I tested the grapes this year on October 5. The Cabernet was at 22º Brix and a pH of 2.95. The Sangiovese was at 21.5º Brix and a pH of 3.00. The seeds were still noticeably green. It was clearly too early to pick, and that was consistent with the sense I had that, because of the cool weather we've had this year, that we were still about three weeks away from harvest. At the same time, there were a fair number of clusters starting to turn to raisins, which, in moderation is not an issue, but too many raisins is not ideal either. In the end, this past weekend seemed like a good compromise.
I harvested on Saturday, October 21. The grapes were generally in very good condition. There was almost no mildew or any animal damage until the night before I harvested. While picking, I discovered that something tore a big hole in the nets and stripped an entire plant of grapes. In the end, though, the harvest was a fairly typical 22.8kg (or 50lbs) of Sangiovese and 56kg (123.2lbs) of Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc.
After crushing, the Sangiovese tested at 22.4º Brix, ideal for the rosé that we normally make from it. The Cabernet tested at 23.8º Brix, just shy of the 24.0º I shoot for, but close enough. Those sugar levels will theoretically yield wines of 12.3% and 13.1% alcohol, respectively, which is just about right. The Sangiovese has already been pressed and inoculated with Epernay II yeast. Pressing yielded a little over three gallons of juice, which will translate into 15 bottles of rosé.
The Cabernet is resting. I usually add the yeast to the Cabernet after a cold pre-soak of two to three days. It was a very tiring weekend, but most of the hard work is done for the year. The Cabernet fermentation will take about two weeks after the yeast is added. Until then, I'll just be watching the rosé fermentation.
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