This complete winemaking experience includes accommodations, local transportation, welcome reception, breakfast and lunch in the vineyard, winemaker dinner and Halloween party at Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery, two cases of your own custom-made, privately labeled Zinfandel wine, and more. 

Visit http://www.firstcrushwinemaking.com/ for pricing and details.

Reservations required.

Registration deadline:  September 25, 2009. (805) 434-2772

This complete winemaking experience includes accommodations, local transportation, welcome reception, breakfast and lunch in the vineyard, winemaker dinner at Mitchella Winery, two cases of your own custom-made, privately labeled Cabernet Sauvignon wine, and more. 

Visit http://www.firstcrushwinemaking.com/ for pricing and details.

Reservations required.

Registration deadline:  September 18, 2009. (805) 434-2772

The complete winemaking experience includes accommodations, local transportation, welcome reception, breakfast and lunch in the vineyard, a winemaker dinner at Sharp’s Hill Vineyard & Winery, two cases of your own custom-made, privately labeled Syrah wine, and more. 

Visit http://www.firstcrushwinemaking.com/ for pricing and details. Reservations required.

Registration deadline:  September 4, 2009. (805) 434-2772

Enjoy a fun and educational tour of Paso Robles vineyards and wineries.

There will be viticulture and winemaking education, a picnic lunch at Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery, a tour of the Robert Hall Winery led by winemaker Don Brady, an introduction to winemaking by winemaker Dan Kleck, an educational wine tasting and wine and cheese pairing at Vinoteca Wine Bar, and more. $125/per person. 

(805) 434-2772, (877) 82-CRUSH, www.firstcrushwinemaking.com.

The recipe we followed was in Steven Raichlen’s “How to Grill” BBQ cookbook (page 126) but it’s also easy enough to find online as well.

Here’s one that’s pretty close.

NOTE: We used cilantro instead of parsley and grilled some onion steaks with some of the marinade, which was a nice side dish.

Mojo-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

A lively herb-and citrus-perfumed cross between a sauce and a relish, Cuban inspired mojo makes a potent marinade and sauce for tenderloin. We picked up the idea in south Florida, but the Caribbean sparkle seems even finer in a cooler clime.

Serves 6

Mojo Marinade and Sauce
Juice of 3 large oranges (approximately 1-1/2 cups)
Juice of 2 large limes
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 plump garlic cloves, minced

Two 12-ounce to 14-ounce sections of pork tenderloin
Avocado slices and red-ripe tomato slices, for garnish

At least 2-1/2 hours and up to the night before you plan to grill the pork tenderloins, mix the mojo ingredients in a small bowl. Place the tenderloins in a plastic bag and pour about two-thirds of the mojo over them; cover the remaining mojo. Refrigerate the pork and the remaining mojo, which will become a sauce.

Remove the pork from the refrigerator, drain it, and blot any excess moisture from it. Let the pork sit covered at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.

Fire up the grill for a two-level fire capable of cooking first on high heat (1 to 2 seconds with the hand test) and then on medium heat (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).

Transfer the tenderloins to the grill, arrange them so that the thin end is angled away from the hottest part of the fire. Grill the tenderloins uncovered on high heat for 3 minutes, rolling them on all sides. Move the tenderloins to medium heat and estimate the rest of the cooking time according to the thickness of the meat. Thin tenderloins (about 1-1/2 inches in diameter) need an additional 10 to 12 minutes on medium, and fat ones (about 2-1/2 inches in diameter) require up to 25 minutes. Continue rolling the meat on all sides for even cooking. The pork is done when its internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F. to 160 degrees F.

If grilling covered, sear the tenderloins first on high heat uncovered for 3 minutes, rolling them on all sides. Finish the cooking with the cover on over medium heat for at least 8 to 10 minutes (for 1-1/2 inch diameter meat) or up to 20 minutes (for 2-1/2 inch diameter meat).

Carve the pork into thin slices, garnish with avocado and tomato and serve hot accompanied by the reserved mojo. For a fiesta, serve a salad of black beans, rice, corn, and red bell peppers followed by Pina Colada Pinapple Spears.

Technique Tip:

Consider turning this tenderloin into a sandwich, the way most mojo-flavored pork is served in Florida. On toasted Cuban bread or a split crusty roll, pile the meat, a slice of ham, black beans, and sharp cheese, all topped with more mojo. Immensely sloppy and intensely good, the sandwich demands lots of napkins.

Recipe from:

by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison
The Harvard Common Press

Born to Grill

Source: http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg0798/mojo.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye28n_aJspA

http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-use-a-champagne-saber

“Can I use the plastic 5-gallon carboys that I have water delivered in for starting the secondary fermentation? What I would like to do is start some strawberry and blueberry wine when the fruits are in season – which is when we are here in Maine.

I would like to get the secondary fermentation started here and then take the carboys home where I can finish the process and bottle it. My concern is if these water bottles will leave a taste in the wine.”

Here’s how I answered:

Great question!

As long as the water bottle is made of PET then you should be good to go.

I actually own a plastic carboy and there’s no issue with a plastic taste being transferred. I wrote an article about it on my blog called “Winemaking Designer Carboys” if you’re interested.

I’m curious what you think about using plastic vs. glass carboys and so reply to this blog post and let me know!

I thought it was so cool that I wanted to make sure others saw it too!

Let me know if you agree that this was well done in the comments below.

Wine Time in 60 seconds! from Patrick Johnson on Vimeo.

As a backgrounder here’s what he wrote introducing his little video:

“Hey Scott,

I’m a hobbiest wine maker (two years running now) and I’ve been checking out your site for quite a while now. Great posts and information!

I also have a passion for animation and always thought that wine making would be a fun subject for a short animation piece. The merging of these two hobbies resulted in the following animation, “Wine Time in 60 Seconds”.

Take a look and I’d love any feedback if you have a second. (It’s done in a populist kid’s style, forgoing detail for brevity)

Thanks,

Patrick Johnson”

Here’s a brief bio on Patrick too!

Patrick Johnson is a hobbiest wine maker and video producer, who makes personal documentaries and animations in his spare time. “Wine Time in 60 Seconds” was made entirely on his computer with Photoshop, AfterEffects, and Final Cut Pro. Visit www.journeymanstudios.com for more work by Patrick.

Mark writes:

“I have a couple comments on your blog post.  First of all, you should add a caution statement about adding sugar into fermenting wine.  It needs to be added very slowly.  The first time I did this, I dumped about 4 lbs of sugar into my 6 gallon primary while it was still actively fermenting.  WOW what a mess.  It foamed up like crazy and overflowed the primary bucket and went all over the floor.  Lesson learned. 
 
The next point is that I have found that adding extra sugar at the beginning has much the same affect if all you want is about 15% alcohol.  If you start with a brix of about 30-32 I usually end up with at least 15% alcohol without having to add sugar a second time.
 
Lastly, there may be a consideration on the type of yeast you use.  Some yeasts will burn themselves out and drown in the alcohol when it gets up around 13-14%.  I have not experimented much with this but I do know that Cote des Blancs has a good tolorance for higher alcohol content.
 
As far as the taste is concerned, you may find that the final RS needs to be higher in the bottled wine if the alcohol content is higher to achieve the same taste as you’d have with a lower alcohol content.  That has been my experience anyway.
 
I hope this information helps.

- Mark”

Thanks Mark – certainly worth mentioning to everyone!

- Scott “The Wine Making Guy”