Wines I'm Making: 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Sangiovese

I finally got around to racking our 2008 red wines today. I transferred the 2008 Sangiovese (five gallons) to a new container, leaving behind the remainder of the lees. I racked both of the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon batches (five gallons each) as well. I noticed that the batch made with the Bordeaux Red yeast had more settled lees than the batch made with the Rockpile yeast. I was able to siphon off nearly all of the Bordeaux Red batch with no lees. The Rockpile batch needed to be topped up because I had to leave more wine behind while avoiding the sediment. I added three Campden tablets to each batch for a sulfite level of 39ppm.

The buds on many of the vines opened over the weekend. As usual, the Sangiovese is ahead of the Cabernet, with the Cabernet Franc slightly ahead of the Cabernet Sauvignon. That's my 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider in the background. These are true garage wines.