# 2020 Cab Blend



## stickman (Jan 7, 2021)

Just picked up 500 Lbs of must from the freezer, it will be a few days before it completely thaws. My posts are getting boring doing the same thing, but I've been enjoying this type of Cab, Merlot, and Malbec blend. The following numbers are from the supplier, it's a reasonable starting point, but I'll get some actual data once the must warms up. If all holds true, I don't expect any additions other than typical sulfite, nutrients, and enzymes.


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## CDrew (Jan 7, 2021)

I think it's great because you are the only one on the forum fermenting anything of substance right now. 

Is you pH and TA measured, or averaged on your spreadsheet? Looks pretty good, and wondering about your nutrient adds.


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## sour_grapes (Jan 7, 2021)

I also thought it looked great. So I thought, "Hmmmm, maybe I will do 1/2 of his amounts." But $15/bottle (before shipping costs!) for my own wine is too rich for my blood! But I wish you all the best -- looks awesome.


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## stickman (Jan 8, 2021)

@CDrew The current values are just a weighted average based on the lab numbers from Brehm, I'll get real numbers in a couple of days after thawing. The nutrient calculation part of the same spread sheet is below, it's based on Lisa Van de Water's recommendations for her Superfood, I've been using this product for 20yrs with good results.


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## ibglowin (Jan 8, 2021)

Its gonna be interesting to see where that Malbec winds up at in the end.


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## stickman (Jan 8, 2021)

@ibglowin True, though my standard process applies, it's all going into the vat, the combined chemistry is what I'm after. I did this same blend twice in 2018 with good results, but obviously the harvest conditions vary. With all of the potassium in the other skins, I'm sure there will be significant tartrates dropping by the time the wine is pressed. I was wondering about the ripeness of the Merlot at 22 brix, but again, the only thing that would cause me to keep it separate would be if I smelled something really funky once the pails are opened, and an issue like that hasn't happened in over 20 years. I guess there is a first for everything, after all 2020 has been nothing but trouble, but I'm so callused at this point it's doubtful I would change anything. If it's an unusual vintage "let's taste it".


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## SLM (Jan 8, 2021)

stickman, what yeast do you use and when do you add nutrients? I want to pick up some of that frozen must but don't have enough experience yet to justify the cost.


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## stickman (Jan 8, 2021)

@SLM Yeast is really your choice based on what you are trying to make and the type of grapes being fermented etc. All of the suppliers have selection charts for the yeast they carry, and it would be best to use one of the charts to help with your selection. Plenty of other experienced members here will also provide good advice should you need it. I've been using DV10 for reds, it's considered neutral and doesn't enhance aromatics, however it does provide good body, and it always ferments bone dry; basically you get whatever the grapes have to offer and nothing more.

I have the YAN data for the must, so I add nutrients based on the supplier provided schedules. If grape YAN is 150 ppm or below, I'll add complex nutrients when the yeast are added to the vat. If the starting YAN is over 150 ppm, delay the first addition until fermentation has begun. During fermentation, add the rest of the supplements gradually in portions during the first half of fermentation. Make the last addition of any supplements containing DAP, at or just after mid-fermentation, typically before 10 to 12 brix, to give yeasts extra nitrogen after they have stopped growing, but while they can still take up nitrogen.

If I don't have YAN data, I'll just add nutrients as if the must came in with a reasonable YAN of 150 to 170 PPM.


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## Venatorscribe (Jan 9, 2021)

Nice blend ratio of varietals. I’m drinking a 2 year old 1:1 Merlot Malbec at the moment. It’s very nice but I regret not including Cab Sav into the blend.


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## stickman (Jan 12, 2021)

I got the pails thawed and opened, they've been at 50F for the past couple of days, added 30ppm so2 and Lallzyme EX. I pulled off a couple of gallons of proportionately blended must to make a starter, the initial pH is 3.63, but it is just a rough blend so we'll see if that holds after everything is tossed into the fermenter.

The Malbec is closest followed by the Merlot, and the remainder is Cab.


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## stickman (Jan 14, 2021)

I added the 2 gal starter along with the first dose of nutrients early morning yesterday. The cap just started to come up this morning, the temp is only 60F or so. The brix is around 25, pH is at 3.59 at 60F but dropped to 3.55 once the sample was warmed up to 70F, so no adjustments made. The neighbor and I tasted a sample of all of the grapes straight from the pails. You can smell the tannin in these grapes, like smelling a bag of tannin with some fruit, but it is difficult to taste the tannin with all of the sweetness. Slight differences in aromas and flavors can be detected between the grapes, except for the Malbec, the Malbec also has a tannic aroma, but stands out with obvious blueberry aromatics and flavors.


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## Ajmassa (Jan 14, 2021)

Wow. The numbers came in damn close to
your spreadsheet estimated average. And they are just about as ideal as a home winemaker could possibly want! Not too bad! 
I’m also intrigued by that 2gal yeast starter method.

Few questions:
What were you pumping in the picture? Was that just one pail to get an accurate cumulative blend for levels & starter?

And about that 2gal starter, what’s your standard procedure for that? You just add entire amount of yeast for the whole tub into 2gal, (no use of nutrients/goFerm?) then let it get cookin then add to tub? Or do you work your way up like a restart procedure? 

It all looks great and i bet smells even better right about now. Wishing u a successful & healthy January 2021 ferment sir.


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## ibglowin (Jan 14, 2021)

Looking awesome as usual Stick!


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## Jay A (Jan 14, 2021)

Very nice!


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## stickman (Jan 14, 2021)

@Ajmassa I drained the tank and put it back over the top to provide some air and to make sure everything was well mixed.

The starter obviously isn't necessary, but most of the things I do are based on some previous bad experience that I'm trying to prevent from ever happening again. With wine there is a lot of wiggle room. One of the guys I know just throws in a 500 gram package of dry yeast with 500lbs of must, I guess he figures he's not going to save any for next year, I don't recommend that, but his fermentation kicks off just fine. 

I pull out the must for the starter before any sulfite is added, heat to 160F with constant stirring, then cool to 70F in a sink full of water and ice, check and adjust pH and brix, I usually drop brix to 23 or lower, and then add nutrients accordingly. I rehydrate the recommended yeast weight in a half gallon mason jar according to the typical lab instructions, (nothing wrong with goferm, but I don't use it) then add the prepared must a little at a time until the mason jar is the same temp as the prepared must, then add the jar to the prepared must, then I move it to the cellar until needed later that day or make it at night for the following morning, I want the starter temperature to end up similar to the main must temp (in my case usually 55F or so) at pitching time. Making a starter is a pain and, in most cases, completely unnecessary, but I do it out of habit now.


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## stickman (Jan 16, 2021)

It's starting to pick up some momentum so I dropped the temperature of the room to 56F, cap is at 75F, Brix is around 17, pH is 3.56 at 67F, added additional nutrients this morning, the aroma is wonderful, so far nothing unusual.


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## sour_grapes (Jan 16, 2021)

It is a beautiful thing!


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## Jay A (Jan 16, 2021)

Looking GOOD! The height of that cap is making me nervous!!


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## Ajmassa (Jan 16, 2021)

thanks for the detailed reply about the yeast starter btw. The procedure is much more involved than i realized.

The must looks incredibly clean too. I was eying up that Charlie Smith cab recently. (Brehms provides so much detailed info about their products). I’m sure one of these days i’ll dive in. But until then i’ll just enjoy your updates.


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## stickman (Jan 16, 2021)

@Ajmassa Unfortunately both the Charlie Smith and Plum Ridge vineyards were not harvested this year due to the Glass Fire that swept through the Sonoma area.


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## stickman (Jan 18, 2021)

This morning the cap is at 78F, wine temp 71F, 9 Brix, pH holding at 3.55, so far so good.


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## CDrew (Jan 18, 2021)

And nearly ideal color too. Looks like a winner from here.


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## Jay A (Jan 18, 2021)

Nice. Did you have an opportunity to check ph & brix of each pail as a comparison? Just curious if the process of freezing the must had any effect on numbers.


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## stickman (Jan 18, 2021)

@Jay A No I didn't check each pail, it is difficult to get good numbers until the must is fully thawed and mixed, even then the numbers aren't very good because you're only getting what little juice has come out of the berries, and at that point the skin hasn't yet made its contribution. Since I make a starter, it's convenient to get the numbers after the heating and cooling process, otherwise it would be best to sample and do the blending and straining method before testing, or just wait until after the must has soaked a while and approaches fermentation temperature, although any adjustments are better off if made sooner rather than later.


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## Jay A (Jan 18, 2021)

Understood Stickman, certainly looks like your off to a great start. Keep the updates coming!


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## stickman (Jan 19, 2021)

Just moving along as expected, cap 77F, wine 71F, 5 Brix, pH 3.55, I'm just starting to taste the tannin through the remaining sweetness, I'm reducing the amount of draining and aeration and will taste and adjust as necessary, might be looking to press in a few days, but we'll have to see how things play out.


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## Johnd (Jan 19, 2021)

stickman said:


> Just moving along as expected, cap 77F, wine 71F, 5 Brix, pH 3.55, I'm just starting to taste the tannin through the remaining sweetness, I'm reducing the amount of draining and aeration and will taste and adjust as necessary, might be looking to press in a few days, but we'll have to see how things play out.
> 
> View attachment 70630
> 
> ...


Loving that color!!! And I swear I can smell it all the way down here in LA!!


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## CDrew (Jan 19, 2021)

Just 4.5 days in and you're within sight of the end. Despite the relatively cold temperatures. Very nice.

Do you rack directly into the flex tanks, or is there an intermediate settling step to get it off the gross lees?


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## stickman (Jan 19, 2021)

@CDrew I've gone straight to the flex tanks, or more recently into pails with lids snapped on, but I always transfer off of the gross lees, usually no longer than three days. 

Yea the fermentation has been going well, I added the starter early Wednesday morning, so really it's been closer to 7 days, you could say 6 days since the cap came up the following day.

@Johnd The aromatics are what's making me think about pressing slightly earlier than what I would normally do with a heavy Cab, not sure yet, tasting every day at this point.


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## stickman (Jan 20, 2021)

Cap 76, wine 73, brix 1, getting close, maybe a Friday press.


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## CDrew (Jan 20, 2021)

You are right there. Very nice. You can press anytime now that's convenient and it will finish off. Looking forward to a Friday report.


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## Ajmassa (Jan 21, 2021)

so we pressing tomorrow or what?


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## stickman (Jan 21, 2021)

Planning to press tomorrow, gravity is around .994, everything is good so far.


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## CDrew (Jan 21, 2021)

@stickman for the January win!


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## stickman (Jan 22, 2021)

Pressed earlier today as planned, everything went well, got about 30gal free run and 6gal of press. I'll transfer off of the lees in a day or two, and add the CH16 ML culture. The neighbor and I did a little tasting with some crackers cheese and salami, the wine is really nice once the co2 blows off, the fermentation was very clean, it will be interesting to see the evolution after the ML completes.


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## stickman (Feb 3, 2021)

After pressing I let the wine settle for 2 days and then racked it off of the gross lees, and at the same time added a couple of french oak staves and CH16 ML culture. I ended up with one full 30gal flextank and 1 full 5gal carboy. The storage area is at 64F, which is about as cold as this area will get during the winter. At this point, 10 days after culture addition, the ML activity is easily visible.


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## stickman (Feb 3, 2021)

Over the past few days I noticed my cellar cooling unit was starting to cycle for long periods of time, though it was still maintaining the temperature set-point. The unit is now 19yrs old and I figured it's time to install the spare unit I bought "used" back in late 2015. The new unit is a CellarCool and is slightly taller than the old Vintage Keeper, so I had to modify the wall opening accordingly. Since the unit is used, I figured I better open it up and have a look before installation. It turns out the case is riveted together, so to remove the cover I had to drill out the rivets. After cleaning I put the cover back on with small sheet metal screws, but during installation it then dawned on me why they used rivets. The unit is designed to be shoehorned between the standard stud spacing, so the screw heads were just large enough to prevent the unit from fitting between the wall studs. Remember, I'm doing this work by myself, standing on a ladder trying to jam the 81 lb unit into the opening, needless to say no go, I had to remove the front screws, slide the unit in, then put the screws back in. I managed, but WTF, I used tiny #6 sheet metal screws and the heads were still too thick. So far, I'm living and still learning.


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## sour_grapes (Feb 3, 2021)

stickman said:


> Over the past few days I noticed my cellar cooling unit was starting to cycle for long periods of time, though it was still maintaining the temperature set-point. The unit is now 19yrs old and I figured it's time to install the spare unit I bought "used" back in late 2015. The new unit is a CellarCool and is slightly taller than the old Vintage Keeper, so I had to modify the wall opening accordingly. Since the unit is used, I figured I better open it up and have a look before installation. It turns out the case is riveted together, so to remove the cover I had to drill out the rivets. After cleaning I put the cover back on with small sheet metal screws, but during installation it then dawned on me why they used rivets. The unit is designed to be shoehorned between the standard stud spacing, so the screw heads were just large enough to prevent the unit from fitting between the wall studs. Remember, I'm doing this work by myself, standing on a ladder trying to jam the 81 lb unit into the opening, needless to say no go, I had to remove the front screws, slide the unit in, then put the screws back in. I managed, but WTF, I used tiny #6 sheet metal screws and the heads were still too thick. So far, I'm living and still learning.
> 
> View attachment 71226



I suppose it is too late, but I could lend you my pop rivet gun!


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## Ajmassa (Feb 3, 2021)

wood studs? Never underestimate a good ok’ heavy 28oz hammer and a break of the wrist to shift the studs. 

otherwise - shaving down the studs at the screw head locations woulda been my second option with the multi-tool. 
love the multi tool. definitely a game changer. if you don’t have one, then go get one! removing the screws every time to remove/install will get old

Glad you were able to get the job done though. Nothing like working solo on a ladder and holding heavy material when something doesn’t fit. lol


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## stickman (Feb 4, 2021)

@Ajmassa Yep you're right, a multi tool would be nice to have, I have a belt sander and thought about using that to shave the studs, but I was too confident and had already prepared the opening, vapor barrier wrapped, flanged and taped, I was determined to get it into the hole one way or another. I'll get it right on the next maintenance round.

@sour_grapes Thanks, maybe your pop rivet gun and some aluminum rivets would be easier to drill out, the original rivets were steel no less.


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## stickman (Mar 5, 2021)

The chromatogram indicates the ML is complete, maybe a slight malic spot on the 6gal, I'll rack and add SO2 soon, maybe tomorrow but not sure yet. The tank pH is 3.69 and the 6gal carboy is 3.73, I think the minor difference is due to the carboy getting a higher portion of press wine. The wine is reasonably pleasant once you knock the co2 out, the tannin is not as aggressive as I had expected.


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## stickman (Mar 25, 2021)

I did the post ML rack 4 days ago, allowed some air contact trying to kick out some co2, added 50ppm so2, and transferred the oak over to the clean tank. Very dark and considering how young it is, it's pleasant tasting so far, we'll see what happens over time.


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## Tim3 (Mar 25, 2021)

Looks good Stickman! Sometimes those CA grapes require a bit of an acid addition, but otherwise I'll look forward to hearing how your wine turned out. I built a model which requires only the inputs in orange and just for fun plugged in your initial numbers. Those grapes you got were clearly awesome from the initial readings, but a slight acid adjustment could have reduced your final PH to an optimal 3.6.


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## stickman (Mar 25, 2021)

The model looks pretty good, you're off to a good start, except I'm not sure what assumptions are being made, I don't see a place for the initial potassium content, initial TA as well as the initial tartaric to malic acid ratio. Those factors play a significant role in determining the stability of the pH during fermentation, and final pH and acidity post ML. Most of the time we just don't have the data to make accurate predictions mathematically. Based on a history of the grapes I typically receive, mostly Cabernet blends, if I can start the fermentation at a pH of 3.6 or below then I feel pretty comfortable, and post ML pH I'm comfortable anywhere up to 3.8, any higher and I might adjust down slightly during bulk storage, in that case probably just to get back down to 3.8 unless I thought more acid was needed based on taste. What I'm talking about here is Cabernet with reasonable tannin levels, now the post ML pH of Pinot Noir, that's a different story.


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## Tim3 (Mar 25, 2021)

Yes there are quite a number of assumptions working in the background. Like the assumption that any must with an initial PH below 3.9 will experience an increase of 0.27 through the course of fermentation and malolactic fermentation. But because of the malic acid ratio with higher PH musts, any must above 3.9 will only experience an increase of 0.22. So to a certain extent I did make some hard cutoffs which could be debated. There are also the "rules of thumb" which are in place, like adding acid to only adjust a must by a maximum 0.42 PH. Fortunately none of those have ever been required with those Brehm grapes.

So I agree it's not perfect, but I have found that once you find your initial PH and TA the PH increase tends to follow in a similar curve as shown below. Getting TA from PH alone though has too much variability (which is why I also like Brehm's initial calculations so much!). Anyway, thank you for the discussion and I look forward to hearing about your wine. I recently bought 100 lbs of the 2017 Sonoma Petite Sirah from Brehm which is just going through malo now. The color is off the charts!


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## stickman (Mar 25, 2021)

@Tim3 Did you get the 2017 Plum Ridge Petite Sirah?


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## Tim3 (Mar 25, 2021)

stickman said:


> @Tim3 Did you get the 2017 Plum Ridge Petite Sirah?


Sure did. The fruit was in great condition and numbers exactly as Peter indicated. I didn’t press early as he recommended but instead waited till dry (14 days), and just made sure to not press too hard. The tannins are definitely high but actually quite soft and from an early taste I can say it’ll be a blockbuster wine. Knowing how good it’ll be, and knowing the premium I spent ($600 after shipping), I’d probably rather buy the drum and pick it up myself for not much more.


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## stickman (Mar 26, 2021)

Here is the Plum Ridge Petite Sirah during the spring of 2016, I took the photo during a vineyard tour.


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## Tim3 (Mar 26, 2021)

Wow Stickman, that’s really beautiful. Thank you for sharing.


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## Jay A (Mar 28, 2021)

Looks great Stickman, awesome updates. I've been considering Flextank purchase or var. cap. stainless. Has your experience been positive? Appreciate any input you may have. Thanks


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## stickman (Mar 29, 2021)

@Jay A This question comes up from time to time. I have no affiliation with Flextank, although I have 4 of their 30gal tanks and have been using them for 10 years with no problems to report. I haven't used variable capacity stainless so I can't comment with experience, but if you really need the variable capacity feature then that's probably the way to go. Whatever vessel you buy, you have to consider how you intend to use it and the type of wine being made. I use the maturation grade flextanks for heavy tannic red wine that benefits from the passive micro-ox, and keep fully topped as I would any vessel. If needed, they do make a heavyweight grade tank intended for softer more delicate wine styles.


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## Jay A (Mar 29, 2021)

Thanks Stickman, I'm looking for larger storage capacity. I like the idea of micro ox which I'm currently lacking in glass. I'm not making small lots of different varieties, primarily 1 or 2 varieties kept solo, sometimes blended. Decisions, decisions..... Thanks for the input.


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