Big and Bold again!

[Ajmassa]

Thank you so much for handling this John. Very professional.
Personally I was VERY surprised at my result- even skeptical. But the detailed post about the judges and everything involved reassured me that this was very legit.
How long did the entries decant for before judging? Last night had a taster of my entry. Went from oaky& kit tasty to very enjoyable. But needed every bit of a 1.5 hr decant.

 

[Amanda660]

Thank you so much for hosting this awesome opportunity for all of us! Much appreciated! Can't wait to get the feedback. Thank you again!

 

[heatherd]

Thanks to the judges, @JohnT and congrats to the winners!!!!!

 

[ceeaton]

@JohnT, thank you again for hosting the tasting, and taking the time to judge all of the wines. The notes you send back are really helpful, because as you know, others we give our wine two can tend to lay lavish praises on our products, in search of more "free wine".

I was thinking of including a "bribe" so that the tasters could order some pizza or subs or something, but beef bourguignon followed by apple pie would be very hard to beat!

 

[jgmann67]

Care to share the specifics of this wine and how it was made?

Okay I went through my notes (everything I did, I posted in the Forza thread), and saw the following:

* starting SG was about 1.110.

* This kit came with two yeasts. I used the RC212. The wine slowed fermentation around 1.03. So, I dropped the E1118 and brought it home to 0.990 without a problem.

* My notes show 8gr of tannin in the primary.

* I added 50 gr of French medium toast chips on top of the cubes included with the kit for the first 3 months in bulk.

* Bulk aged for about 10 months before bottling.

* I skipped the sorbate since it was fermented to zero.

* it bulk aged in the basement over the coldest months of the year, so I imagine that precipitated out any wine diamonds.

 

[JohnT]

Thank you so much for handling this John. Very professional.
Personally I was VERY surprised at my result- even skeptical. But the detailed post about the judges and everything involved reassured me that this was very legit.
How long did the entries decant for before judging? Last night had a taster of my entry. Went from oaky& kit tasty to very enjoyable. But needed every bit of a 1.5 hr decant.

I am afraid that it was short of 1.5 hours. We decanted your wine at the beginning of the competition (about 45 minutes before judging it).

 

[Ajmassa]

I am afraid that it was short of 1.5 hours. We decanted your wine at the beginning of the competition (about 45 minutes before judging it).

Well I suppose it was enough. I also don’t own a fancy wine decanter. Something I’m looking into. There are some wild looking decanters out there too.
I actually use an old 50’s style milk bottle. Stole the idea from a winery above Trenton I’ve visited a couple times.

 

[JohnT]

I am a huge fan of this style...



It spreads the wine out to get more air exposure.

 

[geek]

You guys are sofisticated and experienced wine drinkers, my decanter is leaving the wine bottle itself open

 

[JohnT]

You guys are sofisticated and experienced wine drinkers, my decanter is leaving the wine bottle itself open

OK, I have to find out just how unsophisticated you are...

Do you use wine glasses (or do you simply stick a straw in the bottle)? LOL

No, honestly, I do not use a decanter all the time, just in special cases.

 

[geek]

OK, I have to find out just how unsophisticated you are...

Do you use wine glasses (or do you simply stick a straw in the bottle)? LOL

No, honestly, I do not use a decanter all the time, just in special cases.

LOL, just poured into the glass and swirl, swirl...
But honestly, I believe there's a decanter in the house that I got as a present and never used, need to find it...

 

[Ajmassa]

You guys are sofisticated and experienced wine drinkers, my decanter is leaving the wine bottle itself open

Lol. Wrong impression ! I’m swirling the glass. The only time I’ve ever decanted was when checking a young wine I made that needed it.
And I guess a few times on younger >$30 cabs. When I spend more than I typically do on a bottle I’ll look it up (I use an app called ‘Delectable’). If I read “will benefit from a few yrs” I’ve decanted the whole bottle since I can’t store properly.
And seriously, most wine knowledge has come recently. From those reviews from people on that app and this forum.

 

[ceeaton]

OK, I have to find out just how unsophisticated you are...

Do you use wine glasses (or do you simply stick a straw in the bottle)? LOL

A racking cane with a bit of tubing works great in a carboy, no "tipping" required!

Decanter, Crate and Barrel circa 1993 or so?

 

[JohnT]

Update:

The medals have come in. I will be sending them out (along with the original score cards) over the next week or so.

 

[Amanda660]

She should have gotten Best in Show for pulling that off.

Congrats to the medal winners!

Why did I not see this post! Ha! I only saw the corrected date so I didn't even know there was a typo - you guys are on the ball!

 

[Rodnboro]

Sorry, I said I was going to enter, but I started a new job November 27 and I haven't had time to do much of anything. Congratulations to all metal winners.

 

[JohnT]

All,

I am so sorry about how long it is taking to send the scorecards and medals out.

Life has been kind of nuts with the holidays and all. To top that, I have had some major plumbing issues to take care of due to the cold.

I plan on sending them all out tomorrow. I will post again to confirm this.

Again, My deepest apologies!

johnT.

 

[jgmann67]

No problem. Life happens.

 

[JohnT]

Sent today! Thanks everyone!

 

[JohnT]

The medals went out on Saturday.

I would like to kindly ask that all of you post a picture of the medals you receive (perhaps with the bottle that won the award?). Consider that your consider that your entry fee..