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If the wine is sour, it is likely due to microbial infection. This would produce the CO2 and off-taste. Would need to know more what "sour" is. Could be Brett, but Brett is usually more "barnyard" than sour.

My reduless package says to rack after 72 hours. It is also inactive yeast, so I do not think there should be concerns with copper - it will be absolutely minimal. I have used it instead of copper sulfate because of my concerns with using copper.

I guess I am lucky enough to be in Contra Costa county with some of my own grapes (year 3) along with local vineyards I purchase from. Suisun is also just 20 miles past the Benecia bridge. I also still have grapes at my parent's house out in the Central Valley. As of now, we are running at...

Should we venture into the fact that it completely depends on your pH?

Water every other day is a bit much. Let them dry out for a week or so. Leaf color looks good. I would trim the shoots down to just a couple and let it go. It could be that it doesn't like the soil. Some of my first year vines did not grow rapidly, but in year 2 they did quite well. Can you...

This year I finally built a cellar/cold room in my garage, so am able to increase production. The plan is for 80+ gallons. I built the cellar inspired and based on NorCal's cellar. Mine is 8 x 6 and can hold 6 barrels on the ground plus carboys on a bench, a couple 200L Speidels and at least...

From my research they look similar to a small bee named Ceratina acantha They nest underground and I probably disturbed them while I was tilling in the cover crop. They are not a threat to the vineyard as far as I can tell. Life is a never ending learning experience. Here is a pic of one of...

Agreed with Craig on the ingredients (and everything else). I did a porter last winter and the grains were: 8lb. 2 row, .8 crystal (60° L), .4 crystal (120° L), .5 chocolate. If I made it again I would probably go lighter on the chocolate and do black patent as mentioned above. Did traditional...

Snafflebit, The vineyard looks great! Question for you - I have noticed a lot of swarming small long-winged files buzzing around a few of my vines. They seem to swarm but not land (although I am sure they do). They are not eating the leaves and do not seem to be bothering the fruit. Do you...

I am using sulfur. I am dosing a little at a time.

This is a very good plan. It is textbook what I learned at UC Davis. Where do you get the iron, magnesium and boron sprays? Is it an all-in-one or do you apply each individually? I too need to add ammonium sulfate this fall. My soil is actually a bit too alkaline and I have had to add sulfur...

I have the same issue with vines on a slope that has been graded with no topsoil (and we are on East Bay clay). Adding organic matter and fertilizer is the only way to go. Plants need fertilizer along with minerals to survive, whether natural or added. In order to stay fairly "close to nature" I...

Nice! Looking forward to the photos. 1/2 acre is perfect. My vines are a couple weeks behind last year as well. They did love the rain this winter. I'm north of you in Antioch. This is year 3 for me so it will be my first harvest from my yard.

Any thoughts of blending with another variety? You could use a fragrant white in small quantities to boost the aromas. Try to get something that has been hanging on the vine and is very "floral" if you can. Even 10% can make a difference. Ferment separately then mix to desired quantity. You can...

My labels - I took a photo of my vines shortly after bud-break and removed the background.

Everyone seems so organized so early. The last 2 years have been smaller batches and doing more experimentation. This year will be fewer varieties and application of everything learnt to date (some in class, some the hard way). For now, the plan is: 20+ gallons of Grenache 20+ gallons of...

This year let me know when/what you are planning on picking! I am in the area and likely picking the same grapes.

I would really like to see the control for the chromatograpy to confirm that it is citric acid. Citric acid does exist in small amounts in wine. Normally O. oeni will consume citric acid when it completes consumption of malic acid, so if you did MLF, it should clear up the citric acid as well...

I've got a quince/pomegranate I've got a quince/pomegranate wine that is still aging. I have a quince in the back yard. I cut them up, removed the cores (did not peel) pulsed them in a food processor, then boiled for 15 minutes. Once cooled, I added them to the water/sugar mixture along with...

Did you heat the bottles to remove labels? I did that in the past and found it really weakens the bottles - I would have about 1 in 30 bottles break, so I stopped doing it. Now I just scrape... and scrape....