2021 Wine Season!

[crushday]

Hey, wine season 2020 is over! You’ve got everything fermented dry or nearing dry. Secondary is in full swing and it’s about time to put your wine away for a long winter nap. Congratulations!!

Spring is coming...and so is wine from the Southern Hemisphere. What are you thinking? Any one have a source for SH grapes? I’d like to do a Malbec and/or Tempranillo. This past spring, I was super fortunate to get a couple gallons each from Mendoza. Likely never happen again...

It’s never too soon to begin planning for fall 2021. I was talking to @NorCal a couple days ago and he’s planning a coastal Chardonnay. Sound very interesting and fun!

For reds, I’m planning on a Boudreaux blend. I’d like to simulate a wine by Andronicus. I’d also do 100% varietal of each below and other blends.

Here’s the blend from Andronicus:

29% Merlot
26% Cabernet
20% Malbec
10% Petit Verdot
10% Petite Sirah
5% Cab Franc

Let us know what you plan on doing!

 

[NorCal]

I promised the Mrs. that I would do a GSM next year (Grenache , Syrah, Mourvèdre), but I have a lot of reds in the cellar, so I may only make 20 or so gallons of it. I always make a white each year, usually 15-20 gallons.
I’d really like to do a 60 gallon barrel fermented, total diecetyl bomb of a Chardonnay next year. I think I can get a neutral white wine barrel, but good Chard grapes in my area have proved to be a challenge.

 

[mainshipfred]

I like the way you think. Even though I have 19s over due for blending and bottling and putting the 20s through the finishing touches I'm already thinking about spring as well. I'll do another Stellenbosch Cab (this will be the fourth year) and a Chilean Malbec for sure.

 

[franc1969]

Has anyone used the Australian juices from PIWine? I got their email today and am pondering. Fills the time before other spring grapes and juice.

 

[CDrew]

Wow. 2021. I'm not even done with 2020. Funny.

Not doing off season wines. What I like about wine making, is that once you can put it to bed, you can ignore it for months at a time. If you do spring wines, you're wine making 12 months per year. Too much work. My 2020 is almost to bed until February. And after that, I won't mess with it until Fall.

But 2021-I'd like to do a 30 gallon ferment aged in a Flex tank, and maybe another couple of red wines. And some white wine. And a Rose. I have close to 100 gallons in 2020 and that's too much. I'd like to scale down to 75 or so in 2021, but it's hard in the moment. I'll probably do another 100 gallons.

But good luck to all with 2021 spring wines.

 

[mainshipfred]

Has anyone used the Australian juices from PIWine? I got their email today and am pondering. Fills the time before other spring grapes and juice.

I believe @heatherd did a few years ago. Can't remember what though.

 

[user 38734]

I will be:
1.) NOT making any more wine until next season.

Next season I will:
1.) Continue to ramp up Rose' production as they still consume it all prior to the next bottling.
2.) Exclusively whole-fruit ferment with soft then progressively more vigorous punch downs.
3.) Native yeast ferment the fruit that comes from the vineyard / winery that does the same.
4.) Upgrade my gear - thank you @NorCal and @Aaron.

 

[winemaker81]

I'm probably the oddball here -- I'd like to ferment something every month! When the wine is stable, I've got nothing to putter with!

After the Christmas holidays, I'll probably start a couple of batches -- potentially an elderberry and a white kit. My wife it not fond of the fermentation smell, so it reigns me in (which is a good thing).

Fall 2021? Currently I'm considering a Rhone-style blend, but will change my mind at least a dozen times before then. Plus my group gets our west coast USA grapes in 1 load, so I'll have to finalize my list in the last week, depending on what is shipping at that time. When I lived in central New York, I was in the Finger Lakes every weekend, and could make whatever I wanted. Having to plan around what is available at a specific point in time is a totally different paradigm.

 

[CDrew]

I'm probably the oddball here -- I'd like to ferment something every month! When the wine is stable, I've got nothing to putter with!

After the Christmas holidays, I'll probably start a couple of batches -- potentially an elderberry and a white kit. My wife it not fond of the fermentation smell, so it reigns me in (which is a good thing).

Fall 2021? Currently I'm considering a Rhone-style blend, but will change my mind at least a dozen times before then. Plus my group gets our west coast USA grapes in 1 load, so I'll have to finalize my list in the last week, depending on what is shipping at that time. When I lived in central New York, I was in the Finger Lakes every weekend, and could make whatever I wanted. Having to plan around what is available at a specific point in time is a totally different paradigm.

I know you saw in my 2020 thread that I've been fairly impressed with Wine Grapes Direst as a source of white grapes/juice. And that way you could avoid doing a kit. If you really just want something to keep you busy, have them ship you a pail a month, or better, 2 pails every other month.

 

[MrTea]

I know you saw in my 2020 thread that I've been fairly impressed with Wine Grapes Direst as a source of white grapes/juice. And that way you could avoid doing a kit. If you really just want something to keep you busy, have them ship you a pail a month, or better, 2 pails every other month.

I'll second the recommendation for Wine Grapes Direct. Excellent product, superb communication and reasonable pricing (I have to get them shipped so that kind of hurts my bottom line but it is what it is).

 

[winemaker81]

I know you saw in my 2020 thread that I've been fairly impressed with Wine Grapes Direst as a source of white grapes/juice. And that way you could avoid doing a kit. If you really just want something to keep you busy, have them ship you a pail a month, or better, 2 pails every other month.

Thanks for the suggestion! I have been making kits for so long that it's what I think of, but yeah, juice is always better.

I hit their site and the first 3 things I saw were Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurztraminer. My son and I were just discussing Loire grapes, and my wife loves Gewurztraminer. Portents are leaning toward this ....

 

[CDrew]

I have been making kits for so long that it's what I think of, but yeah, juice is always better.

I hit their site and the first 3 things I saw were Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurztraminer. My son and I were just discussion Loire grapes, and my wife loves Gewurztraminer. Portents are leaning toward this ....

Ya-You gotta think outside the box..LOL

So I can vouch for the Sauvignon Banc and Semillion. Nice quality juice. I used Allegro yeast on 4 pails total in the last few weeks and very happy with the initial results.

 

[distancerunner]

Has anyone used the Australian juices from PIWine? I got their email today and am pondering. Fills the time before other spring grapes and juice.

The juices are good.
The customer service is excellent.

 

[Kitchen]

I'd like to find somewhere to buy high quality PA grapes (Merlot, Cab Sav and Cab Franc), and do the same field blend I did this year with grapes from CA to see the difference.

Anyone know where to source such grapes in PA?

 

[winemaker81]

I did a quick search for PA vineyards and found only commercial vineyards. I had the same problem with North Carolina and Virginia, as I looked in both before finding a source for west coast grapes.

There are winery trails in all parts of PA. You might try a trail and ask at the various wineries.

 

[mainshipfred]

I'd like to find somewhere to buy high quality PA grapes (Merlot, Cab Sav and Cab Franc), and do the same field blend I did this year with grapes from CA to see the difference.

Anyone know where to source such grapes in PA?

It's tricky to grow Cab Sauv in the Mid Atlantic States. The growing season does not allow the grapes to become phenolic ripe so high quality will be hard to come by. I'm not sure about Merlot but you may have some luck with Cab Franc.

 

[Ajmassa]

I'd like to find somewhere to buy high quality PA grapes (Merlot, Cab Sav and Cab Franc), and do the same field blend I did this year with grapes from CA to see the difference.

Anyone know where to source such grapes in PA?

Not sure you’ll find “high quality” PA merlot, cab sauv, cab franc at all- let alone fruit available to home winemakers. There’s a good reason wine country is on the west coast. The popular varietals just don’t do as well out here. PA has some funky rules too. A local winery has to have 51% of their wines made from PA
Fruit. So they make the hybrids. And Marquette. Chamboricin etc etc. And typically their best sellers like Cab/merlot, Syrah etc they’re all from outsourced Cali fruit. Not exactly specified on the labels either.
When buying bulk Some of the grape distributors will let you get less than full truck by just piggy backing your order in a truck going to a local winery. As long as the grapes you want harvest in sync with the wineries grapes. I won’t name names but the Problem I ran into was all the local joints were purchasing the cheaper fruit, which were harvested earlier then the grapes I wanted so this option didn’t work out.
Even the place you just got grapes from at Keystone. The winery behind them sources west coast fruit. Stone & Key Cellar. I know for a fact the red Mt. Cab I bought they are also making. In a couple years when that finally hits the shelf I’ll be damn curious to compare mine to theirs!

presque Isle is one of the few PA joints super friendly to home winemakers. Unfortunately they are across the state.otherwise the local joints don’t advertise it and ya need to network to establish some contacts for local fruit. Definitely can in Virginia, Maryland, NY finger lakes. But NJ and PA not as much.

 

[franc1969]

I'd like to find somewhere to buy high quality PA grapes (Merlot, Cab Sav and Cab Franc), and do the same field blend I did this year with grapes from CA to see the difference.

Anyone know where to source such grapes in PA?

Even in the Virginia 'excess'sale listings this fall, no Cab Sauv or Merlot. Somewhere I did see Cab Franc, and I think one member here said he'd potentially found some.

 

[Kitchen]

Oh well. Perhaps I'll experiment with WA state grapes next year instead of CA.

 

[winemaker81]

Not sure you’ll find “high quality” PA merlot, cab sauv, cab franc at all- let alone fruit available to home winemakers. There’s a good reason wine country is on the west coast. The popular varietals just don’t do as well out here.

The New York Finger Lakes and Long Island produce very good Vinifera. But Vinifera is harder to grow so most wineries grow the French-American hybrids and native grapes. I purchased some Vinifera when I lived in NY, but the cost was a LOT higher than the hybrids and native grapes.

I've had good Vinifera reds in Virginia and North Carolina, but IMO they were not as good as what I purchased in the Finger Lakes. The best reds I've had in NC were from grapes purchased out west ... Biltmore Estates has vineyards in CA.

That's a long way of saying that I mostly agree with you.

@Kitchen, if the NY Finger Lakes are within a reasonable driving distance, search for Fulkerson Winery -- I used to purchase good grapes from them and it's still an active vineyard.