What's in your glass tonight?

[wood1954]

The wine chiller or the whiskey stones? Both are very useful, although I drink far more whiskey than white wine, so I use the stones more.

My birthday is coming up, and my wife & sons ask for ideas. I'm harder-n-heck to buy for, as there just isn't much that I want, and the price of most of my toys are beyond "birthday $$$" levels. I'd love d20 whiskey stones (shaped liked a 20-sided die, TTRPG players will understand), but they are STUPIDLY expensive.

I’m not much of a whiskey drinker but I’d like to know where to find that wine chiller, I’ve looked online but couldn’t find it

 

[crushday]

2022 Carménère Rosè made in the Saignée method. This wine is very lush and fruity...and reflects my dog, Sadie, well. lol

 

[winemaker81]

I’m not much of a whiskey drinker but I’d like to know where to find that wine chiller, I’ve looked online but couldn’t find it

It was a gift a few years ago, and I have no idea where it was purchased.

 

[sour_grapes]

I’m not much of a whiskey drinker but I’d like to know where to find that wine chiller, I’ve looked online but couldn’t find it

Apparently the "magic word" is "wine chiller stick": Amazon.com : wine chiller stick

 

[Boatboy24]

I’m not much of a whiskey drinker but I’d like to know where to find that wine chiller, I’ve looked online but couldn’t find it

.

 

[wood1954]

Apparently the "magic word" is "wine chiller stick": Amazon.com : wine chiller stick

Didn’t try using stick. Ordered one just now. Thanks

 

[FlamingoEmporium]

Chocolate Cherry Stout. Scottys Bierwerks

 

[sour_grapes]

I paid restaurant markup for this the other night. It was, well, okay, nice even. But jeez

 

[ibglowin]

Visited them a few years back. They are one of the top wineries in Paso with pure (and I do mean pure) French/Rhone roots. They were the 1st winery in CA to bring cuttings from their premier winery in France (Chateau de Beaucastel no less). They had to keep them in an enclosed hot house for like 2 years before the State would allow them to be planted outside. Had to prove they were "disease free". So when they say they make authentic CdP they mean it. Only $65 at the winery!

I paid restaurant markup for this the other night. It was, well, okay, nice even. But jeez

View attachment 100672

 

[Hazelemere]

Raspberry Melomel Cyser 2020

This is a cloudy fruit wine shaken up and allowed to settle its solids in my wine cooler for about a week and then decanted. This is 50% organic raspberry wine from frozen organic raspberries blended with 50% organic russet apples homegrown with a few King and Cox apples. The raspberry wine was fermented 6lbs per Imperial gallon of water with 3 lbs of cane sugar and then sweetened from SG 0.992 to SG 1.010 with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey. The russet juice was sweetened with the same honey (no sugar or water). The sediment is from protein in the honey that precipitated in the raspberry wine. The apple wine was treated with bentonite which strips protein but no bentonite was used on the raspberry wine.

Comments:

Colour - clear orange pink after decanting

Smell - good clean apple dominant raspberry smell.

Acid - good ....don't notice any sweetness from the added honey

Tannin - high but ok.....this wine will age

Flavour - rich, intense, russet apple dominant with an interesting raspberry finish

Aftertaste - long finish. Let this age to drop the tannin plus acid, maximize the bouquet and remember to decant every bottle of protein haze from the honey.

PS. an interesting experiment which will continue to evolve. I'll open one every 6 months until I run out to see how it develops over time.

PSS. If I made it again (which I am likely to do this year or next) I'd go 2/3 raspberry and 1/3 russet to get a more intense raspberry flavour. I'd use the same honey.

 

[Hazelemere]

Pinnacle of Amador 2020

This is my last bottle of 87% Amador Cabernet Sauvignon with 13% Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon. I'm posting it to encourage you to buy Amador country grapes if you can get them. Dineen is also first class. This was fermented unsulphited, hand destemmed and uncrushed with RC 212 yeast for 18 days and 16 days respectively for Amador and Dineen respectively and then oaked during malolactic fermentation with medium toast American oak cubes, then racked and sulphited. Total and free sulphite at bottling are estimated at 75 and 25 ppm respectively.

Comments:

Colour: nice dark purple red

Smell: cherries, pomegranates and figs with cocoa and Chinese 5 spice

Acid: good

Tannin: good

Flavour: nice, rich complex wine. I'm going to save half a bottle for tomorrow when I make beef chow mein with ginger, soy, 5 spice, garlic, red wine marinade with portabella mushrooms, sweet peppers and broccoli.

We've made Amador Cabernet Sauvignon twice and Amador Petite Sirah once. Both were good. I'm tempted to make Amador Zinfandel. This year we'll try to get Sonoma Pinot Noir and Napa Cabernet Sauvignon along with Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Grenache, Mourvedre, Riesling and maybe some Merlot along with Brehm Columbia River Gewurtztraminer and Sonoma Chardonnay.

 

[ibglowin]

Wow, this was amazing tonight with ho-made pizza. Would have gone just as easily with a steak but hey these days we drink whatever we want from the cellar! Basically a 50/50 Cab Merlot. I find anything with a good amount of Merlot is great with anything Italian like pizza.

 

[Hazelemere]

Raspberry Chambord 2022

In 55 years of winemaking, if I had to pick one fruit wine that I love more than any other this has to be it. I made it in 2022 on a hunch for the first time. I will absolutely make it in 2023 with a slight tweak. My sister loves my fruit wines and I want to travel by rail across Canada in August 2024 to give her a case.

If you have access to raspberries try to make this. I'm blessed with 3 varieties grown organically and can easily make 30 bottles as follows from the last of the season sweetest, least acidic homegrown raspberries:

6 lbs frozen un-thawed raspberries
3 lbs cane sugar

soak for 48 hours without water so the raspberries can thaw into the sugar

Then add 1 Imperial gallon of water plus pectic enzyme. without sulphite.

When the must warms up to room temperature, e.g. 1 more day add your yeast from a starter e.g. from apple juice in a tetrapak. I used Lalvin EC-1118 plus yeast nutrient containing B vitamins.

After 6 days of active ferment press out the raspberry seeds. I have a pneumatic stainless steel bladder press but you can use washed and rinsed ripped panty hose hand squeezed probably SG 1.040 to 1.050.

Fruit seed tannin kills fruit wines at high alcohol IMHO so never leave seeds in fruit wine above above 5-6% alcohol.

When the pressed wine reaches about SG 1.010 SG I sulphite it for the first time e.g. 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite into a 30 bottle carboy which gives about 20 ppm sulphite which doesn't inhibit the yeast and protects the wine from oxidation.

I rack the wine every time it drops at least 1/2 an inch of sediment early on 1 to 2 inches or even more and add 1/8 tsp potassium metabisulphite i.e. about 10 ppm sulphite to an absoulte maximum of 75 ppm total sulphite which gives about 25 ppm free sulphite which is perfect for early drinking or aging.

On the very last racking I add 1 bottle of French Chambord black raspberry liqueur to the wine and sorbate it so it doesn't referment.

Comments on this wine:

Colour: nice deep red

Smell: beautiful smell, a total deluxe raspberry fruit bomb

Tannin: fine

Acid: fine

Sweetness: slightly sweet but not by much. I back sweeten with dextrose (corn sugar) because it gives a better flavour IMHO than cane sugar. This year I'll tweak the sweetness down just a bit.


Flavour: absolutely sensational!!!!!!!!!!! A fantastic wine (not because I made it.) This is stunning 10 out of 10!

Namaste

Klaus

PS If you have access to raspberries then try this. You won't be disappointed, I'm certain.

PSS: the French Chambord raspberry liqueur makes a huge difference.

 

[ibglowin]

Well you probably know this DNS..........

Went pretty well with SRF Wagyu Ribeye filet!

 

[ibglowin]

Perfect pairing with the Orange Ponzu Chilean Sea Bass tonight. Kitchen sink blend of white Rhone varietals from Paso. 45% Rousanne, 26% Viognier, Grenache Blanc 24%, Muscat 5%.

DNS!

 

[geek]

This may be the last bottle of that batch and it may be passing its prime time, but still a good sip with home made tacos

 

[jswordy]

My advice is, when celebrating an unexpected seismic business relationship explosion, complete with red-hot searing angry words, recriminations and resentments, and effects with long half-lives ahead, don't scrimp on the wine. Mmmm...

 

[geek]

 

[sour_grapes]

View attachment 101207

Hey, I also had a Modelo Especial yesterday. (Mine was on draft at a Mexican restaurant, however.) Cheers!

 

[Boatboy24]

Paper Plane (half gone)