# 2011 Fresh Grapes From California via FVW



## ibglowin (Nov 5, 2011)

Thought I would start my own thread on this endeavor. Finally getting around to posting some updates and pics. Its been a rough week. Got sick in Texas and the head cold turned into sinus infection then bronchitis. Was a good excuse to miss the entire week of work but have felt like crap as well. Finally felling better almost 2 weeks later but this cough is hanging around and nights are not fun for sure.
Fruit quality was about a 3.5 out of 5 I would say. I wish I could have had more time to inspect the fruit but we had been waiting around for 3 days and I really just wanted to get it crushed and on the road. I picked up 21 lugs or a little over 750lbs.
6 lugs Cabernet Sauvignon6 lugs Merlot3 lugs Malbec3 lugs Petit Verdot3 lugs Cabernet Franc
As most folks know this harvest was one of the toughest on record to bring in. Cold weather in the Spring followed by a cool Summer and then late rains made it a challenge to say the least on the vineyard managers. The fruit showed some signs of that from the initial numbers
*Cabernet Sauvignon #1Initial chemistry*
pH 3.80 SG 1.106 (25.5 Brix) TA 5.4 G/L Added 15gm Tartaric acid
Retest:
pH 3.70 TA 6.0 G/L
*Cabernet Sauvignon #2Initial chemistry*
pH 3.88 SG 1.104 (25.5 Brix) TA 5.1 Added 15gm Tartaric acid
Retest:
pH 3.79 TA 5.9 G/L
*Merlot #1 Initial chemistry*
pH 3.64 SG 1.114 (27.5 Brix) TA 4.2 G/L
Added 2.5L Acidulated water
Retest:
pH 3.48 SG 1.102 (25 Brix) TA 5.7
*Merlot #2 Initial chemistry*
pH 3.59 SG 1.104 (25 Brix) TA 4.8G/L Added 20gm Tartaric acid
Retest:
pH 3.46 TA 6.3
*Malbec Initial chemistry*
pH 3.62 SG 1.104 (25 Brix) TA 5.4 Added 10gm Tartaric acid
Retest:
pH 3.59 TA 6.0 G/L
*Petit Verdot Initial chemistry* 
pH 4.07 SG 1.114 (27.5 Brix) TA 4.5 
Added 2.5L acidulated water with 35gm Tartaric acid
Retest:
pH 3.98 SG 1.102 (25 Brix) TA 6.3
*Cabernet Franc Initial chemistry* 
pH 3.98 SG 1.102 (25 Brix) TA 3.9 added 30gms Tartaric acid
Retest:
pH 3.72 TA 6.0

The Petit Verdot was a mystery as the the acid came up nicely but the pH barely budged from the initial test results. If I had to make a guess we are seeing some sort of potassium buffer phenomenon from the skins.
I wanted to tweak the chemistry a bit more but I was running out of time as with this much must and me running out of energy it took me till Tuesday night to get this far (after picking the grapes up on Sunday and driving home Sunday night) The grapes were plenty cold when unloaded as I added a bag of ice to each The temps were 52 degrees on Sunday night but I was in no shape to start testing until Monday morning. I spent all day Monday removing leaves, twigs, small clusters and testing. Tuesday was add acid and retest day. Wednesday morning was yeast hydration and pitching day. Hard to believe that pitching yeast could be an all day affair but it takes almost a full hour for each batch.
I used Lallzyme EX and OptiRed on each batch. I rehydrated the yeast in water and Go-Ferm. I am using Fermaid-K in 2 additions at 1/3 and 2/3 Brix drop.
I am using using several different yeast to bring out different flavor profiles. The batches will then be combined closer to bench test trials in about 18mo from now. I will be striving for a nice Bordeaux blend as well as bottling some pure varietals as well.
Yeast used were:
Cabernet Sauvignon #1 *Bordeaux Red**Cabernet Sauvignon #2 </span>D254*Merlot #1*D254*Merlot #2*Bordeaux Red*Malbec *D254*Petit Verdot *D21*Cabernet Franc *D21**
**
*D21 is specifically recommended for reducing vegetal off flavors in the Cab Franc and Petit Verdot. 
Here is a "raw" video I Posted to You Tube taken with the iPhone. SWMBO was taking it while trying to keep an eye on the 85lb Golden Retriever who accompanied us on this big adventure! Much thanks to George and Joseph. They worked long and hard on Saturday and Sunday without much sleep at all but they took it all in stride non the less!

[TUBE]http://youtu.be/LuiKl2zcrp4[/TUBE]


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## Wade E (Nov 5, 2011)

Not bad numbers at all for the horrendous season we had!!! Looks like you were packed in like sardines!!! LOL


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## ibglowin (Nov 5, 2011)

Man that truck was loaded! That old Expedition paid for itself on this trip for sure. Don't use it all that much anymore due to the cost of fuel ($80 to fill up). If it ain't working it ain't being driven as they say. 
As you can see in the one pic I even had to fold down the 1/3 portion of the back seat and stack 2 of the 20G Brute buckets on top of each other. That left poor jack only 2/3 of the seat for the long drive home but he didn't seem to mind. He is the absolute best car dog ever. Sleeps the whole way and pops his head up to look out the window when we stop for food or gas etc. He's glad to be home I'm sure but does enjoy the road trips.


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## grapeman (Nov 6, 2011)

Thanks for starting this thread. It will be fun to follow the progress. Those numbers look really good to me. Wish I could start with numbers like that!


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## okree (Nov 6, 2011)

Very cool... I bet 750 lbs of fruit sounds and smells glorious whilefermenting, huh?


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## ibglowin (Nov 7, 2011)

<t></t><t></t><t></t></span><t></t><table id="post152521" ="tborder"="" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="center" style="-: initial; -attachment: initial; -origin: initial; -clip: initial; : rgb119, 40, 28; color: rgb255, 255, 255; -: initial initial; -repeat: initial initial; "><t><tr valign="top"><td ="alt1"="" id="td_post_152521" style="font: normal normal normal 9ptormal verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; -: initial; -attachment: initial; -origin: initial; -clip: initial; : rgb255, 255, 255; color: rgb0, 0, 0; border-right-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb119, 40, 28; -: initial initial; -repeat: initial initial; "><div id="post_message_152521">Feeling much better today and first full day back at work! Most of the Brutes have 11 gallons of must which will make ~6.5 gallons of pressed wine. The two that I had to add some water to get the SG down have about 13 gallons of must so they will make about 7.8 gallons! There is a lot of juice under the cap for sure.

Just checked the SG on all 7 Brutes. They are all basically dry or very close to dry and its only day 5 today! It is supposed to snow tonight and off and on tomorrow and then warm up and be pretty nice on Wednesday and Thursday. I need to go to Santa fe tomorrow and pick up a bunch of 1 gallon jugs from the LHBS. I have the carboys, just not enough smaller sizes.

SG's just now taken

Cabernet Sauvignon #1 1.010 must temp 72 degrees
Cabernet Sauvignon #2 0.998 must temp 70 degrees
Merlot #1 0.998 must temp 70 degrees
Merlot #2 1.006 must temp 72 degrees
Malbec 0.998 must temp 70 degrees
Petit Verdot 1.000 temp 70 degrees
Cabernet Franc 0.998 temp 70 degrees

All of them smell wonderful with no off odors including the Cab Franc. The color on them is pretty amazing as well, especially the Malbec and the Petit Verdot.

I plan on letting the temps fall to room temp 64-68 and pressing on Wednesday at the earliest or Thursday at the latest.</font></td></tr></t></table></span>


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## Scott (Nov 8, 2011)

Thanks for taking us on your trip. What did you pour into the container about half way through?


That was nice when SWMBO thanked the dog after saying to sit. No wonder such a good dog has good role models!!


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## tonyt (Nov 8, 2011)

Great thread Mike. Loved the video narrated I assume by your wife. I am so surprised that the instructions on the crusher de-stimer include shoving your hand and arm up into the machine.


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## ibglowin (Nov 8, 2011)

Hey Scott,
That was a nice pre-measured vial of Sulfite solution to stun the native yeast into submission. It worked extremely well except on the Petit Verdot. It was starting to bubble just a bit when I pitched the yeast last Wednesday. Jack was on best behavior I have to say. We stayed 2 nights in a really nice dog friendly hotel (http://www.hotelpalomar-dallas.com/). Everyday he walked through the lobby and not once did his alter ego "Marley" ever come out to play!



Scott said:


> Thanks for taking us on your trip. What did you pour into the container about half way through?
> 
> 
> That was nice when SWMBO thanked the dog after saying to sit. No wonder such a good dog has good role models!!


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## ibglowin (Nov 8, 2011)

I was a little nervous for sure and made sure each time I did I communicated with Joseph that my hands were inside...... It does look worse than what it is. There crushing drums are actually VERY high up the shoot so most of the time I was not in any contact with them, just helping to pull down the last bits of each lug that were sticking to the hopper so they didn't get carried over into a different varietal. That stand was a very nice addition to the crusher for sure!



ttortorice said:


> Great thread Mike. Loved the video narrated I assume by your wife. I am so surprised that the instructions on the crusher de-stimer include shoving your hand and arm up into the machine.


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## Scott (Nov 8, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> Hey Scott,
> 
> 
> That was a nice pre-measured vial of Sulfite solution to stun the native yeast into submission. It worked extremely well except on the Petit Verdot. It was starting to bubble just a bit when I pitched the yeast last Wednesday. Jack was on best behavior I have to say. We stayed 2 nights in a really nice dog friendly hotel (http://www.hotelpalomar-dallas.com/). Everyday he walked through the lobby and not once did his alter ego "Marley" ever come out to play!
> ...








I thought that might have been the chem addition. Was the crusher/destemmer service included in the grape purchase or an addition to? 


Even Marley had his good moments!


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## ibglowin (Nov 8, 2011)

Nominal charge in addition to the grapes. Worth it over trying to do it by hand!


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## tonyt (Nov 8, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> Jack was on best behavior I have to say. We stayed 2 nights in a really nice dog friendly hotel (http://www.hotelpalomar-dallas.com/). Everyday he walked through the lobby and not once did his alter ego "Marley" ever come out to play!



Thanks for the plug for one of my excellent customers in Dallas, Hotel Palomar. I hope you had vast quantities of coffee and tea in the restaurant and room service.


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## ibglowin (Nov 8, 2011)

Can't say enough good about that place. They absolutely love pets, no extra charge either, no weight limit. Many hotels have a 20lb weight limit. I could take 1/4 of Jack! The whole 4th floor was reserved for guest with pets. They fawned all over Jack at check-in, gave him a treat and lots of love. We didn't eat in the hotel restaurant but it certainly looked wonderful. We did have the coffee in the lobby each morning and it was indeed delish. They also had free wine and lite bites each evening down in the lobby as well. I wouldn't hesitate to stay at another one of their places in the future either with or without pets!


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## Bartman (Nov 8, 2011)

I don't stay in hotels in my hometown, of course, but I have heard many good things about the Hotel Palomar. Only slight downside is that it is not very close to downtown; you have to drive to get to and from it, unless you take DART, but the trains don't allow pets. It's in one of the hip parts of town, as that area is being revitalized.

Back to the grapes: I didn't use sulfite to kill the native/ambient yeast, but instead started it fermenting with Bourgovin RC 212 immediately. As fresh as those grapes were, I didn't see the point in waiting to start the fermentation, but that's more out of ignorance than anything else. The fermentation proceeded fine, and my 6 lugs are in secondary ferm. in 2 carboys, each with an oak spiral. What risk(s) do I take by now sulfiting the fresh must?


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## grapeman (Nov 8, 2011)

BartReeder said:


> I don't stay in hotels in my hometown, of course, but I have heard many good things about the Hotel Palomar. Only slight downside is that it is not very close to downtown; you have to drive to get to and from it, unless you take DART, but the trains don't allow pets. It's in one of the hip parts of town, as that area is being revitalized.
> 
> Back to the grapes: I didn't use sulfite to kill the native/ambient yeast, but instead started it fermenting with Bourgovin RC 212 immediately. As fresh as those grapes were, I didn't see the point in waiting to start the fermentation, but that's more out of ignorance than anything else. The fermentation proceeded fine, and my 6 lugs are in secondary ferm. in 2 carboys, each with an oak spiral. What risk(s) do I take by now sulfiting the fresh must?




Do you mean by NOT sulfiting? If you maenjnot sulfiting, you are taking a chance of the native yeast taking over and you have no say in the outcome of the wine. By killing/stunning the wild ones, you introduce a yeast you know (hopefully) yields good results.


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## Bartman (Nov 8, 2011)

appleman said:


> BartReeder said:
> 
> 
> > I don't stay in hotels in my hometown, of course, but I have heard many good things about the Hotel Palomar. Only slight downside is that it is not very close to downtown; you have to drive to get to and from it, unless you take DART, but the trains don't allow pets. It's in one of the hip parts of town, as that area is being revitalized.
> ...


Yeah, I meant by "not sulfiting" prior to introducing the RC 212 yeast. Darn computer spellcheck didn't read my mind!


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## Dean (Nov 8, 2011)

Nice numbers Mike! I wish we had a harvest even close to that. I'm sticking with whites this year from my region. I can't take all the veggie tastes that are going to hit my reds HARD this year. Might as well make "green pepper" wine!


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## ibglowin (Nov 9, 2011)

Thanks Dean, fingers are crossed on the Petit Verdot and Cab Franc that they turn out OK. The Brix levels certainly were high enough.
Still have a couple left that are not quite dry so added a brew belt this AM to warm em up just a bit. The others were all less than 1.000 so letting them fall to room temp.
Off on friday so I am going to hold off on pressing till then. Few extra days at a cool temp will help a bit more with extraction.


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## Wade E (Nov 9, 2011)

Bart, just because you introduced that wine yeast before fermentation started visually doesnt mean that the wine yeast is the one that will win. Native or wild yeast can easily be the one to take control since it was there first. That said it doesnt mean that native or wild yeast is bad, just much more unpredictable. Mike, as far as the stand for the crusher destemmer goes, they need to add casters that lock on them!!!!!


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## ibglowin (Nov 9, 2011)

That was one nice crusher for sure. Much better than the one I picked up this Summer but then it does also cost 4X more!


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## Scott B (Nov 9, 2011)

Hi Mike,
Looks like tons of fun.
Keep the posts coming.


Scott


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## Wade E (Nov 9, 2011)

I have the same one as you Mike and it works great, just needs a motor for doing lots of grapes but otherwise it works great manually also. Just out of curiosity, why didnt you bring them home and crush then?


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## ibglowin (Nov 9, 2011)

I would have had a hard time fitting the grapes into the Brutes w/o crushing them. By crushing them onsite I dropped a lot of volume and made room for an Ice Bomb in each Brute, I got a head start on a cold soak plus I didn't have to clean up! 
Crushing the grapes after a 10 hour drive home with a bad cold did not sound like much fun either......


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## ibglowin (Nov 10, 2011)

Still have two that are not quite dry yet. Tested them again last night. One of the Cab Sauv's and the Other is one of the Merlot's. Both of these were inoculated with BDX or Bordeaux Red. Its known to be a soft fermenter and true to form it is. I added heat to both of them yesterday morning and the must temps on both were in the 70-72 range. SG dropped 0.001 in 24 hours. Last nights reading was 1.002 and 1.000. Left the heat on through the night and temps are about the same this AM. Will check again tonight and press tomorrow. Gave the others a gentle stir last night just to keep everything wet. The aroma on the BDX is very nice I have to say. Lots of berry.


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## ibglowin (Nov 12, 2011)

Well press for 2011 is a wrap! 
Yesterday was a holiday for Veterans day so a perfect time to press. The 2 batches I inoculated with BDX (Bordeaux Red) yeast needed those extra days to finish out. They were both at 0.998 but it took them 3 extra days and a brew belt to finish just in the nick of time. A good friend of mine came over yesterday and I had everything pretty much set up and ready. We started at 11:30AM. Temp was around 40 and it was cloudy...... Was sunny all week long and come time to press....... Oh well, I fired up the propane patio heater as well as an electric heat dish and we went to work.
This was my first use of the #30 ratchet press I picked up from the Winemakers Toy Store this Summer. It performed perfectly and was just the right size. So glad I didn't order the #25 as this thing took the complete batch in one shot and pressed it to perfection. We had beautiful press cakes each time. 
I was totally blown away with not only the aroma of the wines but also the flavor and color. Amazing looking stuff! No comparison to the Cab and Merlot I made last year from Deming, NM. If this turns out as good as its starting out I may have to rethink where I source my fruit from next year.....

It warmed to the low 50's by the afternoon and the sun broke through the clouds a number of times and it turned out to be the perfect afternoon. We finished right at about 4:00. We would have run out of time if we had had another. 7 was perfect for that amount of time.
So what was the finally tally?
8.5 Gallons Petit Verdot8.0 Gallons Merlot #18.5 Gallons Merlot #27 Gallons Cabernet Sauvignon #17 Gallons Cabernet Sauvignon #27.5 Gallons Malbec7 Gallons Cabernet Franc
Total 53.5 Gallons!
Sorry, no pics of the press! It was just the two of us and we were working as fast as we could before we ran out of daylight plus it was a messy operation to say the least. Soooooooo glad we were out on the patio! Sure made clean up easier to just hose down the table and patio.
All wine is resting in the winery for a few days before the first rack and MLB addition. My back is TOAST today!


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## rhoffart (Nov 12, 2011)

Glad all went well. I agree on the smell and the color of the Cab is deep and dark. Good job


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## grapeman (Nov 12, 2011)

Sounds like it all went pretty smoothly.


Maybe next year you can even get a small harvest of your own grapes.


Keep up the great work Mike.


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## ibglowin (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks Rich! I just can't get over how much better the press worked over the antique one I rented last year. Good investment for sure!


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## Wade E (Nov 13, 2011)

Yep, the antique one has a old world look that is pretty but sometimes newer is better.What size press id you end up getting Mike?


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## ibglowin (Nov 13, 2011)

The #30. 








Wade said:


> Yep, the antique one has a old world look that is pretty but sometimes newer is better.What size press id you end up getting Mike?


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## Wade E (Nov 13, 2011)

Exact 1 I got. How many times did you have to fill it with the amount of grapes you bought this year?


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## ibglowin (Nov 13, 2011)

I put 3 lugs (108lbs) into each Brute (crushed and destemmed)
The press took the whole load each time and pressed the cake down to about 8-10" depending on varietal.
We pressed 7 Brutes so 7 presses total.


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## grapeman (Nov 13, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> I put 3 lugs (108lbs) into each Brute (crushed and destemmed)
> 
> 
> The press took the whole load each time and pressed the cake down to about 8-10" depending on varietal.
> ...






Also, those are fermented reds. You get less of the fresh fruit in each pressing as a lot just runs through as freerun juice the way Mike did it. For comparison the #45 holds about twice as much for those considering a press or about 2- 32 gallon Brutes.


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## ibglowin (Nov 13, 2011)

Very true, should have pointed that out more clearly for anyone considering the purchase of a press. After a week of fermentation and 2-3X a day punchdowns the grapes and skins are pretty soft and compact nicely just on their own weight. I used a 1 gallon bucket and scooped up a gallon at a time and poured it directly into the press. I did not use any paint strainer bag etc. 
The slats on this press are pretty close and while a few seeds did make it through hardly and skins. Like Rich said, most of it was free run and the free run filled up an entire carboy. The press run was put into one gallon containers so they are separate from free run. 
I will be racking off the gross lees today and adding ML nutrient and CH-16 MLB. Got the temps up in the carboys to 66 as of this AM. Will try and slowly raise to 68 over the next 12-24 hours.


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## grapeman (Nov 13, 2011)




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## Bartman (Nov 13, 2011)

I used FVW's press last Saturday to press my 6 lugs of fresh grapes (just as good a bargain as the crusher/de-stemmer was for you Mike). I had the same experience in terms of ease of use. Wherever I end up stopping, I'm always a little skeptical that I got *all* the juice that could possibly be squeezed out, because it seems you can always ratchet 'one more time'.

While waiting &lt;5 minutes to use FVW's press, I checked the prices on those nice, new presses - ~$300-$500, so that's a little more than I need to spend on a pretty piece of equipment I would use once, maybe twice a year. Especially when I can rent FVW's (and get a hand in using it) for $2/lug - only $12 this year, that works for me.


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## Bartman (Nov 13, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> I was totally blown away with not only the aroma of the wines but also the flavor and color. Amazing looking stuff! No comparison to the Cab and Merlot I made last year from Deming, NM. If this turns out as good as its starting out I may have to rethink where I source my fruit from next year.....



Wow, even after "the road trip that would never end"??!! I agree the grapes delivered to FVW are are high quality (in my limited knowledge/experience), but you must really be impressed with them to make that declaration!


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## ibglowin (Nov 14, 2011)

You will probably always be better off if you can rent decent equipment (like what FWV's has to offer) rather than purchasing. Unfortunately I live in a 3rd world state.......
The closest place to rent is 210 miles round trip so multiply by 2 since I would have to pick up and return and purchasing is worth it just for the ease of owning and not having to pickup or return.
I only have one data point but without a doubt this fruit is already leaps and bounds ahead in aroma and taste from the Cab and Merlot I picked up last year.
If George is "crazy" enough to order again next year I might just be "crazy" enough to do this again. Having family in Austin and San Antonio makes it more than just a dead end run to pick up some fruit and even though it was a crazy mess, it was better than being at work!


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## Bartman (Nov 14, 2011)

Since racking to carboys, I have seen the volume drop significantly more with these fresh grapes than with kits. At first, the volume was up to within 1" of the bung, but is now down to about 2". The ambient temperature change has actually been warmer in Dallas the last week or so, and, no, I have not been sampling



. That leaves only escaping CO2 to explain that loss in volume, right? 
Is that kind of drop typical for fresh grapes? 
Is it more common if the must is at or slightly higher than 1.000 when pressed and racked?

Is there a standard expectation of volume reduction from the the escaping gas? Or do different wines just behave differently? I have extra juice to top off with, but that was expected to be used to replace sediment after racking.


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## ibglowin (Nov 14, 2011)

The only phenomena I know of that would cause a decrease like that would be the contraction of the wine due to a temperature change (cooler in this instance).
Since pressing to carboy on Friday and warming up the winery to ~68 for MLF I have had to siphon off 2-3 inches of wine due to the expansion of the wine in the carboy at a warmer temp than when pressed and transferred into the carboy.


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## grapeman (Nov 14, 2011)

I always obseve the same thing as Mike here.......................Check for dirty straws or purple lips on all members of the house and all pets!


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## ibglowin (Nov 14, 2011)

Another long day in the winery (yesterday). I don't know how Rich and Al do this! It took me from noon to almost 9:00PM to rack off the gross lees on all the carboys and containers, combine them into a Primary, add nutrient and MLB then rack back to cleaned carboy and smaller vessel for topping off down the road.
Not quite sure how you guys do the volume you have in a single day(s) and move the next day!
Nice to have a much more consolidated lot to deal with after yesterday.


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## ibglowin (Nov 16, 2011)

Forgot to mention that after racking I am now down to about 46 gallons. One full 6 Gallon carboy on each and anywhere from 1.5G extra to only about 1L extra on some of the varietals.
I just realized all my carboys are full and I can't vacuum rack as I need another carboy to pull into! I guess this is how carboys keep multiplying!


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## rhoffart (Nov 16, 2011)

THIS should fix your problem


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## ibglowin (Nov 16, 2011)

I need it by this weekend though as I plan on trying to bottle my Old Vines Mencia. 
I have a CC Showcase Cab/Merlot that already went through the Vadai and dropped some more sediment. I could rack to Primary, snap the lid, backfill the gap with Argon and add airlock, clean the carboy, then filter the Mencia using the new empty so its ready to bottle..... 
Do I need one or two carboys to use the new "Hoffart Bottle Filler"?


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## grapeman (Nov 16, 2011)

Mike you can get by with one extra racking. Using an autosiphon, rack off the 
bit of sediment into a fermentation bucket and snap the lid on. Clean the carboy 
pulled out of and begin cycling through them. You will end up with one empty 
carboy after the final cleaning. Then put your vacuum racking cane in the bucket 
of wine and draw back into that last carboy, top up and you are done!





Alternately, pour a glass of wine and put some Barry White on and let the 
carboys multiply away!


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## ibglowin (Nov 16, 2011)

I like that idea, put a little mood music on, turn out the lights in the winery.....
What is the gestation period? Do you get a 3G that then grows up to be a 6G!







appleman said:


> Alternately, pour a glass of wine and put some Barry White on and let the
> carboys multiply away!


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## rhoffart (Nov 16, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> Do I need one or two carboys to use the new "Hoffart Bottle Filler"?





funny ... Let me know how itdoes ... I haven't tested my"V2" with the added valve.


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## grapeman (Nov 16, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> I like that idea, put a little mood music on, turn out the lights in the winery.....
> What is the gestation period? Do you get a 3G that then grows up to be a 6G!
> 
> 
> ...



You make sure you have at least one carboy (6 gallon of course) at least one cargirl (5 gallon), but they aren monogamous so you can start with a nice little harem of cargirls. Make sure the carkids (3 gallon) are in another room (you don't want any unexpected blushes), put on the music, dim the lights and within a short while you get the one gallon carbabies arriving. They do grow up quickly. SOme families seem to produce more carboys than cargirls, but every family is different. I find that around a lot of beer brewing, the smaller cargirls seem to be more common. Must be something in the beer................
Good luck. After a while you may have a hundred or so like me around the winery. Sort of like tribbles.


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## ibglowin (Nov 16, 2011)

<table id="post153884" ="tborder" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="center" style="-: initial; -attachment: initial; -origin: initial; -clip: initial; : rgb119, 40, 28; color: rgb255, 255, 255; -: initial initial; -repeat: initial initial; "><t><tr valign="top"><td ="alt1" id="td_post_153884" style="font: normal normal normal 9ptormal verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; -: initial; -attachment: initial; -origin: initial; -clip: initial; : rgb255, 255, 255; color: rgb0, 0, 0; border-right-width: 0px; border-right-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb119, 40, 28; -: initial initial; -repeat: initial initial; "><div id="post_message_153884">Checked pH levels today post fermentation. 

Cabernet Sauvignon #1 = 3.55

Cabernet Sauvignon #2 = 3.67

Merlot #1 = 3.32

Merlot #2 = 3.34

Malbec = 3.41

Petit Verdot = 3.83

Cabernet Franc = 3.59

Will probably do a preliminary MLF test sometime this weekend.</td></tr></t></table></span>


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## rhoffart (Nov 16, 2011)

Very nice ... how much of a PH rise can one expect from a complete MLF on average?


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## ibglowin (Nov 16, 2011)

MLF affects TA, pH and acid species through the following factors:</font></span>
<lu>[*]a chemical deacidification usually reducing titratable acidity by about 1-4.6 g/l (as tartaric)[*]a pH increase of between 0.1 and 0.45 units (more typically 0.1-0.25)</lu></font></span>


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## ibglowin (Nov 16, 2011)

I am a little worried about the Merlot as the pH limits on my MLB was listed as being 3.4 (max). All the rest look to be OK pH wise Hopefully will see some activity on the Chromatogram this weekend.



rhoffart said:


> Very nice ... how much of a PH rise can one expect from a complete MLF on average?


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## ibglowin (Dec 1, 2011)

Ran a MLF chromatography test finally on Monday night. Have not done one of those since freshman Biology class in undergrad school. Got a little heavy with the sample size. Left it in overnight and pulled out the next AM, man does that shat stink to high heavens! I was little worried at first because I couldn't see any spots really even after 8 hours drying time. It really takes 24-36 hours for the white spots to become prominently displayed. Very happy to report that ALL wines are in MLF! 3 look to be complete or nearly complete. The other 4 are right in the middle (including the Merlot with the low 3.3 pH's!) Started another test last night using much less sample. Spots are just starting to develop today. Perhaps by tonight they will be developed enough to read.
Two thumbs up for the CH-16 MLB!


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## Wade E (Dec 1, 2011)

Looking good there Mikey!!!


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## rhoffart (Dec 1, 2011)

ibglowin said:


> man does that shat stink to high heavens!



You got that right ... My wife was pissed. I took it out in the morning and went to work. She was looking all day for the source of the odor.




I put a small fan on it and it helped a bunch.


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## ibglowin (Dec 2, 2011)

I hope this is readable. Messed with the exposure and tint to get the spots to pop. Still not as vivid as in reality. Did not do a Tartaric standard as didn't really care but that is the big spot evident on all the wine samples about 2" up from the line.
Looks like all are well along in MLF with Cab Sauv #1, Merlot #1, Merlot #2 not as far along as Cab Sauv #2, Cab Franc, Petit Perdot, Malbec.


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## rhoffart (Dec 2, 2011)

Looking good, I'll test mine tomorrow


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## ibglowin (Jan 3, 2012)

*UPDATE!*
Stabilized the first 2 (of the 7) wines that showed the most signs of MLF completion via chromatography test. The Malbec and the Cab Franc. Racked the fines once more and sulfited finally. Moved them both into barrels (23L Vadai) I had a left over glass of Cab Franc that had nowhere to go and it sure as heck wasn't goin down the drain so gave it a go....
All I can say is wow! This has no oak still and the taste is fantastic and its only 3 months old. It has a slight green pepper hint but its not to the point of being obtrusive by any means. I think the oak will put that firmly into the back ground even further. These will stay for at least 4 months in the barrel.
I may need to pick up a 3rd Vadai to get all 7 through the process by next year's crush.
Darn, I just hate it when I have to order another Vadia barrel!


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## tonyt (Jan 3, 2012)

All of us restricted to kit making have just lowered our flags to Half-staff mourning the loss to grapes. When George gets a freezer or cooler maybe he can ship to me.


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## ibglowin (Jan 3, 2012)

I have a couple of LR's on order as a stand by for this new barrel. Got to keep it full and as you know the first year can be tough!


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## rrawhide (Jan 15, 2012)

Hi Mike


Getting back into it - after a little recess. All my vines are pruned and canes are heeled-in down in the field. Need to replace about 25. 2 cabs; 15 syrah and 8 teraldego. Have ground squirrel and gopher problems but gonna get 'em.


Went through the whole thread again and wow what a workout. George needs to invest in a crusher/destemmer must pump so youse guys can crush destemm and pump into your white brutes IN the SUV. Then you only have to lift when you get home. SAVES THE BACK. Also, we raised our crusher destemmer up higher (added blocks under legs) to crush right into the 20-50 gallon barrels. However, we do have a tractor/loader to lift and move from there.


I also noticed that the crush (must) looked rather dry - were the rollers close enough to break the berries and start the juice flow? We get lots and lots of juice when we crush.


Anyway, that's over and now the waiting and tasting and tasting and tasting begins. Hope that they all work out the way that you want them too.


Good talking to you and best of luck. Retirement coming?


Later


rrawhide


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## Wade E (Jan 16, 2012)

Rick, he was kind of at the mercy of Georges crusher. After hard use like Im sure the store has had it may have opened up some or maybe those grapes were just very small.Glad to see you getting ready for this year already!


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## Bartman (Jan 16, 2012)

George's crusher/destemmer was in great shape, and operated by someone who knew what they were doing. I don't think he anticipated having anyone with 700 lbs of grapes crushed/de-stemmed into brutes to be loaded into a truck, at the store; he expected only the local small-timers like me (6 lugs total) to need it. The same with the press the next week. In fact, I don't think George sells primary containers like the Brutes.

Edit: My mistake, I see George *does* sell 10 and 20 gallon plastic fermenting buckets. I don't think I have ever seen them in his store; I suppose that's because they don't look as sexy as the stainless steel tanks.


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## ibglowin (Apr 30, 2012)

Hey Rick!

Not sure how I missed this post except that it was about the time SWMBO was admitted to the ER and ultimately into the hospital.......

She ended up getting 3 pints of blood and and an overnight stay. She had been having female problems for some time. They ended up doing a hysterectomy on her a few weeks later. They gave her 2 more pints after the surgery so 5 pints total in a month! She is feeling much better now and problems are all solved. 

So back to the updates on this stuff. Its now 6 months old and I am in the process of rotating the wines into and out of the 3 barrels I have.

This stuff is turning out FANTASTIC! Amazing varietal character and bouquet for such a young bunch of wines. The stuff that has come out of the barrel and back to glass and thus have been oaked are stunning.

I tell you what, I may be going back to Texas and FVW this Fall and skipping a trip down South for NM fruit. This stuff is just in a whole different league compared to the fruit grown in Deming. Its good, but NO comparison to this IMHO. Will keep posting updates on these until they are bottled. 



rrawhide said:


> Hi Mike
> 
> 
> Getting back into it - after a little recess. All my vines are pruned and canes are heeled-in down in the field. Need to replace about 25. 2 cabs; 15 syrah and 8 teraldego. Have ground squirrel and gopher problems but gonna get 'em.
> ...


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## fivebk (Apr 30, 2012)

Mike, 

Glad to hear your wife is doing good. I may take a road trip to texas to FVW this fall too!!! 

BOB


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## ibglowin (Apr 30, 2012)

Worth the trip Bob! That was a bad year as well harvest wise if you recall. It was a cool Summer, and late rains delayed the harvest making an even tough job more difficult. One thing I will do differently is I won't drive up from San Antonio until truck is at FVW next time. Lesson learned there!


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