Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Little Red House - cabernet / syrah

Finished making cabernet / syrah ("Little Red House") last month. My newest wine was made this morning.
Work has been slow this week so I thought it would be nice, while we are having a break from the "global warming" rain  & cold, to start the process of making a chardonnay for the summer.

The cab / syrah is aging. Bottled, finished and waiting to be enjoyed later this  summer.
Completed processing the grape liquid with my yeast and wine clarifiers.
Now the fermentation begins.

Will be checking the filters and water levels the next couple of weeks until the sulfites will be added.
The long wait begins. maui sunset here we come. Yes, that is the name of the chardonnay.
Kierann my soon to be 6 year old came up with the title and will be creating the artwork once the bottling process begins.

Now for the chardonnay.... I am hoping for a light crisp white wine.
Somewhere along the notes of a Napa Cellars Chardonnay
http://napacellars.com/Wines/Chardonnay/
 not a Miner Chardonnay.
http://minerwines.com/

Yet, I love both but there is a time for each.
Less oaky and lighter on the fruit of apple, pear with a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg.

The Cab / Syrah, although not a disappointment turned out more like a rose.
Lighter than the big blends I like (ie: Super Tuscans, Meritage, Barberas). Still enjoyable.

On a different note, I decanted a spanish wine last night:
2005 Emilio Moro Ribera Del Duero.
A red table wine from Spain. Not bad but I should have picked a 2007. 2005 might have been
ready for a bullfight.
There are times when you need to drink wines a little earlier. This one tasted fine but it needed some  time to breath.
It was darker in color but still lost some of its tannins.
Drinking and making wine. Always a learning process...

Heh, wanted to give a shout out to Thomas Riley. Fellow writer and educator.
He has a very good blog at:
http://thegrapebelt.wordpress.com/

I'm enjoying his blog. Very knowledgeable in the wine biz and a nice style of writing.

Cheers Tom!