What's in your glass tonight?

[Christopher Anderson]

Costco. Took basic kit. SC. Added 1 pound of Blackberries. Sat for 4 months in carboy. Then bottled. Opened tonight. Hmmmm.

 

[sour_grapes]

Did not suck!

 

[wineh]

Mission Hill's 2019 Quatrain. 47% syrah, 27% cab sauv, 18% merlot, 8% cab franc. Very delicious. Blackberries, black cherries, dark chocolate, currants. 14.5%

 

[Hazelemere]

Russet Macintosh Cyser Pyment 2024

This is SG 1.000 racked into my cooler at about 25 ppm free SO2 fermented with D47 and 71B yeast. All wines were treated with bentonite mid-ferment.

Russets - home grown organic russet apples ground and pressed, press juice sulphited and chaptalized with cane sugar.

Macintosh - Okanagan purchased Macintosh ground and pressed, press juice sulphited and chaptalized with cane sugar.

Cyser - homegrown Cox apples ground and pressed, press juice sulphited and chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey

Pyment - home gown low brix organic grapes sulphited and chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey

All sulphiting at about 20-25 ppm free sulphite i.e. 1/4 tsp potassium metabisulphite per 5 Imperial gallons of must juice pre chaptalization.

Here are my comments on a glass from the racking:

Appearance - fairly clear lemon yellow (good sign of little or no oxidation)

Smell - good complex intense nose which is hard to describe right now because of residual yeast smells.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this kills! Absolutely first class with a long rich finish from D47 yeast. Making this again is a no-brainer. 71B drops acid on the grapes and apples and gives a very delicate wine with a really good smell. D47 is pedal to the metal and gives you a killer aftertaste which you don't get from 71B or EC-1118. D47 and 71B yeasts can be blended for the benefit of both.

I put 20 of these into my cooler which I may bottle at Easter or late summer. This is a really good complex apple wine again, not because I made it, just because it is.

 

[Hazelemere]

Marechal Foch 2024 Rose

The home grown Foch were picked at SG 1.076 which is the lowest I've ever seen which I can only attiribute to powdery mildew in canes and leave. I picked at SG 1.076 vs normal 1.096+ and decided to make a rose with 71B yeast so the high acid at low brix wouldn't destroy the flavour on a long skin ferment due to extracted tannins.

So I'm tasting a racked sample that I chaptalized in a glass to SG 1.007 with dextrose before it goes into my cooler unchaptalized

Here are my comments:

Appearance - semi-clear deep rose

Smell - good clean slightly yeast nose

Tannin - good

Acid - slightly high even at SG 1.007 but theacidity should improve over time at this brix.

Flavour - right now it tastes acidic. Over time it should improve as the acid drops. The aftertaste is good. So I'll put it in my cooler and let it drop acid e.g. tartrates. It tastes like it will be fine if aged for at least 6 months to a year so that is what I will do. Age it in my cooler.

 

[wineh]

Cassini Cellars' Maximus. 35% merlot, 33% cab sauv, 30% cab franc, 1%malbec, 1% Petite verdot. (BC VQA Okanagan valley) proprietor grows/harvests the grapes and makes the wine. Black currants, pepper vanilla, chocolate raspberries. The label says "subtle tannins" but they are not! This is in your face and leaves you wanting more. 15.3%!

 

[BarrelMonkey]

Astounding.

 

[Hazelemere]

2023 Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 45% D47 yeast, 45% V13 yeast with 10% Chilean Viognier 2024.

My son in law and I tasted this. It is very good but not excellent. Most of this is his.

2023 Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 30% D47 yeast, 30% V13 yeast, 30% home grown muscats like Siegerrebe and Ortega with 10% Chilean Viognier 2024.

My son in law and I tasted this. It is excellent. Most of this is his.

2023 Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay blend, mostly 71B yeast treated with citric acid at 70% of a blend with 30% Russet Macintosh apple Cox Cyser Pyment 2024

This is fragrant and tasty. i.e. we have 3 high end Washington 2023 Chardonnays. We tried non apple blend but this was the best.

The lesson for me is: forget names. Focus on flavours and smells. Everything else is nonsense.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste of Pacific Black Iris

Appearance - inky purple

Nose - good wild cherry dominant

Tannin - good

Acid- good

Flavour - good, rich dark dry fruit wine which will age. Has a bottle of Bols cherry liqueur in it which is noticeable and gives it a really nice finish. This is balanced and tasty, maybe slightly sweet but not by much.

retaste:

Appearance - inky purple

Nose - good wild cherry dominant

Tannin - good

Acid- good

Flavour - good, rich dark dry fruit wine which will age. Has a bottle of Bols cherry liqueur in it which is noticeable and gives it a really nice finish. This is balanced and tasty, maybe slightly sweet but not by much.

 

[Hazelemere]

Regent Pacific Black Iris 2023

This is a blend in a glass designed to drop the slight sweetness of Pacific Black Iris (Foch, Regent, Blackberries, Dried Elderberries and pitted Wild Cherries) with dry Regent, everything oaked with medium toast American oak. 2/3 Regent 1/3 Pacific Black Iris

Here are my tasting comments:

Appearance - clear, inky purple

Smell - good, clean nose. Hard to describe.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a decent, balanced house red. It has some tannin in the finish. It could kill as a cooking wine. If you grow red French American hybrids, including New York or Minnesota hybrids and/or Regent consider blending in blackberries with elderberries with or without wild cherries (if you can get them) fermented with RC212/71B with nutrient with or without medium toast American oak cubes and malolactic fermentation with cold tartrate stabilization to make a balanced, tasty house red for everyday drinking so you can save your best reds for special occasions. If you go that route don't blend the grape wine with the fruit wine until sulphiting after malolactic fermentation.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

Regent 2023

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good nose, cocoa, black cherries, prunes

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is not "very good" or "excellent" but it is certainly "good" with an interesting aftertaste which is totally different than the Marechal Foch described above. It tastes like it needs to age to soften and become more complex. This year when I make it I'll leave it alone in storage for at least 2 years to see how it ages. Im trying to create very good Regent and maybe I can. So the message is to leave this wine alone to age in a cooler at 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hope you have fantastic luck with your wines.

Namaste

Klaus

retaste: after bottling Pinnacle of Verdot a 50/50 Washington Dineen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon/Petit Verdot fermented with RC212 and nutrient for 11 days hand destemmed and uncrushed with oak and first sulphite after MLF. Bottled at 80 ppm total sulphite. i.e. ~27 ppm free sulphite.

This is stunning. I'll try to make it with my tribe in 2025.

Regent 2023

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good nose, cocoa, black cherries, prunes

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is not "very good" or "excellent" but it is certainly "good" with an interesting aftertaste which is totally different than the Marechal Foch described above. It tastes like it needs to age to soften and become more complex. This year when I make it I'll leave it alone in storage for at least 2 years to see how it ages. Im trying to create very good Regent and maybe I can. So the message is to leave this wine alone to age in a cooler at 57 degrees Fahrenheit.

Hope you have fantastic luck with your wines.

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.

retaste ahead of bottling this weekend:

appearance - clear inky purple

smell - intense mocha, prune plums, figs, cherries, blueberries

tannin - good

acid - good

flavour - this is delicious, absolutely first class with a really good aftertaste. I'm blessed to be able to bottle 67 bottles this weekend and let it age in my cooler. IMHO this is the best homemade red wine I've made in at least 11 years i.e. a Grenache rich Washington GSM in 2013. I'd make this again in a heartbeat.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good complex nose - hard to describe on a wine just removed from a cooler but I will try - cocoa, plums, blackberries, cherries, oak

Tannin - very good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really good and has the potential to be excellent. The finish is really long and really good. This should last for at least 5-7 years in the bottle.

Bottom line - I've said this before - look for dead ripe Petit Verdot

retaste after bottling 1 of 2 carboys

 

[Hazelemere]

Black Iris Port with Creme de Cassis in a glass 2024 at about SG 1.008

finished or almost finished fermenting. I have 25 bottles. This is mostly wild cherries with a few blackberries and 1 lb dried elderberries fermented with EC-1118 yeast with nutrient. Here are my comments on this blend in a glass:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - really good fruit bomb nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - the Cassis is dominant but not in a bad way. If you like port this is first class fruit port. I think I'll top it up with Greek Metaxa raisin brandy to get the alcohol up to 18+%. I may treat it with citric acid to drop the sweetness. Other than that, this should be excellent fruit port. Instead of using 1, I think I'll use 2 bottles of Metaxa on a 25 bottle carboy and then put it in my cooler. I'll retaste it after I add the Metaxa. I don't want to over-ride a beautiful wild cherry smell and taste with the dried elderberries. The blackberry dose is so low that it doesn't matter. I was going to add Drambuie but I think I'll go for Metaxa.

 

[winemaker81]

We visited our younger son over the weekend, and discovered he had a bottle of my 2016 Chocolate-Orange Port. We had no clue if an 8 year old kit wine was still good, and were VERY pleased it was! His MIL really liked it, said it smelled like chocolate and orange dessert in a glass. She had never had anything like it.

 

[Hazelemere]

Raspberry Melomel Cyser 2020

All homegrown apples, a mixture of Russets, Kings and Cox, were ground and pressed at SG 1.040 and chaptalized with un-pasteurized blueberry blossom honey to SG 1.093 plus pectic enzyme, fermented with EC-1118 yeast and treated mid-ferment with bentonite to remove protein to prevent bottle haze.

Frozen homegrown organic raspberries were thawed with can sugar at 3 lbs sugar per 6 lb raspberries per Imperial gallon of water with pectic enzyme and fermented with EC 1118 yeast at SG 1.086 to SG 0.992. The dry SG 0.992 was chaptalized with the blueberry blossom honey to SG 1.012 with potassium sorbate.

60 parts raspberry melomel at SG 1.012 was blended with 40 parts cyser at SG 1.003 to make this wine blend.

Here are my tasting notes:

Appearance - deep rose with a bit of sediment on the side of the bottles which is easy yo settle (ellagic acid from the raspberries?)

Smell - raspberry and honey smells are present but russet apple smell is dominant are dominant, Smell is decent.

Tannin - high from the russets but ok

Acid - high but suits me as a table wine. I don't like syrupy table wines.

Flavour - intense, interesting, russet dominant, complex melomel cyser. The blueberry blossom honey improves it but the raspberry flavour is dominated by the russets and the honey.

Bottom line - The next time I make it I'll try 80 parts raspberry melomel and 20 parts cyser to get more raspberry flavour and tone down the russets. Having said that, I like it, kind of oddball but intense and interesting as a fruit table wine. Sorry I don't have a photo off my phone yet but when I get it I'll post it.

retaste:

Appearance - clear deep rose

Smell - good, fragrant, complex nose.

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - intense, interesting, complex, with russet tannin in a good long aftertaste. Slightly sweet. This should be really good as a meat marinade for something like chow mein or better yet, roast duck with Chinese 5 spice, garlic, tamari, worcestershire sauce, sesame oil. I'll use 1/2 a bottle of it with a roast duck I'll make this week and save the last bottle for a roast duck on New Year's Eve to make a gravy that I can use to make New Year's Day Asian prawn crepes with thickened duck sauce, mushrooms, super diced brussel sprouts or cabbage.

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[Hazelemere]

We visited our younger son over the weekend, and discovered he had a bottle of my 2016 Chocolate-Orange Port. We had no clue if an 8 year old kit wine was still good, and were VERY pleased it was! His MIL really liked it, said it smelled like chocolate and orange dessert in a glass. She had never had anything like it.

View attachment 117446

I would have loved to taste it!

 

[winemaker81]

I would have loved to taste it!

Alas, 'tis not to be!

The "Port" kits are not exactly high end wines. They're good for what they are, which is a flavored dessert wine, which is why I bottle in splits (smaller portions).

I suspect this one survived 8 years because of relatively high ABV, acid, sugar, and body. I've got 7 bottles each of Chocolate-Coffee and Black Forest (Chocolate-Cherry) Ports in the racks, both made in 2018. They're also holding up well.

 

[Hazelemere]

2023 Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 45% D47 yeast, 45% V13 yeast with 10% Chilean Viognier 2024.

My son in law and I tasted this. It is very good but not excellent. Most of this is his.

2023 Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 30% D47 yeast, 30% V13 yeast, 30% home grown muscats like Siegerrebe and Ortega with 10% Chilean Viognier 2024.

My son in law and I tasted this. It is excellent. Most of this is his.

2023 Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay blend, mostly 71B yeast treated with citric acid at 70% of a blend with 30% Russet Macintosh apple Cox Cyser Pyment 2024

This is fragrant and tasty. i.e. we have 3 high end Washington 2023 Chardonnays. We tried non apple blend but this was the best.

The lesson for me is: forget names. Focus on flavours and smells. Everything else is nonsense.

retaste at bottling. I get 14 bottles of Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay from fresh grapes 45% D47 yeast 45% V13 yeast with 10% Chilean Viognier from juice plus citric acid on medium toast American oak.

Appearance - clear, deep lemon yellow

Smell - very fragrant, buttered popcorn, lemon zest, papaya, melon, pineapple

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is very good, rich and tasty Washington Chardonnay with a long finish. It should improve in the bottle due to the good acid, adjusted with citric acid and Viognier. I'd like to try this yeast combo on California Chardonnay e.g. Carneros, Napa or Sonoma if we can get it.

 

[Hazelemere]

Pacific Chardonnay Muscat 2023, Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay 30% D47 yeast, 30% V13 yeast, 30% home grown muscats like Siegerrebe and Ortega with 10% Chilean Viognier 2024. This is 60% Washington Chardonnay, 30% homegrown Siegerrebe-Ortega and 10% Chilean Viognier from juice

Appearance - clear, deep lemon yellow

Smell - really interesting intense nose that lingers, lychees, Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream, quince, grapefruit, lemon meringue

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a really interesting Chardonnay blend with a really good long aftertaste. I'm thrilled to get 19 of these. My son in law gets 66. Lucky guy! I'd rate this as very good. It may improve to very good-excellent.

 

[Hazelemere]

Sheridan Vineyard Chardonnay Apple 2023-2024

Appearance - lemon yellow

Smell - very good nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is very good. Not quite as good as last 2 Chardonnays that I commented on but still very good. I'll drink this ahead of the previous 2 primo Chardonnays. These are all good-very good Chardonnays including this one. Some of them may become very good-excellent. Right now all of them are very good. Sheridan Chardonnay on its own wasn't as good as these blends.