Pressing day + 19, 2009: more clarity

Same 750 of overflow Muscat.  Now much more clear - hard to believe it would have happened given the opaqueness of the juice on pressing day.

We should expect to rack the weekend of the 7th / 8th November?

Pressing day + 8, 2009: more colors

A week past pressing day, colors are starting to change for real. None of the yogurt color left in the Grenache. And the Muscat has turned the color of lemonade or orangeade as sediments fall out. On one of the overflow 750's of the Muscat the wine in the neck has nearly turned clear, and you can see the very thick lees forming. Which, of course, raises the question: battonage anyone?

No real delta to the Syrah or Merlot blend colors.

Bubbling has died down considerably.

Lending the new press

Going to lend the new press to the 4th Ave group this evening or tomorrow. They're also working with grapes from Lapide and started 7 or 8 days after our crush.

About the press: after washing it when we were done with our pressing, I used mineral oil (food grade) on the screw and the ratchet - anything that would have skins ground into threads. And the ratchet seems to be moving more freely.

Colors

The top picture is the Grenache with a little Syrah. The bottom shows the Cab/Merlot on the left and the free run Grenache on the right.

Moving the Wine to Carboys

A happy day of wine making brought smiles to everyone's faces.

Wicked sneezing and the color of Grenache

Yes, all that sneezing was the trumpet call of a wicked cold. But on the plus side, I get to stare at the wine.

The neck and top quarter of the Grenache is turning a more wine-like color, less yogurty. Last evening one of the Syrah cbs - a little over-filled - kept pushing up its rubber cork. Rather than take wine out, I switched the cb over to one of the orange caps, which seem to be more forgiving.

That is all.

Pressing day, 2009

A beautiful day.

Started puttering around at 7:30. Combined the muscat into a 5 gallon cb, 2 750 ml bottles, and on 375 ml. Approaching dry. Put another cup into the fridge to taste.

Peter came by at 10, we put the new press downstairs, and we got to work, Peter scoooping and Lori and I getting the juice into carboys - 20 gallons of free-run. Then we tried to get to work pressing and found ourselves pretty much unable to get the ratchet working properly. It got a bit better as we went - still not quite right - and we bulled a full 5 gallons of pressed wine out of the lees. So - the 10 cases / 360 lbs. for the Merlot blend yielded 25 gallons.

Mike & Pam arrived 11ish and got ot work.

The Syrah juice came up a bit shy of 6 gallons. 5 went into a cb, and the spare was set aside to top off the Grenache, if needed.

The Grenache was pink & opaque. 1 cb was filled with free run, and the second cb was about 4.5 gallons mixed free run and press, and a couple quarts of the Syrah.

We stopped for some bread and cheese. David D. came buy with a bottle of the 4th Ave. group's 2008 effort from juice & concentrate. They'll likely borrow the new press for next week.

Lori did most of the topside cleanup, and I rearranged and cleaned downstairs. By 2 I was sunning myself out back. Life is worth living, and filled with wine.

Well, we closed our eyes and threw our money...

... and it landed in a 40 cm dual ratchet basket press at Lapide's. The deal is done. Let's hope our nieces' and nephews' children are still enjoying it when we're a-mouldering in the grave.

Malolactic culture added

I just added the malolactic culture to all three red wines. We're using Chr Hansen Viniflora Oenos. 1.5 gram package, shared out amongst all the containers.

Ferment day 7 AM, 2009 - quietude

Hummmmmmm.

Didn't bother with temps. No cap action in Grenache. Little or no in Merlot blend. Everything (except Muscat) says go.

Will ask M if he wants me to combine the Syrah to protect it.

We can add malo bugs today and let it work before crush.

End of ferment day 6, 2009

Mike & Pam are set to press on Sunday, and that looks fine for their juice. Little delta in either the Syrah or Grenache. Temps within 1/2 degree of last reading. Light sizzle.

Merlot blend, even though it last read around zero Brix, has legs and is still forming a small cap. May press Sunday, may push it off until Monday.

Muscat has barely budged sugar level in last 36 hours. Well, we'll just go a long for the ride. Won't chill it. Did aerate it a bit. Might combine it to a full 5 gal and a 1 gal after tomorrow's Market trip, and then just tip my hat to it.

Ferment day 6 AM, 2009

Everything looking fine.

Grenache and Syrah pretty much have hit steady.

Blend still cooling, cap down to 2".

Added a tad of ice to the bucket surrounding the Muscat - not as much as I'd like, but what I had. Should take Brix again this evening.

End of day 5, 2009

All singing, all dancing. All wine temps continue to fall except the Muscat, which still has the furthest to go.

Syrah Brix is aprox. zero.

Grenache is sooooooo ready to press.

Merlot blend is still throwing up a heck of a cap. Lori's decided that if she wakes up in the middle of the night she'll punch it down again.

Syrah Juice Fermenting

Making wine from juice for the first time is challenging Steve's on-line oenology degree. While these are definitely throwing off his rythym, they are showing signs of life. The Grenache needs a partner and hopefully this will work out.

Day 5, 2009, AM

(I should probably point out - because I won't remember it next year - that I'm counting days of fermentation, and calling the crush date Day zero.)

Both the Merlot blend and the Grenache have brix readings near zero. Both are still fermenting, the Merlot pretty vigorously (and still 76 F), and the Grenache at a much lower level (73 F). The Grenache looks definite fr Saturday. We might be pushing it a bit to do the Merlot then.

Spent some time with the Muscat. One carboy bubbling vigorusly, and the larger one not. Took Brix from the large one, though, and it's down to 10. Temp 72 F. I blended some of the juice from the two cbs together, and added ice to the tubs holding the cbs.

Syrah is at 72 F. Ran out of time and did not get to take the Brix, but it was at 2.5 on the 29th. Will get a reading this evening. On the weekend it will likely go into a 6 gal. carboy - if it goes stiller before then, I might combine the two half-filled 5's into a full 5 and a 1 gal. jug, to minimize air contact.