of days have been HOT in Boston! I've discovered that my garage is wonderfully insulated and only reached >80 °F after 2 days of 90+ °F temperatures. After racking of the gross lees, I brought both the syrah and the malbec inside (76 °F A/C!) and have them lined up in the spare bathroom. I'll have to post a picture because it's rather hilarious to see a bathroom FULL of wine!.
Salute,
a Wine Student
Chilean Malbec In Carboy and MLF!
I did end up pressing the malbec on Sunday, 6/1. One of the Brutes had fermented dry by Friday night, so I covered with Saran Wrap and got an extra day of extended maceration while I was waiting for free time. Very easy pressing once I got going. Having sat unused for 18 months and moved from Michigan to Massachusetts, my press required a bit of scrubbing to get the cobwebs off. I ended up filling 3 6-gal and 1 5-gal carboys, as well as a 750-ml and 375-ml bottles, which sat for 24 hrs to settle the gross lees. I then racked off the gross lees into 3 6-gal carboys, 2 1-gal jugs, a 1/2-gal jug, and a 375-mL bottle. I hydrated a packet of Enoferm-beta malo-lactic bacteria and dispensed amongst the 'boys to initiate malo-lactic fermentation. And that's pretty much were things sit. The ML fermentation is going strongly, although my chromatography test still shows significant malic acid present after 1 week.
Why the ML fermentation, you ask? Well, this is commonly done on red wines to help soften the acid profile and give a little more roundness. Lactic acid has a low pKa than malic acid, so it reduces the acidic taste. Lactic acid is perhaps most famous for giving that round, buttery taste to California chardonnay, but it does the same thing in red wines. If you don't purposefully initiate MLF, you run the risk of having it start on its own by naturally occurring ML bacteria after you've bottled it. That can lead to exploding bottles due to the CO2 released, and the native ML bacterial strain may give off-flavors that you don't like.
Salute,
a Wine Student
Prior Chilean Malbec 2008 posts:
Chilean Malbec Grape Crush
Malbec Fermentation Has Commenced!
Malbec Mid-fermentation Update
Why the ML fermentation, you ask? Well, this is commonly done on red wines to help soften the acid profile and give a little more roundness. Lactic acid has a low pKa than malic acid, so it reduces the acidic taste. Lactic acid is perhaps most famous for giving that round, buttery taste to California chardonnay, but it does the same thing in red wines. If you don't purposefully initiate MLF, you run the risk of having it start on its own by naturally occurring ML bacteria after you've bottled it. That can lead to exploding bottles due to the CO2 released, and the native ML bacterial strain may give off-flavors that you don't like.
Salute,
a Wine Student
Prior Chilean Malbec 2008 posts:
Chilean Malbec Grape Crush
Malbec Fermentation Has Commenced!
Malbec Mid-fermentation Update
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