What's in your glass tonight?

[Hazelemere]

Pinnacle of Sirah 2020-2021

6 blended vinifera all hand destemmed and fermented uncrushed with RC212 yeast. I grow Regent. The rest were purchased in boxes. The Mettler were too high in sugar but tasted and smelled really good. Dineen and Sheridan are neighbours in Washington. First column is lbs, 2nd column is % of the blend, 3rd column is juice SG, 4th column is juice acid and last column is alcohol level. I opened 1 and have 8 left to age.

Comments:

Colour: purple ink

Smell: coffee, cocoa, black licorice, five spice, plums

Tannin: high but fine with tannin in the aftertase

Acid: good, matches the tannin

Flavour: intense, rich, balanced, needs lots of time e.g. 5+ years to mellow the tannins and develop a bottle bouquet. This had medium toast American oak cubes added during malolactic fermentation.

Finish: long and intense

I'll rebottle 1/2 of this in a split (13 oz) and taste it again in a years time. Pinnacle is the shorthand that I use for wines containing 2 or more Cabernets.

Pinnacle of Sirah 2020-21
Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon	97.7​	19.1%	1.100​	0.80​	13.3​
Sheridan Syrah	48.0​	9.4%	1.114​	0.70​	15.6​
Amador Cabernet Sauvignon	21.7​	4.2%	1.107	0.70	14.5​
Dineen Cabernet Franc	61.0​	11.9%	1.100​	0.75​	13.3​
Mettler Petite Sirah	216.0​	42.2%	1.120​	0.70​	16.6​
Regent	68.0​	13.3%	1.082	0.85	10.6​
	512.4​	100.0%	1.108	0.74	14.6​

Retasted today. Here are my comments:

Colour: purple ink

Smell - same as before, can add cigar box

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, complex, flavorful. It tastes like it would be good with t-bone steak or prime rib. I have 7 left and will age them for that or family special occasions e.g. barbecued t-bonesteak or prime rib dinner. This blend was done to drop the alcohol level of ultra high brix almost raisined Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah without killing its flavour (e.g. Amarone style grapes). This is pretty good and should improve.

 

[Hazelemere]

Russet Cyser 2023

This is 90% homegrown russet major Cox and pear minor apple juice chaptalized with cane sugar and 10% homegrown King apple juice chaptalized with unpasteurized blue berry blossom honey and fermented with 71B yeast blended in a single glass. Here are my comments:

Appearance - golden i.e. a bit dark

Smell - good rich apple nose with a bit of honey fragrance

Tannin - good from the russets

Acid - good from the Russets

Flavour - good, rich intense apple wine. I'll probably make at least 15 of these.

Russet 2023

This is 100% homegrown russet major Cox and pear minor apple juice chaptalized with cane sugar

Appearance a bit lighter than the Russet Cyser

Smell - good rich apple nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - tasty, balanced apple wine with a nice aftertaste. I have 15 bottled but can do 30 more as my house white ( 45 bottles ) and still make 15 Russet Cyser. I may save 15 to blend with my son-in-laws apple wine to make a 3rd apple wine and/or 2nd apple cyser wine.

This is a retaste. Here are my comments:

Appearance - golden but not too dark on a new bottle

Smell - very fragrant

Tannin - good

Acid - fine

Flavour - This is my go to house white. Really tasty, and balanced with a really good aftertaste. If you want to make apple wine like this use ground and pressed homegrown russets. We use an Italian electric apple grinder with a pneumatic press and get about 1 bottle for every 5 lbs of apples. I'll make this over and over again. The homegrown Cox improve it along with the homegrown pears.
Russets make really good wines. They have acid and tannin that most apples except for a few don't have. Other apples that make good wine are Gravensteins and Spartans.

 

[Hazelemere]

Dineen Vineyard Cabernet Verdot 2023

I racked my un-sulphited and oaked Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot 50/50 into a glass both wines PA =14.0 into carboys off of sediment to finish natural MLF and prevent stinkiness from an RC212 ferment with nutrient hand destemmed and uncrushed. Here are my comments:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good, clean nose, no flaws

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, fragrant, complex, fruity red. This should be very good and possibly excellent. I have 90 bottles combined so I'm happy.

I'll rack and sulphite it into my cooler at 50 ppm to drop tartrates probably on or before Easter and possibly Valentines.

 

[jswordy]

Southern Belle, a Spanish blend of Syrah and Mourvedre aged in Pappy van Winkle barrels. Mmmmm...

 

[jswordy]

Snowmaggedon demands something from the warm part of the planet! This 2019 has aged extremely well in the cellar. Lip-smacking good.

 

[jswordy]

It's a Wisconsin kinda afternoon here...

 

[sour_grapes]

Good ol' Leinies!

 

[wood1954]

Snowmaggedon demands something from the warm part of the planet! This 2019 has aged extremely well in the cellar. Lip-smacking good.

View attachment 109298

I bought a couple of their 2020 vintage. It’s a bit harsh, probably could use a couple more years aging. For the price it’s worth picking up a few more.

 

[wood1954]

Tonight I’m drinking my 2023 Marquette , tannins are a bit harsh but I had to top the barrels off and have to finish the bottle anyway..

 

[jswordy]

I bought a couple of their 2020 vintage. It’s a bit harsh, probably could use a couple more years aging. For the price it’s worth picking up a few more.

It ages very well. All that harshness will go away. Forget it for 4-5 years and you will find a smooth wine... though it can go much farther.

 

[jswordy]

Good ol' Leinies!

And finding just their regular BEER is impossible down here in the South where I live. So when I saw one lonely 12-pack of these reds, I snatched it up. Otherwise, all we get is shandy... NOPE! All that white behind the bottle is SNOW. It'll be gone by Thursday.

 

[sour_grapes]

Leinie's is a good choice for me for some simple, quasi-craft, quasi-macrobrew quaffs. My favorite place in the Milwaukee airport is the Leinie Lounge.

All that white behind the bottle is SNOW. It'll be gone by Thursday.

Gosh, I usually drink a bottle of beer quicker than that...

 

[jswordy]

Leinie's is a good choice for me for some simple, quasi-craft, quasi-macrobrew quaffs. My favorite place in the Milwaukee airport is the Leinie Lounge.



Gosh, I usually drink a bottle of beer quicker than that...

Cheers! I like 'em. I also like Spotted Cow, when my BIL is kind enough to get me a 12-pack so I can bring it down here. Folks who know me know I drink what I like. Period. Macro, micro, craft, blah blah blah...all that doesn't matter to me. In beer, wine and spirits, I have broad tastes and refuse to corral them. Like this Four Peaks WOW that I am drinking now, with thanks to the guy who shipped it to me. Mmmm... so I did manage to finish that Leinie! Right now, though, I wish I lived closer to Tempe!

I also put steak sauce on my ribeye. People have turned apoplectically purple watching me do that. So be it, it is fun to see them kind of choking as they watch while the veins bulge in their necks. It's what I like, and the actuarial tables say that I have 17 more years left to do what I like before I am dirt. SLURRRRP!

 

[Christopher Anderson]

What's in my glass tonight? ALCOHOL. No idea. I let my wife choose. But her tastes run to Mad Dog and Boones farm. Can't take that high school chick drinking out of her!!!
not really. Dark reds of whatever is in the cabinet. I have a box of no labels deliberately done for this purpose of: what are we drinking tonight?" I say to her. Grab one and let's find out.

 

[Rocky]

What's in my glass tonight? No idea. i let my wife choose. But her tastes run to Mad Dog and Boones farm. Can't take that high school drinking out of her!!!

Boy, Chris, does that take me back! I remember some of the great vintages of my high school years, like Boones Farm March 3, 1957 and Thunderbird, April 17, 1959.

"What's the word?
Thunderbird!
What's the price?
Fifty twice minus one makes 99 cents a full quart!
What's the reason?
Grapes in season!"

We were such sophisticates, eschewing beer, which was also about 99 cents a six-pack for the classier wine! Of greater importance was the increased amount of alcohol, of course.

"Flowers and candy are nice, but liquor is quicker."

 

[winemaker81]

Electric vehicles are a divisive subject and has nothing to do with winemaking and is not a suitable topic for this forum. Anyone who wishes to continue discussing the subject is free to do so elsewhere.

 

[ibglowin]

Well this DNS.

 

[jswordy]

Electric vehicles are a divisive subject and has nothing to do with winemaking and is not a suitable topic for this forum. Anyone who wishes to continue discussing the subject is free to do so elsewhere.

Welcome to the staff!



I might as well start piling up brownie points right now!

 

[winemaker81]

Welcome to the staff!

View attachment 109480

I might as well start piling up brownie points right now!

I'll PM you my address for delivery ......

 

[Hazelemere]

Marechal Foch 2023

This is homegrown organic Marechal Foch hand destemmed and uncrushed at SG 1.094 (unchaptalized) in very nice condition fermented with a mix of RC212 and 71B yeast and natural malolactic bacteria plus medium toast American oak cubes.
Here are my comments on this wine out of a carboy in my cooler:

Appearance dark inky purple

Smell - good slightly funky nose like South African Pinotage i.e. a bit venison like

Tannin - fine

Acid - slightly high but ok

Flavour - decent and should improve. I think the 71B yeast improved it vs RC212 alone. I have 15 of these and will let them age after bottling them probably in the spring. I'm tempted to make this again and blend some of it with wild black cherry wine with or without blackberries and dried elderberries. I went back into my cooler and found Foch with resurrected Sheridan Syrah plus Black Iris (my neighbour Iris' wild black cherries, wild blackberries and dried elderberries) plus Regent blended with Black Iris and no Syrah. Both are decent. I have a wine called Moraine which is a Foch Regent blend which is certainly drinkable but I'll use it as a cooking wine for myself and my daughter to make Coq au vin, Beef Bourguignon and Beef stroganoff.

retaste of Moraine (Foch/Regent 50/50) in a glass:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good slightly funky nose (perfect for a cooking wine)

Tannin - good

Acid - fine (my wife would find it acidic but I don't). This will kill in a meat marinade even Chinese beef chow mein. It is perfect for any dish that needs red wine with stewed chicken, pork, beef, lamb (e.g. lamb shank) or wild meat (moose, elk or venison)

Flavour - this is growing on me. It should kill as a cooking wine. If you've ever tasted Mourvedre you'll know what I'm talking about. This is like Pinotage meets Mourvedre. I think that it could be good blended with Washington Grenache.