2016 Chardonnay: grapes purchased

Yesterday we purchased 12 36# lugs of Lanza Chardonnay that should be arriving at Musto today.  Yeast and a few odds and ends should arrive today from Presque Isle.  And we're hoping that Presque Isle will have a record of the steel tank we purchased from them (or did we purchase it from Texas?) so that we can get a new gasket and possibly a new pump so that our steely Chardonnay really will grow up in steel.

More Chardonnay yeast considerations and sources

• Chardonnay yeast chart at Wine Business
• Lalvin tear-sheet on EC-1118
• WineMaker Magazine article on Chardonnay from different regions, with different yeasts

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4 PM: OK, the decision is made.  Lalvin EC-1118 to support our non-malo approach.

Which yeast for our Chardonnay

From More Wine's yeast matching guide for Chardonnay:

• ICV-D47: Complex white with citrus, dried apricot, pineapple and floral notes. Lees contact gives ripe spicy aromas with tropical and citrus tones developing, along with nuts. Adds volume/mouthfeel. Barrel fermentation and lees aging recommended. Good single-strain or as a blending component. 
• T306: Exotic fruit and pineapple, with elegant white fruit notes in Chardonnay. Contributes to mouthfeel and lees aging is recommended. Good as a single-strain or as a blending component. 
• CY3079: Classic white burgundy: rich, full mouthfeel with aromas of fresh butter, almonds, honey, white fruit, flowers and pineapple. Barrel fermentation and lees aging recommended. 
• QA23: Usually used in terpenic whites, it enhances the floral, aromatic aspects of a grape. In Chardonnay, floral, white peaches are emphasized with an equal clarity in both aroma and taste. Great as a “top-note” in a blend. 
• BA11: Fresh fruit aromas of orange blossom, pineapple, and apricot develop, along with clean aromatics, lingering flavours, and an intensified mouthfeel. 
• Rhône 4600: Apricot and tropical fruit with enhanced mouthfeel contribution. Delivers fat roundness and balance along with light esters. Good as a blending component. 
• ICV-D254: Usually used as a blending component, D254 gives stone fruit flavours, aromas of nuts, smoke, and sourdough, along with a creamy mouthfeel. Good for adding complexity and mouthfeel to a blend. 
• ICV-GRE: Brings fresh melon foreword along with good mouthfeel. Also effective for reducing herbaceous and vegetal notes in under-ripe fruit.

What about us folks who don't want their Chardonnay to taste like butter?

Back from... where?

Man, more than nine months since the last look at the blog.

After much travel and many busy weekends, it suddenly looks like we will not skip winemaking this year, but will get Chardonnay grapes from Musto's Lanza vineyard in Suisan Valley.  With luck Cousin Jake will drive them down to us on this coming Friday, and we'll be crushing on Saturday, October 1.  He's driving a car, not a rig, so we're not sure how much he'll be able to haul, but we're still hoping for 500 to 600 #.

Our first venture away from Muscat for our whites.  We know we'll be in steel or glass.  We know there won't be any oak.  We don't know what yeast we'll use, or whether we will try to kill malo or just let the wine and the cellar do what they want.

Yippee!