Make more

Just the other day I enjoyed dinner of grilled (charcoal) steak, baked potato, and corn-on-the-cob with a 2001 Bordeaux blend of mine and I have to say it was REALLY good.  It was not the fruit bomb that you can get from the "Left Coast", but something that can and did age well.  You could tell from the color that it was not a young wine, but the color was still strong. It had just lost its youth.  Could it reach twenty years?  Maybe.  It has the tannins and acids to do so.  I still have about a case left.  No, I did not make just 5 or 6 gallons, but 15.  I use a beer (extremely well cleaned) half keg for blending.  It works great for that.  The real issues is:  Don't drink it all in one year.  Really!!  Professional winemakers don't only drink their own wine.  In fact they go out of their way to find wines that they have never heard of or have wanted to try.  There is a phenomenon called:  house palate.  This is where you get used to what you have made and since it is the only thing that you drink, then it tastes good eventually, no matter how bad it is.  By tasting other wines regularly, then you can be much more objective about your wine.   

A Remembrance

Today is Sunday.  I really want to write this, and Deb deserves so much more.  This is just a remembrance of Deb and how she thought about food.  In that thought it does show what sort of person she was.

We had broken for lunch on a bottling day and as things generally went the conversation turned to wine and food.  Deb was catering a wine dinner later that week.  She said that she had found (by trial and error I suspect) a salad dressing that did not clash with wine.  She was most enthused with that, then she asked me if she should be so excited about a minor part of the meal.  I said yes, of course, and told here that I had generally put more effort into main courses and felt that I should put more effort into the supporting parts of a meal.  She was happy with my response and her orange juice/balsamic vinegar dressing.

You can see that she cared about it all.  

Screw Cap

There are those who believe that either screw caps are THE way to seal a wine bottle or that oxygen is the ultimate evil against wine.  I am here to tell you that you are wrong, but not in all cases.  Allow me to explain, what brought this posting into being.  I made a bit of Sangiovese in 2008 bottled in 2009.  Some of it was put into a half gallon jug.  Yes, with a tight seal screw cap.  You would think that it could NEVER oxidize.  However, when I poured it yesterday, for the very first time.  It tasted and smelled oxidized.  I have come across this phenomenon before.  It was a commercial wine 750 ml bottle sealed with a Corq (not a misspelling, brand name).  When I bought it, many years ago, it had big course gravelly tannins.  It was the kind of wine that would do well with some aging.  So I did.  After about 8 or 9 years, I opened a bottle.  It too smelled and tasted oxidized.  How could that be?  Corq promised a perfect seal.  As we all should realize wine is a living thing.  It needs some air.  Not too much, but some.  I would say that this is especially true of red wines.  The natural cork has provided this for centuries.  Corq or screw cap does not allow any, or at least not enough, air to enter.  If the wine is to consumed in a short period of time, then it really does not matter.  If you are making wine that can or should have some age, then a closure that breaths is a good idea.  What about other synthetic corks/closures?  I have converted to Nomacork.  The manufacturer states that it does have a certain level of permeability.  Though they do not compare it to a natural cork.  What about white wines?  What should you use to seal your wine bottles?  Right now, I don't know, but I am conducting an experiment in bottle closures that will be presented at the New York State Home Wine Seminar in 2015.  I used four (4) different "corks".  We shall see taste if there is any difference.

Do leave a comment.  It could be the start of an informative conversation, from which we all can learn.  

Planning

The old saying goes:  No planning means planning to fail.
This is true of just about anything, including and especially true of, winemaking.  This past semester, I wrote a technical report on winemaking, future tense.  It was not an all encompassing thesis on winemaking, but just on one wine that I want to make.  It is extensive.  Twelve pages and not too much white space.  It did include the use of new (to me) products/technology.  When you are thinking of what to make this season, then think about what you have done and what you want to do better.  Then do some research to find a way of attaining those goals.  This will go a long way in making better wine.  Remember this is the time to do that research.  I would suggest starting at the links page of www.nys-homewine.info.  Don't worry about getting to the "right site" immediately, as one can find some interesting things before finding what one needs, along the way.  

New York State Fair Home Wine Competition 2011

When I judged the NYS Fair Home Wine Competition there were TOO many fizzy wines.  OK, I know that the deadline for entering wine was far too early, but you really should de-gas your wines before bottling.  It can easily mean the difference between getting a medal or not.  If a wine is not de-gassed then you can easily drop a medal.  I.e. a silver turns into a bronze, or you drop off the medal scale completely (no medal).  Why? Simple.  The entrained carbon dioxide mutes the flavor and nose.  You just don't want to present a wine judge with wine in that condition, if you want the best medal you can get.  Right?
You don't have to worry as much about an early entry deadline for next year.  From what I have heard.  It looks to be in July, but keep an eye out at the NYS Fair website after the first of next year.
Also tell all of your New York state home winemaking friends that the competition has been judged, so they don't bring competition wine to the New York State Home Wine Seminar, 13AUG2011 in Rochester.  We really hate to tell winemakers that they are too late.