Hi All from NJ

[Morris]

Been awful quite.....

 

[Morris]

Some new labels

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

Those are really nice labels.

 

[joeswine]

With the AC season here I'm overwhelm with work but I still maintain my threads and that by it self is a lot. Also the wine making slows down for me.but I'm still here.

 

[Morris]

Just wanted to make sure...and if you are near GSP Exit 67 stop by for a glass or two or three...

 

[joeswine]

Did you here their voteing today on raising the gas tax by 23cents per gallon, when fdo they ask us what we think?

 

[JohnT]

Did you here their voteing today on raising the gas tax by 23cents per gallon, when fdo they ask us what we think?

They say that the gas tax was not increased since the 1980's, but still, 23 cents? That is a big punch in the gut!

 

[joeswine]

So then what justify the increase now,when do they ask us about taxes and what we think?

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

Didn't they tell you in school you are not supposed to think? Just work your A-- off to let the rich guys & politicians not pay taxes. We are supposed to support everything else so they can play. You know the best job in NJ is to be a politician or millionaire. Lifetime benefits after winning one state or county election.

 

[Morris]

Same in Italy...pension for politician 32,000 Euro per month!! Oh...plus benefits and life time of immunity from prosecution....

 

[JohnT]

OK guys. I feel you, but lets drop the subject. This topic could only serve to get folks angry (myself included) and, besides, we should not be talking politics on a winemaking site.

 

[Morris]

So what is the plan for fall harvest?

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

So what is the plan for fall harvest?

Last week I picked whatever grapes the deer and the birds didn't eat on me. So I felt it was time to check out the grapes at Corrado's. Today I bought 360 lbs of grape. Half old vine Zinfandel and Barbera. Brix 24, de-stemmed it and crushed the whole batch of almost 40 gallons of must. Added yeast, BM 4X4 couldn't get RC 212 that I usually use. Hope it won't impact the flavor negatively. Punched it down tonight and will start the routine of AM and PM punch down for the next week.

I also bought a 6 gallon pail of Sauv.Blanc to try at the same time. That one's Brix 21.

My messy set up the white plastic crate is my hand de-stemmer on top of the crusher. Someday i will figure out how to make the photos come upright. Sorry.


What have you guys started lately?

 

[joeswine]

That's a lot of work,good luck bill

 

[JohnT]

Did you get the Zinfandel at Corrado's?

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

Did you get the Zinfandel at Corrado's?

Yes, I purchased 5 lugs of Old Vine Zinfandel at Corrado's @ $46 each. They did not have Chenin Blanc so I am experimenting with Sauvignon Blanc (6 Gallons).
Corrado's in Clifton has expanded further back into their warehouse area. A whole new layout.
24 Brix is pretty good, I should get at least 14.4% ABV if all goes well. It formed a beautiful cap this morning and I punched it down.

21 Brix Sauvignon Blanc juice was slow in getting started using EC-1118 last night and a little Fermaid-K this morning.

The whole cellar smells great with all the CO2 outgassing. Soon the whole house will smell like a winery.

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

Just wanted to make sure...and if you are near GSP Exit 67 stop by for a glass or two or three...

We are headed to Octopus' Garden tonight with our cugini. Maybe see you there. Our wine bottles have no labels. Too much work cleaning them off when recycling the bottles.

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

Well the S.G. dropped down from 1.1011 to .996 and that meant that it was time to press the must. Free run was 24 gallons and press yielded and additional 5 gallons of juice. The debate here now is whether to mix the pressed juice with the free run and when to do it. I have always in the past mixed them right away with good results. I wonder if I should treat them as two separate batches?

If I had a still i could have made Grappa with the two buckets of pressings but they are compost now.

 

[Morris]

How many liters of wine are you making? Do you filter any wine and if so how?

 

[Billpizzaiolo]

How many liters of wine are you making? Do you filter any wine and if so how?

First run (juice from under the cap without pressing) = 94.7 liters

Pressed all the skins (must) = 19 liters

My eventual yield is about 95 liters of wine if I am careful racking and filtering.

Sometimes I don't filter with all three filters sometimes just one or two it depends on how it looks and tastes during the process before bottling. I let it rest in small oak barrels for at least 6 months before bottling.