In mid-September, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to make wine from fresh grapes this year. Between work and time away from the house, I couldn't make the schedule work.
On October 21st, I got a call from a local vineyard operator who grows chard, merlot and cab franc. He said he would likely have some excess cab franc if I wanted some. They were picking on the 23rd. I could come down, pick what I wanted and go along my merry way. Too good to pass up. I picked 100 lbs with a "let's see if these PA grapes are any good" mindset.
The grapes were in really good shape. The pH came in just shy of 3.9, but the brix were right on the money at around 24. I adjusted the pH to 3.55 and set my plan in motion. I'll let y'all know how it goes. But so far, the fermentation is humming along nicely.
The only concern I have is with doing an MLF. With everything happening so quickly, I didn't have time to order anything online. So, all my supplies came from my LHBS. They only stock the liquid White Labs MLB. So, I waited until the ferment really took off, then co-inoculated with the liquid White Labs. Hopefully, it takes off too. Time will tell.
