Racking and Attempted Bottling

gardner — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:19:18 +0000

A few weeks ago (when was it Chuck?) Joe, Chuck and I got together for a day of barrel cleaning, racking of the 2007 Syrah, and bottling of our 2006 Cabernets. Things didn’t go as planned. All of it could have been prevented by a little work done a few days ahead. Here is what happened [...]

Pressing

gardner — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 17:56:16 +0000

Well this took a long time to post. Our pressing day was fun, long and almost didn’t happen. The first problem was that the press was awfully small for our volumes, the second problem was that the press bleed valve would not close on the bladder press. We also believe that the pressure gauge was [...]

2006 Cabernet May Recover

gardner — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:49:20 +0000

I spoke with our winemaker friend about the 5 gallons of Cabernet we lost to acetobacter infection. One of his solutions was to save it until next year’s crush and throw it into the must when it at it’s peak fermentation (15 B). In his words,

The yeast of the new fermentation will decimate [...]

Fermentation Chart Update

gardner — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:37:01 +0000

The Cabernet is still winning, with Merlot second and Syrah a distant third.

Chuck Was Right…

gardner — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 23:29:27 +0000

I transfered the “Gardner’s Block” Cabernet into one of the large, white fermenters. Its cap was almost to the top of the smaller one and I had to constantly punch it down to keep the skins on the juice.

Sorry, Chuck, I should have listened [...]

2007 Fermentation Status

gardner — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:45:47 +0000

Things are roiling away, lots of CO2 and great smells. I am tracking temperature and Brix. The Cabernet continues to be the most vigorous. Click on the thumbnail to see a confusing chart. I am going to try to improve it as time permits. We should see temperatures go up correlated to sugar dropping, then sugar [...]

More SO2

gardner — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 19:03:59 +0000

While checking my pants pockets before laundering I discovered a 5g packet of SO2. Oops, that was supposed to go into the 2007 Syrah must with the other 5g packet. So I added it.

I also added 2 grams of EPMS (Effervescent Potassium Metabisulfite) (1g of true SO2) to the 2006 PMR and 2006 “Gardner’s Block” Cabernet.

Plus [...]

2006 Cabernet Vinquiry Lab Results

gardner — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 21:16:27 +0000

2006 PMR Cabernet

3.79

Titratable Acidity

0.695

g/100mL

Free SO2

Total SO2

Glucose + Fructose

163

mg/100mL

Malic Acid

mg/100mL

Volatile Acidity

0.106

g/100mL

2006 “Gardner’s Block” Cabernet

3.84

Titratable Acidity

0.624

g/100mL

Free SO2

Total SO2

2007 Harvest & Crush

gardner — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:33:19 +0000

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2007 Initial Harvest Numbers

gardner — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:35:53 +0000

I re-calibrated the pH meter and did my best with the titratable acid test. I might send the G&M Syrah in to Vinquiry to double check the pH. The Syrah is so much darker than the other two.

- Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot

“Gardner’s Block” Merlot 200 lbs Brix: 25.00 pH: 3.65 TA: 0.82% Potential alcohol: 14.75%

“Gardner’s Block” Cabernet 160 lbs Brix: [...]

Wise Acres Winery » Gardner’s Block

Racking and Attempted Bottling

Pressing

2006 Cabernet May Recover

Fermentation Chart Update

Chuck Was Right…

2007 Fermentation Status

More SO2

2006 Cabernet Vinquiry Lab Results

2007 Harvest & Crush

2007 Initial Harvest Numbers