So I netted my vines over the weekend and it looks like I was just in time. Over the last 5 days we've gone from mostly green to mostly red grapes. One of the pics shows a couple of small clusters that we didn't include in the nets and in the last two days the birds have found them. My understanding is that Zin is infamous for ripening unevenly so my plan is to pick as they are ready and throw in the freezer until they're all ready to crush. I've also bought a Vineyard Series zin kit from Label Peelers that I plan on using part of to ferment with my first smallish (70-80lbs. est.) crop this year. Equal to 3 of their Forte kits plus I added 9 packs of skins though I'm not really sure how much I'll be using with my grapes.
Side note: this was my first time buying from Label Peelers and there was a FedEx problem that made one of the packages of concentrate unusable. The owner @Matt_Pruszynski got back to me directly, figured out the problem and replaced the product right away. We even had an enjoyable discussion on winemaking in general. I've read here in the past that they are a good source and company and I just wanted to share that my experience was also excellent. Thanks Matt.
Will start taking some Brix readings this weekend but guessing mid august we'll start picking.
Side note: this was my first time buying from Label Peelers and there was a FedEx problem that made one of the packages of concentrate unusable. The owner @Matt_Pruszynski got back to me directly, figured out the problem and replaced the product right away. We even had an enjoyable discussion on winemaking in general. I've read here in the past that they are a good source and company and I just wanted to share that my experience was also excellent. Thanks Matt.
Will start taking some Brix readings this weekend but guessing mid august we'll start picking.
