A 2020 Cab Franc journey with fellow WMT member

[crushday]

I spent eight hours pressing today (setup, press, cleanup) and was able to get 88 gallons of Cabernet Franc. I also pressed the Petit Verdot (9 gallons), the Cab Sauv (23 gallons) and Merlot (31 gallons). Total=151 gallons.

Here are a few of the pics... (sorry for the orientation. I wish the website software allowed me to change this!)

 

[crushday]

A few more pics...

 

[Johnd]

Looks like it went off pretty well, the color looks super, nice job!!

 

[crushday]

Looks like it went off pretty well, the color looks super, nice job!!

I didn't use the bag. Glad I didn't...

 

[Johnd]

I didn't use the bag. Glad I didn't...

Did you try the Saran Wrap hack? You might not get the high pressure squirters in a bladder press, but they’re super messy in a ratchet type press.

 

[crushday]

Did you try the Saran Wrap hack? You might not get the high pressure squirters in a bladder press, but they’re super messy in a ratchet type press.

I considered it but I was able to adjust the pressure and keep it from squirting. When they would start, I would back off the pressure for a few minutes. Once I noticed the flow slowing I added more pressure. It worked really well. I would highly recommend using a bladder press.

 

[GR!]

This gets me excited for my grapes to get in!

 

[Ajmassa]

Wow. Didn’t realize you had all that goin at once. Where’s the merlot, cab sauv, and petite Verdot from?
Hard to keep track of all your wines!
Looks like a long day. Certainly putting in some work!

Fantastic pics. Seems all went as smooth as one could hope for. So what’s the end goal here? Planning to find a nice blend before barreling? Do you have an idea of the blend you’re shooting for?

 

[BI81]

This is like watching a hype video before football season!! I am now officially pumped. I get Santa Barbara county grapes and still have about a month to go, but I’m stoked!

 

[crushday]

Wow. Didn’t realize you had all that goin at once. Where’s the merlot, cab sauv, and petite Verdot from?
Hard to keep track of all your wines!
Looks like a long day. Certainly putting in some work!

Fantastic pics. Seems all went as smooth as one could hope for. So what’s the end goal here? Planning to find a nice blend before barreling? Do you have an idea of the blend you’re shooting for?

AJ, it did go smooth. The Merlot and Cab are from Livermore, California. The Petit Verdot is from Rattlesnake Hills in the Columbia River valley (Washington). My goal with this wine: I’m trying to blend the CF, Merlot, Cab and PV and attempt the same percentages of the 100pt wine that @NorCal posted last year. And, planning on single varietal of each too.

My highest goal is to give most of what I make away and enjoy the process in the meantime. Like everyone, I want to make wine as good or better than the wine I can buy.

 

[wood1954]

Wow, that should be a great blend. What makes a 100 point wine for you?are you barrel aging? That’s a lot of wine to give away. As I was crushing my grapes I was wondering what I’m going to do next year when my harvest will probably double.

 

[crushday]

Wow, that should be a great blend. What makes a 100 point wine for you?are you barrel aging? That’s a lot of wine to give away. As I was crushing my grapes I was wondering what I’m going to do next year when my harvest will probably double.

Here’s the description of the blend we’re talking about.

2012 Verite le Desir, 100 point wine (Robert Parker).

Le Désir—predominantly Cabernet Franc supported by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot — shows layers of concentrated fruit, exotic spice, opulent aromatics and a plush suede texture.

Cab Franc 64%. 39 gallons
Merlo 24%. 14 gallons
Cab Sav 8%. 4.5 gallons
Petite Verdot 4%. 2.5 gallons

I am aging in a barrel. I’ll move to final storage once MLF has completed.

 

[Kraffty]

Looks amazing so far. I'm impressed at the level you've jumped in at (equip and quality of grapes and volume) and the way you're been gathering and using info from some of the experienced people on this forum. Great job all around! Keep up the updates and maybe share comparisons with NorCals progress from same grapes.

 

[NorCal]

Wow, that’s a lot of wine to handle, hopefully you had some help. You have one of my CF blends in our wine swap for comparison, but you would have to wait a year or two to compare. I’d just drink it

 

[Mac60]

I spent eight hours pressing today (setup, press, cleanup) and was able to get 88 gallons of Cabernet Franc. I also pressed the Petit Verdot (9 gallons), the Cab Sauv (23 gallons) and Merlot (31 gallons). Total=151 gallons.

Here are a few of the pics... (sorry for the orientation. I wish the website software allowed me to change this!)

View attachment 65744View attachment 65745View attachment 65746View attachment 65747View attachment 65748View attachment 65749View attachment 65750View attachment 65751View attachment 65752View attachment 65753

Looks fantastic what bladder press are you using how did it work out for you?
Mike

 

[crushday]

Wow, that’s a lot of wine to handle, hopefully you had some help. You have one of my CF blends in our wine swap for comparison, but you would have to wait a year or two to compare. I’d just drink it

NorCal - actually I did it all by myself. Other than my wife taking a few pictures of me working it was a long solo day. Which I'm ok with. Most of my life is spent around lots of people so having a day to myself has it's own level of therapeutics.

I'm yanking a cork tonight on another bottle of your fantastic wine. I'll let you know how that goes...

 

[crushday]

Looks fantastic what bladder press are you using how did it work out for you?
Mike

It's the Lancman VSX80 - it worked very well. First time I used it so a little bit of a learning curve for the first pressing but I was a near expert by round two.

 

[Mac60]

Where did you purchase it, I'm looking for one and trying to decide on 120 or the 80? we are doing 2740lbs of grapes

 

[crushday]

Where did you purchase it, I'm looking for one and trying to decide on 120 or the 80? we are doing 2740lbs of grapes

I got mine at winemakersdepot.com - it’s not far from my house and that’s the brand they carry and, I don’t have to pay shipping.

Of the two capacities you state, given the amount of grapes I would get the 120. A couple unknowns for me related to your specific case:

1. Is the amount of grapes anomalous or annually reoccurring?
2. Are your grapes red (post ferment) or white (pre ferment)?
3. Equipment ($) budget vs time budget becomes tension to manage.

I pressed 1900 pounds of grape must in six basket fills with the 80 so you can use my experience to gauge your purchase or rental.

 

[Mac60]

I got mine at winemakersdepot.com - it’s not far from my house and that’s the brand they carry and, I don’t have to pay shipping.

Of the two capacities you state, given the amount of grapes I would get the 120. A couple unknowns for me related to your specific case:

1. Is the amount of grapes anomalous or annually reoccurring?
2. Are your grapes red (post ferment) or white (pre ferment)?
3. Equipment ($) budget vs time budget becomes tension to manage.

I pressed 1900 pounds of grape must in six basket fills with the 80 so you can use my experience to gauge your purchase or rental.

Crushday,
Thanks for the response
1. We will most likely being the same quantity or slightly more next year
2. Red Grapes are fermented
3. The 120 is more than we would like to spend but would work if we save time with reduced press cycles

Sounds like you ran a little over 300 lbs each press cycle how long did it take you to press 1900 lbs?