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As always, good comments @winemaker81 . I’ll be using TR-313, it will barrel fermented @67 degrees and aged in a neutral French oak barrel.

I've made whites most every year for the past 10 years from grapes. Last year our little collective (@4score , @Busabill and a few others) went to a commercial juice maker in Lodi and purchased 220 gallons of Chardonnay juice. The ease, cost and quality of getting white juice made it so worth...

This year I expect to make: - 70 gallon Cab Sauv - 65 gallon Viognoir - 20 gallon Zin Rose - 20 gallon Syrah

The vines are very healthy and the foliage is full of vigor. I need to retie and clean up the vines every two weeks. I will say I have had a more laissez faire attitude this year and was not real aggressive on my pruning or suckering. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite me. I’ve done 3...

My ideal temperature for ferment for a big red would be in the mid 80's. Because I make barrel quantities at a time, I would see the need for a tank with a glycol chiller. My ideal profile for reds is fruit forward with light tannins. I'm ok sacrificing some color extraction for lower...

We had a great wine tasting event, 7 people, and 16 bottles were opened, half of which were current barrel samples. When comparing the two Chardonnay wines; one just settled/cleared on its own vs. one that was cold stabilized for two weeks in a fridge and with a healthy dose of Bentonite, the...

I gathered the two samples and the difference in clarity is noticeable, but not night and day. The tasting of these bottles will happen this evening….will be quite interesting.

I’m wondering if the catch that holds the bottle in place as you draw down on the handle is slipping. In the 30 years, it may have some wear.

Next week we are having a small get together where there will be a tasting of @4score and @Busabill Chardonnay before and after clearing and cold stabilization. They kept one bottle of wine as the control sample, so this should be very interesting, because the wine tasted excellent and they...

I want to invite @Busabill to document his process. His whites/roses come out sparkling clear.

I would say that most the low cost, grocery store red wines will have some level of residual sugar, to satisfy the US palate. People say they want dry, but drink sweet or off dry. All those wines have enough sugar in them to fall into the off-dry category. The Sangria, probably the sweet...

Beat me to it. If I have a partial carboy for short-term storage (< a month), I'll vacuum store it and top up the vacuum every day or two. I've been doing that for 10 years and haven't notice any degradation to the wine. Example below; mandarin wine, just added bentonite/SO2 and will be...

Welcome, sorry for your loss. In addition to the tests, give each carboy a sniff and a taste. That will tell you a lot about their condition. I would also give them a 50ppm dose of SO2, to make sure they are up to date.

Exactly my thoughts. Would you rather hire 3 new hires with a BA in accounting or a high school kid that is a wiz at AI? I heard startup companies are now/will be organizations of 50 vs 150 and a whole lot more of them.

AI is far reaching and a game changer in so many applications. Nicely done @4score

I always rack after MLF and before bottling. I have an optional racking in-between these two activities depending on the amount and nature of the sediment. If the wine is in a barrel and I cannot see the lees, I will base that optional racking on the wine as well as the quality of the fruit...

I’m one suckering pass and one spraying into the season. Excellent fruit set and all the moisture in the soil and the rise in temperature has made for strong shoot growth. I see a big crop this year. Still trailing last year; at this time last year shoots were 3-5 feet, now they are 1.5-2...

I got my Chardonnay juice in them this last year.

I’ve made Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Viognier from grapes in 30-60 gallons. I‘m not a fan of the Sauvignon Blanc crisp, acidic style wines unless I’m eating a 3 pepper Thai meal, which is not often. I’m also not a fan of over the top buttery Chards. I do like the easy drinkers and I think...

A minor change of plans. - 60 gallon barrel of Amador Cabernet Sauvignon, with Petit Verdot - 60 gallon barrel of Lodi Chardonnay Viognier - 15 gallon estate Zin Rose - 15 gallon estate Syrah I have enough Chardonnay from this last year to last a few years. I‘m going to make another barrel...