Wines I'm Making: 2020 Sangiovese Rosé Labeled

 

Finally got around to making labels for our 2020 rosé of Sangiovese. The grapes at harvest were dusted with ash from the wildfires in August and again late in September. I was concerned about the possibility of smoke taint, but the wine seems to be fine. I lightly rinsed the grapes before crushing and pressing them and they spent only a short time on the skins.

I've heard, however, that smoke taint can develop over a few months, but I'm hopeful. I'm hopeful also that our Cabernet grapes from 2020 will not have been tainted, but we won't know for sure until next autumn when it comes time to bottle that wine (so far, it tastes fine). Next winemaking chore will be pruning the vines. I also want to post an image of our 2019 Cabernet, which I've just labeled. 

Wines I'm Making: 2017 Cabernet and Sangiovese Bottled

Newly bottled and labeled 2017 wines

I finally got around to bottling and making labels for the 2017 wines--a very small batch of Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc from the backyard vines and two batches of Zinfandel from the neighbor's grapes, some oaked, some unoaked.

2018 Sangiovese in the press

In other wine news, I pressed the 2018 Sangiovese from our vines on October 14, after an 11-day fermentation. We got a little under four gallons of Sangiovese, which will make 20 bottles. I pressed the Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc today, October 17. The 2018 yield was six gallons, which will make 30 bottles, or 2.5 cases.

Sangiovese ready for the press

Wines I'm Making: Bottling 2016 Zinfandel and 2017 Rosé

I finally got around to bottling our 2017 rosé last week and it was time to get the 2016 Zinfandel I made from our neighbor's grapes into bottle as well, so I spent a day at it. I designed labels for the two wines as well as for a few older bottles of rosé that hadn't been labeled. Everything looks pretty good.

Wines I'm Making: Ten Years of Clos du Tal

I lined up a bottle from each of our ten vintages--2004 to 20013--the other day and took a quick photo of them. If you're paying attention, you'll notice that there are actually only nine bottles--2005 is missing. That was the year the raccoons found the grapes before I had figured out how to effectively deter the critters (which involves nets and an electric fence). While I did make six bottles of wine that year from what the raccoons left behind, it was so bad I didn't bother making a label. I've designed a label for the wine each year in every other year.

Happily, all the other vintages have ranged from good to very good, with the 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 drinking best at the moment. The 2006 is beginning to feel a little tired. It's still too early to be certain, but my guess is that Clos du Tal will generally be at peak at 5-7 years old. I will, however, continue to keep bottles back from every vintage to see how they age. The 2014 wine is resting in carboys at the moment. Last week I bottled the most recent batch of hard cider I've made. The cider should be undergoing its in-bottle secondary fermentation. Next week I'll open one to see how it's coming along.  

Wines I'm Making: Labels for the 2013 Cabernet

Just finished designing labels for our 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc. I added the words "10th Anniversary Vintage," as this is our tenth wine from the little backyard vineyard we planted in 2001. We made our first wine in 2004.

Wines I'm Making: Bottling and Racking (December 19, 2014)

Busy yesterday and today doing wine chores. I bottled our 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc yesterday. We made 40 bottles in 2013, which is fairly normal, although in a small harvest year like 2014, we make only about 25 bottles. 2013 was our tenth vintage. I've just designed a label. I'll be taking it down to the printers to be printed this afternoon.

This morning I racked and sulfited the 2014 Cabernet wine, which has been undergoing malolactic fermentation since the middle of October. I didn't bother to test it. I'm assuming the fermentation is finished. I also racked and sulfited the 2014 rosé from our Sangiovese grapes. As usual, racking was a breeze. A layer of tartaric acid crystals always forms over the lees in this wine (below), which means there's no danger of picking up unwanted sediment during racking. Next I will have to design labels for the rosé. I also have a hard cider fermentation ready for bottling, but that will have to wait until another day.

Wines I'm Making: 2012 Cabernet, 2013 Sangiovese Rosé Labels

I finally got around to creating labels for our 2013 rosé of Sangiovese and our 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc. I got them on the bottles last night. I used green capsules to go with the green of the Cabernet label and gold capsules on the rosé. There are only 10 bottles of the rosé left (of the original 25 bottles), but better late than never. The Cabernet, of course, requires more time, but we have sampled it. We made 40 bottles, of which 33 survive. It's already drinking nicely, but it will improve with time.

Wines I'm Making: Wine Labels (June 18, 2013)

I finally got around to designing, printing, and affixing labels to our 2012 Sangiovese Rosé and the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc. I created a suitably sunny label for the rosé, which normally disappears over the summer and a somewhat more sober and serious-looking label for the 2011 Cabernet wine. I will bottle the 2012 Cabernet sometime before or just after harvest this year, so, in the next couple of months. Right now, the biggest chore continues to be cleaning weeds and debris from under the vines so I can get the electric fence up and running again and get the nets on before the berries start showing enough color to interest the raccoons...