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This may not be exactly what you’re going for, but I’ve had a delicious, lighter bodied saperavi on a couple of trips to Georgia made by Iberieli. A lot of the saperavi made there can be brutally tannic but this one was very nice drinking young. I can’t find notes from my discussion with the...

I think my targets were 25 Brix and pH 3.3 for Marquette and gold color and pH 3.1 and 3.3 for Itasca, but as @Rice_Guy said, nature and schedule constraints can end up making decisions for you. This year I picked my Itasca probably a week too early at 21 Brix and pH 3.12 because I was worried...

Do you know the pH?

I received a cheese press for Christmas last year but haven’t started yet. Are there resources/books you can recommend?

These cheeses from Meadow Creek, one of our Virginia dairies, are some of the best I’ve had in the US. The Grayson is a wonderful soft cheese, a little like a good Camembert and the Mountaineer is a beautiful alpine style hard cheese like a Beaufort. I happened upon them at a Wegman’s near...

Safe travels, @crushday! I used to commute Camas, WA to Beaverton, OR and rush hour Portland traffic is wretched. Hope you were able to avoid it with the early start. Looking forward to hearing about y’all’s get together!

Congrats on getting started in wine! The limited amount of practical info I was able to find was one of the inspirations for this post. I know it’s not for everybody but I figured there’d be a few curious people out there looking for information/experience as I was (still am). There should...

I pulled the trigger on the Cab Franc yesterday. I wanted to let it hang for another week or two but was looking at this: i ended up with about 35 lbs, less than I was hoping for but better than nothing: Not too bad looking, though more uneven ripening and shot berries than I realized. I...

I haven’t made rosé from my Marquette yet, but as it’s a teinturier the juice comes out fairly pink/red right at crush so I don’t think I’d want to give it too much if any time on the skins. The pictures I see of Marquette rosés made by commercial wineries always look really dark to me. If it...

Thanks, the vines were planted in 2017. I haven’t had it tested but as far as I understand and can tell the soil is clay loam with equal parts clay, silt, and sand.

Here are a few pictures of the better looking vines. The clusters are smaller and the shoots more scraggly than last year, but at least it’s looking like I’ll get something.

I’ve heard those things but haven’t yet determined the difference between ripe and overripe. I have a preference for Cabernet Francs from Loire Valley appellations like Chinon or Bourgeil which tend to be lighter and from what I can figure out they usually harvest around 2500 GDD (which we...

It’s still going for now - I’m starting to think I may actually get something from them. By this time last year, downy mildew had pretty much taken over and the Cab Franc was defoliated by 8/27/20 so couldn’t ripen further. This year it completed veraison about a week ago and I’m hoping it will...

Wild Fermentation Chapter 2: 2021. My young vineyard ripened enough grapes this year that I’m able to make a bit of wine from it. The hybrids ripen early here in Virginia and I harvested my Itasca on 7/24: 18.75 lbs at 19 Brix and 3.12 pH. They ought to be a little more gold and I think I...

That was a good article, thanks for sharing. I’ve had Egri Bikavér many times on my trips to Slovakia and Hungary, but didn’t know that much of the history or background beyond the translation of the name and that it was a blend of some kind. I think the first time was on an early trip to...

Better than me too. But I love watching other guys take on projects like this - it’s gonna look great!

That’s wild - I’ve had a bit of black rot on my Marquette this year and I’m worried I won’t be able to hold of the downy on my Cabernet Franc again but my Itasca is the one vine I have that stays completely disease free.

I’m just curious about new varieties under development, especially if someone’s had a chance to taste them. I have a few gaps in my vineyard to fill and some of my weaker Cabernet Franc vines may be replaced with something more disease resistant. I’m zone 7 and I’ll likely end up going with...

What new varieties were you most excited about? I’ve found a little info about the NDSU program but not a lot to go off of or any names.

Looks like it’s a Mecnosud: https://keej.it/annuncio/attrezzature-di-lavoro/avellino-provincia-annunci-avellino-provincia/diraspatrice-con-pompa-usata-quintali-20-79623083.htm