What's in your glass tonight?

[VinesnBines]

This is my 2024 Foch, barrel tasting. The last topping was three weeks ago. I’m trying to get all my barrels on the same schedule and this is the outlier.

It went into the barrel on October 28, 2024. I’ve topped the barrel four times with 2024 Foch. .

The color is gorgeous, deep purple; aroma is fantastic, dark fruit, tobacco and just a little earthy.

This batch has great potential. I’m going to bottle it as a single varietal l.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste from a 1/2 bottle in my cooler. Here are my tasting notes:

Appearance - clear deep lemon yellow

Smell - very fragrant, complex nose that lingers

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is better than a house wine, absolutely delicious with a really good aftertaste. I can smell it after I swallow it after a couple of minutes. This was made with D47 yeast which gives it the long finish. I score it 9+ out of 10 and will store it as a premium white wine to see how it ages. Surprisingly my own grapes which were destemmed and culled at low brix SG 1.073 are in this together with low brix Fresco Chilean Viognier juice in a pail at SG 1.083, plus organic homegrown Russet and Cox juice plus Okanagan Macintosh juice (all apples ground and pressed for juice and chaptalized with unpasteurized blueberry blossom honey to ~ SG 1.085). Apple + honey = cyser, Grape + honey = pyment. Cyser + Pyment = White Fusion.

Consider white fusions i.e. cyser + pyment. This wine kills!

Happy New Year to all of you

Klaus

retaste of "White Fusion": this our white house wine (cyser/pyment)

Appearance - clear deep lemon yellow, no fizz

Smell - very fragrant, complex nose that lingers

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is a delicious house wine with a really good aftertaste. My wife really likes it. The Fresco Chilean Viognier juice really seems to have improved it. I would make it again in a heartbeat.

 

[winemaker81]

Last fall we bottled our 2023 "Chianti", which is Sangiovese juice buckets, fermented with pomace from CS, CF, and Merlot, and aged in a neutral barrel for a year. It came out very nice.

We bottled 7 cases, at which point we ran out of bottles. The remainder was poured into a bucket, along with sludge from the barrel. We bottled at my son's house, so I took the bucket home, put it in a 12 liter carboy, cleared it for 2 weeks, and bottled it.

This one is a bit different from the main batch. It's oakier (from the wine at the bottom of the barrel) yet fruity. Unfortunately, there were only 15 bottles (13 remaining).



My last statement is obviously a winemaker's POV. Normal humans don't consider 15 bottles to be a problem, well, except in terms of "where do I store that much wine?".

A few years back a friend excitedly showed me the 5 bottle rack on his kitchen counter. He had 5 bottles of wine.

If I had 5 cases of wine I'd consider myself "out of wine". It's a different POV ...

 

[ChuckD]

Last fall we bottled our 2023 "Chianti", which is Sangiovese juice buckets, fermented with pomace from CS, CF, and Merlot, and aged in a neutral barrel for a year. It came out very nice.

We bottled 7 cases, at which point we ran out of bottles. The remainder was poured into a bucket, along with sludge from the barrel. We bottled at my son's house, so I took the bucket home, put it in a 12 liter carboy, cleared it for 2 weeks, and bottled it.

This one is a bit different from the main batch. It's oakier (from the wine at the bottom of the barrel) yet fruity. Unfortunately, there were only 15 bottles (13 remaining).

View attachment 120354

My last statement is obviously a winemaker's POV. Normal humans don't consider 15 bottles to be a problem, well, except in terms of "where do I store that much wine?".

A few years back a friend excitedly showed me the 5 bottle rack on his kitchen counter. He had 5 bottles of wine.

If I had 5 cases of wine I'd consider myself "out of wine". It's a different POV ...

That label needs a plate of fava beans and liver

 

[winemaker81]

That label needs a plate of fava beans and liver

I lean towards feta, aged provolone, bread, and a selection of olives ... maybe brie en croute!

 

[Hazelemere]

A one off blend in a glass 50/50 Pacific Black Iris with Black Iris Framboise

I've posted tastings on these 2 wines before. Here is what this blend in a glass tastes like:

Appearance - clear deep purple

Smell - fruity, intense and very complex, hard to describe but pleasant and lingering

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - slightly sweet, intense, good aftertaste, slightly tannic. Tastes like it would be good on ice in the summer as a homemade version of sweet vermouth or dubonnet. I think it might be good in a Chinese roast duck or Chinese roast chicken marinade with 5 spice. By know you all know I love Chinese roast duck and Chinese roast chicken. I try not to think I know what my wines will be good for i.e. I try not to have an agenda on what to do with any of my wines except the very best ones which I try to leave alone. My focus at this stage of winemaking experience of 57 years is to make a final result that has value alone or blended no matter the input. In my case the input is any or all of: wild blackberries, wild cherries, organic raspberries, organic apples, unpasteurized honey, home grown organic grapes, dried elderberries, organic sour cherries.

 

[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 of Pacific Black Iris

Appearance - inky purple

Nose - good aromatic wild cherry dominant, cocoa, coffee, plums, cola

Tannin - good

Acid- good

Flavour - good, rich dark grape fruit wine which will age. slightly sweet. Has some red wine grapes in it Regent and/or Foch. Another wine that should be good on ice on a hot summer's day. It should be fine in a meat marinade or as a cooking wine. If I made it again I'd try to make it less sweet. It smells like it could be really good in beef stroganoff, chicken coq au vin, lamb shoulder or beef pot roast.

 

[Hazelemere]

Black Iris Fusion 2023

blend in a glass: 2/3 Black Iris Framboise (41% blackberry 19 % wild cherry, 40% raspberry + chambord liqueur) 1/3 Pacific Foch Moraine ( Marechal Foch, Syrah) SG 0.996. Here are my comments on this blend in a glass:

Appearance - deep purple, mahogany

Smell - good, complex nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - a tasty, rich complex "fusion wine" grape/fruit wine mix. I'll make 2 American gallons of this. In future I'll consider blending Marechal Foch into Black Iris Framboise. This style of winemaking is akin to making spaghetti sauce 4 different ways 1) beef bolognese 2) beef non-bolognese 3) wild boar bolognese 4) wile boar non-bolognese. My daughter, a gourmet cook, is buying me large cans of Italian diced fire roasted tomatoes plus 12 lbs wild boar shoulder. I'll make a pasta ragout and use Fusion 2023 to make it like a cross between Julia Child beef bourguinon and Italian wild boar ragout/spaghetti. I love the taste of wild boar and absolutely love the taste of fire roasted tomatoes. I'll leave some of the Black Iris Framboise as is for all of my soulmates who like sweeter wines like Iris my neighbour who has one of the wild cherry trees together with Rick the green thumb who gives me organic green cabbage, red cabbage and killer ginormous spanish onions from his garden.

bottle retaste spiked with Regent Rose 2023 to add a bit more acid and complexity via the Regent:\

Appearance - deep purple, mahogany

Smell - good, complex nose - marzipan, cherries, blackberries, red currants

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - a tasty, rich complex "fusion wine" grape/fruit wine mix. This will work as a house wine, I'd make it again.

Attachments​

 

[Hazelemere]

Primo 2023

This my wife's premium red Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (~40%), Dineen Petit Verdot 2023 (~40%), Mettler Petite Sirah 2021 (~20%) blend from a split from my cooler, all grapes hand destemmed and uncrushed with RC212 yeast and nutrient containing B vitamins . My wife likes low tannin, low acid full bodied reds. Wine was oaked with medium toast American oak cubes.

Here are my comments:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - really good complex nose

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really tasty with a first class aftertaste, definitely one of the very best reds that I've ever made. I'd rate it as very good-excellent right now and would make it again in a heartbeat if I could. We'll have this tonight with broiled beef strip loin, hashbrown potatoes and steamed broccoli. This wine should improve so I'll try to keep my mitts out of it, partly because I made it for her, and partly because it has the potential to improve i.e. become a silky red fruit bomb.

retaste:

Primo 2023

This my wife's premium red Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (~40%), Dineen Petit Verdot 2023 (~40%), Mettler Petite Sirah 2021 (~20%) blend from a split from my cooler, all grapes hand destemmed and uncrushed with RC212 yeast and nutrient containing B vitamins . My wife likes low tannin, low acid full bodied reds. Wine was oaked with medium toast American oak cubes.

Here are my comments:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - really good complex nose, bacon, roast beef, mocha chocolate, violets, plums

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really tasty, elegant, spicy, rich red wine with a first class, long aftertaste. It tastes like it would be good with pepper steak. I would make it again in a heartbeat if I could. If I did it again I'd age it longer because it has enough tannin to age. My wife doesn't like salt and pepper too much (but loves garlic) so I think I'll broil tenderized sirloin steak tomorrow infused with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, a bit of seasoned pepper spice and a bit of seasoning salt (my go to steak spice since I was 12 years old and barbecued with my dad) with garlic mashed potatoes which she loves or hash browns done in duck fat plus a vegetable (broccoli or cauliflowr). I'll serve this wine having been open for 24 hours to drop the tannin for her. To make the dinner really memorable I think I'll make "candid bananas" for dessert - brown sugar, butter, lemon juice caramelized in a frying pan with nutmeg and cinnamon with a bit of fruit port on vanilla ice cream. She has helped me prune grapevines including removing grape tendrils from trellis wires for 2 days so deserves a reward. We'll treat the dinner as a romantic event with excellent classical music in the background. It should be fun! I'll let you know how the wine changes over 24 hours. I will also take her out for killer breakfast as a full on treat at our favourite breakfast restaurant i.e. tomorrow is "Carol appreciation day!"

Good luck to all of you with your wines!

 

[VinesnBines]

retaste:

Primo 2023

This my wife's premium red Dineen Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (~40%), Dineen Petit Verdot 2023 (~40%), Mettler Petite Sirah 2021 (~20%) blend from a split from my cooler, all grapes hand destemmed and uncrushed with RC212 yeast and nutrient containing B vitamins . My wife likes low tannin, low acid full bodied reds. Wine was oaked with medium toast American oak cubes.

Here are my comments:

Appearance - inky purple

Smell - really good complex nose, bacon, roast beef, mocha chocolate, violets, plums

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is really tasty, elegant, spicy, rich red wine with a first class, long aftertaste. It tastes like it would be good with pepper steak. I would make it again in a heartbeat if I could. If I did it again I'd age it longer because it has enough tannin to age. My wife doesn't like salt and pepper too much (but loves garlic) so I think I'll broil tenderized sirloin steak tomorrow infused with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, a bit of seasoned pepper spice and a bit of seasoning salt (my go to steak spice since I was 12 years old and barbecued with my dad) with garlic mashed potatoes which she loves or hash browns done in duck fat plus a vegetable (broccoli or cauliflowr). I'll serve this having been open for 24 hours to drop the tannin for her. To make the dinner really memorable I think I'll make "candid bananas" for dessert - brown sugar, butter, lemon juice caramelized in a frying pan with nutmeg and cinnamon with a bit of fruit port on vanilla ice cream. She has helped me prune grapevines for 2 days so deserves a reward.

Anyone that helps prune deserves a special treat. I left my better half by the fire last week as I pruned in sub freezing temperatures. I hope the next round is warmer and I can coax some help!

 

[Hazelemere]

Anyone that helps prune deserves a special treat. I left my better half by the fire last week as I pruned in sub freezing temperatures. I hope the next round is warmer and I can coax some help!

Our motto is "Love me. Love my grapes". How many vines are you pruning? Where do you live? Are you male or female? We have about 90 left to prune after which I need to prune our fruit trees. Sorry for the 20 questions but I want to get to know you better.

 

[Hazelemere]

retaste:

This is my wife Carol's house wine i.e. everyday red (I make it for her palate which is different than mine):

2020 - Washington Dineen Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Sheridan Syrah

2021 - Dineen Cabernet Franc, Amador Cabernet Sauvignon, Lodi Mettler Vineyard Petite Sirah

2022 - Marechal Foch, Regent (both homegrown)

My comments:

Appearance - purple

Smell - good, very complex, fruity, smokey, lingering

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is rich and tasty with a long slightly tannic finish. I rate it as very good.

retaste:

Appearance - deep purple

Smell - good, very complex, fruity, smokey, lingering

Tannin - good

Acid - good

Flavour - this is rich and tasty with a long slightly tannic finish. I think that it is really good and can age. Another RC212 with nutrient ferment destemmed and uncrushed.

RC 212 with great nutrient is tailor made for hand destemmed and uncrushed ferments. We only use RC212 on reds because we like it. RC212 aromas, including spice seem to improve on low temperature ferments which is what you get on uncrushed, hand destemmed red wine grapes because we only ferment hand destemmed, uncrushed red wine grapes. RC212 gives you spicy aromatic wines on long cool ferments.

 

[VinesnBines]

Our motto is "Love me. Love my grapes". How many vines are you pruning? Where do you live? Are you male or female? We have about 90 left to prune after which I need to prune our fruit trees. Sorry for the 20 questions but I want to get to know you better.

We have just about 1650 vines. I think we have roughly 580 left to prune. Somehow the number keeps moving?

Anyway we are in Southwesten Virginia; 30 miles north of Bristol TN/VA. We are at 2000 feet elevation and in zone 6a. Late spring frosts are our biggest challenge. Our major reds are Chambourcin, Chelois, Foch, Baco Noir and Marquette. Our whites are Vidal, Traminette, Cayuga and Chardonel.

Chambourcin is the most reliable due to late bud break; Chelois is reliable too but I’m personally loving Foch more and more. The whites make themselves. I love Tram and Vidal is always great. I’m enjoying experimenting with Cayuga. - I have two ten gallon barrels of Cayuga. Fun times.

Oh, my husband and I are working this project alone. I call it the geezer vineyard. Unfortunately I’m still working a day job a long way from the vineyard. In the next couple years we should be able to devote full time to vines, wine and maybe a commercial winery,

 

[Hazelemere]

We have just about 1650 vines. I think we have roughly 580 left to prune. Somehow the number keeps moving?

Anyway we are in Southwesten Virginia; 30 miles north of Bristol TN/VA. We are at 2000 feet elevation and in zone 6a. Late spring frosts are our biggest challenge. Our major reds are Chambourcin, Chelois, Foch, Baco Noir and Marquette. Our whites are Vidal, Traminette, Cayuga and Chardonel.

Chambourcin is the most reliable due to late bud break; Chelois is reliable too but I’m personally loving Foch more and more. The whites make themselves. I love Tram and Vidal is always great. I’m enjoying experimenting with Cayuga. - I have two ten gallon barrels of Cayuga. Fun times.

Oh, my husband and I are working this project alone. I call it the geezer vineyard. Unfortunately I’m still working a day job a long way from the vineyard. In the next couple years we should be able to devote full time to vines, wine and maybe a commercial winery,

Thats a lot of work! I have 90 left to prune. I can't imagine doing 1650!

 

[VinesnBines]

Thats a lot of work! I have 90 left to prune. I can't imagine doing 1650!

It is like eating an elephant. One bite at a time.