Wines I'm Making: 2010 Sangiovese Pressed

I got up early this morning to get work done (translation work, that is) before pressing the Sangiovese to start the rosé fermentation. At about 10:00AM, I finally got to the wine, so the juice was on the skins for about 18 hours--about what I had planned. I pressed the grapes fairly aggressively, though, so the wine is likely to be comparatively deeply colored.

I added a dose of Epernay yeast to must in two carboys, one holding five gallons, one holding three. I'd say there is about seven gallons of must now starting to ferment. I plan to keep the must as cool as possible to make sure the fermentation proceeds slowly, as that seemed the key last year to making the rosé so good. I hope it is as good or better this year, but the grapes were not as ripe, so it's unlikely. The weather was a real problem. I hope the wine is at least pleasant to drink. In the photo to the left, I've just added the dry yeast culture. You can see it floating on the surface of the newly pressed juice.

Wines I'm Making: Pressed Cabernet this Evening

Pressed the Cabernet this evening. 10 gallons of must yielded six gallons of pressed wine. Beautiful deep purple red. Smells wonderful. Inoculated with Enoferm Alpha to start malolactic fermentation. Celebrated by opening a bottle of the 2007 Cabernet, which keeps getting better. Also inoculated the Zinfandel for malolactic fermentation. The wine is resting in the living room, wrapped in a blanket and a heating pad.