What's in your glass tonight?

[winemaker81]

When I was a kid my sisters (~decade older than me) would make drinks like Brandy Alexander, Grasshopper, and Pink Squirrel -- brandy, half-n-half, and different liqueurs (creme de cocoa, creme de menth, and creme de almond, respectively), and they'd give me a taste.

Years later as an adult I'd make these drinks, and one time I substituted coffee liqueur for the creme de cocoa, and decided I like that MUCH better. I call it Coffee Alexander.

 

[Hazelemere]

Moraine 2023

This is homegrown hand destemmed and uncrushed 50/50 blend of organic Marechal Foch and Regent, grown in glacial moraine soil 3 degree southeast slope fermented with RC21/71B yeast blend vitamin B containing nutrient. Vines are fed annually with kelp meal, fish bone meal, sulpo-mag, rock phosphate and trace elements including born. No synthetic pesticides including herbicides are used. All vines are mulched with slow-released fertilized lawn clippings to keep down the weeds. I rototill or how weeds between rows. I have ~130 grape vines

Here are my comments on this wine in a split"

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good clean nose, a bit non-descript

Tannin - good

Acid - good, maybe slightly high but the acid will help this age

Flavour - surprise! This I can rate as "good", not very good or excellent but certainly good. It has a promising aftertaste. To improve it even more I think that I would cut it with 2nd run homegrown white wines with no added water or sugar i.e. skins from first pressing mixed with first run sediment plus pectic enzyme to extract smells. IMHO this is the best homegrown red that I've ever made and I will work going forward with this combo together with the 2nd run white wine to try to make it even better i.e. maybe.....................very good?! I might try some of it with K1V1116/71B yeast combo vs RC212/71B yeast combo with and without 2nd run homegrown white vinifera to make 4 different versions of this wine which I will absolutely do to learn my craft at the ripe old age of 74.

retaste from a split:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good, rich clean nose, prunes, roast duck, smoked meat, cocoa, cranberries

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - This is a decent Regent & Marechal Foch house red 50/50 blend with a good aftertaste. 71B/RC212 double yeast ferment seems to make a huge difference in the quality especially acidity. We'll have it again with pizza on Tuesday when we watch the debate. Regent was picked at SG 1.086. Marechal Foch was picked at SG 1.094. All of the grapes were dry and in nice condition.

This year I want to make Regent Rose for the first time ever at SG 1.086+ from slighly shrivelled Amarone style Regent grapes with 71B yeast and make Marechal Foch with the 71B/RC212 yeast combo. I will try to pick Marechal Foch at SG 1.098+ to get the acid as low as I can and the skin aromatics as high as they can go i.e. Amarone style if I'm lucky. SG 1.100+ should do it. If I get really high brix on the Regent I may make some of it as a rose and some of it as a red alone or combined with some of the Marechal Foch. It would be a thrill of a lifetime if I could make a homegrown Amarone style red i.e. Moraine Amarone 2024. e.g. SG on a Regent & Marechal Foch blend at SG 1.094+ i.e. Regent at 1.088+ and Foch at 1.100+.

 

[Hazelemere]

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..

retaste:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good rich nose - blueberries, 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 really tasty, rich and balanced red with a long slightly tannic finish which tells me that it will age and is my wife's primo red. She'll have it today with fresh Peaches and Cream homegrown organic corn with a grilled tenderized sirloin steak salad. I have 5 left and will let them age to give the tannin a chance to drop and maximize the smell and flavour e.g. open 1 every year for the next 5 years at family dinners.

 

[Hazelemere]

Raspberry Sour Cherry Melomel 2019

49 lbs frozen raspberries (late harvest)
21 lbs frozen pitted sour cherries
12 Imperial gallons of water
unpasteurized cranberry blossom honey to SG 1.090
yeast nutrient
pectic enzyme
bayanus EC1118 yeast

good colour, nice fruit and honey fragrance, no oxidation, well balanced, good flavour and aftertaste. The raspberries are dominant but you can taste the sour cherries. This is a good melomel recipe. I've always had good luck with cranberry blossom honey. This will age and I probably have 6+ left. It dropped a bit of sediment on the side of the bottles which settles easily. Don't know if it is protein, ellagic acid or both. Anyway it is easy to decant and a good recipe if you have sour cherries. Sour cherry melomel would probably be good too. I use early harvest raspberries for juice plus fresh eating in vegan coconut yoghurt or granola with cashew milk and mid to late harvest raspberries for wine. Now we use most of our sour cherries to make juice or fruit custard.

retaste of Raspberry Sour Cherry Melomel 2019

appearance - clear, deep rose

smell - very fruity good nose that lingers, honey is evident

tannin - good

acid - slightly high but good

flavour - tasty melomel with a good aftertaste. We had it with unique and tasty Hawaiian vegetarian Italian sourdough pizza and excellent organic sour cherry pie with whipped cream. I have 4 left and will let them age so I get taste one when it is 9 years old. Right now it is in really good condition probably due to the tannin-acid level. One of the tasters is a beekeeper and she loved it.