I'm in the middle of a frenzy of packing to get ready for a big trip, but I took a few moments tonight to do a little barrel tasting. Had to make sure the barrels were topped off since I don't think I'll be able to attend to them for about a month. So, I'm sitting in front of the computer with a couple of tasting glasses of 2008 Chilean Syrah and 2008 Northern CA Zinfandel. And, I'm impressed...
The Chilean Syrah is really beginning to bring the fruit forward. The caramel and vanilla tones of the Hungarian oak are providing broad strokes in the background, while the cherries & stone fruit are starting to muscle their way to the front of the palette. A little more black pepper and spice would be nice, but let's wait and see.
The Zinfandel continues to be a massive dried fruit bomb. Strong aromas of cassis and dried cherries. The American oak is still very subtle with some interesting vanilla counterpoints and accents around the main aromas and tastes, so I'm thinking of keeping this in the barrel for another 3-6 months.
Since I'm waxing poetic about the wine, I think that means I've had a little bit too much to drink. Must get to bed so I can go make a living in the morning.
Salute,
a MA Winemaker
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Class is over...for now
Well, most of the nation is just starting the new school year, but I have officially completed the first course in the UC Davis Winemaking Certificate program. Took the final this morning on a dreary & rainy New England fall day. Pretty perfect setting for a final exam! I really must thank the staff at the Westford Library for serving as my proctor for this class and making sure that I didn't cheat. Can't be too careful with us winemakers, you know!
I'm glad the final and course are done. Pretty sure that I did OK on the final. But they weren't kidding when they said they were going to make the final harder after the class showing on the midterm. They pulled out some really obscure details and focused on what I would have termed as the less important sections. Oh well, I wasn't the instructor so I really shouldn't complain too much. Otherwise people will think I'm pre-med major! Did good enough to pass and that's all that matters.
So, now I wait for an opening in the second course. Probably sometime next fall.
Back to my winemaking...
MA Winemaker
I'm glad the final and course are done. Pretty sure that I did OK on the final. But they weren't kidding when they said they were going to make the final harder after the class showing on the midterm. They pulled out some really obscure details and focused on what I would have termed as the less important sections. Oh well, I wasn't the instructor so I really shouldn't complain too much. Otherwise people will think I'm pre-med major! Did good enough to pass and that's all that matters.
So, now I wait for an opening in the second course. Probably sometime next fall.
Back to my winemaking...
MA Winemaker
Sunday, August 23, 2009
One malbec, two malbecs, three malbecs--Ah, ah, ah!
If you're like me, you're probably scratching your head wondering where the summer has gone this year. Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that the daffodils were poking their blooms up and now it's after Labor Day. Although my absence on the web has gone on for longer than I wanted, my winemaking efforts have not stopped. So I'll try to recoup the summer and catch everyone up to speed.
One of my biggest achievements was getting the 19 gallons of 2008 Chilean Malbec out of the barrel and bottled. When last I posted on the Malbec in April, I was facing a rather bitter taste that seemed to be fading with barrel age. At the time, I had 10 gallons that have been in a new American oak barrel for about 6 months and 9 gallons that had been in the same barrel for 1 month as it was breaking in. The later batch was split between a 6 gal and 3 gal carboy and I had treated the 3 gal carboy with 0.08 oz/gal of Biolees for 4 months to see if that would soften the bitter taste. In July, I was finally happy with the taste. All of the carboys had a much smoother taste so I decided to bottle in 3 separate versions.
Ver1: 1 month barrel age and 4 month Biolees treatment, pH = 3.49, free SO2 = 108 ppm, natural cork closure, 15 bottles
Ver2: 1 month barrel age, pH = 3.51, free SO2 = 84 ppm, natural cork closure, 30 bottles
Ver3: 6 month barrel age, pH = 3.48, free SO2 = 72 ppm, amalgamated cork closure, 49 bottles
I'm going to do some tasting samples this week and edit the post with my notes and pictures, so stay tuned.
One of my biggest achievements was getting the 19 gallons of 2008 Chilean Malbec out of the barrel and bottled. When last I posted on the Malbec in April, I was facing a rather bitter taste that seemed to be fading with barrel age. At the time, I had 10 gallons that have been in a new American oak barrel for about 6 months and 9 gallons that had been in the same barrel for 1 month as it was breaking in. The later batch was split between a 6 gal and 3 gal carboy and I had treated the 3 gal carboy with 0.08 oz/gal of Biolees for 4 months to see if that would soften the bitter taste. In July, I was finally happy with the taste. All of the carboys had a much smoother taste so I decided to bottle in 3 separate versions.
Ver1: 1 month barrel age and 4 month Biolees treatment, pH = 3.49, free SO2 = 108 ppm, natural cork closure, 15 bottlesVer2: 1 month barrel age, pH = 3.51, free SO2 = 84 ppm, natural cork closure, 30 bottles
Ver3: 6 month barrel age, pH = 3.48, free SO2 = 72 ppm, amalgamated cork closure, 49 bottles
I'm going to do some tasting samples this week and edit the post with my notes and pictures, so stay tuned.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Chilean Syrah MLF
Loyal readers will recall that I've been working on a batch of Chilean Syrah this spring. Primary fermentation was complete on schedule, and other than getting a wine bath when I pressed, no big issues arose. We last left the wine after innoculation with malo-lactic bacteria and it's been doing it's thing ever since.
Interestingly, the two different batches of wine behaved quite differently after innoculation. The batch fermented with D80 yeast displayed the characteristic shower of tiny bubbles once the MLF (stands for malo-lactic fermentation, not the other thing, you perve) commenced. On the other hand, the batch fermented with D254 yeast displayed no bubble formation or any other sign that the MLF was in progress.
After about two weeks, I transferred about 2 cups of wine between the batches to try to get things going. The D254 batch finally started to display some bubble formation, but nothing to really brag about. Since then I've just let it sit while I tried to figure out what to do. After another couple of weeks (had other errands to take care of in the meantime), I ran a chromatography test and amazingly, both batches exhibited <100 ug/L malic acid. I was out of the Accuvin test strips that I prefer to use to monitor MLF, so it took another couple of weeks to finally order some test strips and receive them. Last night, the D80 yeast is at around 50 ug/L malic acid while the D254 yeast is around 75 ug/L. MLF is considered done when the level is less than or equal to 30 ug/L so both batches are slowly getting there. Very interestingly, the D80 batch is still producing a fairly steady stream of tiny bubbles, while the D254 batch only emits an occasional bubble. I'm going to let both batches keep going and will check on the progress in another 2-3 weeks.
Salute,
MA Winemaker
p.s. Update on 7/19/2008: I was considering racking the D80 batch and stopping the MLF with a SO2 addition. In preparation, I brought the carboys into the kitchen from the garage on 7/16. As soon as I did that, the MLF seems to have kicked into high gear and almost started bubbling out of the carboy. Had to remove a little wine to prevent overflow! The kitchen is cooler than the garage, so I'm assuming that the motion of carrying the carboys inside helped to mix the wine in the carboy and brought the residual malic acid in contact with the bacteria for easier metabolism. Bubble formation seems to have stopped or greatly slowed this morning, so I'll test tonight and see if MLF is complete.
Interestingly, the two different batches of wine behaved quite differently after innoculation. The batch fermented with D80 yeast displayed the characteristic shower of tiny bubbles once the MLF (stands for malo-lactic fermentation, not the other thing, you perve) commenced. On the other hand, the batch fermented with D254 yeast displayed no bubble formation or any other sign that the MLF was in progress.
After about two weeks, I transferred about 2 cups of wine between the batches to try to get things going. The D254 batch finally started to display some bubble formation, but nothing to really brag about. Since then I've just let it sit while I tried to figure out what to do. After another couple of weeks (had other errands to take care of in the meantime), I ran a chromatography test and amazingly, both batches exhibited <100 ug/L malic acid. I was out of the Accuvin test strips that I prefer to use to monitor MLF, so it took another couple of weeks to finally order some test strips and receive them. Last night, the D80 yeast is at around 50 ug/L malic acid while the D254 yeast is around 75 ug/L. MLF is considered done when the level is less than or equal to 30 ug/L so both batches are slowly getting there. Very interestingly, the D80 batch is still producing a fairly steady stream of tiny bubbles, while the D254 batch only emits an occasional bubble. I'm going to let both batches keep going and will check on the progress in another 2-3 weeks.
Salute,
MA Winemaker
p.s. Update on 7/19/2008: I was considering racking the D80 batch and stopping the MLF with a SO2 addition. In preparation, I brought the carboys into the kitchen from the garage on 7/16. As soon as I did that, the MLF seems to have kicked into high gear and almost started bubbling out of the carboy. Had to remove a little wine to prevent overflow! The kitchen is cooler than the garage, so I'm assuming that the motion of carrying the carboys inside helped to mix the wine in the carboy and brought the residual malic acid in contact with the bacteria for easier metabolism. Bubble formation seems to have stopped or greatly slowed this morning, so I'll test tonight and see if MLF is complete.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
2008 Cranberry-Banana Tasting
I've had a bottle of the 2008 Cranberry-Banana in the fridge for the past 2-3 weeks ever since I shipped a half case of wine off to the Winepress.us Wine Competition last month (I'll post about that tomorrow). Finally popped it open last night, and I'm polishing off the rest tonight while I rest my aching legs after a 3.5 mile run.
Some people exercise to live, others live to exercise. Me...I exercise to drink! Gotta work off those calories somehow!
Anyway, back to the wine...
Faithful readers will recall that I was running an experiment last year to determine the best way to add body to fruit wines. There is one faction that prefers to use grape juice (Niagra or Concord) as a base to provide the body and structure to lighter fruit wines. Another recommendation is to add bananas. Presumably the glycerin concentration in bananas helps to round out the mouthfeel. A side benefit is that mashed bananas are a magic bullet for inducing rapid fermentations. I believe that's a result of the vitamins and nutrients in bananas as well as the simple carbohydrates are easy for yeast to digest.
Appearance: Light pinkish orange. Clear. Nice leg structure (12% aBV)
Aroma: Nice light whiff of cranberries (what a surprise), with some hints of rhubarb in the background.
Taste: Again with the cranberries! It's a nice, pleasant summer squaffer with a light, crisp cranberry finish. A just slightly sweet finish at 2% RS. Good overall mouthfeel that lingers on the tongue.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this wine. One would be surprised that there is not an overwhelming banana flavor. There's a little white fruitiness that surrounds the cranberry flavor, but nothing that is distinctly banana. Do I think the bananas really made a difference in the body? I think there is a contribution and an underlying silkiness, but not as much as I was hoping for. Perhaps I need more bananas?
Cheers,
MA Winemaker
p.s. As I was publishing this post, I realized that I haven't described the final results of either batch from the cranberry body experiment. Stay tuned--I will correct that and give details on the Cranberry-Niagra blend as soon as I can.
Previous Cranberry Wine posts:
Starting the Body Experiment
Fermentation Almost Done
Racked the Cranberry-Grape
Racked the Cranberry-Banana
Racking off the Gross Lees
Cranberry Clearing
Some people exercise to live, others live to exercise. Me...I exercise to drink! Gotta work off those calories somehow!
Anyway, back to the wine...
Faithful readers will recall that I was running an experiment last year to determine the best way to add body to fruit wines. There is one faction that prefers to use grape juice (Niagra or Concord) as a base to provide the body and structure to lighter fruit wines. Another recommendation is to add bananas. Presumably the glycerin concentration in bananas helps to round out the mouthfeel. A side benefit is that mashed bananas are a magic bullet for inducing rapid fermentations. I believe that's a result of the vitamins and nutrients in bananas as well as the simple carbohydrates are easy for yeast to digest.
Appearance: Light pinkish orange. Clear. Nice leg structure (12% aBV)
Aroma: Nice light whiff of cranberries (what a surprise), with some hints of rhubarb in the background.
Taste: Again with the cranberries! It's a nice, pleasant summer squaffer with a light, crisp cranberry finish. A just slightly sweet finish at 2% RS. Good overall mouthfeel that lingers on the tongue.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this wine. One would be surprised that there is not an overwhelming banana flavor. There's a little white fruitiness that surrounds the cranberry flavor, but nothing that is distinctly banana. Do I think the bananas really made a difference in the body? I think there is a contribution and an underlying silkiness, but not as much as I was hoping for. Perhaps I need more bananas?
Cheers,
MA Winemaker
p.s. As I was publishing this post, I realized that I haven't described the final results of either batch from the cranberry body experiment. Stay tuned--I will correct that and give details on the Cranberry-Niagra blend as soon as I can.
Previous Cranberry Wine posts:
Starting the Body Experiment
Fermentation Almost Done
Racked the Cranberry-Grape
Racked the Cranberry-Banana
Racking off the Gross Lees
Cranberry Clearing
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Accepted!
A very quick post tonight... I received notice this afternoon that I have been accepted in the UC-Davis Extension Winemaking Certificate program. Just in time to sign up for the first course "Intro to Winemaking" that starts June 30. After that, there is a 10 month waiting list for the 2nd course, so I must be patient!
I'm not expecting the course list to be a walk in the park and will undoubtedly eat into my limited spare time, but I'm convinced this is the path to take.
Cheers,
a MA Winemaker
I'm not expecting the course list to be a walk in the park and will undoubtedly eat into my limited spare time, but I'm convinced this is the path to take.
Cheers,
a MA Winemaker
Friday, June 5, 2009
UC Davis Winemaking Certificate Application Submitted
I took the plunge tonight and submitted my application for the UC Davis Winemaking for Distance Learners Certificate program. Feeling a little nervous at the moment (just like sending out college applications!), but I think this is an important step for me. If I'm accepted, completing the coursework will require a lot of evening homework and polishing off those rusty General Chemistry & Analytical Chemistry skills!
Cheers,
A MA Winemaker
Cheers,
A MA Winemaker
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