2019 Lodi Meritage

[Donz]

Definitely efficient pressing!

 

[Johnd]

20 L manual press with wooden basket. Basically, each fermenter (there were 7) had two loads of skins in it. That means that we pressed 14 loads of skins in two hours, so roughly 9 minutes per basket. Keith loaded, ran, and emptied the press the whole time. I kept him supplied with skins, pressure washed the fermenters, swapped the juice catching buckets, loaded the carboys with wine, and hauled them back inside. We were pretty efficient and worked through it non stop.

 

[jburtner]

Very inspiring!

 

[mainshipfred]

20 L manual press with wooden basket. Basically, each fermenter (there were 7) had two loads of skins in it. That means that we pressed 14 loads of skins in two hours, so roughly 9 minutes per basket. Keith loaded, ran, and emptied the press the whole time. I kept him supplied with skins, pressure washed the fermenters, swapped the juice catching buckets, loaded the carboys with wine, and hauled them back inside. We were pretty efficient and worked through it non stop.

I'm especially impressed since you were using such a small press.

 

[Johnd]

I'm especially impressed since you were using such a small press.

You know the old saying, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"!! LOL

Truth told, wanted to get a new, bigger, bladder press this year, but held off on it. In retrospect, the older small press did just fine.......but still want a new toy!

Edit: I really need to give kudos to @Keith5 , his first grape wine making endeavor, and first time running a press, he was a machine, couldn't have done it without him!!

 

[mainshipfred]

You know the old saying, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"!! LOL

Truth told, wanted to get a new, bigger, bladder press this year, but held off on it. In retrospect, the older small press did just fine.......but still want a new toy!

Edit: I really need to give kudos to @Keith5 , his first grape wine making endeavor, and first time running a press, he was a machine, couldn't have done it without him!!

I'm pretty happy with what I currently have and have always been a believer in you get your best deals when you are not looking. But a bladder would be nice, however what i really think I need is one of those @Keith5 's. Maybe I'll start a search on Craigslist!

 

[CDrew]

20 L manual press with wooden basket. Basically, each fermenter (there were 7) had two loads of skins in it. That means that we pressed 14 loads of skins in two hours, so roughly 9 minutes per basket. Keith loaded, ran, and emptied the press the whole time. I kept him supplied with skins, pressure washed the fermenters, swapped the juice catching buckets, loaded the carboys with wine, and hauled them back inside. We were pretty efficient and worked through it non stop.

Quite jealous you have such willing and capable help. I seem to be working alone most of the time and the clean up is the time killer. Your forest of carboys looks excellent!

 

[Johnd]

I'm pretty happy with what I currently have and have always been a believer in you get your best deals when you are not looking. But a bladder would be nice, however what i really think I need is one of those @Keith5 's. Maybe I'll start a search on Craigslist!

Ha!! That's funny! After many years of making wine alone, it sure is nice to have an extra pair of hands or two, really speeds the activities along. Keith saw my location on this forum and reached out, been doing kits and such and wanted to do grapes, so it worked out pretty well. We were chatting a bit during pressing about crush day, he was pleased to be able to run pH tests on the must, check the TA, talk about what we thought the right moves were for each must, and make the additions. It's fun to show somebody how to do all those things and to watch them put their knowledge into practice. Doesn't hurt that we had a really good time working on the wine.

 

[Johnd]

Quite jealous you have such willing and capable help. I seem to be working alone most of the time and the clean up is the time killer. Your forest of carboys looks excellent!

It's a blessing for sure. One of the best tools acquired for both crush and press day is a little electrically powered pressure washer, it makes cleanup of all of the equipment and the work area a breeze. Big time saver.

 

[Donz]

Agree 100% couldn’t do the volume we do without the pressure washer cleanup.

 

[Johnd]

Last night, cooked burgers for the fam and did the 72 hour gross lees racking. After the racking, ended up with 110 gallons of wine, mostly still now, except for the merlot, which just continues to bubble.

First time doing petit Verdot, didn’t realize what a dark, inky wine it is, ‘it’s obvious now why it’s part of the Bx blend, but not just for the color, it’s got an interesting taste that I like as well. Looking forward to blending.

 

[mainshipfred]

Last night, cooked burgers for the fam and did the 72 hour gross lees racking. After the racking, ended up with 110 gallons of wine, mostly still now, except for the merlot, which just continues to bubble.

First time doing petit Verdot, didn’t realize what a dark, inky wine it is, ‘it’s obvious now why it’s part of the Bx blend, but not just for the color, it’s got an interesting taste that I like as well. Looking forward to blending.
View attachment 57140

In our area PV is gaining popularity as a single varietal which is great by me.

 

[Johnd]

In our area PV is gaining popularity as a single varietal which is great by me.

A while back, I found and ordered a bottle of 2013 TOR Petit Verdot Vine Hill Ranch, WA 92. Haven't tried it yet, but wanted to taste one that was pure varietal, not so easy to find..

 

[mainshipfred]

If you PM me your address I'll send you a bottle of last years PV. Even though it's just over a year old it's more than drinkable.

 

[Donz]

Cant get my hands on PV down here. Wish I could, it's a great blender.

 

[buzi]

@Johnd , I found that the flavor of the PV is great, but I haven't had a grape flavor profile change so much over time! Keep 5 bottles for yourself and drink one every other year...that can be your next thread

 

[Johnd]

@Johnd , I found that the flavor of the PV is great, but I haven't had a grape flavor profile change so much over time! Keep 5 bottles for yourself and drink one every other year...that can be your next thread

We ended up with some extra wine, so I’m hoping that after blending there will be enough to bottle some pure varietals. Guess it just depends on how the blending ends up, I’ll keep it in mind to try to save a bit.

 

[Boatboy24]

We ended up with some extra wine, so I’m hoping that after blending there will be enough to bottle some pure varietals. Guess it just depends on how the blending ends up, I’ll keep it in mind to try to save a bit.

I've been using Petite Sirah for blending and really enjoy it as a single varietal as well. Takes a few years to come around, but worth the wait. I need to remember to make more so I have more than half a case or so left after blending.

 

[ibglowin]

I had about 2 bottles worth of PV left over after bottling my 2011's from FVW that year. Left them alone for about 18 months and drank one over a couple days. The 2nd one didn't last much longer after that. If you want to know how your wine is doing opening one and drinking it over the next 3,4,5 days is a good way to see how it will stand up as it ages.

I know of two wineries in WA that bottle a PV varietal wine. Saviah Cellars as well as Spring Valley Vineyard.

 

[jburtner]

My chilean PV from spring 2018 was a little herbaceous initially and is pretty good now. I’m going to bottle it as a single varietal.

-johann