What's in your glass tonight?

[Hazelemere]

Petite Pinnacle 2021, 2023

This is 25% Lodi Mettler Amarone style grapes from 2021 at sky high brix (SG 1.120, PA 16.0) blended with 75% Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon from 2023 at PA 14.0 to drop the alcohol of the petite sirah and improve the Cab flavour to PA 14.5%, both fermented with RC212 yeast and oaked with medium toast American cubes during MLF all grapes uncrushed and destemmed.

Here are my comments on this blend in a glass from my cooler:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good rich nose - black licorice, cocoa, plums, cigar box, tar

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - intense, rich. the Cab improves the Petite Sirah by giving it more balance. Should be good with pepper steak or osso buco. One word to describe this - ballsy. My wife Carol will enjoy it when the tannin drops in the next 2-3 years. She really likes Petite Sirah. The Petite Sirah is very intense even at this % level so I'll make some for her and my son-in-law who has the Petite Sirah and then bottle my remaining Cab on its own or spike it with 2024 homegrown Marechal Foch and/or Regent in whole or in part.

retaste:

Petite Pinnacle 2021, 2023

Here are my comments on this blend in a glass from my cooler:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good rich nose - black licorice, cocoa, plums, cigar box, tar

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - intense, rich. the Cab improves the Petite Sirah by giving it more balance (lower alcohol and higher acid). This is my wife's primo red. She'll have it with a really tasty fresh cross rib pot roast with potatoes, carrots, peas and corn that had fresh garden herbs sage, lemon thyme and oregano plus salt free beef stock and regent black iris cooking wine put into it with sauteed garlic and sauteed homegrown organic young onions including the green parts, smoked paprika, tamari and worcestershire sauce..

 

[Hazelemere]

Retaste of the Cyser 2023:

Appearance - clear, yellow, trace of petillance

Smell - very fragrant from the honey

Tannin - slightly high but ok (tannin from Russets and honey)

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, slightly sweet and tannic, with a long finish. This should be good in prawn linguine or pork chow mein. So I'll rebottle some of it in a split for that purpose.

Then I retasted the un-rebottled Cyser 50/50 with Apple Edelzwicker 2022 (i.e. Cyser Pyment in a glass. Here are my comments on this blend:

Appearance - clear, lemon yellow, trac of petillance

Smell - complex rich smell from the apples, muscat varietals in the Edelzwicker and the honey

Tannin - good

Flavour - this is rich, complex and tasty, still has the slight sweetness but the 2nd run white grape (Edelzwicker from Siegerrebe and Ortega) makes it much more interesting. This is definitely worth making again from homegrown apples and grapes with unpasteurized local honey (blueberry, cranberry or raspberry blossom).

Retaste of Cyser 2023:

Appearance - clear, yellow gold

Smell - very fragrant from the honey

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, and tasty, slightly sweet, with a long slightly tannic finish from the russet and honey tannin. This is fine but I like it better less sweet. Having said that, everyone's palate is different i.e. this is tailor made for people who like their wines off dry.

 

[Hazelemere]

Another blend in a glass experiment:

1/3 Muscat Auslese 2023 (homegrown organic Siegerrebe and Ortega at SG 1.093)

2/3 Cyser 2023 (homegrown organic russet (major) and cox plus king (homegrown organic) chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey) to ~SG 1.085

Appearance - deep yellow

Smell - rich, intense nose from honey and muscat grapes

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour- this is rich and tasty. If I made it again I'd mix 2nd run homegrown white wine grapes un-chaptalized with cyser in a similar ratio to get a "cyser pyment" and then make an apple edelzwicker as a second flavour (apple juice chaptalized with cane sugar and second run white un-chaptalized with no water added). That way I could keep the 1st run white separate.

 

[Hazelemere]

Menagerie 2020-2021

Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon, Sheridan Syrah, Amador Cabernet Sauvignon, Dineen Cabernet Franc 2020 with Mettler Petite Sirah (74%) - Regent (homegrown) 26% 2021

I have 4 left. Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - purple ink

Smell - delicate, complex nose

Tannin - really good

Acid - slightly high but only very slightly which tells me that this wine (last 4 bottles) need to age e.g. (8 years! drink one every 2 years)

Flavour - this is intense, full on red wine. It tastes like it can only improve with age and needs to age. My tastebuds tell me that this has serious legs because of the good tannin and slightly high acid level. So I'll leave it alone for at least 2 years before I taste it again. If it lasts 8 years without starting to oxidize then it will be 11-12 years old. I'm tempted to not taste it again for another 4 years with something like prime rib, roast lamb or roast goose at a family dinner. This has the potential to be sensational when it peaks but right now I'd rate it young and very good.

24 hours later i.e. next day from the aerated bottle from yesterday:

Smell - more intense than yesterday - cocoa, chinese 5 spice, cola

Tannin - good

Acid - very slightly high but that is ok since the last 4 bottles will age

Flavour - this is really intense and tasty with a really good aftertaste. However it tastes like it could be even better i.e. excellent if it is allowed to age, I'm guessing 4 years. This wine tastes like it can handle 4 years of aging no-problemo. It is a shame to drink heavy duty red wines too young.........so I won't.

 

[Hazelemere]

a retaste:

Apple Edelzwicker 2021-2022

This is homegrown organic apple juice from ground and pressed apples (russet, king, cox) mixed with homegrown organic grape skins and 1st run juice sediment with pectic enzyme and re-pressed (includes Siegerrebe, Ortega, Reichensteiner and Madeleine Angevine). Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance - clear yellow

Smell - good, rich, intense, fragrant, smell is first class. The smell lingers.

Tannin - good

Acid - perfect

Flavour - this is first class...my palate. rich, tasty and balanced with a really good finish. Making it again is a no-brainer. I'll absolutely make it again as an everyday house white wine. This is a perfect way to use apples and 2nd run white wine from grapes with no water added, no sugar added to the 2nd run (Edelzwicker) and sugar added to the apple juice with pectic enzyme and bentonite treated mid ferment on all of the pressed juice from apple pulp, grape skins and grape juice sediment..

a retaste (I have 2 left to share with my wife Carol today with panko halibut burgers):

Appearance - clear yellow, slight gold

Smell - good, rich, intense, fragrant, smell is first class. The smell lingers.

Tannin - very good

Acid - perfect

Flavour - this is really good (my palate) with a really good finish. If you've read my comments on any wines I've made you may think I'm biased. I don't think that is true. I was ranked 1st out 200 winemakers 2 years in a row with fruit wine (raspberry) against all comers. I've been a wine judge and take my craft seriously. I've made tons of crap wines but not in the last 30 years. My winemaking improved overnight when I read "Knowing and Making Wine" by Emile Peynaud (you can find it on Amazon). I'm still learning e.g. using new yeasts that I hadn't used before 71B (this website), V13 (from my grape supplier recommendation, D47 (this website) plus yeasts that I have properly e.g. RC21 with vitamin B containing nutrient (recommendation this website). If you truly serious about improving your craft, then slowly digest absolutely everything that you can read on this website. It won't be a speedy event and there is no reason why it should be. Good luck with your wines!

 

[Hazelemere]

Chilean Viognier 2024 from fresh juice SG 1.083 with D47 yeast

Appearance - clear, pale lemon yellow from cooler after bentonite and tartrates settling

Smell - good smell, delicate, trace of sulphite

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - decent even though its only a month old. We want to use it to improve Washington Sheridan Chardonnay on 71B yeast, so here is that blend in a glass i.e. Chardonnay Viognier (50/50) 2023-2024:

Smell - like lemony, buttered popcorn. The viognier needs time to develop its smell. I'm guessing 6 months should do i.e Xmas-New Years 2024

 

[Hazelemere]

Australian Orange Muscat 2024 from fresh juice SG 1.083 with D47 yeast

Appearance - clear, pale lemon yellow from cooler after bentonite and tartrates settling

Smell - good smell, delicate, trace of sulphite

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - decent even though its only a month old. I like it better than the Viognier. We want to use it to improve Washington Sheridan Chardonnay on 71B yeast, so here is that blend in a glass i.e. Chardonnay d'Oranger (50/50) 2023-2024:

Smell - the Orange Muscat smell mutes the Sheridan Chardonnay buttered popcorn smell. The Orange Muscat needs time to develop its smell to the max. I'm guessing 6 months should do it i.e Xmas-New Years 2024

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - very nice even at this age. Orange Muscat seems to be the best blender for the Sheridan Chardonnay. This blend has a good aftertaste.

 

[Hazelemere]

Dineen Vineyard Pinnacle of Verdot 2023

I had 3 small carboys (15 bottles each) of Washington Dineen Vineyard Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon fermented with RC212 hand destemmed and uncrushed with nutrient containing B vitamins for 12 days followed by malolactic fermentation and oaking with medium toast American oak cubes to 14.0% alcohol. The grapes were in boxes in perfect condition.. My son in law made the same wine but used more oak than I did. We racked all of the wines off of tartrate sediment and raised the total sulphite level from 45 to ~65 parts per million (guessing free sulphite at ~22 ppm). The Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon ("Pinnacle") were blended 50/50 and tasted. My son in law who has never tasted Petit Verdot said he thought the blend was sensational and that the Verdot gave the wine a beautiful, complex smell and a long, wonderful finish. So he got ~150 bottles of the blend oaked his way and I got 90 oaked my way. He then took 60 of his 150 and re-blended it 80 (Verdot blend)/20 (petite sirah blend) of Mettler Petite Sirah 2021 (74% Petite Sirah and 26% Regent (homegrown) 2/3 with Marechal Foch (homegrown) 1/3. I made 15 of this blend "Petite Pinnacle of Verdot" 2021, 2023. He made 60. This is my wife's primo red wine. This is rich, complex and tasty with a long finish and a really good smell. Finally I saved about 8 bottles of the Petite Sirah 2/3 Marechal Foch 1/3 blend which is very intense and much better IMHO than the Petite Sirah on its own since the alcohol level is ~14.5% instead of 15.5%. We have one carboy (30 bottles) of Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah 2021 left which we will blend with this year's homegrown Marechal Foch to drop its alcohol and improve its alcohol, acid level and complexity.

If you can get Petit Verdot I suggest that you try it. My son in law says that the Verdot wines that we just blended are the best we have made since 2009 (Washington Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah). I agree. We'll leave our wines in our walk in cooler until Xmas-New Years 2024 and then bottle them to age for at least 5 years, maybe even 10.

Good luck with your wines.

taste at racking from my carboys in my cooler

Petite Pinnacle of Verdot 2021, 2023 (50% Petite Pinnacle of Verdot with 50% Pinnacle of Verdot). Pinnacle is Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot is from Dineen, Petite Sirah is from Mettler. This blend cuts the original Petite Sirah 2021 dose in half in the original Petite Pinnacle of Verdot. I'm trying to make my wife's new super primo red. She loves petite Sirah but not at 29 brix which this one was. Here are comments on her new primo red (she gets 30 bottles):

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - very aromatic but hard to describe because its slightly cool having just come out of 2 fifteen bottle carboys from my walk in cooler.

Tannin - very good

Acid - very good (high enough to improve the smell over time)

Flavour- this is young but really good, super intense red. This is a perfect result from sky high brix Amarone style Mettler Petite Sirah grapes. It should last for eons because of the acid and the tannin. This is very good right now. When it ages properly it should be excellent i.e. a perfect gift to my wife Carol. Trust me. I will drink it but I know her palate and this wine is hers: super rich, not too acidic, not too tannic, very fragrant. So since it is hers I'll let her open each bottle after it ages in the bottle. I'm thinking at least 3 years in the bottle before she opens the first one. This has the potential to be sensational in 5 years.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

Black Iris Framboise 2023

This is a 60% Black Iris 40% Raspberry table wine blend. Black Iris is 68% frozen wild blackberries from my neighborhood, 32% frozen pitted wild cherries from my neighborhood and 1 lb dried elderberries per 25 bottle carboy medium toast American oak cubes and 1 bottle of Bols cherry liqueur. Framboise is frozen organic homegrown raspberries with 2 bottles of French Chambord liqueur (black raspberries).. I fermented raspberry and wild cherries with 71B yeast, pectic enzyme and vitamin B containing nutrient, blackberries and elderberries with RC212 yeast, pectic enzyme and vitamin B containing nutrient.

Here are comments on this wine:

Appearance - clear deep cherry red

Smell - beautiful rich complex nose, the raspberries are dominant with the Chambord

Tannin - good

Acid- good

Flavour - this is really good fruit wine. Everyone loved it, except my wife Carol who likes her wines flat, rich and with low tannin ( a challenge for me but I enjoy a challenge). Most people like their wines with more acid so I had to give it away to people that do. Her palate is Cab Petite Sirah or Petite Sirah on its own. You shouldn't judge another person's palate IMHO. Make enough different wines so that no matter who you provide wine to, especially if you understand their palate, you can give them a wine that they like. Winemaking and winetasting should be fun. It should never be an ego trip about why they don't like something that you like.

retaste of the very last bottle:

Black Iris Framboise 2023

This is a 60% Black Iris 40% Raspberry table wine blend. Black Iris is 68% frozen wild blackberries from my neighborhood, 32% frozen pitted wild cherries from my neighborhood and 1 lb dried elderberries per 25 bottle carboy medium toast American oak cubes and 1 bottle of Bols cherry liqueur. Framboise is frozen organic homegrown raspberries with 2 bottles of French Chambord liqueur (black raspberries).. I fermented raspberry and wild cherries with 71B yeast, pectic enzyme and vitamin B containing nutrient, blackberries and elderberries with RC212 yeast, pectic enzyme and vitamin B containing nutrient.

Here are comments on this wine:

Appearance - clear deep cherry red purple

Smell - beautiful rich complex nose, the raspberries are dominant with the Chambord

Tannin - good

Acid- good

Flavour - this is delicious. Absolutely first class. A no brainer to make again. Has a beautiful long finish. I'm recovering from radiation therapy for a prostate gland tumour(s). If I can get my retired female yoga instructor (a total sweetie) to pick wild cherries, blackberries and super ripe raspberries with me I'll make it again this year.

 

[Hazelemere]

Pinnacle of Verdot 2023

A 1/2 glass sample from a cooler carboy that I'll rack, sulphite and bottle tomorrow afternoon.

Here are my comments:

RC212 fermentation hand destemmed and uncrushed on RC212 with B-vitamin containing nutrient gone full malolactic fermentation with medium toast American oak cubes during malolactic. The is ~50/50 Dineen Vineyard Cabernet Suavignon and Petit Verdot, both in perfect condition in boxes ~14% alcohol.

Appearance - clear deep reddish purple

Smell - good rich intense nose even though it just came out of the cooler. Hard to describe at this temperature.

Tannin - very good

Acid - very good

Flavour - really good complex intense tasty red right now with a really nice aftertaste. This should improve a lot as it ages. I'm tempted to leave it in bottles for at least 3 years before I drink most of it. I have 60 of these so may bottle 15 tomorrow after I top up the sulphite to about 75 ppm total from current 65 and bottle the rest around Xmas-New Years or even Easter 2025. Even though it is young I'd rate it very good-excellent. This should have no problem becoming excellent within 3-5 years. My palate!!

So I ended up sulphiting to 75 ppm total from 65 which should give me about 25 ppm free sulphite which is perfect for most red wines. I bottled 5 and left a 25 bottle carboy to age in my cooler. I'll taste the 5 slowly over the next 2-3 years before bottling ~55 bottle balance.

 

[Hazelemere]

a leftover blend in 2 small 1 litre milk bottles with air locks.

Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah 2021 (Amarone style shriveled but not raisined grapes sky high brix 29%! in really nice condition i.e. no rot and surprisingly no raisins, Amarone style) with homegrown organic Marechal Foch 2023 in really nice condition in a 2/3 Petite Sirah 1/3 Foch ratio.

Here are my comments on this probably never to be repeated blend for me but possibly for you:

Appearance - purple ink

Smell - very good, interesting smell. The Foch seems to improve a sky-high brix, slightly flat but rich and intense Petite Sirah

Tannin - very good, very slightly high which is good for a wine to age

Acid - fine. The Sirah was flat. The Foch fixes it. Right now the acid is slightly high because the tannin is slightly high. The combo of slightly high acid and tannin tells me that this wine should age perfectly.

Flavour - this is very good. It needs to age to drop acid and tannin and maximize the smell. This is rich, tasty, intense balanced red wine and tastes like it could improve to very good-excellent (That would be a treat unavailable from the Petite Sirah on its own). I will bottle what I have of this odd ball red blend in splits to see how it ages. This is a really good way to use high brix Petite Sirah i.e. blend it with a high acid French American hybrid grape like Foch or any of the grapes I've seen on this site Marechal Foch, Leon Millot, Regent, Marchel Joffre, Marquette, Frontenac, Castel, Chambourcin, Chancellor, Chelois, Baco Noir.

If you grow your own red wine grapes and they are a bit tangy, try to find Lodi Petite Sirah or any other dead ripe Petite Sirah. Mettler Petite Sirah for this blending purpose seems like a no brainer.

You might even consider blending Petite Sirah juice in pails although I think that fresh Petite Sirah in boxes would be better because of skin fermentation.

Good luck to all of the winemaking maniacs on this website!

PS. I ended up with 4 splits (375 bottles) that I will try to age for 4 years i.e. drink one split each year to see how this wine ages

I'm drinking the last glass of this with homemade beef lasagna.

Bottom line - go nuts on small blending experiments, even on wines that are already bottled to open your mind to brand new possibilities.

Namaste

Klaus

I found another 5 which I just bottled. Just as good as before i.e. if you have Petite Sirah and it is out of whack leave it alone until you find something that balances it.

 

[David Violante]

 

[winemaker81]

Our elder son and his girlfriend joined us today for dinner (smoked chicken, fresh corn, bread, and salad), and pre-dinner we opened a red. I didn't bother sending him to the cellar for a bottle, as I knew which one he'd pick -- my oldest McGregor.

The Black Russian Red is typically Saperavi blended with other grapes, often Sereksiya Charni, both Georgian grapes (country in Europe, not US state). I usually keep them for 6 to 8 years, and they will last longer. It's a big wine with a lot of flavors.




His girlfriend isn't a dry wine drinker, so I poured her the 2023 Vidal, sweetened a bit with Agave nectar. She liked that one.

Next she tried the 2022 Elderberry, made from Vintners Best concentrate, the batch extended from 5 US gallons to 7 using 1 liter each red and white grape concentrate. This one is off-dry and I expected her to want a bit of sweetening, but she liked it as it is.

My son had a bit with dinner and is VERY pleased with it. I made it primarily for my DIL and her mom, and haven't drank much of it. I'm sipping it now, and he's right -- it is very good. I suspect a lot of folks would not realize it's not a grape wine.

Vintners Best is not high-end concentrate, as the first ingredient on the label is "apple juice". However? I'm really happy with this one and will make it again.

Like fresh Elderberries, this wine needs a couple of years to develop. I need to examine rack space -- if I have the space, I'm leaning towards making this one again, with the plan to not touch it until 2 years of age.

 

[Boatboy24]

Decided to experiment with blue curaçao in the margaritas instead of Grand Marnier or Triple Sec. They turned out well. Looked more like Smurf-a-ritas, but the flavor was spot on.