Wines I'm Making: Wine Chores (July 10, 2013)

In the past couple of days, I've made some progress toward finishing various wine chores I've been putting off. Following the odd rain we had at the end of June, it was important to spray the vines with sulfur again to prevent mildew. That I achieved a few days after the rain. So far, everything looks good--no signs of the mildew and the vines set a lot of fruit this year.

I racked the 2012 Cabernet that's been resting and topped up the containers with a bottle of our 2011 wine. Judging from the tastes I got while siphoning, the 2012 looks very promising. The 2011 was a bit light, but the 2012 seems to have real depth. I look forward to tasting it again after it's bottled. I'll probably bottle it around harvest time, or sometime in late October.

I finally bottled the "second-run" wine I made a while back from the pressed skins of the 2010 grapes. I've neglected this experiment--and for good reason. The wine was never very attractive. Making wine from pressed skins works. That much I learned, but the wine it makes is dull and lifeless. Having let this go so long, it has acquired an added oxidized component. It's in gallon jugs now and out of the way, but it's probably destined for the drain.

The most important chore remaining for this year is getting the nets straightened out and on the vines before this year's crop of grapes begins to show color, which should be in about a month. The nets are off the vines but tangled and full of dead weeds. I need to stretch them out, check them for damage, clean around the vines, and then get the nets back in place sooner rather than later. It's my goal for the day.

Wines I'm Making: Shoot Thinning and First Sulfur Spraying (April 27, 2013)

Over the weekend (April 27) I thinned the shoots on the grape vines. The longest shoots are already about 18 inches long. I left two shoots to each node except on the strongest vines, where I have always left twice that many with no apparent ill consequences. On the one or two weaker vines, I leave one in the hopes that that will encourage a strong cane as a foundation for next year's growth. The vines generally look healthy and strong, though. I did the first sulfur spraying as well. So far everything looks good. This year, 2013, will be our tenth vintage.