What's in your glass tonight?

[winemaker81]

It's sad how weak willed I am, unable to resist opening a bottle.

OTOH, I have wine to console myself with.

Maybe it's self delusion, but it seems like a win!

 

[cmason1957]

It's sad how weak willed I am, unable to resist opening a bottle.

OTOH, I have wine to console myself with.

Maybe it's self delusion, but it seems like a win!

View attachment 117592

Any time you are drinking Dolcetto is a good time. Delude yourself away.

 

[winemaker81]

Any time you are drinking Dolcetto is a good time. Delude yourself away.

I deeply appreciate your support of my delusion!!!

It is a very good delusion.

 

[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.

I put 1 bottle of metaxa plus 1/2 bottle of creme de cassis into a 25 bottle carboy plus medium toast American oak cubes and am tasting the left over wine at SG 1.007. My son in law tasted it and said he thought it was excellent. I'm sure my neighbour Iris who has the wild cherry tree will agree. He suggested the American oak which I'll leave in the wine for 120 days before I sulphite it and bottle it. Making this again is a total no-brainer. I didn't use 2 bottles of Metaxa because I want to taste the wild cherries. So this will be Black Iris Port 2024. Iris tasted it half an hour ago with her husband Rick. They both liked it and offered me homegrown frozen blackberries! Great neighbours!

 

[sour_grapes]

Polyethylene glycol!

 

[tullamore]

these microbreweries have come a long ways in the past 5 or so years - making a good pint
here where i live there are 48 micro companies .....and counting.....

 

[crushday]

Drinking my first bottle of 2022 Knights Valley Cabernet. I would put it right up there with Caymus...

 

[jswordy]

Well, it WAS this... Mmmm-MMM! Have to find something else now...

 

[ChuckD]

Polyethylene glycol!

DS

 

[sour_grapes]

DS

DS? I honestly don't know what that means! I will assume it is some sort of expression of sympathy!

 

[ChuckD]

I see folks use DNS (did not suck) when describing the wine in their glass… you can do the math.

And yes… much sympathy! I did it a few months ago. My wife sips it . I prefer getting it over with fast so I chug it like a frat boy on Friday night.

 

[sour_grapes]

I see folks use DNS (did not suck) when describing the wine in their glass… you can do the math.

And yes… much sympathy! I did it a few months ago. My wife sips it . I prefer getting it over with fast so I chug it like a frat boy on Friday night.

Yes, chugging is the right move for sure.

 

[ibglowin]

Polyethylene glycol!

Well poop!

 

[sour_grapes]

Well poop!

Well, everything came out okay!

 

[jswordy]

Been staining trim all day, so a few bottles of the Rock, a lil nip off a gummy and a third of a Percocet is what it has taken to finally get the edge off the pain. God, I am old... I'd post a pic but my camera batteries died and the new ones are across the room... Ummm... Uh-uh.

 

[Hazelemere]

Pacific Black Iris Regent 2023-2024

This is 25 bottles of Pacific Black Iris 2023 which is blackberries, pitted wild cherries, dried elderberries, Regent and Marechal Foch. I added 5 bottles of Regent Rose because I wanted to drop the sweetness and boost the acid. Here is what I taste in a glass from my 30 bottle carboy.

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - good, rich, complex nose

Tannin - good

Acid - very good for my palate

Flavour - This is a really nice surprise. Well balanced and flavourful with a tasty finish. I can make this again and I will. 71B yeast and Regent seem to work well together i.e. the Rose is slightly tangy without malolactic fermentation, due to some reduction of malic acid via 71B yeast, at moderate tannin (due to no skin ferment) and seems to balance the slightly sweet Pacific Black Iris. I'd rate this as very good for a "fusion" table wine i.e. grape wine mixed with fruit wine. This is the best red fusion table wine from homegrown or neighbourhood wild produce (blackberries and wild cherries) that I've ever tasted. I'd rate it as good-very good i.e. This is worth aging as a premium red fusion wine. I'm thrilled to have 30 bottles.

My winemaking friends said this about a Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah - homegrown Regent blend (74/26 volume ratio) that we made in 2021 "These very good wines are on the table beside our Petite Sirah/Regent blend; all these wines have been opened for days, the Nuits St Georges for weeks. Our wine is not embarrassed to be in such company, and is the most fresh and fruity. Dark fruit, plenty of everything. Bravo Klaus!" The wines she compared this wine to: Grabbiano Chianti 2022 (Vivino 3.7/5), Nuit Saint Georges Veilles Vignes Patrice Rion 2005 (84/100) and 1 Mill Road Pinot Noir 2018 (Vivino4.2/5). If you grow hybrid grapes consider trying to grow Regent. My Regent is grafted onto SO4 rootstock. I have 20 plants together with 22 un-grafted Marechal Foch.

 

[winemaker81]

I'm grilling ribeye steaks for dinner, and this one called out to me.



It's moderately dark, nose is mixture of oak & dark fruit, just enough acid to excite the taste buds, slightly tannic on the sides of the tongue, and goes down nicely. It's good on its own and with a steak.

This was in a recent shipment from Laithwaite. I've enjoyed their service, as it has brought me wines I'd not have tried otherwise. I'm adventurous and open-minded, so it was a lot of fun. This is a big plus.

There are two downsides (from my POV): First, in the quarterly cases I get 1 or 2 bottles of each wine, so when I get an exceptional wine ... getting more may be difficult. This is counterbalanced by the fact that the vast majority of the wines I received are at least "good". Most have been above average.

Second, I'm locked into a quarterly shipment, so I get it regardless if I need it. In the past year, as much as I like variety, I'm drinking a lot less commercial wine, so I had several cases I had no room in the racks for.

Let's add #3: in the past year+, I noticed that the quality of the wines shipped was lower. I chalk this up to inflation -- the pool of high quality and lower priced wines has shrunk, and Laithwaite is keeping their price down to avoid losing customers. So I get repeats from case-to-case, and some are barely "good".

So ... I canceled the subscription. In a few months time, when I have need in the racks for another case, I'll watch coupons from Total Wine. When I get a good coupon, I'll research applicable wines to identify well rated ones in my price range, make a list larger than I need, the purchase a case (3 bottles of each wine).

It's easier to let someone else do the research, but it's more satisficing and amusing to do it myself.

 

[Hazelemere]

Regent Rose 2024

This was picked on September 25 at SG 1.073 and then chaptalized with cane sugar to SG 1.085 before treating with 71B yeast.

The smell is intriguing and one of a kind that lingers. The flavour is very good at 45 days!!!?. I've never made this before but will in the future. Sedlescombe UK Regent Rose came first out of all roses from Regent in a European competition (e.g. German Regents). Now I understand why.

"The award-winning 2015 Sedlescombe Regent Rose Wine, which was up against 61 wines, picked up 97 points out of a possible 100 points and scooped the coveted grand gold award at the International Organic Wine Awards this year."

 

[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.

retaste at bottling today (I get 19 to age I'm guessing 5 years if I can keep my mitts out of it):

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 delicious Washington Chardonnay blended with homegrown Siegerrebe-Ortega with a really good long aftertaste. I'd rate this as very good-excellent.

 

[Hazelemere]

White Fusion 2024

This is a blend in a glass of 50% Chilean Viognier from Fresco juice, 25% homegrown Russets + Macintosh apple juice chaptalized with cane sugar, 25% Homegrown white wine grapes including Siegerrebe, Ortega, Reichensteiner, Madeleine Angevine with homegrown Cox apple juice chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey and fermented with D47 yeast.

Tasting notes:

Appearance - clear lemon yellow

Smell - very fragrant, complex nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is better than the sum of its parts and should make a really good, balanced and tasty house white wine for everyday drinking. I'd rate it as very good. It has no apparent flaws. I'll mix up 30 bottles of this in a carboy, put it back in my cooler and bottle it around Easter 2025.