Wine I'm Making: Harvest likely to be late in 2023

When wine grapes start to take on their mature color, they begin to ripen. Red wine grapes go from green to pink to whatever color they will end up being – anywhere from a pale red to a deep purple-black. The French call the start of the color change veraison. In my little backyard vineyard (34 vines – 21 Cabernet Sauvignon, four Cabernet Franc, and nine Sangiovese), veraison is usually in mid-July. In a normal year, the grapes have taken on their full color usually by the end of July or early August at the latest. This year, reflecting the very long, cool spring season we had, veraison is still not complete in the middle of September. I usually harvest the grapes in the last week of September in an early year, in the second week of October in a late year. This year I suspect the grapes may hang until early November. 

Wine I'm Making: 2014 Cabernet Pressed, Sangiovese Rosé Racked

I got up early on the morning of October 11 to press our 2014 Cabernet before the Sonoma County Art Trails weekend began. I finished about 15 minutes before the first visitor arrived. I ended up with only 5 gallons of new wine, which will mean only 25 bottles of 2014 Cab, while about forty bottles is normal. The following day I racked and sulphited the 2014 Sangiovese rosé. We'll get only about 15 bottles of the pink wine. The Sangiovese yield has typically been between 15 and 25 bottles a year. I inoculated the Cabernet with malolactic starter on the morning of the 12th, so it should be starting its malolactic fermentation. The carboy in the living room makes a nice conversation piece amidst all the art I'm showing. I still haven't bottled the 2013 Cabernet. Perhaps this week.

Wines I'm Making: Cider Again, But This Time Using Fresh Apples

Last February I made some very tasty hard cider by fermenting store-bought organic apple juice. This year our apple tree had a lot of fruit, so I thought I'd try making cider from scratch, using apples from the tree. These pictured are "Pink Lady" apples from our back yard. Tomorrow we pick up a rented apple press and some more apples from my brother and from a couple of friends with trees. I figure we'll need about 200 pounds to make it worthwhile. 200 pounds of apples should yield about 10 gallons of juice. That will translate into 107 12-ounce bottles with a retail value of about $140. Renting the machine costs $45. The yeast costs about $8. So, for a little more than $50 (discounting time and labor) we'll get a more or less three-fold return. Hope it all goes well. More soon....

Wines I'm Making: Harvest Still About a Week Away (2010)

I tested the grapes again yesterday (October 7). We seem to have made some progress in the past week. The Cabernet grapes are now at 22 Brix with a pH of 3.35. The Sangiovese grapes are at 17 Brix (in this case I deliberately excluded pinkish or greenish, obviously unripe grapes on the assumption that those will be eliminated when we de-stem) and a pH of 3.29. Both are still lower than I'd like sugar-wise. The weather is supposed to be good in the coming week. I think a little more patience is is order. I'd like to see the Cabernet at at least 23 and the Sangiovese at 19, if possible, but that may be wishful thinking this year. In other wine-related news, I've been preparing bottles over the past few days, getting ready to bottle last year's wine.