2018 Grape Season Underway

[Boatboy24]

I just found a winery in VA that couldn't be further away that is closing. Their auction is Friday but online bidding started today. I bid $300.00 for 3 pallets of dark Bourdeaux bottles. I believe there are 56 cases per pallet. May go as high as $600.00 but I will have to pay for shipping. Not that I'll get it but will be fun trying. Also bid $25.00 for 2 thousand natural corks.

Make it interesting and grab a c/d or large press. Heck, maybe they have a bottling line.

 

[ibglowin]

But you live in Virginia......... Why wouldn't you just go pick them up your self?

I just found a winery in VA that couldn't be further away that is closing. Their auction is Friday but online bidding started today. I bid $300.00 for 3 pallets of dark Bourdeaux bottles. I believe there are 56 cases per pallet. May go as high as $600.00 but I will have to pay for shipping. Not that I'll get it but will be fun trying. Also bid $25.00 for 2 thousand natural corks.

 

[mainshipfred]

I don't have high hopes of getting them but if I do there will be plenty to go around.

 

[mainshipfred]

But you live in Virginia......... Why wouldn't you just go pick them up your self?

It's about a 5.5 hr drive each way, my truck will only allow me to take 2 at a time and my trailer is fully loaded. But this is the cart before the horse, really not expecting to win the bid at around $4.00 per case.

 

[mainshipfred]

I don't have high hopes of getting them but if I do there will be plenty to go around.

16 hours left and I'm winning at $160.00 and the corks for $5.00. The bid ends tomorrow at 10:00 AM so I know that is when all the action will take place. Shipping cost is $355.00 so I'n not going to go much higher then $300.00 or maybe I will it's still under $5.00/case.

 

[mainshipfred]

If anyone cares S&S's current price list is on their website. Similar prices to everyone else. I'm going to their cookout tomorrow. If something looks spectacular I'll get something but happy with what I already have.

 

[pgentile]

Fall update: Crushed last saturday, pitched on sunday, solid ferments all week and today the caps are starting to fall. RC212 gave zero off odors this time around. Will do hydrometer readings in the am. Thinking about not pressing these batches yet, but siphoning off the free run and then put juice buckets on the unpressed grapes. When the juice buckets are finished fermenting siphon off the free run and then press the grapes.

brunello/sangio skins - two buckets alicante

petite sirah skins - two buckets of nebiollo

Will probably change my mind 12 times by tomorrow.

 

[mainshipfred]

Fall update: Crushed last saturday, pitched on sunday, solid ferments all week and today the caps are starting to fall. RC212 gave zero off odors this time around. Will do hydrometer readings in the am. Thinking about not pressing these batches yet, but siphoning off the free run and then put juice buckets on the unpressed grapes. When the juice buckets are finished fermenting siphon off the free run and then press the grapes.

brunello/sangio skins - two buckets alicante

petite sirah skins - two buckets of nebiollo

Will probably change my mind 12 times by tomorrow.

Sound good, my (multiple) reused skins from the spring made some potentially decent wine. I've also been thinking about getting some buckets for all these skins (25 lugs worth) but promised myself I was only going to do grapes this fall.

 

[pgentile]

Sound good, my (multiple) reused skins from the spring made some potentially decent wine. I've also been thinking about getting some buckets for all these skins (25 lugs worth) but promised myself I was only going to do grapes this fall.

That's a lot of skins but you could always freeze some. I want to do all all-grape batches as well, but it's hard to pass up the cost of the buckets for making good table wine to drink while the all-grape batches are aging properly.

 

[mainshipfred]

That's a lot of skins but you could always freeze some. I want to do all all-grape batches as well, but it's hard to pass up the cost of the buckets for making good table wine to drink while the all-grape batches are aging properly.

Oh I'm with you. Like I said even using the spring skins multiple times it still produced some good bucket wine and especially if you are going to lightly press or use only free run. If you're going to change your mind 12 time by tomorrow just think how many times mine will change in two weeks. I was also thinking of a second run with all of them combined and not much water. It will be a Syrah/Zin/P Sirah/Touriga/Tempranillo/ Sauv Blanc (yes the white too)/mystery S&S blend with who knows how many yeasts.

 

[mainshipfred]

Didn't get the corks or the bottles. Bottles went for $710.00 and corks $75.00. I was still bidding both but they either cater to the onsite bidders or the internet is too slow. I was planning on going as high as $800.00 for the 3 pallets of botles

 

[pgentile]

It will be a Syrah/Zin/P Sirah/Touriga/Tempranillo/ Sauv Blanc (yes the white too)/mystery S&S blend with who knows how many yeasts.

sounds like a winner to me.

 

[pgentile]

Didn't get the corks or the bottles. Bottles went for $710.00 and corks $75.00. I was still bidding both but they either cater to the onsite bidders or the internet is too slow. I was planning on going as high as $800.00 for the 3 pallets of botles

That stinks, but it was a heck of lot of bottles.

 

[Steve_M]

Picked up our grapes this morning down at Corrado’s. Went with;
10 Petit Syrah
5 OVZ
2 Cabernet Sauvignon
1Merlot.
After crushing sorted out as many stems as we could. ( finally convinced my group to get a crusher/Debye)
Numbers are;
Ph 3.75
TA 6G/L
Brix 23
As for TA and Ph like to lower it some, think I need to? Will retest tomorrow.

Steve

 

[pgentile]

Picked up our grapes this morning down at Corrado’s. Went with;
10 Petit Syrah
5 OVZ
2 Cabernet Sauvignon
1Merlot.
After crushing sorted out as many stems as we could. ( finally convinced my group to get a crusher/Debye)
Numbers are;
Ph 3.75
TA 6G/L
Brix 23
As for TA and Ph like to lower it some, think I need to? Will retest tomorrow.

Steve

Field blend?

My petite sirah was 3.82 at crush last saturday, I didn't adjust it. Siphoned off free run today. Will test again and taste after gross lees rack.

 

[pgentile]

10 gl of free run from the brunello and 8 gl from the petite sirah. Each was 144lbs of grapes. didn't press the grapes, added 2 bucket alicante to the brunello and 2 buckets nebiollo to the petit sirah.

I use a stainless steel colander to rack the free run.



Can you tell which is the brunello/sangiovese and which is the petite sirah. The two in front.

 

[Steve_M]

Field blend?

My petite sirah was 3.82 at crush last saturday, I didn't adjust it. Siphoned off free run today. Will test again and taste after gross lees rack.

Yes forgot to mention field blended, will pitch BM4X4 tomorrow. Added Lallzyme EX, Opti Red will also be added tomorrow.

Steve

 

[pgentile]

Yes forgot to mention field blended, will pitch BM4X4 tomorrow. Added Lallzyme EX, Opti Red will also be added tomorrow.

Steve

Sounds good, I like the line-up of your blend.

 

[mainshipfred]

For those in the S&S area I just returned and here is the skinny. First of all it was a very informal cookout, not really a cookout more like catered but very good. Grilled vegetables the brussel sprouts were great, meatballs, italian sausage with onions and peppers and a pasta dish plus raw veggies, fruit, cheese plate and breads. It was set up on their loading dock and appeared to be mainly people who have bought from them previously. Seems like a lot of folks knew eachother. They served some of their wine but people also brought their own. I went inside to look at some of the grapes which were limited, evidently one of the trucks got held up with the hurricane. When I asked the guy about the shortage of grapes and started asking questions he said "are you Fred Black" kind of blew me away. He then made sure I met Audry the lady who runs the website. Then while talking to her she introduced me to Ben Sudano. Here's the part that may interest some that may have had a bad experience in the past. Ben told me for years (I'm talking until this year) they did things the way their grandafather did things which was by word of mouth and past customers only. They had a website but that was about it noone to monitor it. So they admitted they unintentionally turned some people away. I have to say everyone was very nice and Ben must have talked to us for 30 minutes. He knows Kevin at Harford and the Procacci and Gino Pinto families The grapes they had all looked very nice and the storage temp was really cold. I'm probably going to stop next Saturday and get some Nebbiola that is on the truck they didn't receive.

 

[Boatboy24]

Thanks Fred. You may have answered this before, but are they Lodi grapes?

Did you guys see the email from Jim Gearing about our delivery being delayed a week? 9/29 is now the day. Kinda stinks, as I have a half marathon the next morning and was planning on not doing much of anything that day. Oh well, them's the breaks.