Vintage 2019

[CDrew]

Things went as planned overnight. It got down to 39F but with the space heater and the exothermic fermentation the wine is a nice 72F this am. It looks like it made an attempt to climb out (first pic) then after punch down. Headed to Lodi today to get some CH16 which I'll add this morning.

 

[CDrew]

The CH16 mlb is on board and the brix were already 18, so I gave it the second feeding of Fermaid K. It’s warmed up another couple of degrees. I might be through this pretty quick! Love this Avante yeast. Maybe pressing Monday or Tuesday. Since the weather is cooler it would be nice to let it go a few more days on the skins and the color is already super dark and nice.

And if you’re following along, the suspect Mourvèdre went down the storm drain. 9 gallons. I tasted it again and nope. So out it went. Sniff.

 

[CDrew]

Brix at +1 today at 9am. So Friday afternoon it was +18, Sunday morning it's +1. Zooming through fermentation. The must is warm, despite the cool temps, 75-80F. It's still forming a nice cap, so I plan to punch down this evening before bed, and press the last wine of 2019 tomorrow morning. I'm going to shoot for early morning, and maybe by late in the afternoon, I can rack off the gross lees. I know that's quicker than desirable but it would fit my schedule better. I'll try and post some pics tomorrow. It looks like a lot of wine in the fermentor Brutes, estimating 60 gallons plus solids (and not much is solid after the EX-V and fermentation). Maybe 40-45 gallons? I guess I'll know after tomorrow.

 

[Chuck E]

Brix at +1 today at 9am. So Friday afternoon it was +18, Sunday morning it's +1. Zooming through fermentation. The must is warm, despite the cool temps, 75-80F. It's still forming a nice cap, so I plan to punch down this evening before bed, and press the last wine of 2019 tomorrow morning. I'm going to shoot for early morning, and maybe by late in the afternoon, I can rack off the gross lees. I know that's quicker than desirable but it would fit my schedule better. I'll try and post some pics tomorrow. It looks like a lot of wine in the fermentor Brutes, estimating 60 gallons plus solids (and not much is solid after the EX-V and fermentation). Maybe 40-45 gallons? I guess I'll know after tomorrow.

I swear I can almost smell this just from the pictures!

 

[CDrew]

I don't have to work until Tuesday so this morning I got up with the intent to press the Tempranillo. A neighbor came over and wanted to chat so it took a bit longer than it needed too, but still done and cleaned up before lunch.

I had 2 40 gallon fermenters with about 30 gallons of wine + solids. It took 4 press runs to do it all.

Net result: 43 gallons of wine split between 2 intellitanks (15 g each) and 2 6.5 g carboys. I am going to rack off the gross lees tonight. It's settling nicely and the rest of this week is going to be busy.

The new wine is really good. Maybe the best ever from Casa Cdrew. I'm very excited and 2 years from now it should be ready to drink!

 

[CDrew]

I think i could have actually yielded more wine since I limited my press to 1 bar. The reason for that, is I saw a video put up by Ridge (one of my favorites anyway!) about their press, and they feel that limiting the press to 1 bar avoids harsher elements in the wine. So this was a good time to try out that theory since there is plenty.

Last year I pressed everything to 2 bar, this year to 1.5, until today when I just went to 1 bar. I don't really know, but would love any advice. Other than the Ridge video, I could not find any actual science about press pressures. My press has an over pressure valve that opens at 2.5 bar, so that's my upper limit.

 

[Ajmassa]

Eh. Those bladders are gonna be gentler pressings regardless. I’m sure you’ll get advice, and that idea seems to be accepted as fact —in theory. But how hard do ya really need to push it for harsh tannins? Even with my ratchet press I couldn’t break a seed if I tried.
The one time I rented a 90L bladder press I kept it to 1.5 and the cake was still very damp. Tho the Only reason I went light was because everything was new to me, and was respecting the unfamiliar equipment.
Maybe next year push it hard but keep everything over 1.5 separate. That’ll surely give you some useful intel.

Btw- lookin good over there bud! Up in wine country with all those toys and all that passion— how have you not popped your barrel cherry yet?!

 

[mainshipfred]

I'll have to ask my commercial friends how hard they press. All I can add is when there pressing cycle finishes the skins are almost powder. A little exaggeration of course but not by much. Their cycle presses 3 times and rotates twice.

 

[CDrew]

Maybe next year push it hard but keep everything over 1.5 separate. That’ll surely give you some useful intel.

Btw- lookin good over there bud! Up in wine country with all those toys and all that passion— how have you not popped your barrel cherry yet?!

One of my friends has gone to an all free run protocol. I think he's wasting wine but he makes nice wine.

Not going to do barrels. i just don't have the space until I buy a second property-and I'm only looking halfheartedly. The last thing I want is MORE problems. And a very well respected wine grower/maker that I know thinks I can get there with just oak parts. He is actually phasing out of barrels and into those big flex tank stacking cubes with staves or beans. We'll see. He's had great results and makes great wine.

I can tell you what, today, I am sick of cleaning stuff. I did the press and clean up and then the "rack off the gross lees" and clean up. But everything is clean and most of it is put away so all good. Final tally is 39 gallons of Tempranillo. I would have been happy with half of that.

Next year i'll have to scale down. Maybe 2 wines and 600 pounds of grapes. 30-40 gallons. This year I'm in the 70 gallon range and that's too much. But I think in 2 years, I'm giving wine to everyone I know.

 

[Ajmassa]

Yea man being a one man band can be time consuming. The prep and cleanup can get overwhelming at times.
I’m completely out of space now too. Zero wines from fall ‘17 and on have been bottled. Been putting off because got some blending to do on wines not quite ready yet. (Or started)

I layed low for 2019. And now eyeing up Spring like a junkie needing a fix! Chilean grapes have treated me very well in the past.
And I’ve read a lot of winemakers doing similar with the oak. And all kinds of interesting options when using large flex tanks. Interested to know which direction you go with it.

 

[CDrew]

Yea man being a one man band can be time consuming. The prep and cleanup can get overwhelming at times.
I’m completely out of space now too. Zero wines from fall ‘17 and on have been bottled. Been putting off because got some blending to do on wines not quite ready yet. (Or started)

I layed low for 2019. And now eyeing up Spring like a junkie needing a fix! Chilean grapes have treated me very well in the past.
And I’ve read a lot of winemakers doing similar with the oak. And all kinds of interesting options when using large flex tanks. Interested to know which direction you go with it.

Ya- Get back on the horse quick. New Jersey is a long way from anywhere, but Chile for sure. Bottle those 2017's. Free up some creative space. I did a mass bottling event last month and it was kind of cleansing. A day of back breaking work but got back to zero. And it only took 1 day.

I actually like the clean up. You stay focused and methodical and you're done in a couple of hours. Everything today got washed with PBW, then rinsed and rinsed and rinsed. I not only cleaned up but put everything away in it's final resting place until next year. And I know I can pull it out next September and it will be perfectly clean and ready to go another year. The fermenters are all stored in the attic so no way to do more this year. And yes, there is still some haverst going on of late ripening varietals.

I'm using much less oak this year and aiming for subtle as opposed to bold. We'll see.

 

[Ajmassa]

You’ve got oak PTSD!

 

[mainshipfred]

This past spring was the 3rd time I used Chilean grapes and find the quality amazing. Especially amazing considering the time it took to get here.

 

[Chuck E]

One of my friends has gone to an all free run protocol. I think he's wasting wine but he makes nice wine.

Not going to do barrels. i just don't have the space until I buy a second property-and I'm only looking halfheartedly. The last thing I want is MORE problems. And a very well respected wine grower/maker that I know thinks I can get there with just oak parts. He is actually phasing out of barrels and into those big flex tank stacking cubes with staves or beans. We'll see. He's had great results and makes great wine..

We were in Asheville NC last week and went a few wineries. Two of the properties have gone to aging in those industrial liquid storage cubes. They had them stacked 4 high x 4 deep. The wine maker said they were easier to sanitize and he could get more storage per square foot. The wines we tried were pretty tasty too. They don't have the same cachet as barrels though...

 

[CDrew]

We were in Asheville NC last week and went a few wineries. Two of the properties have gone to aging in those industrial liquid storage cubes. They had them stacked 4 high x 4 deep. The wine maker said they were easier to sanitize and he could get more storage per square foot. The wines we tried were pretty tasty too. They don't have the same cachet as barrels though...

"Barrel room" sounds better than "cube room" for sure. But poly cubes are likely the future as the price of barrels keeps going up and represents a lot of stranded cost for a winery. Likely the science will keep getting better and better and the secrets of micro-oxidation, and oak flavor extraction will be a known thing, so no downside.

 

[porkchopmessiah]

Btw any of you Jersey guys need a hand with your glut of unfinished wine projects let me know, anything I could learn first hand would be awsome..(no I dont mean on the drinking side either)

 

[CDrew]

It's pouring down rain here, but I'll share this this story here.

Around November 15 (15!!!) I was up in Amador at Morse wines and got to chatting with the owner. He still had 5+ Tons of the most beautiful Barbera you ever saw hanging on the vines. He said a picking crew had not shown up the past weekend when the pick was planned. He was able to recover some $$ from the picking contractor but all of the Barbera went to waste since the rains started 10 days later. So I'm sure he would have let me pick as much as I wanted. I didn't do it though, because of timing and my schedule and the amount of wine this year, but it goes to show you how late things can actually go. I am going to get some of these late ripening Barbera grapes next year I hope. But such a shame and a waste this year, especially if you've ever had his Barbera.

Otherwise, all the wine from this year is tucked away until after Christmas. I may pull the oak off the syrah and taste test in a couple of weeks. But I otherwise Iike this part of wine making where you ignore the wine, and it makes itself.

Will update when racking in late December or early January.

 

[buzi]

I hope you don't mind. I am moving in and we are buying lots of loto tickets. I know it a bit forward , but I think my wife will be fine with it...she really likes wine!

Just saying you have had an incredible run of luck lately!

 

[CDrew]

I hope you don't mind. I am moving in and we are buying lots of loto tickets. I know it a bit forward , but I think my wife will be fine with it...she really likes wine!
Just saying you have had an incredible run of luck lately!

Not that lucky-I had to dump out half my Mourvedre! But availability was good this year and I feel fortunate to have a bunch of wine aging in the "wine room" Which by the way is unheated but still averaging 62-63 degrees. I check the tanks and kegs every few days with a Laser thermometer and very steady temps, I just wish they were lower.

But, yes, that wasted Barbera bothered me. It's just such a waste of well tended grapes. I've been drinking that Barbera for years and really wish I could have made some. I mainly posted because of the late harvest date. We basically had no rain until about November 20 and prior to that the grapes were still in great shape.

 

[CDrew]

I have some lab values for the Tempranillo and I would appreciate some advice. The back story is that the TA was a bit light at harvest-in the 4-4.5 range and I did not make any adjustments. So I was working on oaking it today with Stavin cubes and took a sample for analysis to Lodi Wine Labs. Their turn around is 1 hour and I already have results. I would appreciate comments and advice. I normally do not adjust TA, but it's time to make a more measured approach to wine making.

Some things I found surprising-there is some residual sugar(normal, see edit below), there is a bit of Malic acid left (did not show on the chromatography), and the pH is higher than I would like. I will say the new wine tastes very good.

So all comments welcomed, especially if you have specific advice about Acid adjustment. I am considering adjusting the acid to the 6g/L range. I know that it would have been more optimal before fermentation but that didn't happen. I have close to 40 gallons of this wine, so I want to make it as well as I can.

This is also telling me I need more than a pH meter.

And in case you are interested, this analysis is $40 at Lodi Wine Labs with a 1 hour turn around. I thought that was quite reasonable. And they are very nice people to deal with as well. I thought just the numbers alone were quite instructive. Please help me make sense of the numbers and put it in perspective.


Client Sample ID: 2019 TEMPRANILLO
Analyte Result Units Method Date Analyzed
LWL Sample ID: AA92261

Alcohol 13.58 % FTIR* 12/18/2019

Free Sulfur Dioxide 35 mg/L FTIR* 12/18/2019

Total Sulfur Dioxide 71 mg/L FTIR* 12/18/2019

Molecular SO2 0.21 mg/L Calculation 12/18/2019

Residual Sugar 0.8 g/L FTIR* 12/18/2019

Malic Acid 0.3 g/L FTIR* 12/18/2019

pH 4.03 FTIR* 12/18/2019

Titratable Acidity 4.30 g/L FTIR* 12/18/2019

Volatile Acidity 0.43 g/L FTIR* 12/18/2019


Edit: After thinking about this overnight, I looked up in "Techniques in Home Winemaking" about the residual sugar. Dry wines are those less than 2g/L. I'm at 0.8 so well under that. He also mentions that the residual sugar is pentose that the yeast are unable to metabolize. Pretty cool!