What's in your glass tonight?

[ibglowin]

Its 35 and snowing like crazy........

Still definitely heavy red wine season in these parts! This was saying "pick me, pick me" tonight! DNS!

Pairing nicely with some Spanish chorizo, manchego cheese and some thick sliced toasted (ho-made) sourdough bread and the first round of March Madness!

 

[ibglowin]

Well, well what do we have here.........

DNS!

 

[geek]

Beautiful night..!!

 

[MiBor]

I'm enjoying this wine. I opened the bottle last night and it was a little harsh. Today it's delicious.

 

[ibglowin]

Wow, last of three bottles and this may just be the best. Decanted for 4 hours and I have to say the last glass might just be the best. It just keeps getting better with each sip I swear, the mark of a great wine. 12 years old and really in its prime I would say. Stored at 58F on average for its life with me.

On to the 2012's now! LOL

 

[winemaker81]

After fixing siding and cleaning the gutters on his house, my son treated me to a new Scotch he purchased, which is really good.



His Carménère came out really good. It's now about 2 years old and holding well.

 

[SLM]

First day in Italy. Straight to Naples for pizza. Found a quaint enoteca with local wines. Owner recommended this, grown in the volcanic soils of mt Vesuvius. 10 euros, no tax. wonderful. I love Italy.

 

[winemaker81]

This bottle came with the last quarterly case from Laithwaite. The bottle doesn't indicate what's in it, nor does any of the sites I checked. Vivino rates is 3.9, which I agree with. The nose is fruity, but disappears when the glass is swirled. I let it set 5 minutes and the fruity nose returns.

It's got an odd flavor I can't describe -- which may be the grapes. I'm not familiar with Portuguese grapes. It's tannic on the tongue (has a "drying" effect) yet is fruity.

Bottom line -- I'd buy it again.

This is something I enjoy -- experiencing wines I've not heard of. For me, the quarterly cases from Laithwaite and their periodic "mystery cases" are great, as it's a complete crap shoot. But I've not had a bad wine from them -- the least were merely "good".

 

[Mcjeff]

First day in Italy. Straight to Naples for pizza. Found a quaint enoteca with local wines. Owner recommended this, grown in the volcanic soils of mt Vesuvius. 10 euros, no tax. wonderful. I love Italy.

---

Jealous, I used to travel to Italy often for work back in the 90’s. Great memories. I haven’t made it back since, but hope too soon. Enjoy!

 

[winemaker81]

Relaxing after a long work day. The Japanese make good whiskey, and the chill stones I received as a Christmas present work great!

 

[jswordy]

Meh, it's just a spritzer. 21 days after I got Covid, and this is the first one where I feel good enough to try a little diluted wine. Baby steps.

 

[Dwerth]

First bottle of homemade cabernet sauvignon (WE classic). It is a simple dry wine, light on tannin, rich in dark fruit flavors. I intentionally made this a quick drinking wine, to let my other wines have a chance to mature.

 

[Boatboy24]

Meh, it's just a spritzer. 21 days after I got Covid, and this is the first one where I feel good enough to try a little diluted wine. Baby steps.

View attachment 99642

Hope you're well on your way to 100%.

 

[ibglowin]

Somehow this was amazing. I feel like I have ESP!

 

[winemaker81]

This is another via Laithwaite. According to the back label, it's a rarity, 100% Alicante Bouschet. It's one of the few Vinifera teinturier grapes (red flesh), and is often used to darken wines. As the picture shows, it's ink. I quite like it, and am sad I've only got 1 more bottle.

 

[SLM]

Cagliari, Sardinia. Revisited this mom and pop shop. Price has gone up .20 since 2019. Inflation I guess. They sell it in 2L water bottles. I wish I could make wine this good.

 

[MiBor]

Costco really is a good place to buy wine. Great $7.99 Tempranillo...

 

[Hazelemere]

Ambrosia Chardonnay 2022

My son in law who is a total wine making soulmate that loves the whole process of winemaking, especially final blends.

His palate is absolutely improving.

I'm trying to teach him how to make wines that can improve with aging.

We started with a really fragrant Ambrosia apple that we made from ground and pressed Ambrosia apples that he bought but which had no tannin or acid i.e. fragrant but flat as a board.

We mixed in some high acid Brehm juice Chardonnay which improved it with respect to acid but it was still flat.

Then we added Chenin Blanc 70% high acid Brehm juice with 30% high tannin russet cyser (with blueberry blossom honey)

The russet tannin was really intense but good at a low Chenin Blanc cyser dose.

We ended up with an Ambrosia Chardonnay 2022 blend that should age like gangbusters.

We'll bottle it in August to let any protein haze settle.

This is 8/10 score apple wine right now , rich and intense from a pot-pourri blend i.e. Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, russets, honey

We racked it at SG 1.000 with sorbate.

Namaste

Klaus
PS taste everything that you make in every blend that you can conceive to discover your winemaking artistry.

 

[Hazelemere]

This is my attempt to fix Amarone style almost raisined Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah grapes which were too hogh in alcohol (i.e. too high brix to make high end table wine. Pinnacle is my name for any Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc blend. This is about 56% Cabernet Sauvignon from 3 Cabernets. If has a bit of Washington Sheridan Syrah and my own organic Regent grapes. Alcohol is about 14.6% which is high but still okay IMHO. I made this for my wife Carol because it is rich and non-acidic.

So here is what I see, taste and smell:

colour - inky purple so it should age

smell - good, clean, rich nose........... plums, chocolate, pomegranate, figs, walnuts, cherries

acid - perfect (slightly high which surprised me but augurs well for aging this wine)

tannin - really good (this will age because the acid is slightly high)

flavour - rich, intense.....this is a really tasty Petite Sirah blend. I have lots so will mete it out slowly to my wife who doesn't drink wine as much as I do over at least the next 5 years

aftertaste - first class, long finish.................this is very good. I'll give it 9 out of 10. It is that good. I.ve been a wine judge who has won multiple competitions. This is first class.

Bottom line - If you have grapes that look healthy and ripe like this high brix Mettler Petite Sirah (hand destemmed and fermented uncrushed with nutrient fed RC212 yeast) then treat it like Van Gogh would treat paint or brushes. Try to keep the flavour of the high brix Amarone style grapes by diluting them with lower brix, higher acid grapes to get the alcohol below 15%.

Last taste of this - really rich, intense, acid is only slightly low for me but perfect for my wife, tannins is perfect. This wine has a long finish. It has a long aftertaste which my wife will like once the tannins soften over time. This is a really rich and tasty wine for someone who doesn't like a lot of acid.


Petite Pinnacle 2021

Petite Pinnacle 2020 - 2021
Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon JJ 2020	27.0​	11.7%	1.100​	0.80​	13.3​
Amador Cabernet Sauvignon JJ 2020	12.0​	5.2%	1.107	0.75	14.5​
Sheridan Syrah JJ 2020	12.0​	5.2%	1.114	0.70	15.6​
Amador Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 KO	90.0​	39.0%	1.107	0.70	14.5​
Petite Sirah KO 2021	68.3​	29.6%	1.120​	0.70​	16.6​
Regent KO 2021	21.7​	9.4%	1.082	0.85	10.6​
	231.0​	100.0%	1.108​	0.73​	14.6​

 

[ibglowin]

"On the move again" as someone here says!

This time a road-trip to visit my DNA in SOTX. Stopped off in Las Cruces to visit some longtime friends and get caught up on an overdue visit. This was a 2009 Saviah Cellars Reserve Syrah. I think it was their first from the Estate vineyard located in the Rocks District AVA. This was stored at 58F since I got it back in 2011 IIRC. Not even close to over the hill. Amazing juice! The cork was over the hill however! LOL We managed still. I forgot to bring my Ah-So cork puller.

Go big or go home they say!