What's in your glass tonight?

[Hazelemere]

Framboise 2024

15 lbs organic frozen raspberries including Meeker and Lamberhurst
6 lbs cane sugar
3 US gallons of water
raised SG to 1.085 with cane sugar after the raspberries thawed and the after the water as added.
71B yeast
pressed at SG 1.000 to remove seeds
added 2 750 mL bottles of Chambord liqueur (French black raspberry)
added dextrose (corn sugar) to SG 1.006
raised total potassium metabisulphite from 2/8 tsp to 3/8 tsp total i.e. ~25 to 30 ppm free sulphite
addded sorbate and put into my cooler to bottle around Easter 2025

Comments (pre sorbate and 1/8th tsp sulphite addition at SG 1.006):

Appearance: clear after 4 weeks. Ferment is done.

Smell - very fragrant, very slight stink off yeast sediment

Tannin - good

Acid - slightly high but ok for now. It will drop over time e.g. 6 months+. If it doesn't I can always sweeten it a bit more e.g. SG 1.009.

Flavour - this should be very good in 1 to 2 years. I'll leave it my cooler for 6 months before I taste it again. I should get 26.5 regular bottles. 71B seems to be a go to yeast for raspberries.

 

[Hazelemere]

Cyser Kir 2023

This is about 90% Russet Cyser 2023 with 10% Creme de Cassis (French black currant liqueur)

Appearance - clear rose

Smell - really good smell, very interesting. The Cassis improves it a lot.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a really good way to drink a cyser. I'd drink this in the summer on ice as a cocktail. A really tasty surprise. I'll keep creme de cassis in the house just so I can make this. When I was younger my wife and I used to drink Dubonnet. This IMHO is better. My wife tasted this and really likes it. Scored it 8.5/10. What a pleasant surprise!

I'm tasting this today while I'm roasting a Canadian Thanksgiving turkey. Black currant liqueur with apple melomel (cyser) is sensational. Making this again is a no-brainer! The aftertaste is fantastic!

 

[tullamore]

a little something to unwind with
root beer flavour

 

[Christopher Anderson]

What's in my glass? Homemade hooch. SWILL. Actually a combo: Australian Shiraz, Lenor (homegrown black Spanish), plus some CS from Lodi. Left overs from various ferments. Combined together and oaked for 5+months. Actually quite surprisingly good.

 

[Ohio Bob]

What's in my glass? Homemade hooch. SWILL. Actually a combo: Australian Shiraz, Lenor (homegrown black Spanish), plus some CS from Lodi. Left overs from various ferments. Combined together and oaked for 5+months. Actually quite surprisingly good.

Behold the power of blending!

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

Appearance - clear yellow gold

Smell - honey smell is dominant, complex interesting nose:

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - intense cyser. very pleasant. I'll make some more this year, in about 2 weeks, with D47 yeast with and without homegrown grape juice i.e. some as Cyser Pyment 2024.

Cyser 2023

retaste:

Appearance - clear yellow gold, very slightly petillant

Smell - honey smell is dominant, complex interesting nose:

Tannin - good from the russet apples

Acid - good

Flavour - intense cyser. very pleasant. I've made this year's cyser from homegrown Cox apples (for the first time ever) plus unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey plus a blend of 4 homegrown white wine grape varieties to make a Cyser Pyment, and then used the russets with my son in law's Okanagan Macintosh apples to make an apple wine. He made a Macintosh cyser with the same honey that I used.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste (I have 6 left after this):

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, prunes, 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. I'll age it for her so she can drink it with a really good steak. She'll have it today with a really tasty broiled prime rib steak, with garlic mashed home-grown organic potatoes and garlic with fresh organic homegrown pole wax beans and a really tasty organic blackberry apple crumble with vanilla or chocolate ice cream. I mention organic all of the time because trust me it makes a real difference e.g. no glyphosate (Round-up) in your gut, no synthetic fungicides in your stomach. I know I could kill all of the wasps and hornets in my vineyard with synthetic insecticides but I'd rather trap them simultaneously with 3 different traps 1) strawberry jam jars 2) yellow jacket pheromones 3) W-H-Y traps. I'll cull damaged grapes from wasps and/or powdery mildew by hand before I crush and press without any remorse. i.e. I'll joyfully get what I get!

retaste (I have 4 left after this):

Petite Pinnacle 2021, 2023

Here are my comments on this blend:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good rich nose - black licorice, prunes, 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. I'll try to keep my mitts out of the last 4. It needs to air to drop tannin.

After 24 hours aeration in the bottle:

Tannin - good

Flavour - this is better aerated

 

[cmason1957]

This summer when Joyce (my spouse) and I visited the local brewery near the lake we go to, in Minnesota, we tried a beverage they made called Bloody Pickled Wizard. It is a beer with pickles added that when they serve it, they add Bloody Mary Mix to. Amazingly good. Me being the inquisitive type person that I am asked how they made the pickled beer. It's a simple cream ale with a small amount of pickle juice and pickles added post fermentation.

Me being a person who knows how to be beer, had to try it. Today was test drink day. Joyce's comment, you nailed it. This tastes exactly like what we had this summer. I am almost impressed by this.

 

[Hazelemere]

Cyser Kir 2023

This is about 90% Russet Cyser 2023 with 10% Creme de Cassis (French black currant liqueur)

Appearance - clear rose

Smell - really good smell, very interesting. The Cassis improves it a lot.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a really good way to drink a cyser. I'd drink this in the summer on ice as a cocktail. A really tasty surprise. I'll keep creme de cassis in the house just so I can make this. When I was younger my wife and I used to drink Dubonnet. This IMHO is better. My wife tasted this and really likes it. Scored it 8.5/10. What a pleasant surprise!

I'm tasting this today while I'm roasting a Canadian Thanksgiving turkey. Black currant liqueur with apple melomel (cyser) is sensational. Making this again is a no-brainer! The aftertaste is fantastic!

retaste:

This is delicious! I'm going to try Cassis with some of my apple wine as Russet Macintosh Kir 2024. I bought 2 Cassis at my liquor store and one of the personnel suggested that I try it with white wine at 10/90 ratio. Right on! What a revelation!

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

Black Iris Foch Syrah 2022-23

wild blackberries, wild black cherries (pitted), dried elderberries, Sheridan Syrah (repair job), homegrown organic Marechal Foch

Appearance - inky purple, slight fizz

Smell - complex, wild cherries, caramel, cocoa, Chinese 5 spice, roast duck, marzipan

Tannin - good

Acid- good

Flavour - this is interesting. I won't make it again because the Syrah was a train wreck one-off which this blend was an attempt to fix. This is a decent, rich house red with a unique and interesting aftertaste. I think that it would make a killer marinade for duck or any wild meat - venison, wild boar, elk or moose. I'll keep what I have left (a few bottles) as a marinade for wild meat. My son in law and his brothers are hunters.

retaste:

retaste:

Black Iris Foch Syrah 2022-23

wild blackberries, wild black cherries (pitted), dried elderberries, Sheridan Syrah (repair job), homegrown organic Marechal Foch

Appearance - inky purple, slight fizz

Smell - complex, wild cherries, caramel, cocoa, Chinese 5 spice, roast duck, marzipan

Tannin - good

Acid- good

Flavour - this is interesting. I won't make it again because the Syrah was a train wreck one-off which this blend was an attempt to fix. This is a decent, rich house red with a unique and interesting aftertaste. I think that it would make a killer marinade for duck or any wild meat - venison, wild boar, elk or moose. I'll keep what I have left (a few bottles) as a marinade for wild meat. My son in law and his brothers are hunters.

 

[Hazelemere]

Framboise 2024

15 lbs organic frozen raspberries including Meeker and Lamberhurst
6 lbs cane sugar
3 US gallons of water
raised SG to 1.085 with cane sugar after the raspberries thawed and the after the water as added.
71B yeast
pressed at SG 1.000 to remove seeds
added 2 750 mL bottles of Chambord liqueur (French black raspberry)
added dextrose (corn sugar) to SG 1.006
raised total potassium metabisulphite from 2/8 tsp to 3/8 tsp total i.e. ~25 to 30 ppm free sulphite
addded sorbate and put into my cooler to bottle around Easter 2025

Comments (pre sorbate and 1/8th tsp sulphite addition at SG 1.006):

Appearance: clear after 4 weeks. Ferment is done.

Smell - very fragrant, very slight stink off yeast sediment

Tannin - good

Acid - slightly high but ok for now. It will drop over time e.g. 6 months+. If it doesn't I can always sweeten it a bit more e.g. SG 1.009.

Flavour - this should be very good in 1 to 2 years. I'll leave it my cooler for 6 months before I taste it again. I should get 26.5 regular bottles. 71B seems to be a go to yeast for raspberries.

retaste from a split in my cooler stored vertically to drop sediment. Here are my comments:

Appearance - surprisingly clear deep dark rose

Smell - really good raspberry nose. The Chambord helps it a lot.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really good. The 71B yeast seems to be tailor made for raspberries. Chambord takes it to another level. I wish I had more! This is only 2 months old and tastes wonderful at SG 1.006 with 71B yeast. Now I have to leave it alone for at least 6 months before I bottle it (26 bottles). If you have frozen raspberries try this recipe. I use late season raspberries for my wine because they are less acidic than early season which we use to make juice. This has Meeker and Lamberhurst raspberries in it. Meeker raspberries are really tasty. Lamberhurst are an old variety and equally good but different in flavour and smell.

 

[bstnh1]

Last night we had some friends over for dinner and I popped the corks on a couple of bottles of 18 month old WE Gewürztraminer. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone loved it. It has a very slight hint of sweetness, a lot less than I expected. WE website shows it as 11.5% ABV, but this batch turned out to be 12.8% with no tweaks.

 

[Hazelemere]

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.

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.

final of last bottle 1/2 of which go to make boeuf bourgignon tomorrow for stroganoff

appearance - clear, deep rose

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

tannin - good

acid - good

flavour - tasty, slightly sweet 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.

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

retaste of what is left after blending with Sheridan Chardonnay 2023:

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

Smell - good smell very fragrant

Tannin - good

Acid - good maybe slightly high but that will help it age and improve the nose

Flavour - this is fine. Not fantastic but certainly good from SG 1.083 juice. I think that it will improve a lot if it spends another year in the carboy before bottling to drop its acid.

All of the Sheridan Chardonnay blends that we made were improved by it or Australian Orange Muscat. The Chardonnays are aging and will probably be bottled around Easter 2025.

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]

last tasting for awhile:

Pacific Chardonnay 2023-2024 (first blend - we made 5)

This is 90% Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 from fresh grapes half fermented with D47 yeast and half fermented with V13 yeast blended with 10% Chilean Viognier Fresco juice 2024 in pails.

Here are my comments:

Appearance - clear, deep lemon yellow

Smell - improvement over Sheridan buttered popcorn nose - cream, bananas, buttered popcorn, kiwi fruit, honeydew melon, papayas, apples, oak, vanilla

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - This is a really tasty Washington Chardonnay with a killer aftertaste. I'm entitled to about 5 bottles of this which is so good I may bottle it in splits (half bottles) so I get 10 instead of 5.

 

[Hazelemere]

Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

This is 75% Amador Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Washington Dineen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon hand destemmed and uncrushed fermented with RC 212 with nutrient and oaked with medium toast American oak. No sulphite was added until the end of spontaneous malolactic fermentation. I made this with my winemaking apprentices who each made their own blends. This is my neighbour Tim's blend. Here are my comments on this wine:

Appearance: inky purple

Smell - chocolate nibs, figs, blackberries, prune plums, toffee, sour licorice

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - rich, tasty Cabernet with a good aftertaste. This should age a long time. We'll have some more this evening with freshly made beef stroganoff from sirloin tip roast, fresh herbs (basil, lemon thyme, oregano and portabella mushrooms with tamari, worcestershire, seasoning salt and pepper, with broccoli and sour cream.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste after tasing Foch and Regent on their own:

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

Flavour - this is fine, not "very good" or "excellent" but certainly "good". It tastes like it will improve so I will let it.

I'll probably make all 3 homegrown reds in 2024: Marechal Foch, Regent and Moraine (Foch/Regent) blend. They are all decent and taste like they can improve in the bottle. Plus Regent Rose just for a new experience.

retaste

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good clean nose, sage, cocoa, roast duck, chinese 5 spice

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a decent homegrown house red. It may improve with age.