Second Leaf

With the help of a seasoned cellar rat (a.k.a. my father in-law), we bottled the 2005 Zinfandel this morning. We started with about 11 gallons of wine spread across 2 carboys. I had 5 cases of bottles on hand and we filled every last one of them! How’s that for planning?

Since the wine had very little free S02, I gently racked the wine into a staging carboy that I preloaded with a slurry of the wine and potassium metabisulfite. Adding potassium metabisulfite to wine before bottling is a very common practice as it acts as a preservative and antioxidant.

With the bottle filler attached to the siphon and the corker primed and ready we started bottling at about 10:30. Once we found the sweet spot of where to fill the bottles (too much wine and the corks would push themselves out), we had a nice little assembly line going. By 12:30 we were surrounded by 5 cases of freshly bottled Zinfandel! Only the cleanup was left.

Of course we tasted the wine with lunch. It’s still quite young and certainly needs some time in the bottle. However, the rich red fruits and classic zin spiciness were unmistakable. I can’t wait to see how this wine matures over time.

As planned, we pressed the Barbera on Saturday. The juice is now officially wine!

The photo to the right shows the press setup on our side yard and in the background you can barely get a glimpse of our terraced Barbera vineyard. The Barbera that we pressed was not from our vineyard, though, since it’s not mature enough yet. Instead we purchased this beautiful fruit from a local vineyard.

Everything went reasonably smooth except we ended up with about 8 gallons rather than the expected 5 gallons. The bucket receiving the wine in the photo is just one of the buckets that were filled as we transferred the wine to carboys.

Before filling the carboys, I combined a small amount of the wine with a Malolactic Fermentation (ML) starter and Leucofood (a mix of high amino acid yeast extract, vitamins, and nutrient digests that super-charge the ML bacteria). This mixture was spread between the carboys before being filled with the rest of the wine.

After pressing, you’re left with a large disc of pumice made up of skins, seeds, and whatever else couldn’t escape. The photo below shows a closeup of the pumice after the walls of the press were removed.

The wine is now bubbling away in the carboys as the ML bacteria is converting the malic acid into lactic acid (and giving off carbon dioxide). The result should be a softer and rounder texture in the wine.

Next up: Zinfandel harvest this weekend!

As reported today in an article on Decanter.com, a new study has just been released that reports that moderate consumption of Cabernet Sauvignon “may reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Laboratory mice given Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine over a seven-month period experienced ’significantly reduced Alzheimer’s Disease-type deterioration of spatial memory function’.

Once I got passed the headline I was half expecting the study to have been funded by the Napa Valley Vintners association where the control group of mice were given Fred Franzia’s Napa Ridge Cab instead of “real” Napa Valley fruit (reference). But no, this study was actually performed at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

From what I could learn from the study it’s unclear why they chose Cabernet Sauvignon or if they tested other varietals. No matter, it’s yet another good reason to drink wine.

From now on when my wife accuses me of not listening to her or I forget where I left my car keys, I’ll reach for a glass of Cabernet. Cheers!

Read the full article here.

I would like to congratulate the Grape Radio team for winning the Podcast of the Year award from the Podcast & Portable Media Expo.

I have been a regular listener of Grape Radio since day one and find their podcasts to be very entertaining and informative. They report from many of the top wine conferences and land interviews with some of the most brilliant and influential minds in the wine industry. Show production quality is also top-notch.

If you’re not currently a Grape Radio listener, I encourage you to check out one of their shows. And if you don’t have an iPod or MP3 player, you can still listen on your computer.

Thanks to Tim at Winecast for the lead.

Per my daily evening ritual, last night I “punched down the cap” on the Barbera must that has been busily fermenting away in our garage. The “cap” is the solid mass of skins and pulp that is pushed to the top of the must by the escaping gases produced by the fermentation process. Breaking up or punching down this cap several times a day is a critical step in the winemaking process. It not only keeps unwanted bacteria and molds from growing on the cap, lets gases escape, and keeps the yeast humming along nicely, it also keeps the skins in contact with the new wine. It’s from the skins that red wines get their color, complexity, and tannic structure.

At the time that this picture was taken, the BRIX reading was just over 5. The grapes started at 26 last Saturday when I added the yeast. The primary fermentation will be done when the BRIX reaches 0 at which point the yeast has converted all of the sugar into alcohol. So it looks like the Barbera will be ready to be pressed this Saturday.

Update:

I just stumbled on a post from the Chateau de Beaucastel winery blog where they have a short video of punching down their Syrah. Although they’re making wine on a much larger scale than I am (and they produce some of the very best wines from the Rhone Valley), the concept is the same.

Let me introduce you to Sorella Ridge, our humble little residential winery and estate vineyard located in California’s Sierra Foothills.

The name Sorella Ridge represents the terraced hillside where our Barbera vineyard is planted. The vineyard has three long terraces, or blocks, where each is named after one of our daughters: Block J is the bottom terrace, Block M in the middle, and Block R is at the top. Since the word “sorella” means “sister” in Italian and we planted an Italian variety, the name just works. Although my girls are just 4, 7, and 10 years old at this point and still prefer to watch dad tend their vines, my hope is that they will grow to care for their little parcels and get involved in future harvests and the winemaking process. And if along the way I inspire one of my girls to become the next Heidi Barrett, my cellar will be flush with world-class wines for life. Not a bad plan, eh?

Read more…

Since our vineyard is just in its second growing season and our vines are still establishing themselves, I never had any intentions of making wine from their fruit this year. However, we have enjoyed snacking on the few clusters of Barbera and Petite Sirah that have shown themselves this summer.

So rather than let the remaining brave scouts of future Sorella Ridge wine go to waste, we decided to make some Barbera jelly with what fruit was left. I headed out into the vineyard with a bucket and shears in hand and harvested several beautiful Barbera and a few Petite Sirah clusters. I pressed the grapes in our kitchen and captured the free-run juice for the jelly. To the juice I added a little fresh lemon juice, some sugar, and a packet of fruit pectin. After a quick spin in the microwave we had piping hot Barbera jelly! Once the bowl was cool enough to handle, I poured the jelly into a jar, sealed it, and put it in the fridge to cool overnight.

This morning we enjoyed the first fruits of our vineyard spread on freshly toasted bread! Let me tell you, I have never tasted anything like it. The flavors were fresh, the consistency smooth, and the jelly had a nice tart aftertaste. Hopefully a precursor to future vintages.

This post represents my entry for the 25th installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the monthly virtual wine tasting event where wine bloggers from around the world submit posts based on a theme selected by the host blogger for the month. This month’s theme, selected by Becks & Posh, is Champagne.

Read more…

The world of biodynamic farming has taken another step in Napa Valley, CA with the application of an all natural sunscreen to wine grapes to help shield them from the intense summer sun.

Read more…

Wonderfully balanced wine with delicate fruit and floral flavors, smooth tannins, and a nice tart finish.

An excellent value wine. Purchased at Kermit Lynch for $16.95.

Tasting Details

Appearance

medium · dark · ruby

Aroma

rose · eucalptus · strawberry · cherry · cranberry

Taste / Texture

cherry · cranberry · tart · balanced

Tasting note built using Scrügy