2022 Cab growth starting off great.

[Snafflebit]

Pressing is complete. Whew. 2022 is in the carboy. 90 Liter Spiedel press makes short work of grapes. I may never go back to smaller sized press.

This year I was prepared and actually have enough carboys to separate free run from press fraction. Can't wait to taste the results!

 

[Snafflebit]

I am happy so far with the BM45. Definitely a hungry yeast. I hit it with Fermaid-K and DAP 1/3 and 2/3 through ferment. Kept the H2S away and bubbling along.
The wines are significantly watered back this year, I mean it is 25 Brix but it tastes a little thinner than usual. We will see what a year of rest ends up doing to the wine.
I was not able to do co-ferment with MLF, so, I will be adding my freeze dried ML culture next month when the wine has settled. Then a long winter's nap.

 

[Snafflebit]

Racking off gros lees now.

Some of the wines have distinct H2S odor. Let's see, pressed on 9/25 then rack off gros lees 10/19 might have been too long on the lees. Wine is still fermenting in the bottles, slowly. I rack into a fermenter then funnel poured back into the same cleaned bottle. I used to fear oxygen, but no longer.

Getting ready to innoculate for MLF and add some oak cubes. This may be my best tasting wine yet!

 

[SCAndy]

Racking off gros lees now.

Some of the wines have distinct H2S odor. Let's see, pressed on 9/25 then rack off gros lees 10/19 might have been too long on the lees. Wine is still fermenting in the bottles, slowly. I rack into a fermenter then funnel poured back into the same cleaned bottle. I used to fear oxygen, but no longer.

Getting ready to innoculate for MLF and add some oak cubes. This may be my best tasting wine yet

Sounds like it's going well. Interestingly, I was listening to a wine podacast while in traffic the other day. They were interviewing Charles Smith of Washington State renown. The Chateaux Smith wines I have had in the past were pretty darn good. He was going on and on about how he lets all of his wines sit on the heavy lees and does very ittle to them. It struck me as interesting even though I have only fermented one batch in my lifetime. You would think problems would pop up a lot with that protocol. He sounded as though he liked to embellish.....

That being said, I really like your post.....from vine to bottle. Keep us posted.
I am jealously watching as I will be relegated to frozen buckets this year.

 

[Snafflebit]

The angel's share! Oops



ML culture is in.

@SCAndy about leaving on the gros lee, maybe that winemaker is using a non-H2S producing yeast. I think this BM45 is extra eggy. I can see that a semipermeable barrel would let gasses exchange better than glass.

 

[Joe B.]

I left my wine on the gross less about as long as you this year and stirred them twice a day until I was sure the fermentation was complete before letting them settle and racked. Pressed way early try to avoid green flavors due to being forced to harvest early due to rain. a lot of green seeds. I have the same press but 40 liter and love it.