Recent content by NorCal

I watch pH for SO2 efficacy and my only concern regarding TA is its impact on taste. If it tastes ok leave it alone.

I picked up a very used Ferrari and had to do repairs on the wear areas. I’ve since bottle >12,000 bottles with no repairs or adjustments needed.

No problem, I’ve done worse, like 300ml. Did blind taste test of the wine later…..which carboy did I forget to empty the starsan out of? Nobody could pick it out.

George, You will crush it! You’re great at making wine, running a business and making your dreams happen. Congratulations! Ken

A good % of the wines (600-1000 bottles per year) I make fall into the 3.8 category. As others have said, tannin, alcohol%, cork, storage etc all play a factor on longevity. I have found year 3 (barrel for 18 months, drink within 18 months) is the peak. It is not that it falls off the face of...

I don’t add anything but yeast and mlb unless there is a problem that needs to be solved. Nutrient deficiency, issue with the fruit, fermentation, flavor profile, clearing etc. Less is more.

Yes, crushed, destemmed, but the wineasy is not capable of exerting the pressure that other presses can. For fermented reds, I think the yield loss is minimal and makes for a better wine. For whites there is a significant yield loss due to the tightness of the skins and the ability of the...

Do you have a picture of when you were pressing?

Do you have a picture of your set-up? Something sounds wrong. After all the free-run comes out, you will the evacuate the air and co2 out of the must as the poison begins to do its thing. Is that what you were experiencing?

I just looked at my vintage tracking sheet. I’ve pressed over 40,000 pounds of grapes with my wineasy, since I started in 2013. It does a good job on fermented reds and my pressings are dry to my satisfaction. Not as dry as you can get with a basket or hydraulic press, but good enough. I...

The experiment is a go. 32g '23 Cab 12g '24 Cab 11.5g ‘24 Cab Franc 2.5g '23 Petit Verdot I co-inoculated the ‘24’s, so they are partially completed, something I’m willing to live with. I’ll be adding medium toast French oak spirals and letting it barrel age for a year.

The yield from the Cab rows in the vineyard this year fell short of expectations. I have 36 gallon from last year and only 13 from this year. I have 2 1/2 gallons of Petit Verdot I plan on adding as well. Fortunately I got a call from a buddy and asked if I wanted any Cab Franc. I picked a...

To do saignee and how much to do really depends on the varietal and what I’m trying to achieve. I couldn’t see making a Petite Sirah utilizing saignee, but I feel that low and medium body wines really benefit from it. Probably the #1 thing that can be done to improve homemade wine, once you...

Nicely done and improved over my design. I’ve labeled over 10,000 bottles with it and has performed flawlessly.

Wow, I’ll stop complaining about my vineyard problems. Where in CA are you?