Wine Neophytes

Cab 2010

2011-02-23T11:49:00.000-08:00

Well, needless to say but I'll say it anyway, It's been a while since my last posting. I want to bring you up to date on my cab for 2010.

We harvested in mid November. What we harvested was the second crop of Cabernet from the family's small vineyard just outside of St. Helena. This was the third year for me producing wine. The first year was a Zin, again the second crop, and it was from the same St. Helena property. My second year was a cab from the same vineyard that gave me my current production. I use production losely here since I produced just over ten gallons in 2010.

In my second year I created a wine lable 'Mis Ninos'. I still have a few bottles of the 2009 production but was able to give my pickers (my grandsons) several bottles to put away and hopefully open when they turn twentyone. The 2009 is a decent cab although it has an almost carbonated quality to it. If I let it sit awhile this carbonated quality goes away. I'm not sure how this came about or what caused it. Nevertheless, the wine has good deep ruby color and strong black berry nose.

My 2010 cab hasn't been bottled yet and I will keep it in the glass 10 gallon container for at least another two months. After harvest I let the pulp sit with the juice for nearly a month. After the fermentation process was complete, I pressed the pulp off and placed the wine into the 10 gallon container. I put the additional wine in small jars. After a month, I racked the wine and placed it back into the 10 gallon container. Currently there is about 1/8 inch sediment at the bottom. As a comparison, the first racking had about 3/4 inch of sediment at the bottom. My intent is to rack the wine again at the end of February and then again at the end of March and at that time I will bottle my wine.

This 2010 cab has a deeper color than 2009 because I left the skins on for a longer period. I think that for this reason the fruity nose is more pronounced. At this time there is no aspect of carbonation. I had my brother, the family wine maker, take a look and taste of the 2010 in January. He was impressed witht the color, nose and ripe berry flavors. His comments gave me a proud smile that I still have today.

Till next time.

A Tasting and Comment on Rios Solovino Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

2010-05-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I had an opportunity to try a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Rios Wine Cellars. The name on their label is 'Solovino'. 'Solovino' means, 'he came alone'. I purchased the bottle the previous weekend up in Calistoga at the Rios Wine Tasting Room.

It was there that I spoke with Albert Rios, the youngest of the Rios brothers. Albert's two older brothers are Manuel and Rafael; Manuel being the oldest. The Rios family seem to all have their hands in the wine industry in one form or another. The pride they take as a family in grape growing, wine making and all round wine production is evident in the bottle I had last night. It was excellent!

Albert shared with me that there 2005 Cabernet is from a single vineyard and is strictly from the 2005 harvest. No blending from the previous year and no blending with fruit outside the particular vineyard. You'll see this approach most likely in the smaller wine producers, who are not out to make every year of any given wine the same as the year before. They focus on that year's fruit and focus on producing the best wine that specific fruit has to offer. The result is that each year you necessarily have a different wine and often that difference is noticeable if you were to conduct a vertical tasting.

Getting back to my personal tasting experience, I found this particular wine excellent!

The clarity and deep ruby color is the first thing that you will notice. When you put your nose to the glass you immediately pick up perhaps a tint of chocolate which is immediately replaced by ripe dark blackberry. When you take it into your mouth and coat your tongue, you will pick up not a sweet chocolate but more of a dark chocolate. As it lingers the fruity blackberry tones come forth. I didn't pick up oak but I was pleased with that. Why? I think the oak takes away from the pureness of the natural character the fruit has to offer which is different year after year when the winemaker believes in the single vineyard, single season approach.

I wonder if that's how the Rios family came up with the name 'Solovino'? I'll have to ask them.

If you have time I would encourage you to visit the Rios Wine Company web site at www.rioswinecompany.com .

Let your congressional representative know: Oppose HR 5034

2010-05-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

This is a short but very important post about HR 5034, a bill that would allow states to discriminate against small wineries who import into their state in favor of that state's distributors and their local wine industry. For a good legal analysis of the bill click here. At the end of that article/analysis, their is a link to notify your congressional representative about your opposition to the bill or you can just click here and go directly there.

Remember it is for the generations who follow that we need to keep a vigil on our future's course.

Pulling on a Thread

2010-05-10T17:25:00.000-07:00

This is Omar on the Tractor and his father Ric off to the side. Grandchildren come to mind when I think of family.

I've been thinking of family lately (Mother's Day and all). In part I imagine it's because I've been working on a web site for our family wines. Part of last week and now this week, I've been working on getting our family wine site up and running. I sent out the initial set up to my list of family and friends last week and have received great comments. Most were how do we order. Well, that's the part (the sales room) that I'm working on this week.

What does this have to do with my title "Pulling on a Thread"? Nothing really, only that as part of my self educational process I receive a blog/newsletter "The Daily Sip by bottlenotes". I took time out of my core project and read it. The article was about blind tasting and Yellow Tail wines (the tasting took place in New York). I didn't find the short article that great. What interested me initially was the advertisement about the Auction Napa Valley E-Auction.

Being interested, I clicked on the link (pulling on a thread so to speak) and began looking at the auction items. I encourage you to do the same. I don't know if I will be bidding on anything, but it gave me an opportunity to see wines produced by people I personally know. I like to see my friends doing something good or producing something like . . . wine. The other thing I immediately picked up are a few ideas on how our family sales room might be laid out on the new web site.

Well, having given my friends a heads up on the E-Auction, I'll be getting back to my core project.

Have fun tasting wines.

Happy Birthday

2010-04-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Well this last week our family had a birthday party for Arabella and Omar. It was in celebration of their first birthday. Arabella turned one on April 22nd and Omar turns one on the 29th of April. Here are a few photos of that momentous occasion.

Just a note: The name I chose for my 2009 production of Cabernet was 'Mis Ninos'. It means 'My Children'. I don't think I could have chosen a more meaningful name.

The first is Rick and Omar, the next is Zeke and Arabella and the last is Ana and myself with the two little ones.

New Season of Promise

2010-04-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Like newborn children so comes the new season. Like the vines I've been dormant in my posting, the last being January 13, 2010. Now that the buds are beginning to push out, I find myself rejuvenated and find the need to write once again.

What's happened since our last meeting? Well, at the Little Ranch in St. Helena, a trellis system was put up on the Cab block (about 3 acres). The frost of last year gave the large orange tree at the ranch a rough time of it and the fruit wasn't juicy but very dry. We lost a family member, my uncle Ike and we learned my oldest son Zeke and his better half Kim are expecting another child in June/July. Aribela will be one year old this month on the 22nd. We learned my son Rick and his family are relocating to the east coast (he got a great job). The good news in that is that Omar (Ric's son who'll be one year on 4/29) will be closer to his other grandparents Hilda and Manuel. My son Albert and his better half Kami are doing well and looking into buying a house up in Calistoga. Ana and I are doing well.

Now a little bit about this years preparations for making wine:

1. I will be refurbishing the corking device I used last year. That means I will be sanding it down and painting it.

2. I haven't done much on finding out what it would cost to make the crushing device operable but it is my intent to do so.

3. I'm still looking for another two five gallon containers because I plan to make at least three dozen bottles of wine. I will be making both a Zinfandel and a Cabernet from the second crop. My first year I made a small amount of Zin and last year I made a small amount of Cab. My thought is to make roughly 15 bottles of each so that I can make a blend of both using a fifty fifty approach and getting 10 bottles of the blend in addition to the bottles of Zin and Cab.

4. Remember last year I mentioned that I wanted to cover the cork on the bottle of Mis Ninos with a red wax. Well I tried and it didn't come out very well, so I have last year's production with a great label "Mis Ninos" (My children) but no foil or other cover for the neck and cork.

5. I've rethought the introduction of a commercial yeast. I am going to go with the natural yeast on the fruit. Why? Because I've tasted the fruits of our labor.

This will bring a smile to your face, I sampled a bottle of the Cabernet from last year and I presented my brother Cio with a sample to get his impressions. He thought it had great fruit, good color (deep ruby), and pleasant fruity aromas. He also picked up a little spritzer element. His guess was that it might be that there was some fermentation that took place in the bottle. His next question was if there were any corks pushing out (it's what you would expect from fermentation taking place in the bottle). No corks have pushed out, nevertheless he expects the spritzer element will go away with time in the bottle.

If there is anyone who might know what that spritzer element is, let me know. Until next time we touch basis, be sure and spend time in the bottle.

Steak and Zin

2010-01-13T13:11:00.000-08:00

I'm a lover of T-bone steak and I am also a lover of Zinfandel. Over the weekend I had the once again opportunity to have both. Ana and I, along with our dear friends Chico and Sessy, stopped at the Harris Ranch off of I-5. Ana and I had been there many years ago but this was the first time for our friends to try it out.

From my opening line you know what I had. The only thing in addition to the T-bone and Zin was garlic mash potatoes and vegetables. I choose the 2007 Harris Ranch Zinfandel only because I wanted to do a whole Harris Ranch thing. I wasn't disappointed with my choice of wines. It was aromatic with sweet fruity tones, the color was clear and sharp ruby. The taste was equal to the aromatic tones and I picked up light black berry and what I think was black currant. The only disappointment in the wine was the lack of any lengthy after taste. I enjoy more the wines that linger in my mouth. That is not to say that I didn't enjoy this particular wine, I did. I'm only saying that I was disappointed in that the aromas and flavors that I was experiencing wasn't staying long enough.

I hope you all have an opportunity to stop and eat at Harris Ranch and try their Zinfandel. Here's to all of us in this new year. Cheers!

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Well it's been some time since my last posting. Since then, Ana and I have gone to New York and back. The trip was fabuloso!

We stayed with family during our stay and had the opportunity to try some home made moonshine. Yes, you heard me right. It was moonshine from the Dominican Republic or at least the cook was from there. They call it Pitorro. We were able to bring a bit back with us to California and were told to let it stand for a year and that we should put some fruit of our choice in the bottle and hide it from any light for that year period. It was recommended that the fruit we choose be cherries. Someone suggested we mix in some plumbs as well. Someone told us to bury it in the ground but I am reluctant to do that as I will most likely forget were I bury it.

In addition to the Pitorro we tried Rum from Puerto Rico called "Ron del Barrilito" and we tried a liquor from Greece called "Metaxa" both very very good. I was surprised when I was told by a certain Puerto Rican that though Bicardi is from Puerto Rico not many their in New York drink it. They prefer Barrilito.

Wine Rating, what do you know about it?

2009-12-13T11:10:00.000-08:00

Personally I know very little about wine rating. So I, like always, jumped on the internet and did a little research.

Well after my brief research I'm still mystified. The bottom line...it's personal. From personal it's easy to picture all kinds of issues and one common thought is that how impartial are the ratings that are given. There was even one suggestion that the rating can be or might be influenced by the amount of advertising you take out in the rater's magazine.

I have a suggestion, to get away from personal, personal needs to be diluted. How do you dilute "personal"? By use of the greater numbers. Put together a group of tasters (50) who are willing to taste a given wine. All tasters are to score the wine using the same approach and rating system. You then take the average of those tasters' scores to come up with the given rating. This approach would give little impact to those ratings (in your group of raters) on the outskirts. The problem with this approach is that it would be hard to find many people who would like to participate.

One way around that problem might be to assemble a pool of as many wine tasters as possible and each month send out a list of wines for that pool to taste. Have them submit their scores as to each wine they were able to taste. Rate only those wines for which you have at least 50 results and then publish those results. Under this approach you would constantly have to be recruiting your pool of wine tasters but people just getting into it might enjoy being part of a larger body of wine tasters.

What are your thoughts?

Lindeman's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

2009-12-11T23:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the 11th of December 2009, Ana and I eat at a small restaurant in Noe Valley on 24th in San Francisco. We had Bernie's Special Burger. Ana ordered from the small wine list and she picked a Lindeman's Cabernet. The list didn't mention a year, just the name. Ana was very pleased when she tasted it and eagerly shared it with me. We found it very pleasant, so much so I asked the attendant to bring me the bottle.

It turned out to be an Australian wine; a 2008 Cabernet from Lindeman's Vineyards and it was the bin series. We found it had a pleasant fruity nose with a deep regal ruby color. we picked up a deep smooth blackberry taste, after a short while I took another taste and I was able to pick up a slight hint of mint. Ana was the first to pick this up and she related it to a roast her mom makes in which she uses spearmint leaves. All in all it was a very good wine that went well with our hamburgers and the cost per glass was very reasonable at $5.50.

When I got home I looked up Lindeman Wines and their Cabernet Bin series from Australia. I was surprised not to find the 2008 for sale. The youngest one they have for sale on their site was a 2006.

Let me know what wines you've been trying, so that I might expand my horizons.

Wine Books, Sheridan Warrick's "The Way to Make Wine"

2009-12-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

I've just started reading Warrick's book on Wine Making entitled, "The Way to Make Wine: How to Craft Superb Table Wines at Home".

As an amateur home wine maker I am always looking for material that can give me a greater understanding and appreciation for the art of wine making. Well, though I am not yet finished reading Warrick's book, I have to say that this is a good one to get for your wine library. Why? Well, it just gave me a good look at how I've been approaching home wine making and I feel that some one has given me a pat on the back for a job well done. And that all came just from the introduction.

I feel like I've been following his footsteps and didn't know it. Truth be told, I've most likely been following in the footsteps of thousands of home wine makers that have all gone down this amateur's path of learning about wine making.

Egelhoff Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

2009-12-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

Last night Ana and I had a bottle of Bob Egelhoff's 2004 Cab. It was a good cab that was smooth for only being four years old.

The color was a clear deep amber. It had a fine fruity aroma as well as a hint of soft smoke. Upon tasting the wine I immediately picked up a robust black berry flavor and it was very prominent which I liked. The after taste was subtle yet lasting.

It went well with our skirt steak. I believe this wine will become even better in two or three years.

Bob is a good friend of my brother Cio. Bob's been making wine for himself and others for many years now and this was the first time that I tried one of his wines. I'm certainly going to be consuming more if the one last night was an example of what he can accomplish.

Capping Your Bottle

2009-11-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

Well I've settled on the label for my 2009 production of Cabernet. I've been thinking about what to place on the bottle's top.

My first thought was that I wanted to cover the top and neck with a bright red wax. So Tuesday of last week I attempted to do just that and bought myself some wax and a bright red dye.

In my thinking process I gave some thought to allowing the bottle to breath and with a wax cover I would be eliminating that but I thought that my wine would most likely be consumed within two years and if that was the case, breath ability was not a worthwhile issue to be concerned with.

I also thought that wax would be a good thing because I could impress on the top a seal of sorts (like when long ago people would seal their letters with wax and then press their ring onto it).

Well, after trying the wax approach I've decided to go with a foil. Why? Because I found that wax is like paint, it goes on in layers. By the time I had put enough layers on so that the wax was a bright red, it looked weird, off balanced. And the seal idea, well that didn't turn out any better.

I wonder if they make a synthetic liquid that I could dip the neck of the bottle in that would have the same or similar appearance I was looking for with wax? If anyone knows that answer, let me know. Until then I think I will be looking into placing a foil over the top. I need to do this soon if I am to give some out as holiday gifts.

Talk to you soon.
Anthony

San Diego Trip

2009-11-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

Well it's been several days since my last posting, but I would do the last several days all over again. Let me give you some sound advice: when you have the opportunity to spend time with friends, don't pass it up.

Now I hear you thinking, this isn't about wine. Well, yes and no. Now I hear you thinking, that's a hell of an answer. Let me explain.

One of the reasons I like the atmosphere surrounding wine is that it tends to bring family and friends closer together. But we should all remember that those opportunities for family and friends are not strictly associated with one catalyst.

Last Thursday, Ana and I along with our friends Chico and Ceci, went to San Diego to visit their son Francisco and his wife MaryAnn. The occasion was simply to see them before MaryAnn delivered her first child. We left early Thursday morning taking I-5. The trip down was all too quick, but isn't that the way time is when your having fun?

Our first night in San Diego was an adventure of sorts. It was around 11:00 p.m. when we decided to look for a bar near our hotel (within walking distance). We walked for a half hour before we came across a seedy looking lounge that you had to enter from the back down a long dark alleyway. Because we hadn't seen any thing else we decided to take the chance and walked with great caution into the dark. Sure enough, the entrance was at the back and to our relieved souls there was a light and a gentleman at the back entrance to greet us.

There was a small charge per person to enter and we handed over that amount to the doorman. Upon entering the darkened establishment we saw a short hallway. Both sides of the hallway were drapped with red curtains which reminded me of a bordello. We continued with some apprehension untill we entered a larger room with a well worn pool table and that led us into the actual bar area. It was Ceci who read a small flyer that was on the small round table. She pointed out to us that tonite's charge was free to women. I volunteered to go back out and collect the overcharge.

Walking through the back door I found the doorman sitting down and I didn't hesitate to tell him of his mistake. When he asked me how much he overcharged me I told him that I had walked in with three women so, he owed me $15.00. His response was a tilt of his head as if questioning me. "You came in with two women and another guy." That's when Chico came through the door. Talk about an inopportune time.

"That's the other guy," the doorman said as he flipped his finger at Chico.

"This person?" I remarked, pointing at my friend. Then looking at Chico I surprisingly asked, "Are you a guy?" Chico nodded affirmingly with a smile not knowing all that was going on. "I swear, I'm learning something new everyday," as I told the doorman it was my mistake and accepted $10.00 from him.

Chico looked at me with a face of confusion which he held until later back at the little round table I told them of what took place. After all was told, Ana and Ceci turned to Chico,and as if in a chorus line "Are you a guy?"

That's the way our trip went. It was fun to be around great friends.

Planning Next Year's Production

2009-11-18T14:52:00.000-08:00

After harvest, after bottling, it's time we all started thinking about hibernating. But before we get to that moment let's think about next year's production and what we want to accomplish in preparation for next harvest.

This is my list:
1. Purchase (new or used) two more five gallon glass containers.
2. Do some homework on producing a Zinfandel wine. (I currently produce a Cabernet)
3. Read up on introducing yeast and if so, what kind. The two years I've been an amateur wine maker I've let the juice ferment using the natural yeast that was part of the fruit. I'm thinking about killing off the natural yeast and introducing a specific yeast culture for fermentation next year.
4. I've come across an old wine corking machine (hand operated) and I want to refurbish it, clean it up for next year.
5. I've also come across an old wine press. I want to look into what it would cost to refurbish that as well. It appears very heavy and cumbersome but it would be a great improvement from how I did it the last two years.
6. My tentative production goal I will shoot for next year is 3 cases or 36 bottles or roughly 7 gallons of Cabernet . For a good site to go to when you want to convert volume go right to measurement conversion .

Well, this is my beginning effort at a plan for next year's production. I'm sure as time goes on I will be adding to it.

Talk to you soon.

Anthony

Wine Making Sites of Interest to Beginners

2009-11-16T10:02:00.000-08:00

About a year and a half ago I started looking into wine making. As part of that continuing journey I've explored wine making, wine tasting, winery sites, wine clubs, wine terminology, wine snobbery; I thought it, I looked it up; Wine not?

I thought that like a kit to get started I might share with you sites just for looking and dreaming into the world of amateur wine making. If you're at all like me I am a very visual person. If I can grasp a picture of the concept in my head, I always do better.

So, the first site that I will share with you is along those lines and has to do with the process of wine making; i.e. the chemistry of wine making. Take a look at this site:

The Chemistry of Wine Making

I know you won't be memorizing the diagrams but it will give your mind a picture's perspective. You will realize that reds and whites have a similar yet different process; why temperature can make a difference; the purpose of yeasts, etc..

Once I had the picture of the process in mind, I found myself running across words or terminology that I wanted further explanation about. So I found myself looking for a source of wine terminology. The best one I've come across is Wikipedia's Glossary of Wine Terms. This source can be found at:

Glossary of Wine Terms

Another area that I found myself interested in was wine tasting; how to approach it. The first thing that I was made aware of was my little knowledge of the vast vocabulary used in this area of the description of wines. Now it has never been my intent to become a sommelier (wine expert/wine steward). For those of you who know me, I am an "A Type" personality. What does that mean? It means I have to dot all the "i's" and cross all the "t's" when I do anything. In other words, I try to be as thorough as possible. Ana has a more concise word for me, she says I'm anal (anal retentive: a person who is excessively orderly and fussy). I can tell you she says this in a carinos type manner (with all the loving in the world).

What I found was there are many sites having to do with wine descriptors; the language of amore in describing the aromas, the color, the taste of wines. Here are a few:

Wine Lovers Vocabulary

Wine Tasting Terminology

Glossary of Wine-Tasting Terminology

The last area I want to mention is the area of wine equipment. When I first looked at these sites and saw the articles contained in a starter's kit, it dawned on me that I had everything already at home. I'm certain most of you can find all you need at home to get started as well. For those of you who want to check out equipment, here is a list of sites to check out: (Note that I am not endorsing any of these and I encourage you to do your own search on the internet.)

Wine Making Equipment Sites

If you have sites that you've found especially helpful in any area of wine making, please forward it to me. Look forward to hearing from you.

Anthony

Cost of 2009 Production of 17 Bottles of Cabernet a Home Run

2009-11-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

Now that I have my wine in bottles, you might want to know how much did it cost in 2009 to get it there? Would you belief $00.00? That's a home run for someone on a tight budget.

The fruit: I am very fortunate in that my fruit (the grapes) did not cost me anything. I pick the second crop and most smaller vineyard owners, if asked, would let you into their vineyard to pick after they've picked their grapes. Therefore my costs for the fruit was $00.00.

Equipment: Anyone just beginning could go out and buy devices to crush the grapes and containers to ferment them; strainers to strain the juice from the skins and seeds; a device to press off the remaining liquid; a filtering system etc.. If you go this route you will certainly incur some costs. You can find any number of items for amateur production of wines on the internet; crushers and stemmers; all kinds of containers, presses and filters.

I'm very lucky, my wife Ana, loves containers of all kinds. Years ago she came across a five gallon glass container with a small spout (like a facet) near the bottom. I used this and placed my pulp, skins and seeds mixture into it to ferment. To get it to that point, I, along with my grandchildren picked the grapes. We removed the fruit from the stems by hand and placed the fruit in a bucked (that I already had) and crushed the grapes with our hands; pouring the mixture into the glass five gallon container. There it fermented for 14 days.

I then separated the skins and seeds from the juice with a colander (a perforated bowl used to strain off liquid). This my wife also had as part of her cooking stuff. I then pressed my hands down into the colander to press out as much as I could of the juice that was in the skins and seeds. Do you know what the skins and seeds left over are called? That's called pomace and many times that's returned and cultivated back into the soil as fertilizer.

Days later I racked the fermented juice into numerous other containers my wife had (more kitchen stuff). I washed out the glass container and poured the wine back into it. From there I poured it into a funnel lined with a coffee filter. The funnel fed into the bottle. Since my wife had both the funnel and the coffee filters I didn't have to go to the store to buy either. Therefore this part of production cost only $00.00.

Bottles: The bottles I saved over time along with their corks. Two of the bottles I used were screw top wine bottles so I didn't have to use corks with these two. So again, I didn't spend any money for the 17 bottles.

So in 2009 I was able to produce my wine for nothing other than family labor. That's better than on a shoe string. Next year I do plan on purchasing another two five gallon glass containers and one five gallon plastic bucket. I'm thinking about whether I want to purchase yeast but I'm still reading up on that.

Let me hear from you. Share a little knowledge, spread the wealth and make us all a little better off.

Anthony

Wine Storage

2009-11-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Now that you've got your wine in bottles, where do you store it?

Very simply you choose a place where the temperature will not fluctuate from one extreme to another. Most of us will be storing our home made wine in our homes. I store mine in a closet that is located in the center of the house.

If you have six or less bottles you can store it beneath your sink in the kitchen or bath. If you have more you would generally place your bottles in a cardboard wine case (12 bottles) and then pick a closet or some other relatively cool spot. The cardboard case is itself an insulator.

If you have a crawl space under your home you should lay a pallet or sheet of plywood down to insulate the case(s) from the ground and place your wine there. This is not a great spot for those of you who don't like small dark spaces or spiders (I'm in that category).

If you don't have a space at home, find a friend (a real good one) and have your friend store the wine in his or her closet. It would be a good gesture if you were to give that friend a bottle or two. Let them know that your looking to store it for at least a year (aging).

For those of you who've noticed I've labeled this post under "wine making" because storing is part of the aging process and therefore part of wine making.

Share your thought on this subject and make us all a little wiser.

Love Anthony

Cleaning up your wine

2009-11-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

O.K. let's say that fermentation is complete and you now have wine (yippee!) .

What can you do next? You can drink it or clean it up.

What happens if I immediately drink it? Nothing bad. If you drink enough you will become inebriated (drunk, under the influence). In most cases if you drink it immediately you'll find that the fluid is more like a mixture. A mixture of minute particles and if you were to hold the wine up to a light source you will be able to see that your wine is cloudy and definitely have some sediment at the bottom of your wineglass.

I try to clean up my wine before drinking it apart from the tasting that occurs during and at the end of the fermentation process. I confess, I'm like a kid in a candy store. I find myself taking little tastes after crushing the grapes when I have just grape juice with skins and seeds; after the first day of fermentation; after the second day and so on until fermentation is complete and then press off the wine from the skins and seeds and taste it again. I taste it up to the time I'm putting it in the bottles.

How did I clean the wine in 2009? I first cleaned it when I pressed off the skins and seeds and that was after I believed fermentation was complete. Complete fermentation in 2009 took 14 days. Pressing removed the largest of items from the liquid. I then let the liquid (wine) set for five days in a five gallon glass container. On the fifth day I racked the wine. Racking means to siphon off the liquid from any sediment at the bottom of the container.

Immediately after racking the wine I bottled it using a coffee filter. The wine I bottled was still somewhat cloudy and I know that when I open the first bottle a year from now I will have sediment at the bottom of the bottle. And I know that I will have to take care in pouring the wine so as not to mix the wine up with the sediment. But that's O.K..

My approach regarding cleaning my wine next year will be somewhat different. I will rack the wine at least three times with at least several days between rackings. And then I want to use egg whites to further clarify my wine. Then I will rack it one last time just before bottling. I don't believe I'll be using the coffee filter system next year because it was too cumbersome and messy.

Wine cleaning methods:

Filtering

A process of "cleaning up" a wine used after fermentation (and before bottling); similar to running coffee through a filter, but arguably not always necessary to produce fine wine. The purpose of filtering is to remove sediment, grape skins, dead yeast, etc., from the wine. Filtering can range from very fine to coarse; however, it is increasingly being minimized (or avoided whenever possible) because the finer the filtering, the more flavors and character are stripped from the wine. Many wineries are using the more labor-intensive, old-fashioned practices of fining or racking to clarify wines these days. Historically, many filters before the 1980's were made from asbestos.

Fining

A traditional winemaker technique for clarifying wines by adding egg whites or bentonite (clay) to casks of wine; the eggs collect particles and sediment and slowly sink to the bottom of the cask (where the material is then removed). Considered a less intrusive process for clarifying wines than filtering.

Racking

A term for the traditional winemaker practice of moving wine from one container to another; it's essentially decanting on a grand scale by moving a wine from barrel to barrel. The purpose of racking is to rid the wine of sediment by leaving it behind in the first barrel. It requires more labor, but racking is less disturbing to the wine than filtration.

Remember to share your experiences in wine making with others. It makes this world a happier place.

Love Anthony

Photos

2009-11-11T10:23:00.000-08:00

With the Thanksgiving and the holidays coming upon us, I thought that today I would simply include some of the photos of family gatherings that have taken place at the St. Helena ranch.

Ana and Bella say bye-bye.

Love Anthony

Finding a Name...

2009-11-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

...for your wine is tantamount to parents picking a name for their child that's about to be born. You want a name reflective of something worthwhile. My first wife and I had three sons and each one was an experience in finding the right name. Looking back now, I want to believe that we could have named them different names and that today they'd be the same irrespective of the name we gave them. A rose by any other name is still a rose. Well that saying might apply well to plants but I wouldn't apply it to people.

I'd like to think that the discussions and the disagreements their Mom and I went through in picking their names meant something; that the names we arrived upon has had some impact on their lives. And that is the underlying belief I think we all have. And that is why we take bestowing a name on a loved one or in wine making, the product of our loving and caring natures, with such a serious and benevolent approach.

How can we go about picking a name for our wines? If it were like picking a name for a person we might go to a book of names. We'd find Anthony, Ezequiel, Alberto, Ricardo, Ana, Kim, Carolina, Omar, Arabella and so on and so on. I guess you might want to name your wine in such a manner. For example my brother Cio (the wine maker) titles his Chardonnay, Dona Magdalena, after our Grandmother; his Zinfandel, Don Ezequiel, after our Father and his Cabernet, Don Lucio, after our Grandfather.

He choose to honor those who contributed much to his own life and that to me goes a long way and says a lot about the wine maker. I'm trying to get him to produce a Port and I want him to name it Don Antonio. He could name it San Antonio but I think readers would confuse that with the Texas City by that name and not necessarily me. That of course would really tell me a lot about the wine maker. (I hope my brother is reading this.)

Another approach would be to focus in on sayings, "To be are not to be...that is the wine" or "carpe diem" seize the day or "mens rea" would be a good one for a criminal attorney who happens to make wine (it means guilty mind). There are places on the internet like "Latin phrases" or "Spanish phrases" that are good to look at for ideas. I saw one on a Spanish phrase site, the word was "besame" with an accent on the first "e"; it means kiss me. I like that one.

Emotions are another fertile ground for finding the appropriate name for your wine. Use a romantic language such as Spanish. Sentir or sentirse usually means "to feel an emotion." I always thought "jealousy" was a great descriptive word. You find it in many love relationships and that alone makes it a great word. It may refer to a strong feeling of envy or it can imply a sense of distrust, suspicion or anger.

I've always liked the word "Carinos" (it has a squiggly over the n) and is used to describe those tender actions loved ones do to one another such as tapping your grandchild on the bottom as they run off to play or rubbing the earlobe of your better half as she has her head on your lap as you watch t.v.. A tender moment is a thought that goes well when drinking wine.

As you can see the approach is endless. Let me know your thoughts. Share, so we can all be better.

Love Anthony

My New Label "Mis Ninos" for 2009

2009-11-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

I took the weekend just to let my mind, on its own, think about label possibilities for this 2009 production. Remember I was toying with the name "Mis Ninos" meaning "My Children"? Well that has stayed with me. So, after court this morning (I am a trial attorney for those of you who want to know what I was doing in court) I sat down at my computer and by 1:48 p.m. I had my label complete and placed on bottle number 17 of our production.

I used the software "Microsoft Publisher" that came with the computer to create the label. I laid out the paper (11 x 8 1/2) as landscape so that when I created the label each page would contain four labels.

I started out with the name "Mis Ninos" but the first problem I ran into was the squiggly mark above the second "n" in Ninos, i.e., how do I place it there? I ended up looking at the different characters or figures in the software program and I found not a squiggly mark but an image that would work as well. I laid out the information in a single label and then I copied and pasted the label into the other three word boxes that I initially created on the page.

I printed out the initial four label page and made several corrections (I find it easier when I can hold a copy in my hands when making any changes).

In the first attempt I numbered each of the labels 1, 2, 3 and 4. I changed this to "No." without any numeral. I can personally write the number in and give that a personal touch to each label.

I also changed my warning "NOT INTENDED FOR SALE" TO "SALE PROHIBITED". Why? Because it took up less space and is was more emphatic.

I printed out the final version and with scissors cut out the four labels. I placed one on the number 17 bottle and used Ana's nail polish (I was hoping to find a clear polish but instead settled on a reddish color) to adhere the label to the bottle.

The label reads beginning at the top: MIS NINOS in large blue letters, then the year 2009 again in large blue letters (all the text on the label is blue and the image I used for the squiggly is in red with a shadow), then CABERNET SAUVIGNON and below that, ST. HELENA, CALIFORNIA. I then set forth the following, one below the other: "Picked: 10/17/09; Pressed: 11/1/09; Bottled: 11/6/09". Below that I set forth the following: "Harvester: Fred White, T'Andre White, Joseph Manning, Anthony Perez". Then below that in the lower left corner I have, "No.". To the opposite right corner I put in capital letters, "SALE PROHIBITED".

The only thing I don't have on the label is the alcohol content and that is because that is information I don't have. I talked to my brother Cio, the family wine maker, and he said that they have a litmus paper that can help with determining the alcoholic content of a liquid. That's what I will most likely do because it would be better to know that piece of information.

Overall, in my opinion, a stupendous display of talent.

There is one last dressing up of the bottle I intend to do and that is to coat the corked end of the bottle (the neck) with red wax.

2009 in a Bottle

2009-11-06T22:35:00.000-08:00

Well it's done, seventeen bottles in a row; 2009's production. The wine label will read, "2009 Cabernet/St. Helena Ranch; Picked 10/17/09; Pressed 11/1/09; Bottled 11/6/09; Harvesters: Fred White, T'Andre White, Joseph Pina, Anthony Perez"

I'm still working on a label logo but I'm thinking that I will name this production "Mis Ninos" in English "My Children". Let me know what you would name this production or what you think of my initial thought.

Not only did I bottle 2009's production (I like the way that sounds), but I (and Ana) baby set our nearly seven month old grandson Omar. So many thoughts ran through my mind today as I stole time away from Omar to complete the bottling process. Omar did help, or should I say he oversaw my progress. What that means is that I held him in one arm and with a ladle poured the wine in a funnel with a coffee filter.

It's here I want the reader to come with me on this thought. It's been written about by authors like Borges, Coelho and even King. And that's this concept: telepathy. Like the spoken word that is passed on by folklore, or the written word that is read years beyond when the word was written. In my case I have, with the help of my grandchildren produced a product, that being a bottle of wine. My thought was to give to my two sons one bottle of this 2009 production. And when their children, Aribella and Omar, born April 22nd and 29th of 2009, reach 15 years of age, they would receive a single bottle each from this year's production. Why fifteen, well we are Latinos and wine and the love of life is in our blood. What can I say, and I may still be alive then.

Can you imagine, my grandchildren's parents (my own kids) opening up a bottle of 2009 in celebration of their children's fifteenth birthday? If I am not alive that would be like speaking from the grave. Isn't that the way each bottle of wine speaks to us? From the past? Doesn't it raise goose bumps on your arms? Am I asking too many questions? Here is one more, isn't it the same as stars? You know the stars we see are most likely already dead?

I'm reading this to Ana at 11:06 P.M. and she says that I'm getting crazy. My reply at this late hour is that I'm making complete sense.

Well what I see is a time in the near future (a blink of the eye when we think of the past) when my grandchildren will think of me and that to me has made my day. I hope we all have futures like mine.

So, bottle your wine and bottle your past for our grandchildren.

Love, Anthony.

Wine tasting ideas

2009-11-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

About a year ago, my brother Cio (the wine maker) brought a small group of us together for a wine tasting. The specific reason of this wine tasting was for the purpose of seeking input and comments as to his yet to be released 2003 Zinfandel. He was putting the finishing touches to his back label and was hoping to derive from this tasting, others' description of the wine.

Great reason to come together, wasn't it?

That brings me to today's topic, one in which we all can create an opportunity to bring family and friends together: Wine tasting ideas.

As an amateur wine maker (I believe I can say that now with one year's production under my belt) I find I treat my wine (be it only one bottle in 2008) like my children, only I don't drink my children. Let me put it another way; I have a great deal of pride wrapped up in the process of creation and in the outcome of that process and I want everyone to know about all my children (isn't there a t.v. soap by that name?). What a better way to share than with family and friends.

Have a wine tasting to share the wine you've personally made; you could accomplish numerous things. You can get others' response to your wine providing you with descriptive words that you can place on your home-made label. You can bring family and friends together in a different setting where they can share their stories and comments giving each one the opportunity to perhaps learn something new about one another.

As an example of this last insight; at the wine tasting held by my brother, I had met or knew most of the people there but what I learned was so much more. I learned one person has written books, including working and commenting on the works of the famous writer Jorge Luis Borges (an author at the time I was unfamiliar with). This kind man struck up a conversation with my wife Ana and they had a lot in common one of which is they both speak fluent Spanish. That wasn't all, he gave her as a gift, a book he worked on "Labyrinths" by Jorge Luis Borges. From that all to short occasion I have taken away not only memorable moments but my eyes were opened to a new author.

Now back to reasons for a wine tasting...

You can have each of your short list of friends invite one of their friends and in that way bring new people and new thinkers into your contact environment. Say you invite six close friends or family and they in turn invite six people that are new to you; what an opportunity to learn.

Here's an example of a simple wine tasting that would be fun.

Have a wine tasting to share your favorite wine and purchase two more wines of the same varietal (If your favorite Zinfandel is Perez Family Estate Zinfandel 2000, then buy two more Zinfandels from other producers but the same year 2000). Invite six to twelve of your family and friends over to the house, set out crackers and cheese and a glass of water at each setting. Let every one mingle before the tasting, and then address them before the tasting (an opportunity to improve your public speaking skills and to a small group is ideal) letting them know the process. You can either have the wines already poured (three glasses per setting) or blind pour each wine one at a time, using only one glass per individual. By blind pour I mean cover the label and/or the bottle by putting the bottle in a small paper bag. You have to jot down the order you pour the wine to keep them in track. Have the wine tasters mark down on a sheet of paper the numbers 1, 2 and 3 at the top of the page. On the right side of the page list "color" then two inches down "nose", then two inches down "taste", and two inches below "Score 1-5". You may want to make this score sheet on your computer and print it out beforehand but I think the more involved your audience is the better experience they'll have.

In filling out their individual sheets they are to start with color. Have them jot down any descriptive words that describes that color to them; ruby, straw, yellow, sunset, light, dark, clear, bright, brilliant etc.. They don't have to limit it to descriptive words in the manner one usually thinks of; one might describe the color as an emotion such as moody, calming etc.. The same step should be taken with "nose" and "taste". In that tasting my brother had, one of those present when it came to describing taste said that it reminded her of a time long ago when she was on a beach. My point is wine's description for any one individual isn't necessarily defined by descriptive words; sometimes it is described by certain memories. After the first wine go to the second and complete the steps before going to the third wine. After the three wines have been tasted in this fashion, go around the table and starting with color ask each participant to share with everyone their comments. Then take "nose" and do the same circle of contributions and then go to "taste" and then to "score".

My advice at this point is to simply to have a go at it i.e. sit them down and begin the tasting.

My last thoughts on this short post is don't limit yourselves to a wine tasting, try a wine pairing. You'll find that the benefits and reasons simply multiply. Share the load by asking others to bring their favorite wine and favorite food.

Enjoy!

Wine and meals for 11-4-09

2009-11-04T11:08:00.001-08:00

11/4/09: Last night Ana got home late so we went to a local taqueria in Glen Park to get take home. She walked away with a quesadia and I had a burrito with carnitas and prawns. We stopped on our way home at a corner liqour store and purchased a Malbec 2008 from the Mendoza region of Argentina. The label read, "Dona Paula, Los Cardos" [for those of you interested, "Cardos" means "thistle"]. We picked a Malbec from Argentina because it was only last week I was talking with my brother Cio (the winemaker in the family) and he had mentioned that he had been trying Malbecs from that region and he thought them very good. I checked Malbecs out on the internet, specifically those from Argentina and found that they have a great reputation. So...we purchased our bottle ($9.99) and got ourselves back home.

The color was deep dark ruby with a brown shadow. The nose was of dark chocolate and I didn't pick up any fruitiness. Upon tasting, I picked up a light smooth mocha flavor. I also picked up a wisp of a compilation of dried flowers; no particular flower but definitely a flower essence. This wine was good but definitely hard for me to describe.

This wine would have been better to drink alone or at least not with the meal I had.