# Chilean Season



## adimauro (Feb 13, 2012)

I plan on buying about a dozen cases of Chilean grapes from M&M in Hartford, has anyone had experience with their Chilean fruit. I was thinking a half dozen Cabernet and a half dozen Carmenere, anyone have a good Chilean Carmenere recipe. I Plan on fermenting them separately then possibly blending, depending on the individual batches.


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## robie (Feb 14, 2012)

Sounds super. No LHBS in my area provides Chilean grapes, but wish they did.
My vote is to ferment and clear separately, then blend finished wines.


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## Rock (Feb 14, 2012)

Have made chilean grapes for several years from M&M always real good quality.Our 2010 Carmenere won a silver medal at Corrados this past January.My brother and i did a blend of these 2 grapes 3-4 years ago and won a gold at another competition.Makes a real good wine.


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## adimauro (Feb 14, 2012)

Rock... What a relief to hear that... I have done their premium
California grapes from Suisun Valley and have been very pleased buy up till now haven't heard much feed back on their Chilean fruit... Thanks for the feedback...


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## joea132 (Feb 14, 2012)

Awesome grapes last year, I bought Carmenere. I will always buy from them, best deals and best advice you can get around the area. 

I did an extended maceration on my carmenere and had a really good product but I left them on the gross lees for a little over a week and developed a monstrous H2S problem. I have a friend who leaves his on the gross lees as a rule for no less than 2 to 3 weeks and never developed a problem so I'm not sure if the Chileans use sulfurous pesticides or if my extended maceration contributed to it. I plan on doing either a carmenere or malbec this year and probably doing another extended maceration. I'm still not sure if I can fix my H2S problem, it may be a lost cause at this point.


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## joea132 (Feb 20, 2012)

Just ordered Chileans from M and M in Hartford. 27 lugs of Malbec for me and my partner in crime. 

*Prices are as follows from them:*
All grapes $26.50 except for
Malbec $27
Pinot Noir $28.50

*They are offering:*
Wine grapes (18lb): Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Carmenere, Cab Franc, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay. 

Juices (in 6 gallon pails or drums): Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Carmenere, Cab Franc, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier.


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## Rocky (Feb 20, 2012)

Joe, are you saying that the lugs are now 18 pounds?! Long ago, in a land far away (Pittsburgh) when I was making wine with my Grandfather, Father and Uncles, a 44 pounds box (or lug, if you please) cost $.75, and produced 3 gallons of finished wine in a normal year. Then they reduced the size to 36 pounds and raised the price to make up for the lesser quantity! 

Now, if I read your post correctly, they have furter reduced the weight and again raised the price. What this means is that 44 pounds box we used to buy would now be almost $65 or about 86 times as high! My Grandfather went ballistic when the price went to $1.00.

To "coin" a phrase, "Winemakers of the World unite! You have nothing to lose by your chain!"


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## ibglowin (Feb 20, 2012)

I did the math and the Cab Sauv come out to $1.47lb Thats still less than $5 a bottle. Not cheap but not too bad considering your getting wine grapes from halfway around the world delivered to your door pretty much. Table grapes are selling for about that price in the store!

I think I paid ~ $1.25lb for Cab Sauv from CA delivered to Dallas this Fall.


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## joea132 (Feb 20, 2012)

Rocky said:


> Joe, are you saying that the lugs are now 18 pounds?! Long ago, in a land far away (Pittsburgh) when I was making wine with my Grandfather, Father and Uncles, a 44 pounds box (or lug, if you please) cost $.75, and produced 3 gallons of finished wine in a normal year. Then they reduced the size to 36 pounds and raised the price to make up for the lesser quantity!
> 
> Now, if I read your post correctly, they have furter reduced the weight and again raised the price. What this means is that 44 pounds box we used to buy would now be almost $65 or about 86 times as high! My Grandfather went ballistic when the price went to $1.00.
> 
> To "coin" a phrase, "Winemakers of the World unite! You have nothing to lose by your chain!"



Chilean packages in 18 lb containers. The California grapes I have seen are in 36 lb lugs. I think I paid $46 for Suisun Valley OVZ lugs last year. I tend to agree with Mike, when you figure how they are grown, picked, packaged, and delivered a continent over in perfect condition the price is justified. Plus the Carmenere I made last year was top quality.


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## Rocky (Feb 20, 2012)

Joe and Mike, I was not questioning the value of the grapes that you guys bought, more so how much grapes have gone up in price since I started making wine, particularly compared to other things. Take cars for example. A 1950 Cadilllac Series 61 (_entry level Cadillac_) Sedan sold for just under $2900. At 86 times that price, it would sell for over $249,000 today. The first house my wife and I bought was built in 1950, approximately 1000 SF and sold new for $12,000. (We bought it in 1969 for $25,000). That house today would be well over $1 Million at the same rate of increase as grapes.

I am just pointing out that grapes have gone up much faster and higher than many other "necessities" of life, 'at's all.


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## joea132 (Feb 20, 2012)

Rocky said:


> Joe and Mike, I was not questioning the value of the grapes that you guys bought, more so how much grapes have gone up in price since I started making wine, particularly compared to other things. Take cars for example. A 1950 Cadilllac Series 61 (_entry level Cadillac_) Sedan sold for just under $2900. At 86 times that price, it would sell for over $249,000 today. The first house my wife and I bought was built in 1950, approximately 1000 SF and sold new for $12,000. (We bought it in 1969 for $25,000). That house today would be well over $1 Million at the same rate of increase as grapes.
> 
> I am just pointing out that grapes have gone up much faster and higher than many other "necessities" of life, 'at's all.



No worries friend! It's amazing how inflation changes things. We have guys that retired from my job in lower Fairfield County as firefighters with over 30 years on making around $10,000 a year in their pension. You can't even feed yourself with that. And they worked in a time where they were going to 2 fires a day and saving people every week.


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## JohnT (Feb 21, 2012)

Yes rock, but how much would your house cost is they made it in south america, packaged it, and shipped it to your location?


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## ibglowin (Feb 21, 2012)

I can remember gas wars back in the mid 60's and gas was $.19 a gallon! 

Normally it was a crazy $.29 a gallon.......


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## Rocky (Feb 21, 2012)

JohnT, it would be an interesting exercise to compute. I imagine that shipping would be high but labor and materials would be low and cost due to regulations would be non-existent. We are probably going find out what a house made overseas and shipped to the US will cost if we don't restart our manufacturing in this Country.

Mike, I remember the gas wars and they were something. Station owners would send you to competitors to have the competitor lose money. You could fill your tank for $5.00 and cruise till the wheel fell off (which they normally did after about 40,000 miles, back then). I had a '58 Impala convertible (3-2bbls on a 348 block) when I was 16 and I used Golden Esso Extra. Even at the regular price it was only about $.38 per gallon. That baby would go like "poop shot from a cannon."


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## Rock (Feb 21, 2012)

ibglowin said:


> I can remember gas wars back in the mid 60's and gas was $.19 a gallon!
> 
> Normally it was a crazy $.29 a gallon.......



Looks like more gas wars coming soon,better stock up on the grapes!!!


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## Runningwolf (Feb 21, 2012)

Mike I remember my parents always going to the gas stations and putting $2.00 in the tank for the week and even get the S&H Green Stamps to go with it. Cheapest place I could buy gas when I started driving in early 70's was .29


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