Crushing 10 Tons of Cabernet!

[ibglowin]

Helped my friends out at Black Mesa Winery about 30 miles North of me yesterday. They had just gotten in 10 Tons of Cabernet Sauvignon that morning from down South in Deming. Grapes were brought up in a refrigerated truck and were still very cold. Hard work for sure but I loved every minute of it. I learned a lot about how a commercial operation works and the owner was very open about what was being added to the must and why. I was up top pulling leaves out and pushing grapes into the crusher. I was pretty covered in sticky grape juice by the end of the day but it washes off pretty easily. It was a nice cool crisp Fall like day with a gentle breeze and the crush pad has a brand new cover to keep us (and the grapes) out of the sun.

In return a hearty lunch spread was supplied for all as well as my choice of a bottle of wine from the tasting room and..........an invite to come back in a couple of weeks to help harvest/crush their estate grown Merlot and take home enough grapes to fill a 20G Brute!

These grapes have much better chemistry since they are grown further North at altitude with much cooler weather than down South (only 85-90's high temps vs 100+ temps).

 

[tonyt]

Must have been a really fun day!

 

[ibglowin]

I slept pretty heavy! Little stiff this morning, not in a good way either!

 

[Bartman]

So what did they add to the must? When you say "much better chemistry", what is that compared to - the Black Mesa estate Merlot?

But, most importantly,

did you get to drive the forklift?

 

[rhoffart]

Very nice, man I jealous ... did you learn anything you can use in your own process?

 

[tonyt]

I think what Rick means is did you learn anything WE can use in OUR process.
And isn't that you on the forklift?

 

[rhoffart]

I think what Rick means is did you learn anything WE can use in OUR process.And isn't that you on the forklift?

Well, it will be a while before I use fresh grapes ... I was going to wait till then to ask

 

[ibglowin]

They were adding sulfite, booster rouge, tartaric, macerating enzymes, dry tannin, oak sawdust.......

Due to the hot weather (lots of 100 degree days) where these grapes are grown they are high in pH and low in acid. Tartaric acid brings both levels right in range. The estate grown grapes are grown 350 miles to the North at higher altitude. Summer time high temps rarely reach much above 90 and the grapes have a lot longer hang time with much cooler night time lows as well making for a all around better balanced grape.

That said I don't quite understand how they get these vines to survive each Winter as the lows are constantly in the 0-10 degree range for Dec, Jan, Feb time frame. Something I will have to enquire for next time for sure. Could be a heartier rootstock or they could protect the vines with some type of insulation during the Winter.

I did not drive the forklift. It looks like fun but it was tight quarters and I for sure did not want the responsibility should I somehow screw up and drop a full load of grapes. Each one of those Macro bins holds ~$700 worth of grapes!

So what did they add to the must?  When you say "much better chemistry", what is that compared to - the Black Mesa estate Merlot?But, most importantly, did you get to drive the forklift? 

 

[ibglowin]

I got confirmation on a lot of things I was very interested in regarding making wine from fresh grapes, especially these grapes since this is what I will have to work with from year to year. I was able to pick up some good yeast pairing ideas, chemistry adjusting ideas, blending ideas. I was asking a lot of questions and taking a lot of mental notes for sure!

Very nice, man I jealous ... did you learn anything you can use in your own process?

 

[ibglowin]

That's the owner of the winery.

And isn't that you on the forklift?

 

[grapeman]

Sounds like a fun day Mike for sure. When you get done over there, come on over here. We crushed the first picking of about 700 pounds last evening. After getting back from the market this afternoon late, we pressed them out (being whites) and I just got in.


I will need to begin picking a bit heavier this week and hopefully be in full action soon.

 

[ibglowin]

Rich you are a one man pickin' crushin' pressin' mean lean fightin' machine!

Don't know how you do it all but kudos to you!

 

[Goodfella]

Very cool!!!


It is really cool to see the "behind the scenes" of a commercial winery.


MIKE IT IS YOUR DESTINY!!! (Star wars reference) haha


Joel

 

[ibglowin]

Or "Back to the Future".....

"You are my density"..........

 

[Waldo]

Thanks for sharing the experience Mike. Great pictures

 

[grapeman]

Rich you are a one man pickin' crushin' pressin' mean lean fightin' machine!

Don't know how you do it all but kudos to you!

Mike I am anything but lean............

I got to cheat with that batch. Two of the boys picked them on Saturday while I was at the Saturday Farmer's Market. That's why I only had 700 pounds.

Not trying to steal from your fun at all, just relating to a chronologically challenged man such as yourself, I get stiff much easier these days, and as you state it, not in a good way.

 

[Scott B]

Mike, That is 10 tons of fun! Thanks for the photos.

 

[rrawhide]

Hey Mike


Glad that you had a wonderful winey day. Lots of rewarding work and fun too!!!!


We only processed about 800# this year. Were going to buy some grapes but decided to work on what we have (about 25 carboys and 2 barrels full) at this time. Then next year buy a ton or ?. My vines along the driveway produced 200# and will make a nice blend. There is 8 gallons of 'estate' wine in the cool room.


More later


Rick

 

[ibglowin]

Wow, I thought you just planted those vines, how did you coax 200lbs off of them!

 

[rrawhide]

Hi again Mike


This is the 3rd year for the merlot and syrah. Also, the week that I was laid up the birds had a field-day and we picked what was left. I figured that there would have been about 400# the week before. I watered about 24 hours (8 hours at night 3 times) a week during the season and fertilized 4 times through the drip system. So, they did well. Next year should be more and the cabs will be 2 years old. So we will see. All together should be about 110 vines. Enough for me!!!!


Just received a card from Delicato Vineyards in Manteca, Ca that their 'juice' is ready. For 9 days a year they sell the juice (blend) for $3.10 per gallon to home winemakers. Buy as much as you want. It's a 150 mile trip for me so will probably pass this year (each way). But it's an options for those here in California. Just bring your own containers and ferment when you get home. A barrel would be $3.10 x 60 gallons = $186 or .62 cents a bottle (300 bottles). Not bad, huh?


It's fun doing this when you cannot lift much weight these days so you have to work smarter - with pumps and hoses and roll-around carts. Wish I would have thought about this earlier!!!!!


Hope you are well and having fun!!!


LAter


Rick