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It's hard to say exactly. We did tour the vines and saw the Muscat growth on some of the vines. I would say 5 to 10 percent is all. Sounds like you are set up very nicely for some great blending! Good luck.

It will be interesting to compare our Viogniers. We "did" add ML, although after 3 months it looks like it's only about 20% complete. The thing is, we do LOVE the taste and nose on this wine today. Wondering about stopping it. That little bit of Muscat is an outstanding addition. This wine...

The D80 & D254 combo is a great and popular combo. I did a controlled test a few years back and the differences were notable. One (can't remember which) had more of a nose expression than the other....but the other one (with less nose), had much brighter taste and fruit. Very interesting. We...

A wine buddy was using Avante on my recommendation. I believe it was Cab Franc that he was trying to make into a port. When the Brix hit his desired level he added his brandy and the Avante said, "What's this? I'm can climb right over it!". He literally could NOT stop the Avante fermentation...

Interesting. I guess if it were me, I would do two separate batches - with and without stems. Or, maybe three (with all stems, half stems, none) and compare the results.

My son took a time out from shoveling from the bin (in the truck) onto our sorting chute before the crusher. This was last week's Mourvedre. Made a Rose.

Bijendra, what is the pH of the wine? What is the current ppm of SO2?

He has had the wine aging for over a year and suddenly notices the acidity is spiking. What could be the cause - I haven't seen this? Bijendra is a winemaker in Nepal and currently is dealing with this problem for a LARGE batch of wine (over 3100 gallons)!

We have a 50 basket press and usually do presses from 1000-2000 grape pounds per session. We did a Viognier between three groups a couple of weeks ago. Crushing and basket pressing 1000 pounds was taxing for one day. Plus, I think we left a lot of juice in the grapes just because when doing a...

What a long day when you drive over 2 hours (out and back) to get grapes, crush grapes, press grapes - plus set-up and the dreaded clean up. The crew rocked it today. Like a machine! This Vio will be excellent!

I got you covered Norcal. Snapped this one.

@jamesNorcal - Where are you located in Norcal?

TA seems high and pH a bit low (for me). My Barbera started at Brix of 28 & pH of 3.39, watered back to 25.5 and 3.46. Temp after crush 64. After settling a day, Brix rose to 26.5. Two days into ferment is when I spiked to 93 degrees. Pressed dry in 8 days.

I used to stress about the spike in fermentation temps, but now I just accept it as part of the Foothill climate and whatever uniqueness that brings to the wine. As long as we have a yeast that's tolerant, I just push on.

Amorim corks, www.amorimca.com

We are having record-setting heat out here so grapes are going nuts! We'll have to work fast to have any chance of keeping the juice cool. I have a new yeast to try, it should be fun.

You weren't a fan of the oaked Barbera, but I remember taking a case of "Smokey Barbera" off your hands and we LOVED it! I love oak influence but I can also appreciate that "clean" freshness tone of a lightly oaked wine. This year I'm going to be a little less heavy-handed with our oak...

I would transfer back to the bucket and try to get that D80 batch dry. 1.01 is about 2-3 Brix and D80 should complete that under the right conditions. I'd give it a few more days before starting a stuck fermentation protocol.

Which winery were you referring to about the tastings and picnicking, etc.? Thanks.

200 ppm isn't that high for me when trying to baby-sit 4.0 pH wine for > 18 months. We've been adjusting to 3.6 -3.7, but need to take our foot of the SO2 pedal a bit. 50 ppm was a common add. Going to aim for 20-30 going forward.