Can you make too much wine?

[NorCal]

I've completed two bottling session, with one more to go. 15 gallons Chardonnay, 6 gallons Cab Franc, 32 gallon Grenache, 37 gallon Syrah, 60 gallon GSM Rhone blend; 150 gallons, 750 bottles / 62 cases. I have family and friends that have cases of wine coming to them, around 25 cases. Still leaving me with more than my liver could take. The good news it is the best wine I've ever made.

 

[Ajmassa]

Way to be! That's very impressive. Hopefully you had some help there. Is this all from 2015 harvest?

 

[Smok1]

The simple answer is NO. Cant have too much wine in the cellar. Give some to friends and co workers if u need to make room, theyll love you for it. I have about 250 bottled and 9 carboys aging, and about to start a RJS trio white and just got my hands on 40lbs of cherries for a batch of wine. Thats an impressive stash you have there Norcal, i can send you my address if you need to make some room

 

[sour_grapes]

150 gallons, 750 bottles / 62 cases.

Wellll, there is, of course, that pesky 200 gallon per year federal limit to watch out for (assuming you have a domestic partner)....

 

[Johnd]

Wellll, there is, of course, that pesky 200 gallon per year federal limit to watch out for (assuming you have a domestic partner)....

Yes, I wake up at night sweating, hoping I'm not being watched by the Man!!

 

[FTC Wines]

WOW NorCal, That's a lot of wine. We bottled 16 cases in the last 2 weeks, & we thought that was a LOT. We are getting ready to leave on a 3 month RV trip & wanted as much wine as possible in the bottle without rushing it. Have just over 1,000 bottles in the cellar now. Roy

 

[Frosty]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum. I have been making wine since 2001. I have lost track of how many kits. At first I gave a lot away but I found few really appreciated the wine (many never even provided feedback which is what I wanted). I find that people often assume it was dirt cheap to make which is not true with high end kits. Oh well their loss.
I am still learning. I use almost exclusively high end kits with grape skin packs (reds). I stick pretty close to the instructions and don't add anything. I do however give more time for each stage especially for clearing. I don't filter and I rack as little as possible. I also bulk age for 6 months to a year.
I was making almost exclusively the special releases however now I am sold on the Eclipse kits. The Zinfandel is my favourite at this point but others are close favourites.
I am excited to join this forum and learn from others. Hopefully I can also pass on some things I have learned.
Best wishes,
Frosty

 

[bkisel]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum. I have been making wine since 2001. I have lost track of how many kits. At first I gave a lot away but I found few really appreciated the wine (many never even provided feedback which is what I wanted). I find that people often assume it was dirt cheap to make which is not true with high end kits. Oh well their loss.
I am still learning. I use almost exclusively high end kits with grape skin packs (reds). I stick pretty close to the instructions and don't add anything. I do however give more time for each stage especially for clearing. I don't filter and I rack as little as possible. I also bulk age for 6 months to a year.
I was making almost exclusively the special releases however now I am sold on the Eclipse kits. The Zinfandel is my favourite at this point but others are close favourites.
I am excited to join this forum and learn from others. Hopefully I can also pass on some things I have learned.
Best wishes,
Frosty

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Ron0126]

Yes, I wake up at night sweating, hoping I'm not being watched by the Man!!

@ NorCal Recently met a guy locally that was in your position about a year or two ago -- making tons of wine -- so he filed with the state to be able to produce and sell it. Today he has about seven oak barrels, three or four 500 liter stainless fermenters, and buys bottles by the pallet. He has a day job as a software salesman but opens his house each Saturday to sell wine. Really, really nice folks with a passion for wine and sharing it with others. And they make some great wine.

http://www.cat-n-bird.com/

 

[NorCal]

Way to be! That's very impressive. Hopefully you had some help there. Is this all from 2015 harvest?

This is 2016 grapes. I would love to age in bulk another 6 months, but I need the space for this year's harvest.

We have a great group of garage winemakers, each of us won gold medals or higher at the CA State fair this year, with different wine. For some of the ferments, @4Score, @BusaBill and I will collectively get the grapes, destem, ferment, press, settle, inoculate at one of our houses. The wine then gets moved for aging at each others garage.

This year, two tons of Cab Sauv, one ton Tempranillo, half ton of Chardonnay. My take on this is around 90 gallons, so down significantly.

 

[AkTom]

What a nice dilemma to have. I wish I was closer to help you out a bit.

 

[Ajmassa]

This is 2016 grapes. I would love to age in bulk another 6 months, but I need the space for this year's harvest.

We have a great group of garage winemakers, each of us won gold medals or higher at the CA State fair this year, with different wine. For some of the ferments, @4Score, @BusaBill and I will collectively get the grapes, destem, ferment, press, settle, inoculate at one of our houses. The wine then gets moved for aging at each others garage.

This year, two tons of Cab Sauv, one ton Tempranillo, half ton of Chardonnay. My take on this is around 90 gallons, so down significantly.

I'm very familiar with your situation, since all of your are pretty active on the forum. I think it's its incredible how everyone works together to make award winning wine.
If I remember correctly the video posted of your son (or @4Score's son? , I forget) giving tasting notes on one of the reds showed that aside from some co2 the wine was already very VERY good.
You outsource a large amount of grapes every year correct? I assume the amount is whatever exceeds your equipment capacity. Do these people who buy some grapes ever drop off some bottles of wine made from the same harvest? That would be pretty fun to taste different wines made from the same grapes.