Spectacular Petit Verdot batch

[Boatboy24]

You'll have to scout out some new spots to get grapes around there!

Harford is still my game. Actually, I'll now be about 20 minutes closer.

 

[wineinmd]

I'm not too far from there. I'll have to remember to check in on things later in the year.

How much wine does one get from a lug of grapes?

 

[Boatboy24]

I'm not too far from there. I'll have to remember to check in on things later in the year.

How much wine does one get from a lug of grapes?

No need to wait until later this year. They're taking orders for Chilean juice and grapes now.

Prices vary, but you can take a look at their website for specifics. (harfordvineyard.com)

 

[heatherd]

And if you hustle you may be able to preorder the South African Pinotage grapes.

Everything you can pre-order is on their web store. You pay half up front and the other half when you pick stuff up.

I placed Chilean and South African preorders already....

They'll also have California, Italy, and Maryland juice buckets and grapes in the fall. You should be able to see those varieties but not yet place the order online. They crush and destem for $25, which is nice for me b/c I don't have space for the equipment.

They also sell barrels, supplies, etc.

You can subscribe to get emails to find out when they have stuff ready for preorder.

Heather

 

[ceeaton]

Heather,

Is the $25 to crush and destem for multiple lugs or per lug? Just curious, I only ordered one lug with a bucket and plan on the kids doing it, but in the future (fall) I might just do a whole lot more.

 

[heatherd]

Flat fee. Last time I ordered, I got a bucket of Zinfandel and a bucket of Cab Franc, with a lug of grapes for each. There was a single fee to crush and destem both lugs.

 

[ceeaton]

Heather,

One last question. Is there a good place to eat down around the Harford winery? Good to me means good food and less than $50 for two. My wife and I are trying to plan an escape from our four kids for a few hours when the buckets/grapes come in. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[heatherd]

Heather,

One last question. Is there a good place to eat down around the Harford winery? Good to me means good food and less than $50 for two. My wife and I are trying to plan an escape from our four kids for a few hours when the buckets/grapes come in. Thanks for any suggestions.

When I took the family on one of my Harford runs, we ate at Enotria in Forest Hill, which is Italian. http://www.enotriarestaurant.com/ It was good food and had a pretty nice selection of wine.

Although I saved my wine consumption for Harford b/c I am a fan of their wines, especially the traiminette and crimson moon.

 

[ceeaton]

Heather,

Thank you for the recommendation. We are just hoping for a few hours without children, which doesn't happen many times a year and must be planned like a bank heist. Italian is right up our alley.

The Crimson Moon description intrigued me since I love Merlot wines (that is the bucket I pre-ordered). My wife likes a semi-sweet red, so we may have to buy a few bottles to taste test when we pick up the juice.

Thanks!

 

[Bartman]

I'm not too far from there. I'll have to remember to check in on things later in the year.

How much wine does one get from a lug of grapes?

One lug of grapes yields around 2 gallons of juice depending on the 'juiciness' of the grapes. Generally, less juicy is considered better in wine grapes (opposite of table grapes), because the flavor and sugar are more concentrated then; typically, a late rain can make ripening grapes 'extra' juicy.

In my experience, I have gotten up to 2.5 gallons from a lug, but never less than 2 gallons.

 

[wineinmd]

One lug of grapes yields around 2 gallons of juice depending on the 'juiciness' of the grapes. Generally, less juicy is considered better in wine grapes (opposite of table grapes), because the flavor and sugar are more concentrated then; typically, a late rain can make ripening grapes 'extra' juicy.

In my experience, I have gotten up to 2.5 gallons from a lug, but never less than 2 gallons.

Awesome. Thanks. I guess that means 3 lugs for a full batch.

Are there any 'home' methods for pressing or is it worth it to pay them?

 

[Boatboy24]

Awesome. Thanks. I guess that means 3 lugs for a full batch.

Are there any 'home' methods for pressing or is it worth it to pay them?

It should be noted that the Chilean (and I believe South African) lugs are 18lbs. These yield about 1-1.5 gallons of juice. For planning purposes, I use 1.25. California lugs are 36lbs and yield about 2.5 gallons.

Pressing, I don't think they do. When you're dealing with grapes, you have crushing/destemming, then pressing. Crushing/desteming is simply removing the grapes from the stems, then breaking them open so that the yeast can get in there and do their thing. Pressing is done when you're nearing the end of fermentation and is simply squeezing the juice out of the grapes, leaving the skins and seeds behind.

If you're thinking of getting into fresh juice and/or grapes, going with a juice bucket and adding a lug of grapes is a great way to start without having to invest in any additional equipment. You can buy 6 gallons of juice for $50 or $60 and the lug of grapes will cost you about another 27 or 28. Yeast, nutrients, malolactic bacteria, etc will run you another $30 or so. In the end, you'll get around 7 gallons of wine for roughly $100. Not a bad deal. 18lbs of grapes is a very manageable quantity. You can destem and crush by hand, add the grapes to a mesh paint strainer bag and put the bag into the juice. When you get near the end of fermentation, just remove the bag and squeeze out the juice. I did this a few years ago for my first attempt and it worked out pretty well. I chronicled the progress here:

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f60/chilean-wine-adventure-38422/

 

[wineinmd]

It should be noted that the Chilean (and I believe South African) lugs are 18lbs. These yield about 1-1.5 gallons of juice. For planning purposes, I use 1.25. California lugs are 36lbs and yield about 2.5 gallons.

Pressing, I don't think they do. When you're dealing with grapes, you have crushing/destemming, then pressing. Crushing/desteming is simply removing the grapes from the stems, then breaking them open so that the yeast can get in there and do their thing. Pressing is done when you're nearing the end of fermentation and is simply squeezing the juice out of the grapes, leaving the skins and seeds behind.

If you're thinking of getting into fresh juice and/or grapes, going with a juice bucket and adding a lug of grapes is a great way to start without having to invest in any additional equipment. You can buy 6 gallons of juice for $50 or $60 and the lug of grapes will cost you about another 27 or 28. Yeast, nutrients, malolactic bacteria, etc will run you another $30 or so. In the end, you'll get around 7 gallons of wine for roughly $100. Not a bad deal. 18lbs of grapes is a very manageable quantity. You can destem and crush by hand, add the grapes to a mesh paint strainer bag and put the bag into the juice. When you get near the end of fermentation, just remove the bag and squeeze out the juice. I did this a few years ago for my first attempt and it worked out pretty well. I chronicled the progress here:

http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/f60/chilean-wine-adventure-38422/

Thanks for the info and the link. I really like the juice + grapes idea.

I only have one 6 gallon carboy at this point from my brewing adventures and my Sauv Blanc will be moved into it in about a week, so I won't have a home for anything else for a little while. When will the Chilean juice/grapes be available? I imagine I should use them right away.

I also don't have a barrel and likely won't for a while. How big of a consideration should that be? Your thread makes it sound like the barrel time was a big plus. Granted, I don't have the most discerning palate at this point so it probably won't matter for me.

Which Chilean variety is a good one for a nice dry red? Would it work to mix varieties? Say, Cabernet juice with Petite Verdot grapes?

 

[Boatboy24]

The Chilean goodies have come in around the 2nd week of May the last two years. The barrel really kicks up your game, but it is not a requirement. You can still get oak essence using cubes or staves and would only be missing the microoxidation and concentration that the barrel brings. Carmenere and Malbec are two popular Chilean wines. I did both my first time. Last year, I went whole grapes and have a 50/50 cabernet merlot blend. I like your idea of Cab juice with PV grapes. One of my favorite commercial Chilean wines is a blend of 92% Carmenere and 8% Petit Verdot. That's what I'd be making this year, were I not skipping the Chilean harvest due to a move.

 

[wineinmd]

The Chilean goodies have come in around the 2nd week of May the last two years. The barrel really kicks up your game, but it is not a requirement. You can still get oak essence using cubes or staves and would only be missing the microoxidation and concentration that the barrel brings. Carmenere and Malbec are two popular Chilean wines. I did both my first time. Last year, I went whole grapes and have a 50/50 cabernet merlot blend. I like your idea of Cab juice with PV grapes. One of my favorite commercial Chilean wines is a blend of 92% Carmenere and 8% Petit Verdot. That's what I'd be making this year, were I not skipping the Chilean harvest due to a move.

Hmmm. The 2nd week of May just might work. Any idea when the sale ends? I've never tried Carmenere before.

In your other thread, it sounds like you split the juice. In the interest of using my available equipment, could I split the juice into my 6.5g beer fermenting bucket and my 7.9g wine bucket? I imagine I would just split the juice and grapes between the two. I have a 1 gallon bottle so I could use that and the 6 gallon carboy that I can transfer the 7 gallons into.

I don't know if I'm putting the horse way in front of the cart here and if I might be better served by making more than one kit before trying my hand with juice and grapes, but it sounds like fun.

 

[Boatboy24]

I had to split the batches into two buckets because of the grape addition. The juice buckets come with only about an inch of headspace and adding 18lbs of grapes would have resulted in a certain overflow, once fermentation got going. So I kept half the juice in the bucket it came in and the rest in another bucket (your existing fermenter will do just fine).

This is a good excuse to get another carboy. Don't rush that Sauv Blanc along.

 

[wineinmd]

I had to split the batches into two buckets because of the grape addition. The juice buckets come with only about an inch of headspace and adding 18lbs of grapes would have resulted in a certain overflow, once fermentation got going. So I kept half the juice in the bucket it came in and the rest in another bucket (your existing fermenter will do just fine).

This is a good excuse to get another carboy. Don't rush that Sauv Blanc along.

I never considered using the bucket it came in. Do you just rest the lid on top of the bucket or do you have a way of sealing it? I'm coming from the brewing world where everything gets airlocked.

I've got my eye out for another carboy, but I'm trying to keep expenses down for now. If I get the juice and grapes during the 2nd week of May and add in the time it will spend in the buckets, that will give me about 6-7 weeks of the Sauv Blanc in the carboy. I know beer kits are notorious for giving unrealistically short timeframes. Is that the case here as well?

I appreciate all the advice so far. I'm really enjoying learning about all this.

 

[Boatboy24]

I never considered using the bucket it came in. Do you just rest the lid on top of the bucket or do you have a way of sealing it? I'm coming from the brewing world where everything gets airlocked.

I've got my eye out for another carboy, but I'm trying to keep expenses down for now. If I get the juice and grapes during the 2nd week of May and add in the time it will spend in the buckets, that will give me about 6-7 weeks of the Sauv Blanc in the carboy. I know beer kits are notorious for giving unrealistically short timeframes. Is that the case here as well?

I appreciate all the advice so far. I'm really enjoying learning about all this.

For primary, some people airlock, some just set the lid on top of the bucket, some just cover with a towel. Once you're in secondary, you need the airlock.

Wine kit manufacturers' directions are fine to follow. With their timeline, the wine is drinkable. But it improves tremendously with more time. That's not good for sales though.

We've taken this WAY off topic from the OP. Is there a Mod that might be able to split the thread?

 

[ceeaton]

Maybe they could attach it to the Chilean harvest 2015 at Harford Vineyard thread. I've got some more Juice bucket questions to ask you and Heather since I've never done one before. (Maybe I could just order some Petit Verdot grapes and we could keep it on this thread)

 

[heatherd]

Happy to answer any questions, the jump from kit to pail+grapes is something I have enjoyed and might have done sooner if I knew more about how to do things. I'll still do kits, but will make the most of what's in season first.

We can move over to the Harford 2015 thread, though....

Heather