Mireya Turner » Uncategorized

May 25 2008

Sun, 25 May 2008 22:35:55 +0000

The free SO2, when Janice tested it a few weeks ago, had diminished to 8ppm. Today, I will boost the levels back up to 30ppm. I know I should have done this weeks ago!
Using the 72 gal amount, and the formula listed in the earlier post, I ground 11 camden tablets finely. I will dissolve them in boiling water, then top off the barrel with a grenache/syrah bottle of wine. Maybe with the holiday, we will rack early tomorrow. I was listening to the Cellar Dwellers podcast and it recommends racking every 3-5 weeks. I will try this this year, since it is one of the improvements I noted would be needed to improve our 2005 vintage. I wish I would have racked that one a few more times. But live and learn.
…Note to self: I topped off with 750ml Rosemount Grenache/Shiraz and 200ml (approx) Brassfield 2004 Cab Sauv. yum!
Weather: After the long frosts, we had a heat wave, 100+ for days and our vineyards and gardens just exploded with growth! This weekend, the skies have been cloudy and the temps in the 60′s, our typical spring weather. The cement room temp is steady at 60.

April 24 2008

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 04:07:10 +0000

I took a barrel sample to Steele today for testing. Recently I added enough SO₂ to have 30 ppm, for stability and preservation of the wine during aging. Typically, however, much of this is absorbed and so I was surprised to find that my SO₂ levels are actually only at 8ppm, not 30ppm. I topped off with a bottle of Rosemont Grenache Shiraz this morning, but luckily there is a wee bit of room to add MORE sulfites this weekend. Today’s total stats:
SO₂: 8ppm
pH:3.86
TA:0.86
VA:0.067
EtOH: 13.3%
A 2008 update: We have been experiencing frost almost nightly here for the last few weeks. Many of our vines are suffering with this constant attack of cold, just when the buds are beginning to break out and are at their most vulnerable to the weather. Even frost control measures can only go so far.
What will this mean? It is likely the winegrowers will depend on the later bud growths for their crop, which will push the harvest times later this year. Also, with a later harvest, the cooler Fall weather will keep the sugars lower, the acids higher and will also boost the flavor components. It should be a VERY interesting year for Lake County wines! So far, Walking Horse Ranch seems to have escaped the frost damage. The vines remained dormant and yesterday, I noticed the popcorn-like buds are breaking out. At this time of year, the buds that looked like little brown nubs on the vine, soften and take on a white fuzzy appearance, like popcorn. From that softened state, the first leaves and clusters emerge from the bud and these clusters are the main harvest. These are the buds our Lake County winegrowers are fightinig to save.

February 20 Rack

James — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:10:41 +0000

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It was a beautiful day! The sun was shining, the birds were singing, fluffy white clouds passed high overhead. And in my wee cement room, we had an interesting situation. The wine in the barrel had completed malolactic fermentation. It was ready to rack. The 15 gallons in the carboys however, halted MLF at 50%. Most likely reason was pH too low. It tasted fruity, but with a tang that could probably take the paint of my car.Ã‚Â The barrel, on the other hand, has a smooth, almost soft flavor. Its ph was high, with a low TA. Combining the two wines would make both of them better.

Janice, my wine guru at Steele Wines, recommended I go ahead and rack, combining the two wines. The ML would restart when the pH balanced out. So that is what we did.

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We called our good friends, Shalean Smith and Nicolai Lipscomb, cuz why make wine if you can’t make a party out of it! Pictured above are Nicolai, our world famous chef friend, and Willy, my better half. It took a bit of practice to perfect the art of starting the siphoning process…but that is all part of the fun.

Now the wine is settled gently in the second oak barrel, a carboy and two magnum bottles. Mixed together, the pH should be condusive to restarting the MLF. I must order to smaller carboys and switch the wine from the magnums to them before they explode. Just ask my friend James, exploding wine bottles makes a dramatic statement to a home winemaker. It says, “Don’t mess with nature, buddy!” in a most compelling fashion. And even though it is interesting to see just how far and how random the spray can travel, cleaning up is definitely not fun.

I will check the barrel, keeping it topped off, until MLF finishes, then stabilize with SO2 and let it rest out the winter.

Till next time!

Let the Winemaking Begin!

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:36:24 +0000

Let the Winemaking Begin!, originally uploaded by mireyaturner.

image/jpeg
Mireya Turner
Candidate – Kelseyville School Board
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Nov 1

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:02:28 +0000

The time has flown by! I have been busy with the School Board campaign, it will be great to finally reach Election Day. I have been neglecting the wine though. I had better get a sample in for Janice to do a chromatography test to determine the progression of the malolactic fermentation! Will shoot for Monday.
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Oct 22

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:31:45 +0000

Started malolactic fermentation today. I started rehydrating the bacteria yesterday in 500 ml of watered down apple juice. Most of the wine will go through secondary fermentation in the barrel. The rest is in carboys. It is a deep, purple-black color; just lovely.

Oct 19

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 04:25:54 +0000

Willy took a sample into Steele today. Results are: pH 4.19, TA: 0.64, VA 0.42. 14.4% alcohol. I plan to bring the pH down to 3.6, so tomorrow I will add 2 lb of Tartaric Acid. Once that is mixed in well, we will begin the malolactic fermentation by adding the bacteria. Adding the acid will take the TA up, but it will eventually go down. I would like the alcohol to go lower. Since the primary fermentation still isn’t complete, the alcohol level is going to increase. Is there any way to decrease it?

Oct 15

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 03:25:10 +0000

Ambient Temp: 76°, Must Temp: 67°. I don’t remember the must being so cool he last time. But the brix is still dropping, so fermentation hasn’t stopped. And it still smells great!

Oct 14

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 03:22:58 +0000

Ambient Temp: 74°, Must Temp: 68°. Two punchdowns today. The must is becoming less crusty and stays more fluid in between punchdowns. Brix testing: 1.1°, 0.8°, 0.0°, 2.2°, 1.2°.

Oct 13

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 03:17:21 +0000

Ambient Temp: 72°, Must Temp: 66-687#176;. The fruit flies have arrived! Three punchdowns today; it still looks like there are a bunch of whole berries in there. But when I picked one, it was hollow inside. I had forgotten about that part!

Oct 11

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 03:10:27 +0000

Ambient Temp: 75°, Must Temp: 707#176; in the AM, 667#176; in the PM. Finally, my hydrometer came in the mail! Did three punchdowns today. Brix testing results: 2.6°, 1.7°, 1.8°, 3° and 2.6°.

Oct 10

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 02:46:53 +0000

Ambient Temp: 68Ã‚Â°, Must Temp: 73Ã‚Â°. Added DAP yesterday, 2 tsp dissolved in warm water per small can. I noticed the sulfur smell was gone this morning! We are moving the cans to the cement room to continue their fermentation in air not used by the family. Put in a mini-heater, to keep the ambient temp in the 70′s. Did punchdowns three times today. The must temp stayed in the 70′s. A sample sent to Janice at Steele came back with the following results:
pH: 4.0, brix at 3.5Ã‚Â°. We will add tartaric acid at press to bring down the pH a bit.