What's in your glass tonight?

[sour_grapes]

No Cline Zinfandel to be found?

You know me too well!

I had a nice experience with St.-Joseph (the wine, not the saint ) years ago. I rarely see it in the US, so I had to nab it at $15 at Carrefour today.

 

[Boatboy24]

I had a nice experience with St.-Joseph (the wine, not the saint ) years ago. I rarely see it in the US, so I had to nab it at $15 at Carrefour today.

I don't blame you one bit, and envy your current location.

 

[winemaker81]

I opened my next-to-last bottle of FWK Sauvignon Blanc, which is 23 months old. Cooking pork tenderloin tonight, some went into the pan, some went into the bag to marinate the other tenderloin (2/pkg) for tomorrow night's dinner, and the remainder is going into the cook.

Color is way dark for a SB, dark enough to look oxidized.

Nose? Very nice SB character, and with no hint of oxidation. I've had bad experiences with aging whites, but this one is holding well.

Taste? No question it's SB as soon as it goes over the gums. Strong mouthfeel, maybe a bit too heavy, almost overwhelming for the varietal. Yet it's got a crispness I'd expect from an SB. I'm probably being a bit harsh, but I'm rating it 85 on the Spectator scale:

85-89 Very good a wine with special qualities

The heaviness and color detract from what I think of when I think of Sauvignon Blanc. This doesn't mean I don't like the wine; rather I'm comparing it to all the SB I've had, especially my 2020 made from CA juice, and this is where I rank it.

 

[Hazelemere]

Oaked Apple Cyser 2023

This has 45 medium toast American oak cubes per 30 bottles left in the wine for 100 days. This is a sample in a glass from a carboy in my cooler.

Appearance - clear very slightly gold deep yellow

Smell - rich cyser nose, very complex. I can't smell the oak probably due to the unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey used to chaptalize the fresh ground and pressed apple juice.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is very tasty with a long finish which IMHO is improved by the oak cubes to make a unique style of cyser, in this case Okanagan Ambrosia apples and homegrown Russets, Cox and King plus a bit of Moonglow pears. I will definitely oak some of my apple wines going forward for a different flavour. The unoaked version of this is equally good but different. I've been making homemade wines for 56 years of which the last 28 were done properly IMHO. Early on I had no clue, but I never gave up. What is fun for me now is that 1) my son in law loves good wine and pays serious attention to everything that I can teach him 2) I get to taste his grape and fruit wines (he loves oak on everything) 3) I am learning to make Fusion wines that don't exist anywhere such as Regent-wild blackberry-wild cherry-dried elderberry or Marechal Foch-wild blackberry-wild cherry-dried elderberry on yeast combos like RC212/71B to drop malic acid and residual tanginess of the Regent and Marechal Foch to make really tasty house wines with a blackberry backbone and a beautiful pitted wild cherry smell enhanced by the always good smell of dried elderberries.

I rototilled my vineyard yesterday for the first time and removed wine tendrils off my trellis wires today with my wife who "loves me....loves my grapes". I poured her a glass of estate fizz bomb 2022 cyser from my cellar which she really likes if it is reallly cold. She said we should label it as Hobo Champers! i.e. the evolution of "Little Brown Jug" and "MD2020

 

[Hazelemere]

I opened my next-to-last bottle of FWK Sauvignon Blanc, which is 23 months old. Cooking pork tenderloin tonight, some went into the pan, some went into the bag to marinate the other tenderloin (2/pkg) for tomorrow night's dinner, and the remainder is going into the cook.

Color is way dark for a SB, dark enough to look oxidized.

Nose? Very nice SB character, and with no hint of oxidation. I've had bad experiences with aging whites, but this one is holding well.

Taste? No question it's SB as soon as it goes over the gums. Strong mouthfeel, maybe a bit too heavy, almost overwhelming for the varietal. Yet it's got a crispness I'd expect from an SB. I'm probably being a bit harsh, but I'm rating it 85 on the Spectator scale:

85-89 Very good a wine with special qualities

The heaviness and color detract from what I think of when I think of Sauvignon Blanc. This doesn't mean I don't like the wine; rather I'm comparing it to all the SB I've had, especially my 2020 made from CA juice, and this is where I rank it.

View attachment 111167

a lesson in unbiased winetasting

 

[sour_grapes]

Another day, another Northern Rhone and Tour Eiffel:

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste of Russet 2023:

Appearance - this one isn't fizzy at all, golden due to oxidation of russet skin tannins during grinding and pressing, although it doesn't smell oxidized. This is pure homegrown organic russet apple juice chaptalized with cane sugar and fermented with 71B yeast with nutrient. I think that these russets are Belle de Boskop grafted onto a Transparent apple tree. We don't use the transparents for wine. We use them for pastry i.e. crumbles or sauce that we freeze. I'm sure that we could use them for wine but I suspect that they would ooze in the press when ripe like Bartlett pears when ripe. The grinder/press combo work best on crisp apples and pears e.g. apples (Cox, Russet, Spartan, Gravenstein, Granny Smith, Newton) and pears (Anjous best, Bosc 2nd best together with Moonglows). The only apple juice that I would consider adding water to is crab apple.

Smell - fragrant rich Russet apple nose. The Cox apples and Moonglow pears probably helped the Russets.

Tannin - good. Russets are high tannin apples and don't need extra tannin.

Acid - good. Russsets are high in acid.

Flavour - good, rich, tasty, balanced apple wine. This has a bit of homegrown Cox apple and Moonglow pear juice in it. It has a long apple finish i.e. apple wine with body. I'll definitely make it again probably 3 ways 1) just like this 2) blended with 2nd run white wine from Siegerrebe, Ortega, Reichensteiner and Madeleine Angevine grapes to make a Russet Edelzwicker (2nd run premium blend of 1st run skins and sediment soaked for 48 hours with pectic enzyme and no water or sugar and repressed) 3) chaptalized with unpasteurized berry blossom honey (Cranberry, Blueberry, Raspberry or Blackberry) with 2) to make a Cyser Pyment.

Bottom line - If you make apple wine try to avoid adding water to it i.e. find a grinder - we started with a gas engine powered grinder and now use an Italian electric grinder that my son in law purchased. He is a serious winemaker and loves tools to make jobs easier e.g. hydraulic foot powered primary and carboy motorcycle lift.

https://winemakersdepot.com/Zambelli-MuliMAX.aspx

retaste of Russet 2023:

Appearance - this one isn't fizzy at all, golden due to oxidation of russet skin tannins during grinding and pressing, although it doesn't smell oxidized.

Smell - fragrant rich Russet apple nose.

Tannin - good.

Acid - good.

Flavour - good, rich, tasty, balanced apple wine.

Bottom line - this is a very good house wine and will probably be a really good cooking wine. I'll definitely make it again.

 

[winemaker81]

Last nightI opened a bottle of my 2020 Meritage, a blend of 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 Bordeaux Blend (equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot). The wines were fermented separately and the free run was blended post fermentation. [The pressings were mixed with the 2020 Zinfandel in a 40% Merlot, 40% Zinfandel, 20% Bordeaux Blend to form the Meritage Plus, reviewed a few weeks ago.]

This was my first year using Scottzyme Color Pro, and I overdosed the maceration enzyme (more later). My tasting notes for today:

This one is difficult to judge. The nose is weak I don’t get much from it.​

​

The initial taste is fruity Merlot, but it’s quickly overshadowed by darker fruit flavors which fade into an oaky finish. The oak is noticeable in the middle of the tongue, not on the tip, sides, or the gums. It’s just a bit harsh, but not detracting. The wine needs another year in the bottle, possibly two.​

​

The color is possibly too dark. I put a knife into the wine and anything under the surface was hidden, completely invisible. I overdosed with Color Pro, and it stains the inside of the bottle. I have to soak the Meritage and Meritage Plus with Oxyclean to get the staining out.​

​

This is not a horrible thing, but it’s a lesson for the future.​

This one is not a good example of a Meritage / Bordeaux style blend. I like it, but It's too heavy to fit that description.

This was my first year using Color Pro and I went with the maximum dosage. I had just a bit left, so I divided it between the batches. 3.5 years later, it's obvious that was too much. Last fall I used the minimum recommended dosage for the 2023 wines, and will be evaluating them in the late summer.

 

[Hazelemere]

Last nightI opened a bottle of my 2020 Meritage, a blend of 2/3 Merlot and 1/3 Bordeaux Blend (equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot). The wines were fermented separately and the free run was blended post fermentation. [The pressings were mixed with the 2020 Zinfandel in a 40% Merlot, 40% Zinfandel, 20% Bordeaux Blend to form the Meritage Plus, reviewed a few weeks ago.]

This was my first year using Scottzyme Color Pro, and I overdosed the maceration enzyme (more later). My tasting notes for today:

This one is difficult to judge. The nose is weak I don’t get much from it.​

​

The initial taste is fruity Merlot, but it’s quickly overshadowed by darker fruit flavors which fade into an oaky finish. The oak is noticeable in the middle of the tongue, not on the tip, sides, or the gums. It’s just a bit harsh, but not detracting. The wine needs another year in the bottle, possibly two.​

​

The color is possibly too dark. I put a knife into the wine and anything under the surface was hidden, completely invisible. I overdosed with Color Pro, and it stains the inside of the bottle. I have to soak the Meritage and Meritage Plus with Oxyclean to get the staining out.​

​

This is not a horrible thing, but it’s a lesson for the future.​

This one is not a good example of a Meritage / Bordeaux style blend. I like it, but It's too heavy to fit that description.

This was my first year using Color Pro and I went with the maximum dosage. I had just a bit left, so I divided it between the batches. 3.5 years later, it's obvious that was too much. Last fall I used the minimum recommended dosage for the 2023 wines, and will be evaluating them in the late summer.

View attachment 111206

another useful truthful review

 

[winemaker81]

another useful truthful review

Thanks!

We share so much on the forum, and helping others understand issues with maceration enzymes is a good thing.

I used less Color Pro in the 2021 and 2022 wines, and went with minimum dosage on the 2023. I'll post reviews on the 2021s in the near future, and the 2022s some time after that. These reviews will have a more positive tone.

 

[winemaker81]

I completed a fun week at my job, signed off, and walked down into the cellar to get a bottle of wine (a great benefit of WFH). I decided to do another review, this one on a more positive note than my last few. I grabbed a bottle of 2022 Merlot / Tempranillo.

Instead of making a normal second run wine in 2022, I purchased two FWK Tavola Merlot kits, and added the pomace from Grenache and Tempranillo to each kit. The 2020 second run was disappointingly thin, so I experimented with adding pomace to a kit. In this case I added the pomace from 8 lugs (288 lbs) to each kit, which is serious overkill. The must was impossible to stir, so I more-or-less flipped the cap each time. My back and shoulders got a workout, and the result from both batches is pleasing:

As is my habit, I poured unaerated and aerated glasses:​

​

Unaerated: The color is "right" for a medium-to-heavy bodied red; translucent, unlike the 2020 Meritage which is totally opaque. The wine smells like Merlot. Unfortunately, the taste is flat. It's not bad, just not exciting. This is 6 gallons Merlot/Tempranillo with 1 gallon Merlot/Grenache, and surprisingly enough, the Grenache stands out.​

​

Aerated: Aeration makes the wine much brighter, with stronger fruit notes, almost a strawberry flavor which is probably from the Grenache. I've made a couple of Tavola kits without skin packs -- this one is richer so the addition of pomace was worth it. There is a hint of oak in the background, but little tannin. Folks that like tannin might be disappointed; I'd serve this to folks that are not heavy red drinkers. It's got enough acid to be a good steak wine, and I'd serve it with milder cheeses.​

At bottling time, we had already bottled the Merlot/Grenache, and when I opened the extra jug of wine, we realized that it was mislabeled, it was Merlot/Grenache. My son & I discussed it, and decided to blend it into the Merlot/Tempranillo. I'm pleased with the result.

This is also a good advertisement for aerators, as they often make a difference. If I have company I will decant a wine and let it breathe, but when drinking alone after work, I use a duck aerator.

 

[wood1954]

Here’s what I’ve been drinking all month. I was putting on too much fat so I swore off my two favorite foods. Wine and peanut butter sandwiches, not together, so far just cutting out those two items I’ve lost 8 lbs. it’s been a long month, can’t wait for April.

 

[Hazelemere]

Pacific Muscat 2022

Appearance - clear petillant lemon yellow

Smell - slight yeastiness like champagne. This actually smells like champagne

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is bone dry and tasty. I think that it would be good with oysters in ketchup, horseradish and lemon juice. It is made from home grown organic Siegerrebe, Ortega, Reichensteiner and Madeleine Angevine

 

[Hazelemere]

one more 50/50 blend in a glass:

Pacific Muscat 2022 plus Cyser 2023 (both homegrown)

I do these experiments all of the time on both whites and reds to discover new opportunities from my ingredients. Here are my comments:

Appearance - clear yellow

Smell - interesting like honey meets champagne

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - interesting, yeasty, bone dry, honey flavour without any sweetness. I'm going to use this blend tomorrow to keep sauteeing onions from burning in olive oil when I make prawn linguine while listening to JJ Cale and the Mozart part of the Elvira Madigan movie soundtrack. I may do 1/3 Pacific Muscat and 2/3 Cyser to bump the sweetness a bit in the linguine. The acid in the Roma tomatoes should balance the very slight sweetness. This is what I love about winemaking ala Yogi Berra - "It ain't over till its over"

 

[Hazelemere]

Marechal Foch 2023

Home grown organic hand-destemmed and uncrushed with RC212/71B yeast combo with medium toast American oak during malolactic fermentation. SG 1.092 at ferment (no chaptalization). Grapes were in really nice condition.

Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance: inky purple

Smell - rich cocoa and venison

Tannin - good

Acid - good (usually Marechal Foch is too acidic but 71B with MLF seems to fix that problem)

Flavour - this is the best Marechal Foch I've personally made. I've tasted lousy and stunning Marechal Foch. Most crappy Marechal Foch is too acidic. I personally don't like the flavour of chemically de-acidifed wines. On a scale of fair-good -very good-excellent I'd rate this as good right now but it tastes like it could improve to good-very good. This Marechal Foch was grown on glacial moraine soil (powdered rock with sand and a bit of clay with about 4 inches of natural humus on top) mulched under the rows with grass clippings to kill weeds under the wires and rototilled (early) and hoed (late) to killed weeds in the rows. I'll use this yeast combo again to get the acid level where it is on this wine. I think that adding pitted wild cherries to it with or without wild blackberries+dried elderberries could improve it a lot to at least "very good". PS I never used 71B yeast until logging on to this site and didn't know that RC212 needs nutrient to avoid MLF stink until logging on to this site. So for all you beginners read the entire site to learn the best ways to experiment with your ingredients and technique. There are some very dedicated winemakers on this site all of whom as far I can tell are really trying to get better at their craft and more than willing to give you their best guidance. The people in this room considering the size are almost unaffected by their egos e.g. you'll get really good winemakers telling you about their mistakes and what they learned. If you can actually digest everything there is to learn on this website it is almost certain that your winemaking will improve.

PSS - tomorrow I'm cooking 2 freezer chilis which will use some of this wine together with 1) chorizo, lean ground beef, jalapeno peppers, cremini mushrooms, garlic, fire roasted tomatoes dices and crushed, unsalted beef stock, organic onions, black beans, kidney beans, maybe garbanzos, cilantro, cumin, worcester sauce, tamari sauce, hot chili powder 2) same as 1) but no chorizo or jalapenos

 

[Rocky]

As reported earlier on this site, I did some racking today which always results in some small amount of left over wine. When my receiving carboys were full, I poured the remainder of the wine into a 1/2 gallon jug. I had some of a Zinfandel/Muscat blend, some Carignan, some Bordeaux and some straight Zinfandel. I almost filled the 1/2 gallon jug so I poured some into a bottle and corked it and the rest into a bottle with a tasting cork. We had spaghetti marinara and Italian sausage for dinner and this combination was excellent.

 

[Hazelemere]

Raspberry Melomel Cyser 2020

Appearance - clear deep rose, dropped a bit of sediment on the side of the bottle which settled easily

Smell - good, complex nose, hard to describe except each ingredient created the nose. Russet nose is the strongest.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really interesting, off dry, with a really good aftertaste. I have 11 left which I will age. This could be sensational in a marinade for sweet crepes. It could also be good in "Candid Bananas" on vanilla ice cream i.e. sliced uber ripe sliced bananas, butter, brown sugar, this wine, ginger, nutmeg on really good vanilla ice cream starting with brown sugar caramelized in butter with the bananas, ginger and nutmeg with the wine added at the end of the banana caramel cook.

PS This tastes like a killer cooking wine for desserts with caramelized flavours and ice cream

PSS. This is the best dessert marinade wine I've ever made other than port or sherry. If you cook port or sherry the alcohol disappears, so using a lower alcohol wine like this one is fine because of its flavour after the alcohol boils off.

PSSS - Have no preconceived ideas about your finished wines no matter how they turn out i.e. PLAY WITH THEM!!!!!!

 

[winemaker81]

Saturday night I opened a bottle of Merlot-Grenache, a FWK Tavola Merlot kit fermented with the pomace from 8 lugs of Grenache. This was bottled last August.

As usual, I poured 2 glasses:​

​

Unaerated: Not a lot of nose. Color resembles a typical Merlot. I can taste Grenache as dominant over the Merlot, which is a bit odd as this is a Merlot kit with Grenache pomace. Unfortunately, it's like the Merlot/Tempranillo in that the taste is kind of flat. Some fruit from the Grenache, but basically meh.​

​

Aerated: Nose is more pronounced, but it's generic as I cannot get a reading for what's in the glass. Pleasant, but nothing special. However, the taste is bright and fruity, with strawberry tones. There's enough acid to give it a perk, which lingers pleasantly. As with the Merlot/Tempranillo, there's essentially no perceptible tannin. This is good, as the strawberry lingers. I breathed out after swallowing and got a bit of tannin on the tongue.​

​

Yet another advertisement for aeration and/or breathing. This is not the type of wine I typically drink, but it's a very nice change.​

The color in the picture looks dark, but it's fairly "normal".

 

[winemaker81]

Last night I opened my last bottle of the 2021 FWK Tavola Barbara. I purchased one of the last Barbera kits to get in on the permanent 10% off deal. I have drank a fair amount of Italian wine, but cannot recall drinking a straight Barbera. But I figured, "why not?".

This is my last bottle, some of it going into pressure cooked beef.​

​

Unaerated: The nose is light. Color is fine for a concentrate wine with no skin packs. Taste? Some fruit and an acid bite on the tip of the tongue after swallowing. In this state, the wine is boring for a nearly 3 yo wine.​

​

Aerated: Nose is a bit stronger, but not impressive. Note that this was made before my K&C test, and I demonstrated that K&C reduce nose. Taste? WOW! A lot more fruit, and no acid bite in the after taste.​

​

My tasting notes are a billboard for wine aerators.​

Note: As mentioned above, I can't recall having a 100% Barbera wine before, although it's been a participant in blended wines.

Unfortunately, this is not my favorite varietal. Technically, it's a good wine and if I had more I'd serve it, even if it's not what I like. I'm going to look for a couple of commercial Barbera varietals to taste as a comparison. If I don't like them, then it's likely Barbera is not my buddy. However, in the future I intend to make a blend of Italian varietals, and Barbera will be considered.

 

[Hazelemere]

Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 2023
d47+V13+71B each yeast in a different batch of Chardonnay. bentonite treated mid-ferment and then medium toast (American) oaked and citric acid treated to boost acid

Comments:

Appearance - clear deep yellow

Smell - intriguing, buttered popcorn, gooseberry, lemons, limes, pears, a bit of oak

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - D47 (best) V13 (second best), 71B (third). I don't know if this top-up in a glass from my cooler is one or a blend of all yeasts. I poured it from a 1 litre spring loaded beer bottle. This is pretty good. EC-1118 yeast on these grapes only gives you "buttered popcorn" smell. D47 is the best IMHO and I'll taste that next from a carboy in my cooler. Most of this is my son-in-laws but I will get about 2 cases having blended my homegrown German vinifera muscats like Siegerrebe and Ortega to improve the smell. We are spoiled by having had sensational homemade Carneros Sangiacomo Chardonnay (fruit bombs!) and are always looking to re-create those flavours and smells. The only issue with D47 is that it foams like crazy!!!!!!!!!

Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 D47 Yeast American medium toast oak with Siegerrebe/Ortega Muscat

This is a glass sample from a cooler carboy containing 86% Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay from fresh grapes, crushed, destemmed and pressed with racking of juice from settled grape solids after 24 hours and bentonited mid-ferment from a glass carboy and then back in to glass with medium toast American oak cubes and then blended with my homegrown organic Siegerrebe and Ortega grapes unoaked on 71B yeast at natural SG 1.092 (dead ripe and in perfect condition).

Comments:

Appearance - clear, lemon yellow

Smell - really good super fragrant nose, this is almost as good as Sangiacomo.

Tannin - good

Acid - slightly flat by just a pinch. Most people would like it just like this including my son-in-law who has most of it. I'd add a tiny bit of citric acid to it.

Flavour - this is delicious Washington Chardonnay. I would absolutely make it again i.e. D47 yeast with medium toast American oak on the Chardonnay and unoaked German Muscat viniferas in a blend. My son in law and I will spike it with a bit of citric acid in the next 4 weeks, put it back in the cooler, adjust the sulphite level if it needs sulphite and then bottle it at the end of August.